Are you one of those who think that when it comes to entrepreneurship, all you have to do is follow your passion? Here’s a shocker for you.
The market does not care about your passion. The customers do not care about your passion either. Competition does not care about your passion. Economic realities do not care about your passion as well.
Unfortunately, many people out there have started and are still planning to start a business because they are passionate about the business idea. This may be the most indicted reason why many businesses fail in their first year of operation. Because they get into the business and discover that the passion which drives them and their business idea is not enough to make sales, neither is it going to stimulate demand for a product which the market did not need in the first place.
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There are a few times when you will be lucky enough to have your product or solution coincide with a market need, but there should be sufficient market research and data to back you before you venture into the business. You go into business to solve a problem in the market or to meet a market need, not necessarily to express and explore your passion. If you want the market to pay you for exploring your passion, then you have to be solving a market problem in the process, else no one would pay you for it.
I felt the need to touch on this topic because it is quite a touchy topic and one that many have misunderstood. It is okay to be passionate about something but you need to find a market need that your passion solves before you can make a business out of it. If you don’t, you will end up journeying on a frustrating route and wondering why everyone else is not as excited about your idea as you are.
Passion will fuel the efforts and enthusiasm you use to drive your business idea, but passion is not infectious enough to get people to pay for something they do not have a need for. Businesses live and thrive by meeting needs and solving problems that people need badly enough to pay for.
