Debating on a small business? – don’t turn your passion into work

You hear so many people say it. Take what you’re passionate about and turn it into a business.

Don’t listen to them.

If you’ve already done it, it probably won’t take you long to realize how quickly that passion disappears.

I’m not saying don’t be passionate about your work, or don’t start up a job around something you’re good at and enjoy doing. There are great benefits to loving your work, especially if it involves a 40 hour per week commitment.

What I am saying is that if you decide to start a small business to supplement your income, don’t turn your passion into that business.

For example:

You love kayaking, and are good at it. You do it almost year round to relax and escape. It’s something you can count on being there to make you feel good and relieve any stress you may have. Naturally, when you’re debating on what type of small business to start, the first thing that pops into your head is something involving kayaking. Not only that, but when you ask the local small business center, they even recommend it as a good idea.

Avoid this temptation. There are a couple reasons I say this. Firstly, you are narrow minded when it comes to running your passion-business. It doesn’t matter what the market research shows, or what people tell you; because it’s your passion, you will always think there’s a need for the product or service you’re offering, even when it might not be worth your time. If there’s only enough customer base to break even, or worse lose some money – back the hell up. Remember that the goal of this small business was to supplement your income, not to show people that you’re a good kayaker. Lets be honest, they don’t care.

Secondly, – and I think more importantly – you’ll lose your passion. You’ve now associated the one thing that gives you total relaxation and allows you to escape all your stress, with work. Oops, that sucks. I guarantee you it won’t take long before you become unmotivated with the business, and even start to become frustrated with kayaking in general. Even if you do manage to continue to enjoy kayaking, every time you hit the sea in your kayak, you’ll be thinking about all the things that “need” to be done. It will no longer be an escape. Now you’re stuck without a passion – that is, something you love doing outside of work.

It’s important not to lose focus on the reason you are starting the small business – to supplement (and perhaps replace?) your income. Do something that makes money. Don’t destroy your passion.

More to come on how to pick a good small business idea in a future post.