6 Steps to Building a Business Around Your Passion

Designed to protect us from danger in our lives, we tend to let fear hold us back for various reasons. We decide to stay safe, enjoying the comfort and stability that is known to us. There are millions of people in the world with fantastic ideas, but most never set out to do them because they tell themselves, “someone has already done it”, or “I wouldn’t know where to start.” In Entrepreneur’s “10 fears you must overcome when starting a new business,” Te-Erika Patterson states “the path will unfold as you continue to walk.”  Without attempting to follow dreams and unlock potential, how can you feel entirely fulfilled?

The thought of starting a business or following a passion can be a daunting one, but here are some steps to help you build yours.

Establish your vision

First and foremost, you need to bring clarity by establishing your vision. Vision is at the heart of starting a business and should remain there. Drafting a clear, concise vision statement will help keep you on the path, and act as a constant reminder of goals. This vision statement will come in handy as your business evolves, and you begin adding team members and structure to your organization.

Do your research

You need to know what is out there, and what you are up against. Conducting thorough research will help you to understand your market, and identify any risk that you may encounter on your journey. A great place to start is with a competitor analysis – you can find out more on how to conduct one and why it is important in one of our recent blog posts here. Identifying risks is also necessary to be proactive when it comes to managing risks. If you haven’t identified your risks, then you aren’t going to be educated enough when it comes to managing them.

Create a plan

How do you plan to reach those vision and goals? A vision will not become a reality without an organized and clear strategic plan for how you are going to get there. To get the wheels in motion, a strategic plan behind a business must be adaptable, digestible and measurable. It must be adaptable in that circumstances always change, so to remain agile, you need to be prepared for those changes. It must be digestible in that it must be intuitive and visually compelling, especially for employees. It should also be measurable to monitor progress.

Set a structure

How do you plan to structure your business? Starting a business can be a minefield, so to be as prepared as possible, it is important to have structure to make things as simple and smooth running as possible. What makes this easier is ensuring everyone understands your expectations for their roles, by having a well thought out organizational structure.

Build a team

Many entrepreneurs have limited funds, but it will be difficult to pursue your passion alone. Creating a startup and growing a business is a huge task and one that will require an entrepreneur to have many roles. No one person has a skill set for every role and trying to take on everything yourself will hurt your company, especially if you don’t build the right team around you. Have you identified the holes in your skillset? You need to find people to complement your strengths and weaknesses. You also need to find people who believe in your idea, who are enthused by your passion, and who will appreciate and work towards your vision.

Promote your business

Once your business is up and running, you need to start attracting clients and customers. Establish your USP and create a marketing plan. Explore what options you have for marketing, and decide which will be most effective and relevant to your business.

Success does not happen overnight, but you will cover the most important bases by following these steps. Don’t let fear get the better of you and follow your passion. Use the plan you’ve created to consistently work on your business, and you will increase your chances of success.