I was just watching a great interview with Gary Vaynerchuk done by Dean Hunt and Ciaran Doyle. Combined with another one from Perry Belcher (from my paid GKIC membership) it's got me thinking about how passion and business mix.
I've had this discussion with my friend Mark a lot as well but we've never really found a definitive answer. So here are my current rambling thoughts on the matter.
What the gurus say...
Now a lot of business gurus talk about how important following your passion is when it comes to business. I probably first read about this in the E-Myth by Michael Gerber but it's a dominant theme for most business advice. However I see pros and cons with the situation.
What if I'm broke?
The reality is most people don't start businesses with a large wad of cash in their back pocket. Luckily the internet has made it easier for us to start businesses on a shoe string budget but that doesn't mean it's easy. If you look at most successful businesses they've been created with years of effort.
In the video mentioned above Gary explains how he already had a successful wine business before going out and creating his online presence. But for most of us growing a multimillion dollar business involves creating that presence online first. Hence we run into a bit of a chicken or the egg type problem.
I know I've personally struggled with balancing time between creating something lasting for the future and doing work with clients that paid the bills. Sure I could of been promoting my business online a lot more in the last two years but I probably wouldn't of been able to eat much. I guess it's about having the patience to do what needs to be done in the time available.
Living in the real world
The fact of any business is that no matter how passionate you're about it you also have to make money from it. That means you have to have a market and be able to sell something profitably to that market. That's where many future internet millionaires fall down... they fail to put a solid business model around their passion.
But on the flip side many people start businesses - especially online - with the goal of just making money. Many internet marketing gurus sell a model of just creating random little products in little markets... profiting and leaving them to run on autopilot. While this is a nice idea and buys directly into the easy riches on the internet dream... I personally think it's a dangerous model.
Because if you create a quick little autopilot business on something like knitting in order to make a few bucks you're eventually going to run into a problem. As more people start internet businesses you're eventually going to run into someone who's really passionate about knitting and their internet business is going to crush yours. And so on for all your little websites until your business falls apart.
My girlfriend's new internet business
I took my girlfriend along to one of these seminars in the hope of kicking her butt into action on her overdue web business. It worked but she immediately had a problem with the many website model as well and just wanted to make one website... about her passion. Which is exactly what I wanted her to do all along.
She works with young autistic children and that's her passion. So now we're doing the research on how to build a solid business model around her passion. Rather than trying to work out what niche we can exploit for profit we're doing something that she really cares about and can change the lives of people influenced by autism around the world.
And my passion too
I often struggle with my passion and Gary discusses the issue in the interview. He complains about how many internet marketers make their money from teaching other wannabe internet marketers how to do it. He doesn't like the quick cash model that they use and I agree.
And this is what I've struggled with because my passion is really building businesses and marketing... particularly on the internet. Sometimes I feel like a fake because I haven't created any super successful websites in random niches. I've really only had one I've worked on that I was semi-passionate about and it made some money but in the end I got bored.
But I do a great job for my clients because I can combine their passion for their business with my passion for marketing and it's a killer combination. They don't really care about how to market their business... they just want to spread their message and get more clients. So it becomes the perfect match when I find passionate people to work with.
How I know what my passion is
I know my passion is business and marketing because there's nothing I'd rather be doing. While some want to watch TV or do their favorite sport... I'm simply happy learning about business. I don't watch much TV... but I watch hours and hours of video about business and marketing.
I actually have to ban myself from learning stuff so I get some work done. There would be nothing I'd love more than just consuming all the information that business and marketing experts put out. It's an interesting passion I guess but at least I know there are others out there like me.
What's your passion?
Is your current business really what you're passionate about? Or is it something you do because you thought you could make money from it? Some people might start out that way and end up developing a passion as their expertize develops.
Maybe there's a part of your business you really love like interacting with clients but really hate doing your accounts. This can lead to losing passion for your business because you only see it for the things you hate. When you're true to yourself and focusing on your strengths I believe you have to find other people to do the icky jobs for you.
That's where outsourcing and staff come in. I'm at that point now where I have to hand over some of the jobs that aren't as fun to other people. I hear that once you do this your business grows dramatically.
So what's the answer?
I believe we should follow our passions while still respecting the importance of money in the equation. As Dan Kennedy once said "I'm passionate about sitting on the couch watching TV and eating pizza but I've yet to find someone to pay me to do it." However I think there are a lot of markets out there now the internet has given us such a large reach.
There are people teaching others how to play computer games better and another teaching other engineers the best ways to program PID controller chips (don't ask but just know this is a strange niche!). Scrapbooking and dog training are huge markets online... and your passions might be too. Sometimes all it takes is for a leader to step up and show the market what they can achieve.
So maybe it's time to stake your claim on the internet too?
What you do next
Tap into your passions... what would you love to do every day even in nobody was paying you to do it? Then work out how to get someone to pay you for it and you have your ideal job/business. And why waste your life doing something you hate just to make a few bucks when you can make just as much doing what you love?
