Turn a Passion into Profit
4 Steps Entrepreneurs Take to Make Money By Doing What They Love
Entrepreneurs, like everyone else, have a passion. A passion can be described as a boundless enthusiasm for a particular person, object, or activity. It sparks inner excitement and confidence. It's how most people would rather spend the majority of their time but actually spend the least. Passions, largely reserved for hobbies and extracurricular activities, are not how the majority of entrepreneurs make money.
That's not the ideal way of doing business, insists Walt Goodridge, a business coach who calls himself the Passion Profit. According to Goodridge, entrepreneurs should strive to be passionpreneurs--that's a word he coined to describe business owners that successfully profit from their true passion. From Goodridge's perspective, passionpreneurs are the happiest and most successful entrepreneurs.
If that's the case, then why aren't more entrepreneurs using their passions as the basis of their businesses? Fear is common reason, writes Rieva Lesonsky in the book Start Your Own Business (Entrepreneur Media, Inc. 2007). "Most people are afraid to start; they may fear the unknown or failure, or even success," she explains. "Everyone has his or her own roadblock, something that keeps them from taking that crucial first step."
Step 1: Discover Your Purpose
On Goodridge's website, Turn Your Passion into Profit (www.passionprofit.com), he features a personality test to help users discover their purpose because this will ultimately lead to uncovering their true passions.
According to Goodridge's personality test, people generally fall into four categories: a creator, a savior, a guru, or a guide. These labels help users determine the types of businesses that they need to consider. Artistic/creative individuals will be happiest when they are in businesses that allow them to make something. Saviors are put on the planet to help people. Gurus should explore businesses that allow them to teach or instruct. Finally, the purpose of a guide is to lead masses of people to a new way of life--like a minister, for example.
"I believe people, particularly entrepreneurs, are best served in life when they figure out who they are before they launch a business," he insists. "That way they can participate in business activities that align with their purpose."
Step 2: Uncover Your True Passion
A passion may be hiding in hobbies, a childhood wish, or secret thoughts and dreams. Goodridge says entrepreneurs can deteremine their passions by examining their talents. "Look at the talents that you’ve been endowed with by the creator," he advises. "Once you've figured out your purpose, you'll usually find that your passion is uniquely designed to help you fulfill that purpose. It’s not an accident."
In addition to exploring one's talents for business ideas, Goodridge advises entrepreneurs consider the things that they enjoy doing and says those activities may uncover opportunities as well.
Step 3: Select a Product that Embodies Your True Passion
As long as the entrepreneur selects a product or service that has some value in the marketplace, there is a potential for profit. Successful entrepreneurs, however, are able to select the product or service that allows them to showcase their talents in ways that can get them the highest financial value in the marketplace. That's when the potential for profit is greatest.
"Let’s say we find out that someone's purpose is to be a guru," Goodridge poses. "If she doesn't realize that she is a guru then she may make the mistake of starting a cake-making business and that wouldn't fully utilize her purpose. She'd probably make more money by teaching others to bake cakes."
To put it simply, entrepreneurs need to find products or services that would inspire others to pay them for doing what they love. According to Goodridge, an entrepreneur's decision to publish books, produce videos, cook, entertain, inspire, inform or participate in any other business activities needs to match up with that individual's purpose and passion.
Step 4: Just do it!
Even when you discover your true purpose and settle on a product that aligns with that purpose, starting a business is still risky business. "But, what in life isn't?" asks Lesonsky. "You've still got a lot of homework to do, a lot of research in front of you...Don't sit back year after year saying This is the year I'm going to start my business. Make this the year you really do it!"
Goodridge Offers Steps for Making a Profit
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