Pursuing a passion for a career or starting a business often warrants a degree of concern. Will our passions pan out or amount to anything?
Studies and world-class examples show that passion remains an integral part of entrepreneurial success. Without it, entrepreneurs may find it difficult to overcome the long hours, as well as the turbulences that come with building a business from the ground up. A founder’s passion contributes to increases in buy-in rate from investors and the general public.
It was the late Steve Jobs, founder of Apple, that once said “People with passion can change the world for the better.” He attributed much of his success to dedication and passion for what he was doing.
It’s taking that first leap and getting started that is often the hardest. It’s not uncommon for entrepreneurs to fall ‘accidentally’ into their businesses. Many can turn their hobbies or side gigs into a full-time income. However, this requires a bit of fear elimination. Dismantling the constructs that prevent us from pursuing something, just because it seems uncertain. Becoming an entrepreneur not only takes passion but also grit and experimentation to find the right fit.
One entrepreneur drew inspiration from throwing her son’s first birthday party and turned it into a multi-digit full-time entertainment business. Arisineh Hoonanian is the CEO of Little Artist Party. The Los Angeles-based party planning company attracts the likes of well-known names such as the Kardashians, Jessica Simpson, and Lily Ghalichi.
Her advice to aspiring entrepreneurs is to cultivate their passion and don’t be afraid of using creativity to inspire their future businesses. You never know where it can lead to.
Identify your Passion and Become Meticulous About It
Let’s assume your passion is sports. You desire to create a career that has something to do with sports. Now, go attempt to find a job with that in mind.
The fact is, you’re going to have a difficult time because you’ve failed to narrow down your passion to something tangible. What is it you enjoy about sports? Is there a particular sport you favor? Is there a specific element you want to influence?
Start by identifying something that brings you joy, that you have a fair degree of aptitude in, and most importantly brings value to others. Now your goal is to become the best at it. And to become the best at something, you need to be meticulous about the details and not let yourself become a ‘generalist’.
Little Artist Party went from throwing one birthday party per weekend to now being booked for 20 on average. This monumental growth didn’t come overnight. A lot of the success, Arsineh attributes to long hours and meticulous preparation. Despite having an entire event planning team, Arsineh ensures every single detail is executed to her standard of quality for every party.
It’s this level of dedication to quality and customer satisfaction that has driven countless testimonials and allowed the company to expand its services. If Arsineh didn’t have the passion for kids and cultivating the best experiences for these precious years of their lives, it would have been extremely hard for her to pull off this level of execution. It wasn’t just parties she wanted to plan, these were niche parties catered towards challenging the creativity of kids.
Let your Passion be Showcased in the Branding
People will often buy into the entrepreneur, more than they do the product. Don’t be afraid to showcase what you’re passionate about and what you’re working towards. Social media can help business owners establish a more genuine connection with their audience.
Your passion can be embodied through your branding and messaging. For example, the Little Artist Party website is exuberant with bright colors, images, and headings that reflect creativity, joy, and trust. Its logo is a paint palette reflecting its value of letting kids express their innermost creativity through play.
“Focusing on marketing is also a big part of expressing my passion. Without having a platform to show our creativity and events, it would have been difficult to present our vision,”, Arisineh comments.
Find the Right People that Align with Your Passion
It takes a village to build a successful business, but if that village is comprised of the wrong fits, it might come down like the Jenga game.
When you’re ready to take that step to bring on people to assist you in building your company, make sure you’re explicit about your passion and outcomes. People that share your vision are more likely to be more loyal and have higher performance than those who aren’t. It also reduces potential conflict and tension in the workplace if everyone is aligned on the same goals.
Allocating responsibilities can be difficult for an entrepreneur, but is necessary for growth. As Little Party Artist grew, the additional staff and event planners brought on helped monumentally in sustaining the level of quality Arsineh wanted for the parties. She’s especially keen on taking the time to find the right people for the task.
Conclusion
Betting on passion alone won’t get you to the finish line of starting a business, however, it can give you the fuel to persist in the long haul. Passion can also help entrepreneurs identify what they value and set up standards for their businesses. These standards can be reflected across their branding, marketing, to their teams, and final product. The more you hone down on your passion, the greater quality you can produce for your customers, and the more likely you will achieve successful outcomes for your business.
