Finding Passion for Products | #FFLTV Ep 12 QA

Q: Chris Van Loan asks, “How do you choose a product when you don’t yet have a specific passion or niche?”

I am in the rare minority, I think, that thinks that passion in business is overrated.

I think starting a business just for the cash flow is totally fine. In fact, I know a lot of people who do that, they treat their business like a video game.

If I do this, and I do this, this result comes out. They want gamify this as much as possible. So they become passionate about playing the game, even if they’re not passionate about the brand that they’re building.

Look, most entrepreneurs, I think, start businesses for the money or for the lifestyle that they’re going to get. And the passion seems to come later.

I find it to be a rare exception that someone actually gets paid to do what they love. I know that’s not popular to say in our little community, but I don’t know that many people who actually make all their money doing the thing that they’re really excited about.

So have your thing that makes money, have your business that pays for your life and then go enjoy your passions.

Being in the business that makes you money will give you the skill sets that you need if you want to make your passion a business.

I don’t know a lot of people who have navigated that well. Meaning, that they have started a business that they’re passionate about, stayed passionate about it and been able to operate it like a business.

I know more people who are like, “I’m going to blog about this thing I’m really excited about. If I make money, great.” And as a result, they get paid to do it, but it never really becomes a big business.

It might become a legitimate cash flow stream, but it’s not something they can scale or sell.

The thing that you can scale or sell is the business that you operate like a business. Which is probably going to involve some things that you’re not necessarily passionate about.

That is totally cool.

If we can divorce the two, if we can divorce the thing that makes us money from the thing that we just feel so passionate about, then we’re free to live in both worlds. So build the thing that makes you cash, invest it, sell it if you want and go park that money into other more passive income streams and develop the thing that recharges you and gets you excited and gives you passion.

Do that as a gift to the world and if it makes money, awesome. Or if there are a lot of people demanding that you sell something, go ahead and do that once the cash flow business is already taken care of.

If you watched the episode of Freedom Fast Lane TV where I say to follow the money not the passion, this was exactly my advice.

We are entrepreneurs that are always looking to maximize everything, including our lives and our happiness. And we start a business that makes money and then the next thing is, well what do I do in my personal life that I can make a business and maximize that.

I think that’s the wrong approach.

Double down in what makes money, double down in what gives you excitement and passion and freedom and free yourself from the idea that they have to be the same thing. They can serve one another, balance one another and actually support one another, because as you make the money, you’ll feel good about playing in your passions and being passionate about something will give you the energy you need to be at full force in your business.

Now of course there are exceptions to this, but I don’t think that it is necessary for you to be super excited about your business. At least the things that you sell.

As long as you are enjoying the process of being an entrepreneur. The way that you manage that is simply following the money, where is the audience, what do they need, how to I serve them.

Can you be passionate about the difference that you’re making?

Can you be passionate about the growth that you’re enjoying?

Can you be excited about the challenges that you’re learning to navigate and therefore what you’re learning?

Can you be passionate about your customers specifically and the excitement they get when they get your product in hand?

Can you be excited and passionate to see other people using your product?

Can you be passionate about other things rather than just the product that you’re selling?

If so, you’re golden. You’re in the clear, go scale that.

The only time that it’s a problem, is if you find it so mundane and boring that you just can’t get yourself to do the things that grow the business. That’s the sign that you need to exit.

But if you can continue to grow and you can continue to be excited about the process, then you don’t need to necessarily be all gung-ho and excited and passionate about every minor detail of your business.