Today it’s so easy to “start” a business.
- Come up with a name
- Design / create a logo
- Invest in 100 business cards
- Create a website
And voila! You are “in” business!
The real question is: Is the business in you?
So what exactly is a hobby?
This definition from Wikipedia sums it up:
A hobby is a regular activity that is done for enjoyment, typically during one’s leisure time. Hobbies can include collecting themed items and objects, engaging in creative and artistic pursuits, playing sports, or pursuing other amusements. A list of hobbies is long and always changing as interests and fashions change. By continually participating in a particular hobby, one can acquire substantial skill and knowledge in that area.
A person who engages in an activity solely for fun is called a ‘hobbyist’, whereas a ‘professional’ generally undertakes formal study and engages in the activity for reward and an ‘amateur’ (from French for “lover of”) does so out of personal interest in an activity. While an amateur may be as skilled as a professional, a professional receives compensation while an amateur generally does not.
The one distinction in attempting to define whether you have a business or a hobby is if you are making money.
If you are NOT making money then you have a hobby.
If you are making money but not enough as you would like, then you have a struggling business.
Now back to the statement I made earlier: Is the business in you?
By that I mean, where is your focus?
In the book “Tapping the Source” the authors provide this insight:
If you spend most of your time worrying about what you don’t have, if you let your attention drift all over the place rather than holding it where it will serve you best, if you let your thoughts fixated on negative attitudes and emotions, then chances are high that you will not succeed with your vision.
Your primary personal power is your power of attention.
Do you have a definite purpose for your business?
My colleague Kristin Zhivago, author of Roadmap to Revenues recently asked if she could interview me and ask some questions regarding their new offering. We chatted about business generally, I provide the feedback on the site, and then she asked me about my site and how things were going.
Once at my site, she took a brief look, and asked exactly what was I offering? She gave me the following advice: let your personality ring through and share with people your main focus.
Up until then, I really didn’t think about it. I mean, I knew what I was doing but the question I was asking on my site was not really communicating that effectively.
Kristin’s focus is “Helping small marketing teams get big-marketing-team results” and if you are interested in finding out more you can go to: http://onlinemarketing.cloudpotential.com/
I took Kristin’s advice to heart and this is what I wrote back to her:
“I appreciate your feedback on my site. It’s changed the way I view everything I am doing. Up until then I felt disconnected, but now I have one theme and am connecting all the pieces to that. Might need to tweak but it’s a start.”
And that’s what happens when you maintain focus and purpose. You get what you focus on. Since making those changes I am getting more visits to my site, but more importantly I am getting leads – people interested in doing business with me.
Charles Haanel tells us that nine-tenths of the work in satisfying our needs is done in our minds and NOT in the outside world.
Once you get clear you will begin to attract what you want in your business.
What are some of the benefits of having this level of focus?
Napoleon Hill sums it up beautifully:
It automatically develops self-reliance, personal initiative, imagination, enthusiasm, self-discipline, and concentration of effort. All of those are vital and important prerequisites for success, which you develop as a result of this definiteness of purpose. This requires knowing what you want, having a plan for getting it and having your mind mostly occupied with carrying out that plan.
You need to decide whether you are truly IN business or merely courting a hobby!
Your expertise is your business! 