Finding the Passion
By Tash
Hughes of
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For whatever
reason, you think that starting your own business is a
good idea for you at this time. And the truth is that
small business is a growing industry in itself.
Of course, you
need a product or service to market in order to make
money. And hopefully it’s one you like and are proud of,
as you need to be passionate about your business for it
to succeed and last the distance.
But what if
you’re not sure about what sort of business to start, or
can’t determine what sort of things you can be
passionate about?
Why be
passionate?
By being
passionate about your business and what it offers, you
will be enthusiastic and encourage customers to deal
with you. Your genuine feel for the products and
services will come through in your voice and actions,
and customers will appreciate that – and develop a trust
in you.
Running a
business can be hard, tiring work as well as satisfying
and rewarding. What will keep you going during the long
hours in quiet periods? Or when things seem to be
against you?
The answer is
that a passion for your business and
products/services will give you the determination and
energy to cope with the down times.
Without passion,
running your business will become a chore and probably
no better than the job you left in the first place.
Passion about your business makes the unpleasant tasks
bearable and keeps you coming back to the main tasks
with a smile in your heart.
What am I
passionate about?
It’s very easy
to say “I’ll start a business and I need to be
passionate about it,” but it’s not always so easy to
know what it is you’re passionate about.
To help
determine your passions and potential business options,
consider some of the following points:
What do friends
and family ask you to do for them? Maybe you are the one
they turn to for mending clothes or toys, fixing their
car, doing their make up for special occasions,
selecting a gift or book, advice on cooking problems or
decorating for a party.
What were your
favourite activities as a child and teenager?
As a child, what
did you want to be when you grew up? Guess what, you’re
grown up now and need to take action of you are to
achieve such dreams. Of course, a dream to be a
mermaid or a dragon may not be achievable still! But
maybe you could make mermaids or paint dragons?
Ask what your
neighbours and friends what they are passionate about to
spark your ideas.
Look for common
problems around you and think of a solution for one. For
instance, people had a problem with retyping pages of
work so liquid paper was invented and helped many
people. If you are having trouble finding problems, ask
around; people aren’t shy about their complaints and big
problems!
Consider what
you spend much of your time doing and how it can be
turned into a niche market for you. If you go shopping
regularly, maybe you could be a shopping tour guide,
personal shopper or write a guide on good shops in your
area. If you are keen on train sets, maybe you could
make some, sell some or advice people on appropriate
models and sets as gifts for others, or even set up a
train museum to share your collection.
When you
volunteer to help at your club or the local school, etc,
what jobs do you offer to do? Which of their tasks do
you prefer? List all the places you have volunteered and
helped at – is there a common theme to them?
What
about qualifications?
Often people
are passionate about an idea, but consider them selves
unqualified to run a business based on that idea.
Obviously,
there are businesses that require qualifications – don’t
set up a medical practise or accountancy firm without
appropriate training and accreditation, for instance.
However, there are many more areas where qualifications
aren’t necessary.
Passion
and belief can be more effective than experience in many
cases – would you buy a
gadget from the enthusiastic person who shows the
benefits, or the jaded marketing whiz who sees it as a
means to an end?
Once you have
an idea and passion, maybe you can follow up on gaining
some qualifications. There are many short courses and
community centres on offer that may give insights into
your idea, or on the business skills behind a business.
If
qualifications are mandatory and unachievable for you in
the short to medium term, look at your idea from
different perspectives. Can you find a related idea
that also inspires passion in you? Your lack of a
science degree may prevent you from working in a lab,
but your analytical skills could carry out online
research about science topics or maybe you could devise
some organisational and managerial systems for labs to
use. Instead of being a trained teacher, perhaps you
could become a teacher’s aide with less training or a
tutor in your knowledge area.
If you find the
passion, all the hurdles will become challenges to
overcome; without passion, they become problems too hard
to manage.
Never assume you
have no relevant experience and knowledge. Many skills
are translatable between jobs and fields, so previous
life experiences will help with the new venture even if
they seem to be worlds apart.
Tash Hughes is
the owner of
Word Constructions and is available to solve all
your business writing problems! From letters to
policies, newsletters to web content, Word Constructions
writes all business documents to your style and
satisfaction
.
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