Passion into Profit

What if focusing on your passions could create more prosperity than you have now?

Many people fear that changing careers or retooling their business will set them back financially. This fear often stops them before they even test the feasibility of their ideas. Changing careers or having your business change direction can cost you time and money in the short run, but that investment has potential to give you substantial returns. Investing now might just give you more prosperity and happiness over time. It is worth exploring before you write off the possibility.

Recently the Wall Street Journal reported that “The key to getting rich — or at least one key — is to love a job or product that’s actually in high demand in our current economy.” Most entrepreneurs who go after their dreams and ultimately succeed, understand that if you love what you do and have a talent for it, it is more likely that you will create wealth. In addition, I believe the best leaders help their people find and develop their passions at work and understand that, in turn, this will make their organizations more profitable.

A great example of this is Eileen Fisher, who founded and runs a socially responsible clothing company with her name as the brand. She launched her company after a divorce, with about $700 left in her checking account. She used most of it to enter a trade show to exhibit her designs. In 2008, her company did close to $300 million in sales. Part of her success is attributed to the ‘people first’ environment she provides that includes ongoing support for wellness, personal growth, and education for her staff. However, the main reason her company thrives is that Eileen is passionate about designing versatile and comfortable clothing. She continues to grow her company through being true to herself.

Do you know your passions?

Passions are preferences that inspire you in life and at work. Here are four types of passions or work strengths:

* Interests are those ideas or topics that stimulate you. As you identify those topics, consider things that you already know, as well as those you would like to learn more about. Long-term career satisfaction depends on how well and to what extent an interest can hold your attention. Interests include things like technology, parenting and art.
* Talents are skills that give you energy when you engage in them. Talents are skills but not all skills are talents. One way to tell the difference is to consider this: if you had a choice, you would not delegate a talent to someone else. Talents include things like using your hands to fix things, writing, speaking, and leading.
* Style defines how you are at work when you are being your most natural. Your personal style includes those attributes that you bring to an organization or industry, beyond your talents or skills. Style includes things like a sense of humor, empathy and vision.
* Environment defines what you need at your workplace. Knowing this will help you find the right cultural fit. Even if all the other factors are in place, the wrong environment can make great work miserable. Think about the optimal characteristics that would make up your dream work culture, whether you plan to create it yourself, or find it at an organization. Environmental attributes can include a style of interior design, access to nature, and levels of competitiveness.

Once you inventory your passions you will be better prepared to turn them into profit. So here is my challenge to you: play with the possibility that you can even become wealthier if you put your passions to work by doing the following:

1. Create a list of big ideas related to what you are passionate about that if executed successfully could bring more prosperity into your life or business. For example think of ways you could expand your network or client base by doing something you love or even an idea you have for a new business. For example, one of my corporate clients loves golf, so he decided to create a annual event to promote his organization’s services.
2. Estimate the time and cost of completing one or more of these ideas in the next three years. Don’t be conservative; estimate on the high side. If it helps, the average start-up entrepreneurial business in the USA spends about $80,000 to launch.
3. Conservatively estimate the amount of additional income this idea could bring you or your business in the next three years.
4. Before you give up on this idea, crunch the numbers. Subtract your total for number 2 from number 3. Think about whether you want to put more time into this endeavor based on your circumstances. From this preliminary inquiry you may decide to test another idea, do more research, or create a more comprehensive business plan.