When I first started out as a web designer. I created a lot of websites that never made a single cent.
Those clients were excited to launch their ideas into the world for everyone to see, they got a big initial following but in the end, they never turned into profitable businesses and were abandoned after a while.
But why does this happen? How can someone create a big following but never capitalize on it?
The answer eluded me for a long time until I launched my own freelance web design business.
You see, there is a lot of misinformation out there about how you can turn your passion into a business. That only if you work hard enough, people will come and buy stuff from you. Unfortunately, that doesn’t work at all.
You can be passionate about something, but that doesn’t mean you can turn it into a business.
I have worked with clients who paid thousands of dollars every month to keep their idea afloat but never launched a product or service. This breaks my heart every time since I love to see businesses creating freedom for their owners.
I was confused as to why this happened, but the answer was simpler than I thought: Not understanding the difference between hobbies and businesses.
A hobby is something you do because you enjoy it. It pleases you and helps you feel amazing, but it’s not your primary occupation, and it doesn’t bring you any income at all.
The whole trend of pursuing your passion and creating a business around it follows the idea of investing more money into your hobby until you can live off it. This approach, and pardon my language here, is bullshit.
No amount of tools or services, not even exceptional web design can make a hobby create cash flow for you unless you have a business plan. And for that, you need to look at the hobby in a very different light.
First of all, you need to understand that at its core a business is the exchange of services or goods for money. That’s how it works.
No amount of subscribers, followers or likes will turn you into a business owner until you have sold a product or service to your audience. If this has not happened, you only have a business idea.
I hear you saying: “Ok, all this is all well and good, so how do I create a business?”
We tend to think of businesses as very complex structures, but at their core, they are very simple.
First, you offer a product or service that your audience wants. Then, you start promoting it and selling it to turn your audience into customers. That’s all.
But the only way to know if a product or service is profitable is to test it.
You need to sell your product or service to your audience as soon as possible. That’s the only way to validate your ideas, if you skip this step, you will be at best guessing if your plan is viable.
That step alone is what makes the difference between an expensive hobby and a profitable business. That’s the secret behind every successful entrepreneur out there.
They launch their products and services as fast as possible so they can get feedback and finance their business. Is it scary? Yes, but it’s an incredibly efficient way to escape the endless loop of offering free value to your audience and ultimately avoiding a costly hobby and creating a simple and effective business.
So now, let me ask you a question.
Do you have a business, or just an expensive hobby?