Many people turn what they like to do into a business for the simple idea that if you do what you like to do for a living your life will be more fulfilling. In reality, though, once the business is launched more often than not the new business doesn’t bring in enough revenue for the owner to support themselves with that even after the first or second year. What gets in the way is the hobby mindset that prevents the entrepreneur mind to get trained into working the business.
And instead of operating a business some start-ups turn into hobbies which bring in some money from time to time. So, how do you know if you have a Hobby or a Business? Look at yourself and the qualities you nourish:
1. Commitment – The business owners are determined to keep on going even when the going gets tough. And, let’s be realistic, times like these are expected to come once in a while when operating a business. It’s what you do when you are faced with a situation what counts not what the situation is. The hobbyists instead get distracted by the situation, some valid excuses, other business ideas, life in general etc.
2. Optimism – The business owner will most likely look for the silver lining in the clouds; will seek the hidden opportunities in otherwise challenging situations and most importantly, they will not give up on the idea that good things will happen out of their business… and they work on that.
3. Decision-making mindset- If you want to operate a successful business, you are an executive and executives are decision-makers. They are active in allocating resources like – time, money, energy, people. They are flexible in making those decisions. They assess in every moment how this decision supports them on their quest to excellence and if they don’t – they easily underside them and choose something else.
4. Moneymaker mentality- If you know that you will not be able to support the kind of lifestyle you want, will you make the decision to take the plunge and quit the daytime job or will you wait until your business is strong enough? Will you wake up with the idea that you will do all activities that bring in money to the business first and then everything else?
5. Have a flare for sales – As much as most people who go into business love what they do, money comes with sales. The business owner sells their ideas, products, and services to everyone – the employees, the clients, the society at large and they feel good about it. They talk about it, they blog about it, they market it, they network it. They are serious about stepping up their game and going from the idea to the realization stage that brings in the revenue.