Hi Dien;

You bring up some interesting points. : )

As you know, I've been working with business owners for over two decades to show them why they aren't as profitable as they could be. Whether I do that through site design, ad creation or copywriting - the common factor is that I look for "why" a business isn't working.

One of the most common factors that I see when a business isn't working - which also is applicable to starting a new business - is that people tend to have trouble looking at their business through the consumer's eyes.

> The ideal is to choose something which will
> bring in money, and which you love to do as
> well! (Or at least like to do!)

> The fact is, work takes up a big chunk of
> our lives.... It's best to spend it doing
> something you enjoy!

Very true. It is "ideal" to love what you're going to spend a huge chunk of time doing. Yet, many people don't. There are hundreds of thousands of people that complain about hating their job on a daily basis.

So, why do they continue? Because they get a paycheck. Why do they get a paycheck? Because, for the most part, they KNOW their job and someone is willing to pay them for what they know - whether they enjoy it or not.

The paycheck is the cake. Knowledge (of their job) and application (of the skills) are the ingredients required to bake the cake. LIKING their job is the icing on the cake. Cakes can be eaten without icing. Not as tasty - but palatable in most cases.

> Anyhow, "Do what you love and the money
> will follow" is a widespread myth....
> Of course, it's great to be able to do what
> you love. And if you're doing what you love,
> you'll probably do it better than most
> people will. But - not EVERYTHING you love
> to do will bring you an income.

"Do what you love and the money will follow" is only a myth to those that do not understand how to view this saying through the eyes of the people that will be handing over the money.

Let's take "Joe" as an example. Joe heard that Golf is a very lucrative business and that some golf sites are pulling in tons of cash a month.

So, Joe puts up a golf site. Joe doesn't know diddly about golf - but he heard that it's lucrative. He picks the best products - the names he hears all the time. He sits back and waits for the money to roll in. But, it doesn't.
Why?

Well, frankly - it's because Joe doesn't know diddly about golf. He doesn't know where the golf nuts hang out. He doesn't read the same magazines. He doesn't know enough about golf to tell anyone anything about it. He doesn't know enough about golf to write a good ad if his life depended on it - nor does he know enough to know who to hire to help him out because he can't tell a true golfer from some one full of bs.

And if Joe gets a true golfer asking him a question, he's going to sound like a pathetic ninny when he tried to answer. And that true golf lover is going to tell his golf buddies that Joe is a ninny and not to buy from him because he doesn't know a nine iron from a five iron, much less anything more complex.

> I love to do a lot of things. I love body
> surfing. I love listening to music. I love
> deep philosophical discussions. Does that
> mean that the ideal thing for me to do is to
> keep doing these things?

No. What it DOES mean is that you are more likely to have the knowledge base required to run a business in those areas.

If you actually DO body surf, you may be able to answer the questions of a customer that also body surfs. If you didn't body surf, you would have NO clue because any information you do have is based on theory, not experience.

> Business is about fulfilling a want in the
> community.... Unfortunately, my body surfing
> doesn't fulfil a very big want in the
> community (no matter how much I love to do
> it)!

Exactly. Business is about fulfillling a want in the community. But, it goes beyond that. A business owner must have the knowledge base required to run the business successfully. Often times, that knowledge base exists because you have an interest in the subject matter.

Let's say I discover that there is a need, in my community, for high performance auto parts. Perhaps there is no one selling any, and people from this area are ordering from another province.

Does that mean I can make a ton of cash selling high performance auto parts? Probably not. Why? Because I don't know diddly about high performance auto parts. Why don't I know diddly about high performance auto parts? Because I have never had an interest in them.

But... couldn't I just hire people that have the knowledge that I don't? Probably not. Why? Because I wouldn't know a truly qualified person from one that is talking bs and pulling the wool over my eyes because they want the job. I might end up hiring someone that didn't know squat and they'd help me drive my business right into the ground.

I would need to learn the industry inside out before I contemplated opening a business in that industry. How likely am I to do that? Not likely at all - because I've never had an interest in it.

So... if you want people to buy from you... the best best is to pick something that you enjoy - and build a business around it. That way, you have the knowledge base to SELL in that industry.

In a nutshell, that's why so many websites are failing. People come to the internet thinking that all they have to do is slap up a couple of books that they get commission on - or that they bought resell rights to - and they are going to make a ton of cash. Not so, as they discover.

I like to ask people what they are qualified and knowledgeable enough to sell offline. That's what they can sell online, too. If you would not apply for a job in a marketing department, you should not be selling marketing materials. If you would not apply for a job as a distributor selling golf products, you aren't going to fare any better selling golf products online.

Knowledge of the industry is imperative. If you pick a hobby that you KNOW, your odds of success go up exponentially.

Just my two cents...

: )
Linda


http://www.lindacaroll.com