How to Turn Your Passions Into a Business With Purpose
I was listening to The Goal Digger Podcast (Ep. 537 My Best Advice for Multi-Passionate Business Owners) in which entrepreneur Jenna Kutcher shares her thoughts on what passions make sense to monetize and which should remain as hobbies or interests.
In her example, she talks about learning how to paint during quarantine and then creating a print shop to support that interest. However, she mentions that attaching income to that particular interest was not what she wanted. It’s not so much about having enough money to be able to live without income. It’s about figuring out what passions you want to turn into a career and which you want to keep to yourself.
Turning something into a business creates a paradigm shift. Suddenly what started out as a joyful part of your day turns into a task when you have deadlines and customers to think about. So, it’s wise to figure out what you love about something and why you love it before you decide to turn it into a business.
Some passions are far more satisfying when they are an escape from your regular responsibilities.
So, how do you figure out what to turn into a business and what to keep as a hobby? Ask yourself these five questions:
1. Check out the industry day-to-day. Do you want to do that every day?
Some jobs sound a lot better on paper than they are in reality. Just do a YouTube search on the job you want, and you will most likely find a video by someone that left the career based on the day-to-day. What do they know that you don’t? Can you live with it if your passion turns into a source of stress rather than an escape from the struggles of your day job? These are questions you want to answer before selling all of your stuff and going all in on a passion project.
2. Ask professionals about their sacrifices. Are they worth it?
Every career comes with a unique set of sacrifices that are necessary to find success. For example, many sales executives have to spend most of their time traveling to visit other regional offices. This means time away from their families and living out of a suitcase. An artist has to deal with more income volatility than someone working a nine to five with a steady paycheck. Are the sacrifices you have to make in order to fuel your passion worth it in the long run? Are you prepared to make those sacrifices both mentally, emotionally, and financially? If so, then you might be on the right track.
3. Can you deal with changing your process to make money?
When it comes to passions that involve creativity or learning a craft, monetizing usually means transforming your process to meet market demands. For example, if you make clothes or accessories, you may need to switch up the materials you use and limit the number of processes you apply to each piece in order to be able to sell at a reasonable market price and make enough profit to stay in business. If you design stationery by hand, you may need to consider creating prints that you can mass produce in order to cover your bottom line. You may not be able to pour yourself into the creation process as freely as you did before when you have a business attached to your passion. But, if centering your career and identity around doing what you love is worth the process changes, then go for it!
4. Is your business model sustainable and do you have access to capital?
There are days when we all want to quit our day jobs and lean into the things that make us truly happy. While those days may motivate you to want to make a change in your career, the reality of turning a passion into a business requires capital. There are plenty of ways to fund a new business, including self-funding, but you need to be in a financial position to help make this idea a long-term success. In addition to funding the project, you have to consider your profit margins and how to cover your bottom line. Setting prices, making production more efficient, customer service, and brand development are all aspects of making your brand sustainable.
5. Does your target market need or desire what you want to offer?
You may be the best ceramicist on the planet, but in order to create a successful brand out of your talent, you need to give people something they want. In the case of ceramics, that might mean moving from sculptural work to creating mugs and dinnerware out of affordable materials that can be easily reproduced. It’s important to focus on what the consumer wants and needs just as much as you do your craft. This alignment is where the brand magic happens. The more tangible and intangible benefits a person gets from your product or service, the more likely you are to stay in business.
What do your answers tell you?
If you’ve answered yes to all of these questions, it sounds like you should move forward in turning your passion into a business. If you still have some questions about the business model, funding, process, or sacrifices, you may need to do more reflection and research to find out what the right path is for you and your brand. Many people are willing to share their experiences with you and also some expertise that might demystify the process. Sometimes, all it takes is the first step, and the rest will reveal itself in time. The most important thing is to be patient and keep the passion burning.
