How To Find Your Passion & Turn it Into a Business

As a boy, Bill Gates had a passion for board games. His favorites were Risk and Monopoly, and he competed for hours on end. When he was introduced to computer coding in middle school, he started inventing computer games and became enthralled with technology. No doubt, you can fill in the rest. Microsoft’s global revenue in the first quarter of 2020 was $143 billion.

Walt Disney was drawing, painting and selling pictures from the time he was 4 years old. He worked as a cartoonist on his high school newspaper and attended night classes at the Art Institute of Chicago. The company he founded in 1923 generated $69.57 billion in the fiscal year 2019. In addition to the film studio, there are 14 theme parks around the world.

Whether you’re mulling over a career change, looking to expand your business or starting from scratch, going where passion leads you could be a life-changing experience. A favorite hobby or leisure time activity could become a thriving business. Maybe you love arranging flowers, restoring classic cars or building baby furniture. The idea of public speaking, pottery making or pet sitting might make you smile. On the other hand, you might have such a wide range of interests and things you like doing that you can’t pinpoint one or two you’re passionate about.

Baking wedding cakes or flying drones at home is nothing like operating a bakery or drone-based delivery service. You may be the best in town at what you do, but running a business calls for soft skills as well as training and expertise. Common traits for business owners include a gift for leadership, financial management, sales, communication, networking, developing people, problem solving, time management, patience, thinking on one’s feet and willingness to take risks. If all that sparks your interest, pursuing your passion makes perfect sense.

All business owners have weaknesses, so don’t disqualify yourself if you tend to be impatient or could use some extra confidence. The takeaway here is to admit to your flaws. Even strengths, by the way, when taken to extremes, can become weaknesses. For instance, there’s a difference between taking pride in your brand and letting stubborn pride cloud your judgement. When Marcus consulted with a California candle company — which made safer candles that don’t emit as many chemicals when they burn — he was impressed with the idea but not so much with the aesthetics. The owner was so sold on his own design that he refused to even consider a change. Meanwhile, the business was in a free-fall. When Marcus finally persuaded him to see reason, the redesigned candle was a big hit with a major distributor. Letting go of his pride and being open to change ultimately put the company in a better position. The owners of a Michigan denim company had similar issues when Marcus suggested a redesign of their jeans. Each pair took 67 steps and several hours to make. When the owners finally let go of their pride and allowed Marcus to help refine the process, the new vintage-look jeans were a big success. It takes a lot of confidence to turn your passion into a business, but there’s also a place for humility and willingness to act on honest feedback.

This is no time to start putting the pencil to the paper. You’ll get to production costs, inventory management and payroll taxes soon enough. For now, take some time to dream. You should have financial goals in mind, but don’t make this all about money. Where passion is in play, revenue isn’t the strongest motivation.

Long-term personal goals might include earning a master’s degree, traveling, raising a family or retiring to Portugal. In other words, look at the big picture. Would your business eclipse your other dreams or make them more possible to achieve? If you answered the latter, then you’re well on your way to having it all.

Can you harness that fervor within you and monetize it? If you do your homework, you could turn your passion into a business.

Study potential customers’ likes and dislikes. See what’s trending, and look for niches that you could slip into. Find out where there’s an unmet need in the market for your product or service. If there are already similar offerings, what distinguishes yours? How is it better? Once you’ve done your research, recruit some guinea pigs who would likely be in your target audience. Form a focus group to test your product and provide honest feedback.

If you want to open an upscale Greek restaurant, say, look for census information on geographic areas where people matching your customer profile live. The bureau’s data breaks all the way down to city blocks. Leverage the data to compare potential sites for your restaurant; you can then market specifically to surrounding neighborhoods once your plans are underway. Research firms like Pew, Forrester and Gartner are other good resources.

Once you’ve decided to turn your passion into a business, start making notes of everything that pops into your head. They don’t have to be detailed or organized in the beginning, but you don’t want to forget anything. Take advantage of the abundant business planning resources on the internet. Develop a sales and marketing strategy with specific steps and a timeline. Your financial plan should include projected income, cash flow calculations and a balance sheet. Decide on the best legal structure for tax purposes. If you’re hiring employees, draw up a management structure that doesn’t leave any gaps in responsibility. Your business plan should anticipate obstacles, big expenses in the future and other concerns. Ask a trusted financial adviser to scrutinize it and poke holes in it if need be. Your plan will make or break your ability to get funding, so make it as solid and comprehensive as possible. Finally, once the plan is in place, stick to it. Review it at regular intervals to make sure you’re still on track.