A thought provoking statement over on Start Up Donut advising you to base a business on something you enjoy.

Here are 10 reasons not to do that:

1. Creating a distinction between work and play is important to give your life balance
2. Picking from a pool of 3 or 4 subjects may focus the mind, but might mean you don’t consider some other great opportunities
3. Just because you enjoy something does not make it commercially viable
4. When you are at work…are you working or playing?
5. It can be hard enough to find time to spend with your family and friends as a business owner already. This can be exacerbated if you are having too good a time!
6. Conversely, if you live and breath one subject you can easily become sick of it
7. If you screw up your business, you could end up not enjoying your hobby
8. You are more likely to make decisions with your heart and not your head
9. Eventually running most businesses (that succeed a bit) is less about the service you provide and more about administration and management. You may end up neglecting these if you enjoy the subject too much or conversely you may end up resentful of the business because it no longer feels like your hobby.
10. Profit and success create passion and motivation and gives you a reason to get out of bed, and pick up the phone. Without these, you’ll need one hell of a hobby to keep plugging away.

I’m not saying you shouldn’t turn a hobby into a business, I’m just saying that I value my work and hobbies too much to mix them.

thomas valaitis success strategies