Three Essential Tips To Help You Turn Your Passion Project Into A Career

Whether you call it a side hustle, part-time project or labour of love, if you have a passion project that you want to replace your full-time job with then you are not alone. It can be a scary prospect walking away from the security and familiarity of your well known and established career. However, the benefits of pursuing a dream can outweigh those risks. With some careful planning and consideration then you too could turn your passion project into your full-time profession. So whether you’re a beauty blogger, trader or cake maker here are some tips to help turn your passion project into a career. 

Photo credit; Ron Lach from Pexels

Start saving

Every project will need an investment or start-up funds. It does not have to be a huge pot but you will need some financial backing to support you without your full-time wage and to get your project off of the ground. So it is a good idea to start saving early. Transfer a manageable amount of your salary into a dedicated savings account that is not to be used or touched for anything other than your new venture. Keeping your finances separate is key to ensuring the money is spent where it should be. Remember, there is no such thing as too much money when it comes to getting a business up and running.

Budget

While saving, it is also a good idea to create a budget for your startup. Work out what the upfront costs might be. Will you be using suppliers? Do you need branding or to pay for marketing? What about ongoing costs and a living wage for yourself? Having a clear budget is the only way to determine just how much you need to save to see you through the first year, or potentially more, of business. 

Have a plan 

Having a detailed and thought out plan is essential. The more detail you can add to your plan the better. Some parts of your plan will be specific to your venture, if you are a trader for example you will need to know what platform you intend to use. Are you apprised of all of the relevant trading platforms and what they can offer? Do you know the difference between Metatrader 4, Trade 212 and eToro? You will need to ensure you have access to all of the relevant markets, results and news information sources. Most of which are likely to come at a cost that will need to be planned and budgeted for. If you are a beauty blogger you will need a plan of the type of content you intend to produce, when and how.

There are also some universal planning principles you can apply to any project. Below is some inspiration to help you plan any project;

• Write a mission statement. Set out what you want to achieve, how and when.
  
• Analyse the market. Research your competitors, and whether there is a demand for your product if you have one. Determine pricing and suppliers. Work out what is working well in your industry and what isn’t.
  
• Marketing. Do you need a marketing plan or strategy in place? The example of a trader is unlikely to benefit from marketing. For a beauty blogger however, marketing will be key to ensuring success and this must be planned for.
  
• Set yourself clear goals and the timeframe in which you want to realise those goals.