It seems slightly ridiculous to think that a gas station owner would be passionate about gas. Or that someone who owns a waste removal company would be passionate about waste. “Find something you love to do…” they said. I always thought those people were liars.
Then I started my own business, and I realized how wrong I was about that assumption. I was being too literal in how I processed that advice.
A successful entrepreneur who owns a waste removal company may not be passionate about waste, but they’re certainly passionate about entrepreneurship, hard work, money or something related to that business.
After all the tough days and long nights that I’ve spent working on my own business, I’ve realized that you ABSOLUTELY have to be passionate about some aspect of what you do in order to succeed. Here’s why.
Your passion will help you stay in the game.
Entrepreneurship is hard. Although I encourage you to do it, I’ll be the first to tell you that it’s not a cake walk. It can be an emotional endeavor that has you excited one minute, disappointed the next, stressed out the next, and ready to fight somebody the next. (Just kidding about fighting.) Giving up will cross your mind almost weekly at first. Having passion for what you do will help you keep going.
Your passion makes working long days and having no time off easier.
As a business owner, many times you end up working much longer hours than you would if you were working for someone else. And if you do work a full time job for someone else and then go home and work on your business when you get off work, you can easily do what’s equivalent to working two full-time jobs. The only way it’s possible to do that much work is if you like what you do. Your passion will get you through working those days that never seem to end.
Your passion makes sacrificing time with family and friends bearable.
One of the sacrifices you make as an entrepreneur, who has to get the job done no matter what, is sacrificing spending time with family and friends. I’ve had to tell my friends “no” so much that they’ve wondered if I was okay in the past. When you have a strong passion for what you do, it’s not as tempting to put your business on the back burner so you can kick it with your friends.
Your passion makes your hard work feel like it’s not actually work.
When most people think of work, they think of all the negative emotions they have related to it. The best part about being passionate about your business is that those long hours your put in for it, don’t actually feel like work. You get to do something you love AND get paid for it. That’s a deal you can’t beat!
Your passion is visible to your audience.
One of my personal favorite things about being passionate about your business is that it’s really easy for your audience to pick up on. They can tell when you don’t give a damn about your business or about them versus when you do. People are much more likely to give you their money if they can feel your passion and they sense that your really care about solving the problem your business solves for them. This is an important part of the Know, Like, Trust factor. And let’s just face it, you provide a better customer experience and better customer service when you’re passionate about your business.