Who has never dreamed of making their job a passion and their passion a job?
Are you passionate about sports, sewing or DIY and want to make it your full-time job? You are in luck, this article is made for you!
In e-commerce, passion is often placed as a leitmotiv to create a business: sportswear brand, creation of children's games, couture brand... everything starts from passion. But then, how do we go about it?
Through these few lines, we will explain to you how it is possible to transform your passion into a real business, and in particular through e-commerce , while respecting a few fundamental rules.
To begin, let’s define passion!
The passion is intense, strong. It animates us, to such an extent that many of those who are not passionate dream of being.
But beware, if passion is associated with pleasure, work and business creation must be taken seriously. A good business is not only based on pleasure. So let's see how to combine work and passion .
There are 2 types of passion: harmonious passion and obsessive passion .
- For the first, it can easily be associated with its profession since it will logically be not very invasive. You will know how to make sense of things and find a balance between personal and professional life.
- For the second, however, things get more complicated. Obsessive passion can become very intrusive and even unbearable because too demanding in terms of time and energy. At this point, an obsessive passion coupled with work can be catastrophic.
Before getting started, it is therefore important to identify what type of passion it is, but also to ask yourself a key question: do you really master your passion to the point of being able to make it your career?
Indeed, it is not because you are passionate that you master the subject. It is important to focus on a profitable business. Passion or not, never embark on a business that will not allow you to support yourself.
Once these two questions are settled you can start, but before starting here are some steps to follow!
Define your project.
Even if it's your passion, you have to adopt the attitude of a true professional. So start by making a business plan in order to project yourself and check if your project is reliable and feasible.
Study your market, its strengths and its opportunities. Check the feasibility of your project.
Define your targets, your objectives…
Take yourself as a guinea pig! You are your target, so ask yourself the right questions. How much time do you devote to your passion each week? How do you access it? Who around you might be interested in your project? How many people in France share the same passion as you?
Test your idea
Every project must be preceded by a test period! Whether with your family, professionals, partners or with the general public (via questionnaires for example) or test an approach in growth hacking mode.
You must always check the understanding and acceptance of the project by your professional or personal entourage. It's a great way to know if the project has a future or not.
Think about your business image
Be professional! Create your identity, your logo, your graphic charter, think of a baseline or prepare a book, in short… anything that can attract the professional sphere around you to take an interest in your project.
The bottom line: Your materials should create a consistent and professional image of your business.
Check your financial investment capacity
Build a provisional balance sheet, projections and why not, meet an accountant! It will help you to check the expansion capacity of your project and above all to find the means to finance it.
There are many organizations ready to support entrepreneurs financially. Check with your local branches. And of course, do not hesitate to request loans from your bank. If you have a start-up capital, this can help him to trust you.
Be careful to carefully study your market before applying for financing. If the market is saturated, financial organizations will not follow you!
Finally, to help you get started definitively, here are some tips:
Passion is important, yes! But it is not enough.
In addition to his job, an entrepreneur must develop the skills of a real business leader if he wants to be able to hope to make his creation a success: cultivate his state of mind, know how to surround himself, take time for himself... so much quality not to be overlooked!
Extend your network
Never underestimate the strength of the network, it is for many one of the first levers of business . Whatever you “sow” today, you will reap tomorrow!
To do this, discuss with entrepreneurs, whether they are in your field or not, register for working groups, meet partners.
All the interactions that you will put in place will allow you to create new relationships... and why not with potential future partners.
Accept the vagaries of life as an entrepreneur
Whether it's your passion or not, the life of an entrepreneur or new e-commerce manager is littered with obstacles and pitfalls of all kinds. We could compare it to a roller coaster, but if the fall is violent and strong on adrenaline, tell yourself that the ascent will be even more beautiful!
The life of an entrepreneur is not a long calm river, so be patient, determined, regular and everything will be fine. And above all, accept failure ! It is a source of learning, so take advantage of it. “Sometimes we win, sometines we learn”, don't forget!
Take time for yourself!
Nobody can work 24 hours a day even if it is your passion. Remember to take time for yourself, to rest, to relax , it's good for morale and moreover… this is where creativity will be most conducive. Going head down without breathing has never been the solution, even for a passionate job! You're going to explode, get disgusted and make your passion an enemy, because passion doesn't mean you're ready for anything!
It is important to set life goals and respect them, so as not to work hours and hours without stopping.
Be careful, if passion turns into a job that takes a lot of time and exhausts us, it can quickly turn into something toxic!
Surround yourself (with good people)!
You have gone through the introspection phase and therefore know exactly what you want to lead and what you want to delegate. At first, you will tend to want to do everything yourself. You will have the impression of earning money by not delegating...yes, but that's not entirely true!
Indeed, the most successful entrepreneurs are those who manage to identify their favorite areas and those they do not master in order to delegate them. It's primordial !
So you can focus on what really drives you and where you are really good! This will save you time and therefore money. Remember, you can't be great everywhere.
If you haven't done this introspection phase yet, do it! List your strong points, your weak points , what you like to do or not, what drives you, this will help you in this very important phase.
And be careful, surrounding yourself is good… but surrounding yourself with the right people is better. Make a point of establishing a professional relationship with your partners/providers, even if they are close friends . Write a contract and formalize things, it will protect you.
Use social networks.
Yes, but not just anyhow.
Networks are excellent ways to share interests, they create real communities around common passions. Identify people who are driven by the same ambitions as you and join them. Sign up for groups and talk about your project to its communities.
Each network has its own audience. Identify the networks where your target is and communicate as much as possible on them.
Are you targeting teenagers? So focus on snapchat or tik-tok. More like 25-35 year olds? Instagram is the best tool for you! And above all, adapt your content to your audience and the platform you are on (photos, videos, writing articles, etc.)
Remember one thing, it's not the quantity that counts but the quality and the regularity! Your community must not forget you, so be there regularly.
The relevance of your content is a major asset! So why not create a blog? When it comes to your passion, you will have a lot to talk about and inspiration will come easily!
Think e-commerce!
Now you have all the keys to make your passion your business! And what better way to make yourself known and sell your products than to create your own e-commerce site ?
In our next article on our e-commerce blog , we will explain how to develop your e-commerce site and sell your products online.
In the meantime, be well and tell us after reading these few lines, what do you think of this famous adage: " Choose a job you love and you will never have to work a day in your life." " So, true or false ?
