Follow Your Passion! Does the Passion Pay Bills? Building a Business or Career 101

Petros Piki, CA(Z), MSc, RPA 21/02/2022

“You don't build a business, you build people, then people build the business.” 

There is this proverbial term… “follow your passion”. While it is a good to hear statement and sought of a motivational one, it’s an empty statement in my view. Loving what you do and doing what you love sounds romantic and inspiring, but business reality is something else. Doing what you love is great but what you love must be what the market love. There must be a viable Return on Investment on your passion. According to Stanford researchers' findings, the “follow your passion” advice can be detrimental to an individual's success due to narrowmindedness and dedication to a single passion or passions that the market does not reward. Forbes actually call “follow your passion” career advice the worst advice one can get.

I believe an entrepreneur or a careerist must first assess whether there’s enough market demand for the said passion. Always follow your passion if it is profitable. You may have passion for pottery probably be an expert porter but the question is always whether the market love your pottery. If you are choosing a career following your passion maybe the biggest mistake one can, make in most instances. Before one chooses a career, one must do a study of what the market dynamics are and then pursue a degree or course or apprentice that will create employment or business opportunities for them. The market does not pay for people’s passions, it pays what it demands.

When assessing the viability of your business passion assess it in the context of the local market. If you are in a developing country like Zimbabwe some of the passions that may make you millions in the developed world may actually condemn you to untold poverty. Remember building a career involves investment in time, money and effort. Wherever there is need for investment look at the return. Always consider the supply demand dynamics. The more congested your market is the less likely you will demand a premium.

It is much better to always ask yourself a few questions before starting a business or pursuing a career.

·        Is there demand for the skill you have a passion for no matter how brilliant the skill is?

·        Will people buy the products of my passion?

·        What is better a rewarding not so good-looking career but paying than a good passion without reward?

This advice is a privileged message not afforded to all. It’s the best advice to follow when money is not a necessity for you. But how many will make that grade. For a vast majority of us, money drives what profession you choose until you can establish yourself enough to make alternative decisions. Focus on what you deem valuable in the present Through these benefits, you may be able to free up some time for your passions on the side. 

Just because you have a passion for something, doesn’t mean that you are good at it. You may have a passion about something that you are naturally not made to do.

You are not out to impress anyone. Anyway, the market doesn’t care about your hallucinations the market reward for a service or product that solves real life problems they are facing. Don’t follow a passion that will leave you with an empty stomach and a bucket full of pride. We don’t eat pride, make wiser decisions.

Register your business with Neverlank Consultancy today… We offer free advice for our company registration clients!