Do What You Love And The Money Will Follow
We are making a pretty bold statement and one that could be a little misleading. However it rather depends on how you look at the words we have used. Simply starting a business doing what you love, doesn’t mean you have stumbled on a magical formula to make money. However it does mean you will be more passionate and empathic about what you are doing, which will give you a better relationship with your clients.
Obviously it all depends on what you love. If you love sitting alone in your home, with your feet up and a bottle of wine you may find it hard to find a career that fits around that. Of course there are ways of including your passion into your career. For example, you could start your own wine company, base your office at home and use a blog extension on your website to create Vlogs and blog reviews about the products you sell. However, competition is stiff. You are going to need to have a real expertise in wine and find a unique way of making your business stand out from the crowd, perhaps looking for the very finest certified organic wines, or specialising in new world wines such as the rise of this grapey delight coming out of Japan and China. There are some great companies such as Woolfsung in the UK who have created a business around what they adore but given it a twist. Woolfsung isn’t just about fine wines drinking, it is about investment. They also put a huge amount of time and energy into a brand which became almost a lifestyle. Sadly, you won’t be able to sit on your sofa much. You are going to need to travel around and get to the heart of vineyards. However, if you really have a passion then this will flow into your clients and that will help inspire people to use you over others.
Another way you could enjoy sitting on the sofa whilst turning it into a career is to become a tester for the gaming sector. It is a huge industry and some retro games have a real cult following. Unfortunately there is a lot of competition for work, so again you might be able to do what you love, but will the money really follow.
A business isn’t all about you, this is what you have to remember. It is about your clients more than anything else, giving them value and inspiring them to pay for your products or services. Having the passion behind that will ensure you deliver your marketing or sales pitch with enthusiasm and infection. However you need to understand the client needs to ensure you are offering them something they truly want. You also need to remember that fracking or investments are going to offer a far more attractive return than kittens or pom poms. Whilst you may be able to top up your income by making a pom pom rug, is it ever going to help you stand alone as an entrepreneur?
If you have a passion for numbers then you are going to be more likely to find a business which you love and is going to make you money, however you do need to consider what you actually need to make in your life. How much you need to earn to be happy. For some that figure could stretch into the hundreds thousands per annum, others may be happier turning over a few hundred dollars per month.
Start by working out where you want to be in the future. Do you want to own a house, would you like to be able to take plenty of holidays, or are you looking forward to a quiet life in a humble home? Creating a long term plan then working out the small steps to get you nearer to that goal is the best way to start any project. It is also important to take your partner, or family, needs into account. Perhaps your husband or wife is the main breadwinner and you just need to sink your teeth into something which will support that. Or maybe you need to take the reins when it comes to the finances. If that is the case, you need to focus on something which will set you up on a good path so it might be worth considering careers which work with your passions.
PR is a great career for anyone who loves to socialise, party and get creative. You will be in charge of delivering the voice of a brand to the public and consumer. Heading up and delivering exciting projects which will extend the reach of your company. PR’s are known to be the centre of most events, working with journalists and a whole host of brilliant companies. You can indulge your love of a good networking event and will even find you are getting paid to host some awesome parties. It will also give you the chance to create strong connections so if you decided to go it alone you may already have a host of support from other PR’s or from businesses you have met along your way.
Working as a teacher is a brilliant career for those who are passionate about children or inspiring people. You probably aren’t going to make millions as teachers are still pretty underpaid given the nature of their work, however you will ensure you have a career for life and build up a good solid pension for when you retire.
Here’s some good news for you. Research has proved that the more you earn the happier you are, even though they say money can’t buy you happiness it can certainly lift the pressure off and help you fund a fun fuelled lifestyle. However this research also proved that the happiness scale tends to end once you hit the $100,000 a year mark. Anything over that is pretty hit and miss when it comes to how fulfilled you are. We think the reason behind this is that once you start hitting over that figure the pressure increases tenfold. You will have less time to enjoy your home life, spend long periods of time away from your family and might even triple the time you spend commuting. Even private jets get tiring if you are heading off to another board meeting.
So, how else can you make money whilst staying outside of a traditional office?
If you love animals and are at your happiest when surrounded by kittens or puppies, you could consider starting your own company at home. Think about investing in some dog grooming courses and you could soon be spending all your hours making the local canines look a little more on point. How about creating your own canine yoga class which mixes up yoga classes for humans using their furry friends as extra resistance to improve posture and muscle tone.
If being outdoors is more your thing, you could think about setting up your own adventure trips. You can take this somewhere a little more daring such as a 3 week trip of the Silk Route or even hiking across the alps. There are plenty of historic events throughout history which will excite or interest people, to make a little extra money you could consider offering a 6 week training program before the event. Or you could take up a job at your local gym working with young people and helping those who struggle with weight, getting themselves to a healthier shape.
Perhaps you have a natural style and are great with people. Setting up your own fashion modelling agency could help make some dreams come true. If you have an eye for a unique look and can see inner beauty shining through then use this to build a business. You will need to invest a lot of time and effort and the chances of finding the next Kate Moss are pretty weighed against you, however there are lots of opportunities for young models or curvy models. You’d be surprised how much call there is for foot models. You would be taking a percentage of each of your clients earnings. So ensure you are fair and pragmatic when it comes to business.
So, to conclude, you can definitely make money from doing what you love, but you shouldn’t take this for granted. Be sensible about it and research all the pros and cons. Be sure there is a market and ensure you understand the pressures of running your own business. Just because the odds are against you doesn’t mean it isn’t possible. You just need to genuinely have a passion for something that makes a lot of money and you have to be better than the hoards of people that money attracts. You are also going to need some luck. Although that does rather seamlessly bring us to another fantastic business phrase, you make your own luck.
Successful people are bold, brave and daring. They don’t knock on doors and wait for someone to answer, they burst through them and announce “Hello, I am here”