Think-it - Turn Your Passion into Business

Many of us, if not all, think that they are misfit in their current profession. They think about quitting but for some reasons can’t. One such reason is that they don’t know what they really want to do in this life. They want to do many things but are not sure what is perfect for them. Neoline Kirbo was one such and she delved into this question. She is now running an NGO in Uganda to help school, college dropouts with misfit dilemmas. 

She says when you feel that there is a misalignment between the things you do on a daily basis and things you deeply care about then you are a misfit and should quit and pursue your passion. But you need to answer two questions: first, what do I care about, second is how to turn that passion into a business.

According to Miss Neoline Kirbo, to answer the first question, ask yourself “If you had all the time and money in the world, what would you spend your time doing?”. Second question to answer is “what makes you happy or gives you the deepest sense of fulfilment?”. Answering these questions straightforwardly is not easy as many don’t know what makes them happy because they are too busy in their daily routine work. Kathy Caprino has elaborated these questions into 11 easy questions to answer and act upon. 

Once you have identified your passion, it needs further refinement as how to turn your passion into a profitable business. It needs the right set of skills and positioning. There must be some market niche to pay for your passion to turn into a profitable business - that is positioning and with it essential skills are needed to accomplish business objectives e.g. management, production, staffing etc. 

There are many platforms offering free to paid courses of a variety of nature e.g Edex, Coursera, Udeme etc. Carefully browse through and choose what skills you need for turning your passion into business. Passion alone cannot guarantee success. It has to be coupled with skills and some market niche. There should be people ready to pay for your products. In this context, it means reaching out to your targeted customers. Social media marketing is here to help you e.g. facebook page, instagram, blogging etc.

Many youngsters are passionate about travelling to exotic locations. If you are one of them and like to turn your passion into business. It is quite easy. There are plenty of guides on the net and youtube is full of videos of travellers. You can build a youtube channel and share your experience with eye-catching videos & stills and monetize it. 

Another interesting area is product review websites. Let your passion for window shopping turn into a business by providing product reviews. Many people on the web do that. Start by visiting different shops and with their permission do their online marketing by providing reviews of their products at site. There are many such youtube channels and websites devoted to this type of activity. You can also dive in and start your own website or youtube channel. The possibilities are endless. Henry Ford was the founder of Ford Motor Company. He was largely responsible for the development of the assembly line technique of mass production, and as a result Ford Motor Company was the first to bring a revolutionary yet affordable car to the masses. He was passionate about machinery and automation. This led him to invent the assembly line. The lesson is to commit to something you’re passionate about. Another entrepreneurial genius is Elon Musk. He has founded several successful companies, including SpaceX and Tesla. One of the lesson from his life’s struggle that resonates with our topic is:

“Be passionate and committed to your vision: Elon Musk is known for his passion and commitment to his vision of advancing space travel and electric vehicles. He has consistently worked towards these goals with determination and dedication and has inspired others to pursue their own passions and dreams.”

So what is your passion?