Imagine this: you are an eager entrepreneur, ready to work hard to make money. Where do you start? Where is the money to be made?
If you are really open to anything, you’ll look around for any opportunity. Anywhere from reselling a diet supplement in your overweight neighborhood to writing about insurance policies to help people sort out their options. You may find cracks in the system, where you can insert yourself as a middle man in hopes to get rich. And maybe you will.
But you may end up skipping from one opportunity to another, like a puppy chasing a squirrel. You may keep randomly trying possibilities left and right, hoping you’ll succeed, because you are dedicated and you’ve heard it said that it “takes just once for it to work…”
OK, so let’s assume it works and you do get rich. Then what? Why do you actually want the money? So that you can do … what? I think if you dig deep, at the end you want money to be able to do what you love, to follow your passion. If that’s so, why don’t we start with that? Let’s focus on what you really love doing. Now, I’ve seen enough starving artists understand that just doing what you love will not really build your business. I may love writing, but if all I do is write stories in notebooks that are piling up in my drawer, no money will follow.
What I think we need is to combine the passion inside us with needs that are outside, in the world around us. Simply following a crack in the system where there is money to be made is not entirely wrong, but should not be your #1 priority. If you go for it and your heart is not there, to me that’s desperation and I would love to build my business on something more positive than that.
If there is passion, there’ll be will, talent, energy, and drive to overcome the hoops that come your way as you’re working on your business. But you have to come out of your “passion closet” once in a while and see what relevant needs the world out there may have. Then you need to follow up on those possible opportunities, test the waters, see what works and what doesn’t, get inspired by the reactions people may have to what you’re offering, be curious about what others who share your passion do, and be flexible to adjust your approach as you go.
For example, if you like food, you may try volunteering for a food bank, or working in a restaurant, or writing about local farmer’s markets, or inviting people to your house for a gourmet get together, or perhaps looking into how you can learn how to make cheese or import wine from another country… then notice what happens. Is that something you want to do more of? What makes you like it? Where does your passion lead you? What reaction are you getting in the world? Do people like it? Do they want to join you? What are you learning?
People pay for what they value. There are ways to make money by following your passion and connecting to others and to what’s happening around you. You don’t need to choose between following the money versus following your passion. If you manage to mix your passion with a need in the market, you can have it all!
