I was listening to a podcast the other morning. A word jumped out to me. The word “passion.” A common thread in some of my recent writings has been about having a passion for your business. One of the first things I gauge in the small businesses I mentor is the degree of passion exhibited by the business owner. Unless they are completely absorbed into their own business, then they have a major roadblock to the success of that business. In other words, is there business a bona fide business or is it a hobby. Without passion, it's a hobby.
I will admit that passion is a big word in the business world. The growth of online technologies now makes it much easier for people to follow their passions and turn them into a business. However, that doesn’t mean the process is going to be any easier. They need to get beyond the hobby stage. As you know running your own business is more than a full-time job, but when it’s a labor of love it can make the process much more enjoyable.
“The best advice I could give anyone is to spend your time working on whatever you are passionate about in life.”
Richard Branson
We’re going to explore passion in the business world, what it means, and ways to become passionate about your business if it’s not quite there for you.
Why Start A Business In The First Place?
People start businesses for a variety of reasons. It would be impossible to list them all here. It doesn’t even have to be said, but most people are in business to make money. Most people don’t go into business to go bankrupt.
A lot of people start a business because they see a hole in the market that can be filled with their business or service. Sometimes people are serial entrepreneurs and bounce from industry to industry finding problems and building solutions for those problems.
Other people take a more artistic sense and are looking for creative fulfillment. This type of person seeks creative fulfillment through their product or service. They look to flex their creative muscles and solve problems using their unique service or product.
“You can't fake passion.”
Barbara Corcoran
Passion comes in many forms, as many forms as there are people on earth. If passion is your root reason for pursuing a business idea, then by all means pursue it until the end of the earth. If you’re wired to start a business about what you’re passionate about then a part of you won’t be satisfied until you do. After all, when you’re doing something you’re immersed in it doesn’t really feel like work.
Can I Become Passionate?
If you started your business to fill a market need and you really want to become passionate about your work there are a few ways to nurture passion, without selling your business and starting a new one from scratch.
If you started a business for the money and now you want to become passionate about your work, first you need to have a deep understanding of what you like to do and what your strengths are.
If you can adapt these to your current work day, or introduce new aspects into your business then you’ll be well on your way towards bringing passion into your work. Here are a few questions that will help you uncover your passion and strengths:
- What would you do every day, even if you weren’t being paid to do it?
- What do you think your core strengths are?
- What could you immerse yourself in for hours at a time?
- If you could only do one activity for the rest of your life what would it be?
Once you find your strengths the key is going to be building a bridge between passion and your current work reality. You have to be creative to do this, but I have faith in you. It might mean adjusting your work priorities, daily agenda, or introducing a new service or product for you to manage.
“Allow your passion to become your purpose, and it one day will become your purpose.”
Gabrielle Bernstein
Passion is an important ingredient to have, not only for your business, but for your life. We are always looking for how to fit life into our clients financial and business plans. Believe it, sometimes it is an oversight or low on the list of priorities. People need to be passionate about all the things they do in their life, not just in their business. Family and quality of life should be paramount and you need to be passionate about them. It’s just part of Keeping Life Current.
Steve is the SBCN Community Mentor and can be reached at: steve@NorthernRiverFinancial.ca
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