Turning Your Passion into a Career

A lot of people work at a 9-5 job that they do not enjoy at all. They might be making a decent living, but they might not be enjoying their work at all. Well, the truth is that there is a better way to earn a living and actually love what you’re doing. And no, this is not happening only to the luckiest people. It can happen to you as well if you decide to turn your passion into a successful career. If you’re passionate about what you’re doing, there are higher chances for you to succeed in your passion because when you find pleasure and fulfillment in your activity, you don’t feel the task difficult or challenging. So here is how you can change your life by making your passion a profitable activity.

What's your passion?
Before you go ahead and quit your current job, which is not a smart thing to do yet, you need to know the difference between passion and hobby. A hobby is something you occasionally enjoy doing, such as fishing, playing poker, watching movies, gardening, and etc, and you might not be able to make a job out of it. A passion is something you actually love doing, and putting all your interest and effort into it. It could be car repairing, landscaping, home improvements, designing unique clothing or accessories. Just keep your mind open and weigh all your options. What is the thing you are great at and you will love doing everyday? Go find the answer to this question. 

Check to see just how demanded your skills are?
Now what you have determined what your passion is, you will have to see how demanded your skills are in the area where you live. It is not such a good idea to pursue a career that has little to no demand or if the competition is too high in a particular activity field. Still, competition should not scare you if you come up with a fresh idea and if you truly believe that your skills will make a difference and bring customers your way or if the skill demanded is highly sought after. For example, a city as populated as San Francisco, there will be always be demand for skillset such as software engineer, marketing, and handyman. There might be a lot of competition, but at the same time, there is a high demand. 

Don't start anything without researching first
You can't just launch a venture without doing some research first to see what it means to open and own a business in a desired industry. Perhaps you need certain equipment, machinery, to hire people, or to request some funds. Talking to people that made it in the industry you are interested in is a great way to gather valuable information. 

Come up with a detailed plan
Start making a plan with all the steps necessary to get your business going. Try to do your best and make it detailed, not leaving out any details that might be important. Also, have a backup plan as well, just in case your initial plan is not working as it should. 

Get the needed qualifications
So you do something with passion? That is great, but you might need some qualifications to look credible in front of potential clients. This might mean getting appropriate qualifications that will turn your passion into a profession. 
Or if your field does not need qualifications, maybe perform a tiny paid test gig for your friends or potential customers and have them write a review for you! 

Don't forget to be flexible
Your new job may bring a lot of happiness but that doesn't mean that everything will go very smoothly. You may come across bumps here and there, and you will come across bumps here and there, and you will have to learn how to take praises and criticism as well. Just bear in mind that people from outside your business will bring in prospectives that you might not see, so their feedbacks might help you improve and become even better. 

Turning a passion into a full-time job is challenging and requires a lot of dedication.. But if you manage to succeed, and if your project is ambitious enough and has sufficient drive, you will soon be able to live even in the most expensive cities like San Francisco. Don't hesitate to take the leap and live the life you always dreamed of!
In Treehouse Society, we support individuals who want to turn their passion into their career. From providing networking opportunities to connections that will help you every step of the way. 

Next: Home Office vs. Coworking Space