Over the years I've had hundreds of conversations with people about wanting to turn their passions into a business, and it’s a conversation I LOVE having.
It sounds like a great idea in theory, doesn’t it? I mean, who doesn’t want to spend their days doing something they love and get paid for it?
The bad news is that having a passion for something alone isn’t enough to earn a living from it in most cases.
The good news is that if you have a combo of the following, you might be onto a winner…
Skill - just because you’re passionate about something, doesn’t automatically mean you’re good at it. You only have to watch an episode of ‘Britain’s Got Talent’ to witness the disconnect between someone believing (sometimes very strongly) that they have a talent for something, and the reality being that they properly suck! Be honest with yourself, and if you’re feeling brave ask other people whether you are actually skilled in the area you’re passionate about. You might not like the answer, but it will save you hours, days, weeks, months or even years in pursuing something that is never going to happen. Conversely, maybe you'll discover that you are in fact b***** brilliant at what you love to do.
Experience - how much experience do you have in delivering something of value that’s based around your passions? If the answer is ‘not very much’ then it would be wise to start gaining some good, solid experience. Think you’d be great at working with kids? Why not volunteer to help out at your local school? Love giving massages? Offer to practise on friends and family. Passionate about gardening? Your elderly neighbours would probably love for you to help out in their garden.
Proof that someone is willing to pay for it - What proof do you have that someone (other than your great aunt Betty) is willing to pay you for that thing that you’re so passionate about? How can you gather that evidence? Are other people making money from it already? Have people offered to pay you?
Ticking all 3 of the above already? What are you waiting for? Looks like you have a good case to make it happen! If you need a little helping hand and a boost of confidence to make the transition, perhaps I can help.
I’ve created a little YouTube playlist just for you of the people I’ve interviewed, who have successfully turned their hobby/passion into a thriving business. You can find the playlist here.
I recently chatted to Martin Knight of knightsbeekeeping.co.uk about how he turned his passion for beekeeping into a buzzzzzing business! You can watch it here.
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