When you wake up in the morning, do you dread getting to work?
Do you count days till the weekend and when it arrives you painfully watch it slip away as Monday approaches? And the cycle goes on and on.
How about doing something you love for a change? Imagine the results of pouring the same hours in a passion project? You will wake up vibrant each day, ready for work. You’ll even be up before dawn just to get started and overtime you’ll notice yourself being more happy and content with life.
But this doesn’t happen overnight. We can’t just hand in our resignation letter at our boring jobs in the hopes of starting a passion project without a solid plan.
So today we’re going to make one. I’m going to show you exactly how to make money from your passion and once you’re set, you can start on it.
There truly is a market for everything
Before we get into the how, I think we should start with an important why. Why start in the first place?
Because it’s possible. There truly is a market for everything. Whether you love writing, painting or cooking. Once you learn how to package your passion well, it will sell to the right audience. So don’t let dream killers tell you to wake up and that it’s impossible.
Anything and everything is possible under the sun.
Questions to Ask Yourself Before Starting.
- What problem am I solving?
- What value am I adding?
- How can I help people?
- Why should customers buy my product/ service?
These are the four power questions each aspiring entrepreneur should ask themselves before diving into a business.
Instead of reading these questions and doing nothing, take a pen and paper and write them down. Give at least two answers to each question. When you finish this small task, move on to the next step below.
Package your Passion into a Business
In these three steps, I’ll guide you on how to transform your passion from just a hobby to a source of income.
1. Sell an emotion through your passion.
This is where we take out our metaphorical crayons. It’s time to color your passion by not just selling a product but an emotion.
Let’s have three scenarios.
Scenario 1:
Sally is a very active woman. She never skips a run unless she’s sick or it’s raining outside. She also loves dogs so she decides to be a dog runner on the weekends.
Factual promise: Dog-walker
Emotional promise: Keeping fit? Your dog should too. I’ll walk your dog and ensure you get many more years with them.
Scenario 2:
Jake’s love for computers began when he was just eight. He wrote his first code with his dad and hasn’t stopped since. Currently, he is a website designer.
Factual promise: Web designer
Emotional promise: I’ll help you communicate your core mission through your website.
Scenario 3:
Molly has always had a good eye for things. She just knows what goes where and what doesn’t. What colors blend well together and which don’t. She turns this into a passion project by becoming an interior designer.
Factual promise: Interior design
Emotional promise: Let me transform your home into your sanctuary.
2. Identify your target market.
Who is your target market? What age bracket do they fall in, what occupations do they have and which lifestyles do they lead?
This information may seem excessive but it’s needed so that you can market appropriately.
From the scenarios:
Sally’s target audience is busy dog owners who don’t have time to run their dogs.
Molly’s target audience is new homeowners who want to make the new place feel like home.
Jake’s target audience is startup businesses that need to get the word out about who they are.
Finally, build interest and create a lot of buzz. Advertise it on your social media platforms and set a launch date for the business. Let their curiosity channel into income for you as they show up on the d-day.
3. Find a way to get paid.
Now that you’ve packaged yourself well and identified the right audience. The last step is to find a way to get paid.
How will you receive your payments? The following are some great options to get you started.
- Cash on delivery.
- Cheque to a business bank account
- Credit and debit card payments.
- Online methods such as a PayPal account.
Pick the best two options for you and you’ll be good to go.
Tips and pointers.
Don’t be afraid of reinventing yourself.
Ask yourself, is this working? Are customers buying? If yes,
that’s good. If not, try a different strategy and repackage your emotional promise.Don’t be afraid of changing things up from time to time. Be creative and find ways to keep your authenticity while having a fresh face each day.
Don’t follow the rules
We’ve all seen people who’ve undertaken passion projects and been very successful with them. As much as you may want to copy-paste their strategy, don’t.
What worked for them, may not be what will work for you. Instead, learn from them and tailor your path.Be unique. If you try and fit in and do it like everyone else, you’ll; soon be replaced.
Be patient
Dwayne Johnson once said, “Success isn’t always about greatness. It’s about consistency. Consistent hard work leads to success. Greatness follows afterward.”
When you put your heart into something, it will automatically show. So be patient and put in the work. Just because it’s a passion project doesn’t mean it will be easy. You’ll have to work hard for it too. Effort is a choice and the effort that is put in each day for an hour will breed more results than that put in for 14 hours in a single day.
that’s good. If not, try a different strategy and repackage your emotional promise.Final thoughts.
Doing what you love makes you feel free. It gives you freedom and happiness beyond your imagination. Most things in life are hard, just make sure you enjoy doing your hard. Cheers!
