How to Balance Your Passions & When to Turn Them Into a Business

We all have passions. Things we could do, talk about, or learn about for hours and be completely content.

But how do we know when a passion is more than a passion and worth turning into a business? Can you have multiple passions and multiple businesses? Where is the line drawn?

These are questions I was asked when I wrote about the importance of personal branding (read the full post here). They reminded me of the “longer than anticipated” answer I give when someone asks me, “What do you do?”

Well… I am the Co-founder of a successful branding and consulting agency called Bloguettes, I have my personal blog, Call Me Lore (thank you for being here today haha), and I recently launched my new company called Majka, a line of wholesome nutrition and lactation support products and supplements for new moms.

And I honestly can’t tell you which one I like more! I am passionate about all three of these businesses and their different missions. I am dedicated to each of them and I want to see them all succeed to their greatest ability. Yes, my life is hectic and I can’t be in three places at once, but there are things I do to make it all possible that I’ve learned along the way (some I wished I knew before). 

The first thing I can share is that knowing when your passions are MORE than a hobby but a future business and when they are NOT is incredibly valuable. It is without a doubt hard to separate interests and business endeavors, but as an entrepreneur, it’s something you have to be able to realistically recognize.

So, in this post, I am sharing how I’ve balanced my many different passions!

Brand Yourself

If you want to be behind multiple businesses, brand yourself! If you do this right, you will be able expand your career in the fields that you are passionate about.

I have branded myself around my strongest passions. I am absolutely linked to my businesses, but creating a personal brand for myself lets me grow into more than that. On social media for example, I share content that is related to business advice, branding, career, motherhood, and health & wellness and I have built my business around these areas. That way MY own brands remains consistent.  

Take some time to think and reflect on,

How would you like people to talk about you? How would you want them they describe you to someone that didn’t know you? What reminds them of you? What doesn’t? Can they easily choose a handful of things they know you are passionate about?

That is your brand.

Once you’ve defined the personality of your brand, build it. In every single thing you do make sure it is portraying your brand. I could be really interested in how movies are made, but… that wouldn’t follow my brand and as much as it may interest me for a moment, it isn’t bringing value to those following along with me. Not saying you can’t have endless interests because you absolutely can and should, but it’s important to define what interests are passions.

I go more in depth on brand guidelines in my personal branding post here, but learn to say no to doing, sharing, or promoting things that don’t align with your brand. It can be as simple as the fact that I will never post a low quality photo on my blog or social media- okay except my son’s first day of school but c’mon that’s a mom thing. For me, that’s an example of how I take my personal brand seriously. Take pride in being consistent and showing your best. After all, a brand is what others think of your brand, not what you think of your brand.

Do One Thing, and Do It Right!

This is one of the most important tips I can give. I don’t think being multi-passionate means that you should start turning those passions into multiple business at the same time. Please don’t!

Start with what you love.

The idea that keeps you up at night.

Start with what you know you can do great, and let it be the project that makes you grow. Once you have established financial stability and created systems and procedures that work, you can move on to the next thing. That time where you have laser focus on one thing is magical, and is the time you will be the most creative and impactful in your business. You do not lose those other passions, but are simply giving that one passion your full attention so it can flourish.

For me, founding Bloguettes alongside Sakura was the most important thing I have done for my career. Growing it into a successful business has opened so many other doors for both of us that wouldn’t have been there prior. It established our brand and allowed us to pursue our own independent passions while still working hard at Bloguettes. Yet, I waited to start Call Me Lore and Majka years after Bloguettes. 

There is also NOTHING wrong with a side hustle. If you are able to work your current 9am-5pm job and on your off hours hustle for your true passion until you are financially ready to let go, that’s amazing! That commitment and patience can teach you so much, but don’t let it delay you from that execution.

Choose a Mission Greater Than Your Passion

When thinking of turning a passion you have into a business, pick one where the mission of the company will be even greater than your passion, because it will keep you going. It is not just something you are heavily interested in, but something you would go to battle for. Something you could stand up on your soap box and whole-heartedly talk to no end about how this is going to change the world and bring value to others.

Have you ever taken a moment to recognize the few things that truly light your fire? I’m talking about the few things that you believe in so strong that they are a part of your identity?

That’s the secret to never getting bored of your job.

It’s easy to hear all these hard-to-answer questions and glaze over them. BUT if you take just 30 minutes to answer those hard questions and actually write them down on paper you will discover exactly where your heart lies, instead of waiting years for it to come to you.

In the case of Majka, our mission is to empower moms to take care of themselves FIRST, so they can take care of everything else better. Ever since becoming a mother, my whole life changed and I would do anything to take care of my family. But when I realized I wasn’t taking care of myself, I wasn’t able to take good care of the ones I loved most.

That to me is more powerful than my passion for health and wellness and is what I will fight for even when I am feeling unsure of the future of my business. Starting a product-based business after only working in a service-based business was a scary change and there is so much I don’t know everyday, but I am willing to put in the extra effort to learn how to succeed because it means SO much to me. 

Build a Good Team Around You

There is NO way I can do all the things I need to do for my blog, be at Bloguettes all day, and grow Majka all by myself. There’s simply not enough time in the day. 

If you are running a business and even slightly predict that you’ll start another in the future, your team will be crucial to your success.

Entrepreneurs are often creatives jumping from one idea to another and rely on ourselves to get things done, because these businesses are our babies. But you have to let go of control, create a plan, and allow people to come in and help you. Having full trust in your employees, freelancers, partners, or co-founder to carry out the vision you have been working so hard for while you slowly take a step back to focus on another business will be what keeps you sane. It’ll be a change of routine, but delegating tasks lets you spend time on the most important tasks and have an equal participation in more than one business. 

This could be an entire blog post on its own, BUT finding the right people to help you is key to bringing your vision to life. 

Execute, Execute, Execute

Now it’s time for you to choose that one undeniable passion of yours and turn into a business. If you don’t do it, someone else will, and that’s one of the harshest truths of it. But no one will ever do it exactly like you do, so just do it. If copiers come, let them come, but it will never be the same as yours.

Dreamers dream, entrepreneurs do.

I am a believer in hard work. Some attribute talent and luck to success, and that will always be a debate, but I truly believe that hard work fueled by genuine passion will always win. Work hard, work smart, and you will not fail.

Entrepreneurship is full of good days and bad days. Days where you have no idea how you will ever finish your to-do list and days where you feel like you have no idea what you are doing. But let me tell you just how rewarding it feels to work every day on what you are passionate about and the feeling of pride you get when things start to come together. 

But don’t wait on me to tell you that, if you want to start your own business, believe in yourself and start it! Embrace your passions and your ideas.

I can’t wait to hear what your passions are and how you will turn them into a reality! If you have ANY specific questions please feel free to comment below, email me, or DM me on Instagram. I love helping other entrepreneurs!