2020 has certainly been a year full of surprises, but with so many economic disruptions and changes to business-as-usual in the workplace, many people are taking the opportunity to try something completely different. With so much of the global workforce continuing to work from home, new possibilities for remote work are inspiring people to pursue the dream of working for themselves. If you’re one of them, here are some practical tips for turning your passion into profit.
Use passion as a guide – but do your homework
Do what you love, they say, and you’ll never work a day in your life. While it sounds nice, the truth is that pursuing your dream job takes mountains of careful planning, resilience, and yes, hard work. Passion can help you identify your niche and deeper values, but it cannot replace solid market research, or sound financial planning.
Being passionate about something is great, but you also need to have the aptitude to monetize your enthusiasm. It’s not very glamorous, but you’ll need to brush up on your finance skills whatever your chosen passion. Take the time to register yourself properly for income tax if you’re going self-employed, compile a proper budget, and remember to choose an appropriate business bank account to keep separate from your personal finances.
Think about how you can add value
A common mistake with those who are trying to “following their passion” is that they forget their goal is not just to indulge in activities they personally find meaningful, but to also add value to their customer’s lives. Passion is a valuable commodity and people will pay a lot to work with or learn from someone who is passionate about what they do.
But you also need to make your service or product appealing in a competitive marketplace, and this means you have to bring something to the table that can also inspire passion in others. How can you genuinely improve on what’s already out there in the market? What are you really offering that nobody else can? What problems are you solving for your prospective customers?
Find ways to diversify
The great thing about entrepreneurship is the freedom and flexibility. You’re in the perfect position to adapt and grow, to take on feedback and change courses, to improve over time or completely change your strategy. But you can also start from the outset by setting up multiple potential income streams for yourself.
If your passion is gourmet food, for example, you could sell an actual product like high-end food hampers, or you could educate others using a blog, book or YouTube channel. You could offer your services by the hour as a food consultant for other restaurant industry, or organize cooking classes or training events and conferences. You could start a bespoke catering company or write a cookbook, or collaborate with other industry professionals. You don’t need to pursue all the ideas you brainstorm, but you’ll soon see that your passion can fulfil itself in a variety of interesting – and profitable – ways.
Be prepared for the learning curve
Pursuing your passion as a career can be a long and difficult path. You’ll need to find ways to push yourself out of your comfort zone and take strategic risks if you hope to grow. Being a perfectionist won’t help either – instead, try a few things, and don’t be too hard on yourself if it takes a few attempts to get it right.
Just because you have passion for something, and even talent, it doesn’t mean it will be easy to start earning money. However, you are always better positioned to start making a profit if you’re working diligently, pacing yourself and asking for help and support when you feel a little lost of overwhelmed.
Keep learning
Passion can keep you motivated when times are tough, and it can help you tune into your deeper goals and values in life. But passion can also make us stubborn at times, especially if we allow ourselves to grow too attached to fixed ideas about how things should work.
Going into business for yourself or making money from something you care deeply about can be an incredibly rewarding and fulfilling experience. On the other hand, we can take small failures or challenges personally, and let our egos get in the way. Even if you are super-passionate about something and consider yourself an expert, you can only help your business by seeking out other professionals, and humbly learning from them. It’s often other passionate people that understand our journey the most!
Author: Lily Harris
Lily is a freelance writer focused on small business, entrepreneurship, operations and advice. Lily is passionate about showing others that starting a business is a viable career path. When she isn’t writing, she can be found walking her cocker spaniel or getting stuck into a new baking recipe.
