"Do what you love." It's simple advice, yet so many of us find ourselves taking on jobs we don't enjoy, spending our valuable time half-asleep in front of our desks, and living our day-to-day lives with no real sense of passion or purpose.
I've been there, too. It's not that I didn't have passions - like you, I had interests, ideas, and passions in abundance - or that I wasn't offering what people wanted. Rather, it was that I didn't think there was an audience for my services. I didn't think I was going to be able to find my tribe.
Now, I wake up every morning excited about the workday ahead of me, as I spend each day living out my passion and helping my clients live out theirs. I've seen first-hand that "doing what you love" isn't as impossible as it seems. Here's how to do it.
1. Redefine "work."
All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. Sayings like this one show that, from a young age, we're taught to establish a dichotomy between work and leisure. In other words, work is something that we don't like to do, but have to anyway. Leisure, conversely, is something that we enjoy doing simply because it's not work.
Preconceptions like these tell us that if you enjoy what you do, it's not really "work." This kind of mentality keeps us tied down to our mind-numbing desk jobs, and it's the first thing you need to change in order to start living your passion.
My clients' experiences (and my own!) are testaments to the fact that your work can indeed be something that you love - and that by following your passion, you can make more money than you ever did before.
2. If you can't pick a passion, pick YOU.
If you're like me, you're not just interested in one thing. You've most likely taken a ton of courses, worn hats in many past positions, and maybe even started some completely unrelated businesses along the way (I used to sell makeup!).
Indeed, having a lot of passions usually means that you kick butt at a ton of things.
This is awesome, but can also make you feel confused and overwhelmed when you change directions for the upteenth time. If you're having a difficult time narrowing down your product or message, take a deep breath, take a step back, and focus on you.
Being yourself pays off. Share stuff on social media that interests you, even if it's not immediately relevant to your business. Let your personality shine! This will allow you to connect with a greater range of like-minded people who share your interests.
As the saying goes, birds of a feather flock together. Being yourself will bring out the person behind your brand, and gives clients the invaluable experience of getting to know you. This will make them even more likely to purchase your product or service and support your future endeavors.
3. Create a space.
With the growing prevalence of social media, the world is more connected than ever. This creates the perfect environment for you to create a space where your tribe can share their journey with you, or simply hang out with you and your people.
So make a space where you can lead and connect with your tribe. Whether it's full of ideal clients or just like-minded peeps, simply having a space has proven to be wildly beneficial for many entrepreneurs.
For example, I run a group on Facebook where I give away a ton of free content and trainings. It's also a place that I allow others to promote their own products and services. I now have hundreds of members, which has allowed me to collaborate with my peers, find my clients, and get my name out there.
4. Be part of the solution.
So you've changed your attitude, you've picked your passion, and you've created your space. Now, it's time to devise a comprehensive plan to come up with the ultimate solution for your clients, right?
Wrong: trying to figure it all out now is a waste of time. If you plan out every painstaking detail of your funnel now, you might miss the boat completely. Indeed, your business is a dynamic process, not a static plan. You will learn new things along the way, and you won't be able to predict every curveball that life throws at you.
Don't fall victim to "funnel vision." Instead, focus on being part of the solution: consider every angle of what your potential clients might need, and help them with any project that you can, even if it's not what you originally had in mind.
For instance, maybe you want to offer brand strategy consulting, but you're a newcomer to the field and are struggling to find enough clients. Well, it turns out that your same clients also need copywriting and advertisements. Consider offering to design a landing page or create a Facebook ad just to get your foot in the door.
By doing so, you've effectively made yourself part of your clients' solution, which will go a long way in building authority with them, as well as making them predisposed to trust you for larger-scale projects.
5. Work with what you have, not what you wish you had.
I'm all for investing in yourself and your business. However, in the startup stages, it's absolutely critical to stretch your resources as much as possible.
Within my first month of business, I had sold out of my first coaching program with nothing more than a WordPress site that I put together with very limited content.
What I did invest in was courses and coaching programs that I knew would not only help my business, but would also be beneficial for my clients. So I spent money learning how to create and launch products online, and how to create basic landing pages and opt-ins.
As you start bringing money into your business, that's when you should start investing in things that professionals can do better, such as copywriting and graphic design. But for starters, work with what you already have. Don't spend thousands from the get-go, because your business model might change in the future, and - most importantly - you can make a name for yourself even if you don't spend tons of money on graphic design.
6. Shout it out!
Great content is the secret to success, right? Not quite. You can have a site full of top-quality content, but if you don't promote it, it'd be like cooking a gourmet meal at home and expecting hungry customers to show up at your house, with their forks and wallets in hand.
Shout from the rooftops how awesome you are! When we come across a product that we love, we have no problem telling everyone how great it is. But when it comes to marketing ourselves, we shy away from promotion because we fear we'll sound conceited or arrogant.
But if you don't talk about your business, nobody else will, either. So share your greatness with the world, so we can all be inspired and feel like we're part of your success.
7. Go all in.
Ask any entrepreneur: at first, entrepreneurship is scary, humbling, and at times, humiliating. And this goes double for those of us who go at it solo.
There's no question you don't want to let anyone down (including yourself!), but self-doubt eats away at your future success, and needs to be kicked to the curb. If you want a successful business, you can't hide behind the walls of comfort, waiting to come out when the sun's shining and the grass is green.
On your journey to success, you'll learn from your mistakes and polish up the things you were forced to neglect due to lack of time or resources. You'll figure it out as you go: in the meantime, commit to going all in, and be confident that success will follow.
8. Engage, engage, engage.
And I'll say it one more time: ENGAGE!
Forget about creating amazing sales pages, beautiful opt-in offers, or anything else that is stealing away the time you have to engage with potential clients. These things are important, but they're nothing compared to how crucial it is to connect with your people, especially if you're still trying to get your business off the ground. Indeed, it doesn't matter how many courses or ebooks you offer if you don't have a following of people that are eagerly waiting for them.
Before launching my business, I had notebooks (yes, I still do pen-to-paper) filled with all the things I was creating to teach my tribe about mindset and business. One day I will put those things to use, but at first, I decided to let my tribe tell me what they needed from me, and I listened to them.
I then based my trainings on what I had heard from my clients when I engaged with them. For instance, I had no idea that my tribe was struggling to the extent that they were with finding their tribe, so I created a mini course called "What Vibes Your Tribe," which took a life of its own, and became the basis for my brand.
I've worked with countless brilliant minds with incredible ideas and talents, who simply didn't realize that there was a market for their passions. But as a monetization strategist, my passion is helping you monetize yours.
Yes, "doing what you love" isn't just wishful thinking - it's a sure-fire way to make your soul lighter, your life brighter, and your wallet fatter. I've done it, I've helped hundreds others do it, and I know that you can do it, too.
Get FREE trainings on how to monetize your passions by joining my mailing list HERE.
Join my amazing supportive community of like minded entrepreneurs in my Facebook group HERE.
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