Did you sing the rest of that Rod Stewart lyric?
The word “passion” has been on my mind a lot since I started my own business. Webster’s Dictionary defines Passion as: “A strong feeling of enthusiasm or excitement for something or about doing something”. Well, duh. I would have to have a passion about something if I were going to start my own business, right?
Our passions change as we age. When I was little, I had passion for peanut butter and jelly sandwiches the way my mom made them. I still like them but they don’t have the same feel without my Mom’s touch. In high school, I was passionate about being an actress and all things Drama. Unfortunately, my passion ended after high school. I still enjoy going to the theater and sharing others passion for the art. My point is we usually have several passions but do we have the passion to start a business?
When I started out in the work force, I heard an ad on the radio looking for sales staff for the station. I listened passionately to this station so why wouldn’t I be able to sell this passion? Even though I’m not (or never was) one of their P1 Male 18-34’s, I still loved the station and still listen to this day. This began my career in Media Sales.
I moved to different forms of media but found that I was more drawn to helping my customers. I went to work for an agency and found that passion again. Not only was I still in the radio world I started in but now it included TV, print, outdoor and still the ability to meet people. Flash forward several years and I was now in a position to start my own agency with a couple of partners. Did I have enough passion to follow through on this?
I recently read a LinkedIn article by Mel Robbins discussing passion. She referred to it as “the feeling of being expanded and energized. Because if you are energized or expanded by something, you will do it for no money, you will do it happily and suddenly you will wake up and say, ‘Oh my gosh, I am pursuing my passion!’ You are living for what it true for you not what’s safe in the moment”. And there it was, so simple but truly spoke to me.
Not everyone wants to be a small business owner but if you have a passion for something, why not? Is it scary? Sure! But it is also exhilarating. And if you have the passion for what you are doing, it is going to show to your clients and they will feel your passion and want to share it for their business. And if you happen to still have that PB&J passion from your childhood, here’s to starting your own PB&J business!!