Are you passionate about what you do?
The Importance of Passion in Business - knowing your WHY
So, you have a great idea that you think you can turn into a successful business?
Whilst it’s fantastic that you want to become your own boss and create your own business, and I whole-heartedly applaud your decision, I would ask you to ask yourself these questions first:
IS THIS REALLY WHAT I WANT TO DO?
IS THIS WHAT MAKES MY SOUL SING?
These are crucial questions to ask yourself
• before you do anything else.
• before you write your business plan.
• before you go to the bank and land yourself with ridiculous debt that you may not need or be able to afford to pay back.
• even before you pay for branding, logos or websites – paying out money you will never get back if your idea doesn’t work!
BECAUSE:
• It can be expensive to get set up.
• It can be difficult to get noticed and attract customers, especially if you are working to a very tight budget, as most Start Ups are, and you will still have bills to pay, even if you don’t have any customers.
• There are going to be many challenges along your journey while you build a successful business, and you need to know that you can overcome those challenges and keep your focus. If you are passionate about your business, these will be easier to overcome.
• The act of going into business for yourself is not to be undertaken lightly. I have seen many new businesses fail because not enough thought was put into these crucial questions. Sometimes, they have not even been considered at all!
Ultimately, you have to be certain that it is the right course of action for you.
HOW TO WORK OUT IF THIS IS THE RIGHT DECISION FOR YOU
It is imperative that, when you ask yourself the questions above and take yourself through the following process, you are totally honest with yourself because the answers you give will show you exactly which direction to take. This is one time when talking to yourself is not a sign of madness – (it never is, but that is the subject of another discussion!)
Write the questions on paper, ask yourself out loud and write your answers as they come to you – don’t overthink it.
Then your next question is: WHY?
This question needs to be asked several times, until you get the ultimate answer.
This can be a challenging process but keep writing your answers and asking the next WHY. You will know when you get there because you will feel it or you will cry but you will know because this end result is YOUR PASSION.
The reason why you need to go through this process is to ensure that your original idea is the right one for you.
Being in business for yourself is challenging, a huge responsibility and completely different to being employed. You have to be totally vested in your direction or it won’t work.
It isn’t enough to be very talented in your chosen field – if you are NOT passionate about what you are going to do in your business, you might as well be an employee!
When you are employed, you are only responsible for a specific aspect of the running of the company you work for. Passion for your work isn’t really expected and a big part of why people start their own business because they feel dis-satisfied and what they do doesn’t feed their soul!
When you own your own business, you are responsible for every aspect of making your company successful. Every decision is made by you and your success stands, or falls, on those decisions. If you aren’t passionate about what you are doing, if it doesn’t feed your soul and make it sing, you won’t enjoy your work, then you won’t deliver a great product or service your customer service will not be the very best is can be and your business will ultimately fail!
It can cost a lot of money to get started which frequently has to be borrowed and you need to know that the debt you have to take on is manageable, necessary and worth it. No-one goes into business for themselves with the thought of going bankrupt but that can be the ultimate situation IF the original decision is made for the wrong reasons.
However, it isn’t just about the money though, it is also about the strain of running your own business. The strain of building your own business can have a seriously detrimental effect on your mindset and that can kill your business – if you aren’t in great health either physically or mentally and can’t operate your business, how do you feed and take care of you and your family?
Starting your own business is your chance to do things your way – it’s part of the reasons WHY you do it! You have to give a great deal of yourself in order to make things work, so it makes great sense to ensure that your business idea is the right one!
If you are still not sure if this idea feeds your soul, is your passion, think about this question:
If you won a life changing sum of money, that ensures you didn’t ever have to work again, after you had done the usual big spends, whatever they are for you – what do you want your life to be about, how can you make your life meaningful? – THAT IS YOUR PASSION!
NOW, you can create your business and get paid well for doing it and helping others. My Road Map to Success Business Course will teach you all you need to get started building the foundations of a successful business and beyond!
Happy to have a chat to help you work through this if needed.
Pam Edwards. Email: pam@phoenixrisingservices.uk