Everyone has at least one interest which they are madly passionate about. You might or might not actively think or work on it everyday, but it’s something that is always at the back of your mind. Then there are some of you who take out time from your busy schedule to work on your passion project. Depending on the work schedule, you either work on weekends or at night after office hours.
But even after so much dedication, if you have not been able to scale it to a full-scale business, you can do it now. Wouldn’t it be great if you could make business out of your passion project? Yes, it’s very much possible in 2023.
Starting a business out of your passion project can be a fulfilling and financially rewarding experience. However, it can also be challenging and risky. But then, what isn’t?
If you are one of those people who have cradled your passion for way too long but always wanted to work on it and monetise it, this is the right time to do it.
In this article, we will take you through the step-by-step process of how you can start a business out of your passion project. But first, let’s understand what kind of passion projects can be turned into a business.
Passion Projects That Can Be Turned Into a Business
People’s likings and passions can be varied. But not all of them can be turned into a business venture. At least some passion projects can be turned into a business more easily than others. Here are some examples of passion projects that have more chances of becoming a booming business:
- Photography: If you have a knack for taking photos and you are the designated photographer in your group for every trip, then there is a possibility that you are a talented photographer. You can start a personal photography page on Instagram and other social media pages. You can slowly create your brand and start getting photography projects. However, you will have to find a niche
- Writing: Believe it or not there is a huge demand for good writers who can write things clearly. If you have always dreamt of earning money through your writing, this is the best time to do it. You should start a blog – maybe Medium or Substack and get started. If you already have one, get a personal blog and post content regularly on social media pages. You will have to create a niche for yourself – write on one focus area so that you become an expert on one topic.
Interesting Read: A Complete Guide To Starting An E-Commerce Business in 2023
- Cooking/Baking: If friends and family show up to your house very often to eat the food that you make and you love cooking for them, it’s time you start earning for this talent. You can start a side-gig of cooking such as catering for parties, start a pop-up food cart shop, etc.
- Fitness or Wellness: Fitness and wellness has become one of fastest growing industries in India. You can take your passion for being fit to starting a fitness or wellness business such as personal training or yoga instruction. You will have to take classes to become a teacher and post that you can slowly start taking classes.
- Website design: There is a huge demand for web designers and coders who can create websites or mobile apps. If you like writing codes in your free time you can make a living out of it. In fact, web designers are one of the most sought after talents in the market globally.
- Education: If you enjoy the art of teaching and explaining concepts in a simple way, starting an online course is one of the easiest things to do in 2023. The demand for online education is through the roof and there are various ways you can start teaching online. For starters, you can publish a short written course and sell it for a small amount. If you find that people are interested in it, you can create an expansive course on that topic and conduct online paid classes on YouTube or other platforms.
How To Turn Your Passion Project Into a Business?
These are just a few examples, but there are many other passion projects that people can turn into successful businesses. The key is to identify your passion and find a way to monetise it.
Interesting Read: How to Start an Online Business with Less Money in 2023
Here are some tips to help you turn your passion project into a successful business in 2023.
- Identify your passion: This goes without saying that you must be fully sure that what you think is your passion is not just a passing interest. Since you are going to invest your money and some money into creating a business out of your passion, you must be totally committed to the idea. One way to determine whether you are really passionate about something is – will you spend your time on it even if you are not paid to do it? Do you think about this quite often? If you have answered ‘yes’ then chances are you really are passionate about it.
- Conduct market research: No matter how involved you are with your passion project, there are always things you will be unaware of. Instead of getting overwhelmed by them later when you are deep-neck into running the business, it’s wise to do the market research way before that. Find out the business opportunities your passion project has; what could be the challenges; who are the key businesses that operate in the field you are getting into; what are the things they did right, etc. This will help you understand the demand for your product or service and how you can differentiate yourself from others in the market.
- Minimum viable product: Once you have committed to the idea, the next step is to create a minimum viable product (MVP). MVP is an industry jargon, which simply means that you create a product with basic features that are important for it to work. This is only meant to get the product in the market and get it validated from early-adopters. With the success or failure of your MVP you will realise whether this will work or you need to revamp the product. You must take detailed feedback from users about the product, what they liked, disliked, how it can be improved, etc.
- Create a business plan: It’s very important that you write down your business plan with the help of your co-founder, if any. You should jot down the plan you have for your business. This will help you focus and organise on how to run and grow the business. A business plan should include information on your target market, revenue projections, marketing strategies, and more.
- Build an online presence: You can create a strong online presence with a sleek-looking website and an active social media account. Your online presence can be really beneficial for your company. With strategic planning to create a strong online presence, you can achieve a lot of things including a positive brand presence, letting customers know what you offer, get feedback from users, build trust and gain their loyalty.
- Take a strong look at finances: How you handle your finances might make or break your business. You should have the answers to pertinent questions like how to fund the business, how to reduce operating costs, should you take a bank loan or raise venture capital, etc. While answering these questions, think of the long term impact these will have on your business.
- Be prepared to adapt: Starting a business is an ever-evolving and an ongoing process. A trend that is in demand now, might become obsolete after a few years. You should have a contingency plan and be ready to adapt as your business grows and changes.
Conclusion
While turning your passion into a business, you should always remind yourself why you got into this business in the first place. This will ensure that you don’t drift away from your original goal.
Starting a business out of your passion project requires hard work, dedication, and a willingness to take risks. By following these tips, you’ll be well on your way to turning your passion project into a successful business in 2023.
Frequently Asked Questions
Question 1: What is a business plan?
Answer: A business plan is a detailed memo that explains a company’s business goals, financial requirements, and actual steps that the company will take to achieve those business goals. Since you want to start a business out of your passion project, writing a business plan is an excellent way to lay out your thoughts and ideas in a structured way.
Question 2: Why is it important to have a minimum viable product?
Answer: A minimum viable product or an MVP is important for a business because it will tell you a lot of things about your product. Once you roll out your MVP for a select number of customers, they will tell you what all they like and dislike about it. You can even learn what changes you should make to ensure people will be ready to pay for it.
