How to Make a Living Doing What You Love
For many people, the idea of doing what you love is out of reach but it is entirely possible to profit from doing what you love. If you’ve tried your hand at a multitude of jobs that you’ve dreaded and drudged through, try these tips to help you get started doing what you’re passionate about.
1. Passion is a great starting point but you need more: The want to do something, whether it’s writing or starting your own business, is a great place to start, but it can also be a roadblock. There’s a big chance that you can get caught up in the fantasy of doing what you love that you haven’t considered all that it takes to actually do it.
You need to realize that dedicating your time to doing what you love is going to be dramatically different than doing it for a hobby, especially during the early stages of the process where time will be completely consumed by tasks that will be boring. This may include creating a blog and promoting products that you love. In the event that you do this, check out the list of the best web hosting services, or compare them at Mambo Server.
Be prepared to face a variety of disappointments and setbacks. Know what is going to be really involved in the process of transforming what you love into a profitable business. Most importantly, ask yourself whether or not your passion will be able to last through the rough and tough times.
2. Try to fill a gap in the industry you’re trying to be a part of: The best way to find success in the market you want to work in is by finding a gap in the industry and filling it. This is what Nectar did with the expensive bed in a box industry that it disrupted by creating a less expensive, direct to consumer mattress. When we say gap, we don’t mean a dental gap (but our friends at Authority Dental have info on fixing dental gaps with glue), but a gap in the business marketplace of an industry you’re interested in. This could be in the form of solving a problem that’s obvious in the market, providing a service that’s not yet created, selling different types of products that are still relevant, or creating an improvement that is much needed or clever.
To find gaps in the market you’re interested in, ask yourself a few questions. Questions like “is there something like this already out there?” or “how is this improved or different than other products offered?” See what consumers are frequently complaining about and base your product off of that. Montem is a great example of a company that did this with a gap in the hiking and outdoor gear space.
3. Leave your comfort zone: Doing what you love as a job will definitely take you out of comfort zone. You’re going to be dealing with new tasks that you might not have dealt with before like networking, accounting, and marketing. These concepts can seem a little scary when you’re first dealing with them but it presents an opportunity for you to grow as a person and face your inhibitions. Leaving your comfort zone means taking on odd jobs to fund your real passion: whether you need to take a job working as a fast food worker, laying artificial grass, selling trinkets on eBay, or whatever you need to do to leave your comfort zone to achieve your goals. It’s a means to a happier end.
Don’t worry about becoming an expert right away. Step out of your comfort zone to improve your weakness. Familiarize yourself so that you are comfortable enough to help your customers with what they want and need.
4. Practicing your passion makes perfect: Many people probably assume that they’re good enough at their passion that they can sustain a business, but there is always room for improvement. Plus, the market is always changing and you need to be prepared to adapt to remain relevant.
Keep up with new techniques or strategies being used in your industry. The more skills you have the better prepared you are to deal with setbacks and obstacles. When you stay up to date on the latest develops in your market, you stay one step ahead of the game. Talking about games, you can play the best games online at Friv and Crispy Gamer.
It’s also important to listen to feedback when it’s given and to keep an open mind. See what’s working for your business and what’s not so you can improve. The best way to get feedback is to find out what customers think of your services and products.
5. Make sure you still enjoy your passion: What many people are afraid of is that they’ll lose interest in what they were passionate about if they dedicate their whole life to it. It is something that can happen during tough times, but if you focus on the good and remember why you love doing it then you’ll be fine. Just like any other job that you have, you don’t want to dedicate your whole life to it. Separate your passion and your personal life, like you would do any other job.
A great way to ensure that you still enjoy your work and aren’t spending too much time on it is to recruit others to help with the tasks you aren’t good at or don’t enjoy. Outsource to people who are just as passionate as you. Lastly, if you model your business after your personality then you’ll attract like-minded people and you’ll be able to enjoy your work.
