There are many rewards associated
with turning a hobby or passion into
a business. One of the biggest is being able to fully leverage one’s
strengths and interests on an everyday
basis.
Ron Greene, executive vice president
of Gumbiner Savett Inc., has successfully incorporated his passion for food and
wine into the accounting sector. By
establishing relationships with those in
the food and wine industry, he’s developed a number of business relationships. Networking, he explains, plays an
important role in the process of converting a passion into a profit.
“Networking provides me with opportunities to expand my knowledge and
experience base and demonstrate it to
others,” he says.
Smart Business spoke with Greene
about turning a passion into a business,
potential hurdles that must be overcome
and the advantages of having a true passion for one’s work.
How should a person go about converting a
passion into a business?
Businesses already exist with respect
to most people’s passions. For example,
if you have a passion for sports, music,
theater, travel, shopping or reading —
any kind of activity that you are passionate about — all of these are already businesses. It’s a matter of seeking out the
right types of people, making them
aware of you and your passion and
becoming aware of what they can do for
you.
What I have found is that establishing
relationships outside of the business
context is valuable. Relationships established by letting people get to know
about you, your skills and passions, and
your interest in their field of endeavor
are important. When an opportunity arises, they know you’re passionate about
their fields of endeavor, and they believe
you can bring help, guidance or skills to
the table.
What factors should be considered when
determining if one’s hobby or passion has
potential as a business?
Not all passions have business potential. Many business areas are already saturated with wannabes as well as with
skillful businesspeople. If you have a
passion for something you have to consider what stage of life you’re at and
whether it’s appropriate at this point in
time to try and enter the arena of your
passion. Some of the factors that should
be considered include current family
and other commitments and obligations
that you might have, and whether you
have the financial resources and staying
power to get involved with something
where you may have to pay your dues
before you can succeed.
What are some potential hurdles that might
be faced when attempting to turn a passion
into a business?
Just because you are passionate about
something doesn’t mean that you have
the right skill sets to play in the ballpark
of your passions. The big hurdle might be learning what you need to know. If
you love food and wine like I do, you
might say, ‘Hey, I want to be a winemaker.’ But what do you know about the
chemistry of making wine? You have to
obtain that knowledge, get those skills
and learn from others. Gaining acceptance can be very difficult because in
most areas of commerce people already
know who the experts are and who they
want to do business with. You’re the outsider looking in, and it may take quite a
while to establish yourself and get people to accept and trust you.
What are the advantages of having a true
passion for one’s work?
If you have a true passion for your
work, almost nothing is going to get in
the way. You can overcome the obstacles
you’re going to face because you know
that this is what you want to do and
you’re going to stay on the chosen path.
Having a passion for your work keeps
you focused and helps you become successful because you love what you are
doing. Defeats become opportunities.
What types of opportunities are available?
The world is your oyster if you want it.
Especially if you have succeeded at earlier endeavors, you just have to be willing to take a step back, take a step down
and apprentice yourself to the industry
or business that embodies your passion.
As long as you keep learning and growing you will be fine. The opportunities
are there for people willing to think outside the box. If you take a concept that
builds on your passion and are able to
grow it into something new, you have the
opportunity to be successful. I know
many people who have successfully pursued their passions. As we say in the
wine world, ‘Cheers.’
RON GREENE is executive vice president of Gumbiner Savett
Inc. Reach him at (310) 828-9798 or [email protected].