Simply loving something isn’t enough to establish a successful business around it. “That’s why it’s so important to focus on the question of usefulness in whatever idea you have and how that idea will serve others?”

A combination of practicality and selflessness goes a long way in giving you the necessary drive to start and succeed like many other entrepreneurs.

I’m a big fan of passion – I think, for entrepreneurs, that deep and abiding passion for the business if turning ideas to profits is the most reliable motivating force – if you’re passionate about something that doesn’t provide value to other people, you don’t have a business.

Entrepreneurs Own their dreams of turning passion into profits

You have a very expensive hobby. If, on the other hand, you’re in love with a useful idea, one that will offer others a product, service, or way of life they want and don’t now have – that could be a business.

There are many functions associated with running a business. Before you quit your day job, make sure that you know how each of these functions is going to be handled. In most cases, the founder will need to be good at doing the primary work of the business.

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It is important to remember that this most often includes selling. However, entrepreneurs will also need a plan for how to accomplish the ancillary functions — accounting, information technology, etc.

Love what you do, and do what you love

As an entrepreneur you have to love every aspect of doing business and be willing to go through the many challenges and learning kerbs business will throw at you in order to reach the pinnacle of business success.

Whether you own your own business or thinking about making the shift from the corporate life, below are 5 easy steps you can take to discover and ignite your passion for entrepreneurship and business.

1) Start with your “WHY”

A great way to work this out is to answer this question: “If you could have someone come in and take care of everything for you – from your work to your kids and your relationships, your day-to-day tasks, and all of your financial responsibilities – what would you be doing with your time that would contribute to making your world a better place?

2) Identify your interests and what’s driving you at this point of your career and life.

Take a look at your bookshelf and social media feeds and take note of what topics you like to pay attention to most.

If you’ve got a stack of books about travel and your Facebook feed is full of posts relating to travel then that’s one major indication that you’re probably passionate about travel.

3) Get clear on what you want and what you’ve got to offer

Identify and uncover your desires, your natural abilities, temperament (environmental preference and personality), and what your assets are E.g. Professional and social network, client list, reputation, financial resources.

4) Create a plan for achieving the results that you want

Starting with the end vision in mind, work backward to mark actual milestones and clear success indicators so that you can track progress along the journey.

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This does not need to be a complicated 50-page document. You could simply draw a timeline on a piece of paper and jot down what needs to happen in 6 months, 12 months, 18 months, etc. so that you know that you are on track.

5) Execute your plan

Thinking about being in business is not actually being in business. Unless you go out there with something to sell and get customers paying you money for it then you don’t have a business.

The same way that you don’t become a swimmer by just reading a book about swimming and not getting into the water, you’re not in business until you’ve got things to sell and customers to buy them.