Steve Jobs, the late CEO of Apple, once said that to be a successful entrepreneur one must find what they love. “I’m convinced that the only thing that kept me going was that I loved what I did. You’ve got to find what you love. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking,” he said back in 2005.
With the right induction it is possible for individuals to become successful entrepreneurs by pursuing their passions. You can make profit by doing something that you passionately love. According to statistics, over 75 per cent of micro, small and medium enterprises fold up before their third birthday. This is caused by lack of access to capital, lack of markets, competition to lack of proper managerial skills. Though these factors make it impossible for many entrepreneurs to prosper, I believe the dye is usually cast the moment an individual decides to venture into business. Most people start businesses based on whims, pressure from friends and without assessing if the business is a passion or not. Starting a business is not a problem, making it sustainable is the challenge.
Passion is knowing yourself and being true to yourself. A personal audit is important to find where your passion lies. To walk the path of passion, ask yourself what it is that you really enjoy doing and what solutions you can provide. Introspection is important. Don’t just go with what people tell you or what you see. Some people argue that turning your passion into profit is not possible in Africa due to lack of equal opportunity. That is false. Opportunities are not given. Entrepreneurs seek opportunities, they create them if must be. If you are waiting to be given an opportunity you could be waiting for a long time.
Turning your passion into profit is a process that might take you a lifetime but to which you must be willing to commit. In most cases people jump into an activity they think will make them money, without doing any due diligence, then they quit too early.
Here are three steps to follow in order to turn your passion into profit:
1- Obtain clarity: What exactly is your passion? What are you really good at?
2- Align whatever you are good at with a need in the society. You might be good at something, but if people are not seeking you out for it, either you are not good enough or there’s no need for it.
3- Are people willing to pay for it? People pay for solutions. If it’s not a solution, nobody will be willing to pay for it.
Everyone has a solution they can provide if they only look deep enough. Like in the parable of the talents from the Bible, you can have multiple passions. Find the one that can provide a solution that people will be willing to pay for. Ultimately the solution you offer is the one that will bring in profits.
