“Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life.” Confucius
I know many people who practically drag themselves to work. On second thought, let me rephrase that: I hardly know anyone who doesn’t
drag him/herself to work. Most of us appear to be forcing ourselves to
do what we do for the sake of collecting a paycheck and living off that.
Those who have other mouths to feed have at least one more reason to
keep doing so.
It
must be hard for people to get into something they really want to do,
be it a job or their own business. An alternate thought on the matter is
that it’s not that difficult to find something you like to do, but
making ends meet while doing it is not something that is guaranteed. In
this case, money appears to be a hindrance rather than an enabler for
one’s ambitions.
Have
you given it a chance, though? Might you have a hobbies or activities
that you truly enjoy doing? If you do, then do read on. Put your idea to
the test by running it through a few guideline questions I have
gathered for this purpose:
Does it Produce Something Desirable?
It’s
fine and dandy if your hobby makes you happy and satisfied, but if your
hobby can also give the same positive sentiments to other people, then
you may have an opportunity here. Most artistic hobbies (painting, web
design, sculpting, cooking, etc.) can definitely be made into an
enterprise, for example. Various craft and technical skills are also
open to monetization.
For
example, Melissa is a very talented baker. She can make really yummy
and creatively designed cakes from scratch. Obviously, other people can
appreciate how tasty and attractive her pastry concoctions are. This
makes it likely that she can get into the business of making speciality
cakes for other people.
Can the Knowledge or Skill be Taught?
This
question determines the kind of scale your potential business can grow
into. If you think you or only a small handful of individuals have the
capability of doing this, then it might remain a small-scale
undertaking; that’ not necessarily a bad thing. If what you like to do
can be taught, then your idea can scale up faster as more people can
work on the product/service and yield more.
Going
back to Melissa, her knack for making unique cakes is something she
thinks isn’t teachable. If she maintains her belief and doesn’t make the
effort to transmit her skills, her capacity to fulfill orders will be
limited by the fact that she is the only one working on them. If she
changes her mind and manages to train someone to do as she does (or she
hires someone with the same talent), then more orders can be fulfilled,
and she will be able to serve a larger base of customers.
Will it Blend?
No,
I’m not suggesting you toss your idea into a blender. It’s a question
regarding the distinctiveness of your potential product or service. If
you’re just going to blend into the industry that you’ll be entering, failing to provide anything new (read: better)
and unique, then I suggest you hold back on starting your business
until you come up with a better version of your product or service.
Do Your Homework
If
your hobby or idea makes it through these simple qualifying questions,
then you might just have something that has the potential to be
lucrative. Before you jump in, do study what the requirements are for
creating your business, whether you decide it to operate it as a sole
proprietor, a limited liability company, or go through the process of business incorporation. Do not hesitate to consult the experts on this one.
March forward, brave and pioneering entrepreneurs of the world!
About the Author
Stacey
Thompson is a professional writer, marketer, entrepreneur, and a lover
of weird little animals. She is based in San Diego, California, and is
combining the lessons of experience and expert instruction in order to
grow and develop her own business. Stacey and her friends have a blog, Word Baristas.
