Last week I discussed Richard Branson’s advice to start a business because you love it, not just because you want to make money. Today I wanted to offer some ways you can search to find what your passion is and how to start a business from it.

1) What are you good at? Think about the talents and skills that you have. What makes you different from everyone else? Where have you invested time and energy to learn and improve yourself where others have not? Chances are there is something in what you are good at that you really enjoy doing and should develop.

2) What do you do in your spare time? Many people do not choose the tasks they have to do when they go to work. Even entrepreneurs end up doing administrative tasks that they do not enjoy. When you have time off though it is time that you get to decide what does and does not happen. What do you do when you have spare time? Could your personal interest in an activity be turned into a business?

3) What gets you excited? What are some recent thoughts you have had that got you really excited? To run a successful business of your own you need to get up every morning excited to tackle new challenges and build the company. If you lose your fire the business will never succeed. Think about times in your life when you have been really excited - what were you doing? Who were you with? Where were you? Can you create a business from that excitement?

4) Look at your childhood: If the above three have not helped you identify your passions a good final trick is to look back at your childhood. What did you enjoy doing and spending your time on? You can learn a lot about yourself by going back into your own history. This is what Hugh Hefner realized when he started Playboy magazine:

“I had always been interested in publishing. I created my first penny newspaper when I was 10 years old. (I don’t remember how much I made–if anything.)

I did another one in seventh grade called the Pepper, which lasted for a quarter of a century. Later I created a little magazine called Shudder, about horror and mystery movies and radio shows and books.

While I was in college, I edited a college humor magazine called Shaft, where I introduced a feature called Co-Ed of the Month.

I remain very much connected to my childhood … I have never been too jaded or too sophisticated — it keeps me alive every day.”

Evan Carmichael

Evan Carmichael
YoungEntrepreneur.com Blog Manager

Did you enjoy this article? If so, then subscribe to our RSS Feed.