Think of something that you know and are good at doing.
Now how can you use the love and passion for this area of expertise and turn it into a business? Often times this is the advice given to those pursuing owning their own small business.
There are pitfalls in pursuing your passion and they may very well be the reason a business fails.
Our passion for our "widget" sometimes gets in the way of making good business decisions.
We get so entrenched in the idea that we are no longer flexible and become unwilling to change the course of action needed to succeed.
Have you ever had a close friend present their idea of a winning business and think it was the worst idea you had ever heard?Do you agree with them knowing that if they decide to pursue this idea it will be a costly mistake or play devil's advocate?It is a losing proposition to dampen their dream and because they are so engrossed that they just may interpret your input as jealousy.
All too often we can not see the forest for the trees when the business is near and dear to our hearts.
We turn our backs on good advice even when facing financial ruin.
How does one maintain the passion of their dream business and couple it of good business sense?The first and foremost way is with a good written business plan and realistic profit & loss statement.
These two vehicles can keep your feet on the ground instead of your face planted flat against the pavement! Secondly, be open to advice from people you respect.
More often than not those same people may not tell you what you want to hear, but remember, you asked! Recently, I had a friend approach me with the business idea of making voodoo dolls of race car drivers.
They blurted out all the reasons they felt it was a winner.
I listened a minute or so before stating that in order to dress these dolls in patent uniforms would require permissions from sponsors and NASCAR alike and could be very costly.
My next reaction I kept to myself.
I imagined sitting a my desk sticking these dolls with needles.
Who I asked myself would these fans be that are passionate enough to spend their time doing this?Are we talking all NASCAR fans?Not likely.
Now the market has narrowed.
So the next question I asked my friend was what percentage of fans did she feel would actually spend money to buy one of the dolls? You do not have to squash their dream to have them focus on the big picture.
Now the friendship is still intact and your friend is thinking through the statements and questions from your initial reaction.
On the other hand, doing something you love and know gives you drive to succeed.
Just watch out for those trees!