Conventional wisdom says that success in business depends on
finding a need in the marketplace and filling that need with
your own product or service. That makes a lot of sense.
It is incredibly important to sell what people need. However,
you will sail much farther in the sea of business if you begin
your venture by discovering first what YOUR needs are - what
is that YOU love and feel passionate about? - THEN find out what
market needs you can satisfy by supplying the product or service
aligned with your life's love and passion.
The key to success in business is to find a perfect match - not
only unfulfilled need. The good news is that it's really not that
difficult to find that match when you know what you really want.
But do you really know?
Many people assume that it is money they really want.
Trust me - it is NOT money or anything like it!
When you know what you love, you can also decide whom you WANT
to serve. Probably those who share your values - it really is
a lot of fun to do business with people you truly love. Much
more fun than serving people only because they pay you.
Of course, this kind of business is not easy to launch. BUT, on
the other hand it is OH-SO-EASY to succeed in it in the long run,
once you get it off the ground!
Every single passion can be translated into a money-making
business. H.J. Heinz translated his passion for gardening and
making pickles into a huge enterprise called Heinz Ketchup.
Henry Ford started the entire industrial revolution as
a result of his passion. And Bill Gates put us all in front
of computers...
Then there is The Gap, and Federal Express, and Domino's Pizza,
and Netscape and Yahooo... and WalMart, and Apple computer,
and every successful software company, and the GREAT e-zines
of the internet.. and the list could go on, but you get my
picture - EVERY successful business was started the same way.
By a person who wanted to express his or her passion. And that
is why those businesses succeeded when so many others failed.
Of course it takes a bit more more than a passion to succeed -
organization, innovation, good marketing and other ingredients,
but it all begins with passion. None of these great businesses
started with "let's see the need is and let's fill that need so
we can make a lot of money." No, no, no! Every business created
*mainly* to generate income, is heading for troubles - BIG time
troubles sooner or later!
If you feel passionate about chocolate - I suggest you consider
a chocolate business. You can produce chocolate, of course but
you might also sell chocolates made by others, or you can create
packages for chocolates, or write cookbooks with chocolate
recipes. You can create a directory of chocolate sites on the
web, or build a better machine to wrap chocolates... and so on.
If you employ good business tactics, you will be very good at
what you do and make a lot of money in the process. Your love
for good chocolate will be your drive and your magnificent
obsession that will cause you to never stop learning and
innovating. If you make right choices, you will choose to
work with people who also love chocolate (it is fun to be
around those who share our passion). As a result you will
become not only good at what you do, but also passionate
about whom you serve - your business will thrive!
Now, try to put as much energy into something you do NOT
love! For example, can you see yourself building that kind
of business around... something that other people feel
passionate about, but not you.
For example, health supplements...
Will you put that much work and that much enthusiasm into
health related business? Will you be willing to learn about
those health supplements as much as you are willing to learn
about chocolate? Will you spend as much time in the library
looking for some little known facts about vitamins with the
same interest as you would search for information about
chocolate? Will you collect healthy recipes with the same
determination (and try them out as diligently) as you would
collect chocolate recipes?
Most likely the answer is NO - if your passion is chocolate,
not the health and fitness. In the long run it is not possible
to fake that level of interest. Without a passion your big
success will not happen!
Most people try to go after something popular - hoping that
this will give them a better chance for success. It rarely
works!
There is a need for everything!!!!
For face creams and for hemorrhoids cures.
For web designers and for web hosts.
For drivers, and for carpet cleaners.
For publishers, and for shoemakers, for actors, for writers,
for singers, for doctors, for lawyers, and for builders....
There is a need for hand crocheted sweaters, hand painted tiles,
for home cooked meals, candies, software creators, web developers,
computer gurus, secretaries, CGI programmers, TV repairmen....
and of course for business coaches like me :-)
A man named Gary Dahl was so passionate about creativity that
he created pet rocks which stirred the imaginations of so many
people that the product was one of the biggest bestsellers in
the Seventies. You can make money by selling what YOU are
passionate about. It is a whole lot easier too, trust me!
* * *
Wanda Loskot is professional speaker and business coach for small
business owners and self-employed professionals who LOVE what they
do - but HATE selling. For a cornucopia of free business strategies,
marketing tips, teleclasses and other valuable resources visit
Wanda's Success Connection at http://loska.com
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