Is This The Worst Crap We Have Ever Been Taught?

[A Bary]

Hello Warriors,

An idea hit me today, and I decided to discuss it with you..

The very first lesson we learned as newbies to online business is that:

"You should do business in a niche you're passionate about"
"You shouldn't try to do business in a subject you know nothing about"

And we used to think about these 2 sentences as being 2 sides of a coin..

But, it took me a long time to realize that, this is crap..

and these 2 sentences are hugely apart from each other, to an extent that one of them is absolutely correct, and the other is a total crap

(Note: all of this post is a personal opinion, it maybe right, it maybe wrong, that's why I opened this discussion)

First things first, when you enter this business, and try to choose a niche,
niches are classified for you into 4 categories:

1-Niches you no nothing about, and absolutely hate to be involved in.

2-Niches you no nothing about, but you are either neutral towards them or finding it interesting to know something about.

3-Niches you have some knowledge about.

4-Niches you are PASSIONATE about, means you have a vast knowledge about and know almost everything related to this niche.


According to the classical advice that I started with, the forth choice is the best to go with, and if you find a niche that lies in this category for you, and happens to be profitable and lucrative, you shall go immediately with this niche...

on the other hand, the first and the second options are niches to avoid, you shouldn't try to do business in a niche you're not interested in or know nothing about.

Well, This is where CRAP starts for me.

Let's explain ...

I'm passionate about "soccer", actually I'm CRAZY about this sport, I know everything a fan can know about it, I watch every single match I come by, I know every single detail about big teams and top players all around the world, I know by heart the history of the world cup since 1930 to every small detail.

If there's a contest about anything related to soccer, I'll definitely be the winner.

But, will I build a soccer site someday?

NEVER!!

Why?

Because IT'S MY PASSION...

It's a hobby for me, I enjoy soccer, I love when I come across soccer sites as a regular fan, without thinking about checking their ranking or backlinks, or analyzing their onpage SEO factors...blah..blah..


I just enjoying being there as a fan, not a business man!

That's why I found the advice of "Doing business in what you're passionate about" a total crap...

If I do business in what I'm passionate about, what I'll keep for my own, personal, life joy?

My passions are things to enjoy, to feel the taste of life through, not to be hooked with in a business circle...



On the other hand, I found the advice of" Don't do business in something you know nothing about" absolutely true, but with a small twist...

If you find a market that you think profitable, but your knowledge about the subject is limited....what is the problem if you try to "learn" about it?

I was interested in knowing more about "Feng Shui" I got a book from the local library about the history of Feng Shui and started to read, few pages ahead I got bored to death, I used to hate subjects related to decoration and interior design..

Well I do business in this niche?

of course not!!
Feeling the hate to the subject while you're trying to learn about is a good sign to leave it alone,

In another occasion, I found a book about tarot.
I heard about it before, but my knowledge about it is very limited...

I enjoyed the reading very much, I was amazed how this subject is so interesting, and I got a couple of other books and read them for fun..

Now, Is it possible for me to think about this niche for business?

Of course!

The point is, it's not a big deal how much you know about a market to decide if you can do business in it or not, but once you made the decision you should learn about the given subject as much as you can...

But, you don't have to be passionate about it to build a successful business around it...

We are publishers, not creators!

The real passion that has to exist here is the passion to your business, the passion to build a successful site that attracts a lot of visitors and offer great value, and make good money in return

Take the book publishers as an example, what about Dan Brown's novels publisher?

He or she made millions from this novels, but does he/she have to be passionate about religious symbols or christian history?

Nope!
Their only passion should be towards books and publishing, towards publishing a successful book that hits the skies with its success..


That's my opinion, with the desire to succeed and a fair knowledge about the subject, you can build a successful business in any niche under the sun..



Again, all of these are personal observations to be discussed..

Cheers

[MichaelHiles]

I think this is the second post of this kind this week.


Seth Godin adamantly disagrees with you.

In fact, if you don't have passion, you aren't going to be genuine in your efforts to build a tribe. You cannot successfully market in this day and age without your tribe, who can smell BS a mile away. Your tribe will carry your message where you cannot, and multiply your message beyond your capital to directly promote your mission on a 1:1 basis.

[Louise Green]

I don't think you need passion in a niche, I mean it helps, but it's not required to make money from it.

A good business mind is all it takes to provide good value for money.

[TLTheLiberator]

If you are not sincere in writing for any market you're operating in, it very well could seep into your writing.

Of course it's a lot more fun to operate in niches that you are passionate about but it's not necessary to made good money.

TL

[George Wright]

Hi,

Some people do this to make money. Anything they find that makes them money becomes their passion.

Ooops did I say that.

George Wright

[David McKee]

Originally Posted by MichaelHiles

I think this is the second post of this kind this week.


Seth Godin adamantly disagrees with you.

In fact, if you don't have passion, you aren't going to be genuine in your efforts to build a tribe. You cannot successfully market in this day and age without your tribe, who can smell BS a mile away. Your tribe will carry your message where you cannot, and multiply your message beyond your capital to directly promote your mission on a 1:1 basis.

That is, of course, if everything that Seth Godin says is true...

Now, I think what the original point here is that there are things we are Passionate about with a capital 'P' and is the thing we would do for free, and the old adage is that if you can get paid for what you would do for free, that is ideal. I guess the original authors point was that he did not want the business aspect to kill his passion for the sport of Soccer. So he pursued a business where he had a passion with a little 'p' so-to-speak. I think that passion is still genuine, but if he had forced himself to do the Feng shui which he hated, that would have been obvious to those whom he wants to carry the message.

It's the old adage about the guy who loves coffee and decides to open a coffee shop - well, you better learn to love accounting, inventory, taxes, hiring and firing, labor law, regulation and Osha requirements, etc. because that is all part of owning a profit making coffee shop.

-DTM

[Eric Lorence]

I guess if your passion just happens to be Forex - you'll make loads of cash ...

Decorative Snow Globes ... Not so much ...

[Bryan Zimmerman]

It works really simple in that what ever puts money in your pocket, your going to learn to be pasionate about it. Even if you never set out to be

I've always thought the "start with something that your passionate about" sentence was off base. You can learn enough in reading for about an hour to get started on anything you want. Unless of course your talking about how to configure lasers or something.

[MichaelHiles]

Originally Posted by David McKee

That is, of course, if everything that Seth Godin says is true...

Now, I think what the original point here is that there are things we are Passionate about with a capital 'P' and is the thing we would do for free, and the old adage is that if you can get paid for what you would do for free, that is ideal. I guess the original authors point was that he did not want the business aspect to kill his passion for the sport of Soccer. So he pursued a business where he had a passion with a little 'p' so-to-speak. I think that passion is still genuine, but if he had forced himself to do the Feng shui which he hated, that would have been obvious to those whom he wants to carry the message.

It's the old adage about the guy who loves coffee and decides to open a coffee shop - well, you better learn to love accounting, inventory, taxes, hiring and firing, labor law, regulation and Osha requirements, etc. because that is all part of owning a profit making coffee shop.

-DTM

I understand the points. But I am not sure that I agree that someone can be wholly, and sustainably successful without the pure passion.

How many entrepreneurs that started major companies and went on to hit grand slam homeruns weren't passionate about what they did?

They just sort of liked things, but not that much.

It's the passion that drives you at 3am.

[wantselltrade]

Personally, I feel you must be passionate to truely enjoy it. Also the added benefit is that you have the knowlege of the niche or product at hand. This can save you money. Does this mean you always have to follow this, NO. Other niches in a lot of cases are more profitible in the short and long run. BUT this does mean you have to work your butt off to learn learn and learn if you truely want to maximize your profit potential.

Just my 2 cents

[phoenixx9000]

I dont think you neccessarily have to be passionate about something in order to sell it - do you think your milk man is passionate about milk? Is a a guy who works in an appliance store passionate about fridges and cookers? No but he knows a lot about them and I think this is the major difference.
If you dont know jack about something I think - no matter how hard you try it will come accross as "I dont know anything about this I just want you to buy the product".

[Steven Carl Kelly]

First, the general idea of passion is correct. If you have passion for a subject you are more likely to sustain your interest in making it a success, even through the rougher periods.

Second, it isn't an absolute MUST to be passionate about your the subject of your business, but I'd wager that more people are successful WITH passion than are without it.

Third, all of my undertakings for which I began with passion are generally more successful than those I started without. If I am passionate about something I spend more time on it, I enjoy doing it more, I consider it less of a chore, and I always look forward to dealing with it, whether I have to deal with something positive or negative. Why? Because I have passion for that subject.

So yeah, passion may not always be necessary, but I'll stack someone with a passion for a subject up against someone who has very little interest in it and I'm pretty sure the former will outperform the latter in most cases.

[madison_avenue]

A large part of the passion, possibly most of it has to be about the business of business, about the marketing of business. Otherwise we are really talking about a hobby not a business. I have many hobbies but I am aware that most of them will never be businesses.

[MichaelHiles]

Originally Posted by phoenixx9000

I dont think you neccessarily have to be passionate about something in order to sell it - do you think your milk man is passionate about milk? Is a a guy who works in an appliance store passionate about fridges and cookers? No but he knows a lot about them and I think this is the major difference.
If you dont know jack about something I think - no matter how hard you try it will come accross as "I dont know anything about this I just want you to buy the product".

A milkman isn't selling milk. He's delivering a commodity product as an order taker.

Big difference.

And yes, the guy who is passionate about what he's selling is a more successful salesperson.

[Daniel E Taylor]

Some people are passionate about marketing
and selling. So they will be successful selling
in almost any niche.

But if you aren't passionate about marketing which means
spending most of yoru time learning, devouring, and reading
about marketing, then it would be best to find something
you are passionate about and sell that.

It worked for me.

2 things you said were incorrect.

1. IF you have passion about something you are already
an expert at it.

That's totally false. There are things I'm passionate about,
but I haven't gotten around to learning them inside and out.

2. You can be passionate about more than 1 thing in life.
Geez.

The thing is once you start seeing success in business you realize
there some passion somewhere about something or you wouldn't
have made through the tough times.

Some people have a passion for just selling and marketing and making money, so they
can get into any niche. But again there must be a passion and a true urge
to learn marketing. And that's only a few people.

Moral of the story:

Sense you have not yet made it in business you probably aren't the
best person people should be getting their advice from.

Daniel

[Steven Carl Kelly]

How many times have you heard a great business success story begin with "It started out as a hobby..."

There's a reason for that.

[Alminc]

Passionate or not, you can still build totally non-personal SEO-ed niche
sites and make money either as an affiliate or by selling your own ebooks
written by a ghostwriter who may be passionate about that niche, or not.

Farthermore, you may be passionate about SEO and be able to get your
sites onto 1st page in google, or you can outsource it to a SEO expert
who is passionate about SEO

[phoenixx9000]

Originally Posted by MichaelHiles

A milkman isn't selling milk. He's delivering a commodity product as an order taker.

Big difference.

And yes, the guy who is passionate about what he's selling is a more successful salesperson.

No difference - milk is marketed just like anything else - ads on the telly telling you to drink it etc. A lot of milk men are self employed - they gotta sell the stuff. IM products are delivered as an "order taken" also.

I dont think the sales guy is really passionate about fridges etc (like he dreamed of being a fridge sales guy when he was a kid) however, the best sales guy will be the one who appears the most passionate. Selling online is no different - a sales page is all about tugging at emotions and persuasion, The person who can do this the best doesn't neccessarily have to be passionate about the product. Do you think guys whp write sales copy for a living are passionate about the product they are writing the copy for?

[Asher]

Napolean Hill stated...
"Determine exactly what you intend to give in return for the money you desire.
(There is no such reality as “something for nothing.)"

Doing something for business that you have a passion in
offers you sustainability. As Steven Carl Kelly stated,
"How many times have you heard a great business success
story begin with 'It started out as a hobby...'"

(Honestly, I don't hear it a lot, or at least not that I can
think of... but I get the point of it)

It doesn't guarantee success - but what on this earth, does?
Having a passion merely tips the odds in your favour.

And who ever said that a business has to be about building
a site? Building a site is merely just another POSSIBILITY of
marketing what you love to do.

If you were paid to give a talk about the history of soccer,
would you do it? Given that you can talk about the history
of soccer to its most minute detail... I think you might take
up the offer.

That, in itself, could be a business. It just hasn't taken on
a form of a corporation or sorts.

Wikipedia states...

The etymology of "business" relates to the state of being busy either as an individual or society as a whole, doing commercially viable and profitable work.

While Wikipedia isn't the defining term of what business
is (as it states later that the definition of business is still
a matter of debate), it gives us a fine idea of what it
generally is.

So... is this the worst crap we have ever been taught?

I tend to disagree.

It's just whether you've found the right niche and angle to
start making it a profitable one for you... being a perfect
alchemy mix between fun, profit and the exchange of value.

Asher

[Matt Maiden]

How about being passionate about doing a good job, passionate about doing the best you can do?

I have had jobs where I had to answer to somebody else and was only there to earn rent and food money but that didn't stop me from trying to do the best job I could do.

I was very passionate about doing my best because there is another important element that gets left out of these threads and conversations.

That is personal pride.

If I find a profitable niche that I know nothing about I will go learn as much as I can about that subject because I want to do the best that I can and it's not always about making money.

Would I like to make a lot of money in a niche? Yes of course but more importantly to me is if I am doing the best I can do and if it is quality work.

I have done many jobs where the money was not there or not good but that does not stop me from trying to do the best that I can.

If you are passionate about doing a good job then you are a success.

Now find the job, niche, business...that will bring in the money.

Matt

[sam12six]

I feel like the advice to go with your passion is mainly aimed at new people coming into online business because their attention span for the marketing aspect of things is usually short and having a real interest in the subject matter can make it feel less like work.

Once you understand how to do business, you can look at the potential profitability of the niche first, then worry about whether you're truly interested in that particular niche. Even if you aren't, outsourcing the "niche" part and doing the marketing yourself is feasible.

Let's face facts - If your one and only passion is catching your neighbor's cat, shaving it naked, then laughing your ass off, you're going to have trouble monetizing it (not to mention getting sued/arrested). The simple truth is that some niches have more/easier money than others.

I find the best methodology to choose a general niche is brainstorm a list of niches I think will be profitable, then choose the 1 I'm most interested in among those. I look at it as a business. If I choose a profitable niche to work, it'll produce more money and time for me to pursue my hobbies. If my hobbies coincide with the niche, great, otherwise I'd rather choose profitable over interesting if the choice were forced on me...

[Fun to Write]

I believe that it helps to be interested in some way with a niche you're committed to building a business with. You'll be able to churn out the work that's needed a lot easier than a niche that you become bored with quickly.

Ex: how many people are really interested in Insurance or Mortgage?

Who will make more money in the Insurance and Mortgage categories?

The person who throws up some rehashed content, or a person who creates an authority site based on having worked years in the business?

I'll go with #2.

Of course, having said that, it's possible to outsource the production of content in these two niches and come up with some type of quality products, without being actually much interested in it.

One business model is based on true knowledge, the other is based on deep pockets.

[Fun to Write]

Originally Posted by Matt M

How about being passionate about doing a good job, passionate about doing the best you can do?

I have had jobs where I had to answer to somebody else and was only there to earn rent and food money but that didn't stop me from trying to do the best job I could do.

I was very passionate about doing my best because there is another important element that gets left out of these threads and conversations.

That is personal pride.

I strongly believe in this too.

[MichaelHiles]

Originally Posted by phoenixx9000

No difference - milk is marketed just like anything else - ads on the telly telling you to drink it etc. A lot of milk men are self employed - they gotta sell the stuff. IM products are delivered as an "order taken" also.

I dont think the sales guy is really passionate about fridges etc (like he dreamed of being a fridge sales guy when he was a kid) however, the best sales guy will be the one who appears the most passionate. Selling online is no different - a sales page is all about tugging at emotions and persuasion, The person who can do this the best doesn't neccessarily have to be passionate about the product. Do you think guys whp write sales copy for a living are passionate about the product they are writing the copy for?

There's also a big difference between the salesman down at the local appliance store and the founder of the appliance company.

Choose your path and it's rewards.

[SurviveUnemployment]

Can you make money without passion? Sure, but is that the life you want?

The other thing is this: You'll be more motivated if you're passionate. I don't mind staying up 'til the crack of dawn writing about things that interest me.

[John Hixson]

Just to miss the point spectacularly a moment

The OP - if your passion is football don't rule out setting up in it. i run a blog in the sport I am passionate about but set it up without intention of making a living from it (I still dont). But it has provided a lot of GREAT stuff for me as I am passionate about it.

I make about $15 a day off of adsense on the blog and about $2 or 3 off of Amazon which is nice. Faaaar more important to me, as it is my passion, is what it has enabled me. I now have connected with a lot of the top bloggers in the industry. I have got to go to events with my heroes, sit with them at meals, interview them for the blog etc. I have been given press passes and advance merchandise to review.

If you have the passion for something and talk about it nonstop even without paying - why not set up something? I talk about my sport on about 3 different forums, why not also write my opinion on something that will also make me a little money?

Missing the point of what you are getting at but don't dismiss doing a football blog because it is your passion - so long as you dont approach it as a proper IM business but some fun that might make you money it wont lose its sparkle but can gain you an awful lot.

[Steven Fullman]

Interesting discussion.

"Passion"

There's an emotive word.

I might replace it with these phrases: "vaguely interested in" or "not completely stupid at"...or to distil it down to the actual point: "I understand what these people want".

Folks don't buy stuff (normally) because the VENDOR is "passionate" about something. They buy because THEY are passionate about it.

You are the conduit. You're not their damned soul-mate.

Of course, if you ARE passionate about a niche with proven buyers...go hog-wild! You've just struck gold.

Note to OP...football being one of them. (btw, I refuse to call football "soccer"...just a pet peeve of mine)

Steve

[GarryMSayer]

This is a great topic for a thread and an engaging and interesting read.

You must always go for niches you are passionate about.

How many times have we heard this??

I agree with it in principle, let’s say you do some brainstorming and research and you discover 3 – 5 niches you think would be really good, then MAYBE in that instance then yes it would be best to go for the one that you find the most interesting or have the most experience with.

It certainly helps with writing content and thinking up product ideas etc. at first. Problems arise when you might be so used to this niche that you struggle to think up the kind of fresh ideas that someone with less knowledge of the ‘rules’ of that niche might be able to come up with.

Plus – if all the niches you are passionate about don’t look like good, profitable niches, then it is just not worth the effort! Give me a good niche any day over one that I like but can’t make good money with.

Heck, you can outsource the creation of a product, you don’t need to be ‘in’ the niche, just marketing to it, and marketing principles remain much the same from niche to niche.

From my experience you should not fall into this trap, go for the best niche you can find that you can stomach working in. Go back to your passions later when you have experience and capital to reinvest.

Garry.

[francof]

I don't see why you still can't make what you're passionate about profitable. It's like you're saying that doing business in that niche will somehow ruin your personal enjoyment of it. I don't see how that would be the case. Even if you don't want to somehow compromise your commitment as a fan by giving precedence over SEO / business aspect and just contribute 100% from the perspective of a fan of the game, I bet you'd probably get better SEO out of it because you'd be writing stuff that other fans will actually find interesting and not writing for search engines. Which in turn will get your regular traffic, natural back links etc.

Sometimes we get the best result in something by not thinking about it so much and just focusing on doing what do and what we love.

That's the beauty of doing business in a niche you're so passionate about IMO, you don't even have to treat it like a business for it to make money, just do like John Hixson says above, to start just stick some adsense and other affiliate programs on the site. You might just be surprise how successful in becomes if you're writing for the fans and not with any motive to satisfy the search engines and without a primary goal of making money.

Then if it becomes successful and still cant' stand the thought of treating it like a fully-fledged business, you could always sell it and stay on as a paid contributor or hire someone to take care of the business aspect of it (revenue share or something like that).

So to sum up, I fail to see how it would ruin your personal enjoyment of something by being in business in that niche.

[A Bary]

Originally Posted by Steven Fullman

Interesting discussion.


Note to OP...football being one of them. (btw, I refuse to call football "soccer"...just a pet peeve of mine)

Steve

Just for fellow Americans to know what I am talking about

Football is one thing in the whole world and just another in the states...

I hate the "soccer" term as well and find it cheesy...

[A Bary]

Originally Posted by francof

I don't see why you still can't make what you're passionate about profitable. It's like you're saying that doing business in that niche will somehow ruin your personal enjoyment of it. I don't see how that would be the case. Even if you don't want to somehow compromise your commitment as a fan by giving precedence over SEO / business aspect and just contribute 100% from the perspective of a fan of the game, I bet you'd probably get better SEO out of it because you'd be writing stuff that other fans will actually find interesting and not writing for search engines. Which in turn will get your regular traffic, natural back links etc.

Sometimes we get the best result in something by not thinking about it so much and just focusing on doing what do and what we love.

That's the beauty of doing business in a niche you're so passionate about IMO, you don't even have to treat it like a business for it to make money, just do like John Hixson says above, to start just stick some adsense and other affiliate programs on the site. You might just be surprise how successful in becomes if you're writing for the fans and not with any motive to satisfy the search engines and without a primary goal of making money.

Then if it becomes successful and still cant' stand the thought of treating it like a fully-fledged business, you could always sell it and stay on as a paid contributor or hire someone to take care of the business aspect of it (revenue share or something like that).

So to sum up, I fail to see how it would ruin your personal enjoyment of something by being in business in that niche.

Great ideas!

Yet, we are humans, and when something just turns to a biz (at least for me), it loses it's personal and fun touch

[Raydal]

The advice of finding a niche you are passionate about
has to do with creating your first product, not general
to making money online. That's where I find this
discussion is off.

Some people enjoy creating, some selling/marketing. If
you are involved in the creative side you must be passionate
about what you do to survive. If you are just selling to
make money then you can always choose to sell anything.

-Ray Edwards

[actionplanbiz]

You got to Have Passions, Desire, and a Nose to smell Crap!

[A Bary]

Originally Posted by Raydal

The advice of finding a niche you are passionate about
has to do with creating your first product, not general
to making money online. That's where I find this
discussion is off.

Some people enjoy creating, some selling/marketing. If
you are involved in the creative side you must be passionate
about what you do to survive. If you are just selling to
make money then you can always choose to sell anything.

-Ray Edwards

Thanks Ray..
A Valid point...
But the problem is, some so called gurus are generalizing the concept that is ideal for the product creation area to the whole online business practice.

[Steven Fullman]

So don't listen to them. Make your own mind up

I should explain: you really ought to have a healthy disregard for so-called "wisdom".

It's often little more than folklore and/or unsubstantiated nonsense.

Find out for yourself what works FOR YOU.

Steve

Originally Posted by goldmind123

Thanks Ray..
A Valid point...
But the problem is, some so called gurus are generalizing the concept that is ideal for the product creation area to the whole online business practice.

[da1fitz]

Although it is easy to research a niche and come across as an expert in that area, eg trainspotters,radio hams,footy/rugby fans etc,those people will know if you really understand their questions and have genuine passionate answers or not, and if you just write reworded stuff that you have read somewhere they will know straight away - just searching eg clickbank for a top selling product related to this niche will probably sell OK to persons new to that niche but seasoned "target nichers" will see through you immediately and you will probably lose lots of sales based on this translucence - Subject Passion is a must!! Full stop - QED

[Loren Woirhaye]

I wrote and produced a 20-minute video about this topic
recently. I won't tell you you must make a product about
soccer - don't if you don't want to - but DO be passionate
about helping people in some way.

If you are going to be a publisher there is lots of room
for finding product ideas that are commercially viable
and which hold your interests. They don't have to be
your key passions, because, frankly, those are often
not the best commercial things to make products about.

Here's the video:

Viddler.com - info-product creation strategies: How to win with your first information product, ebook, video course, or software

[DogScout]

Originally Posted by kimiroger

I don't think you necessarily have to have knowledge or even be passionate about your niche. I think all that's needed is for some way you can provide value to the customers in that niche. As long as you find some way to provide the value, you will have a long term business model.

I agree, that is to say, it is OK to be passionate about the niche and that passion has it's own sets of pluses and minuses
(It is easier to stay motivated, research time is reduced, the passion you feel comes out in your writing easier, etc, etc; some minuses can be preconceived notions you won't let go of that interfere with general consensus and sales, not knowing when to 'drop it' when it doesn't produce as much income to compensate for the time it takes, etc etc etc)

On the other hand, A niche you do not know well, can motivate you to do BETTER research, take a more objective and sales oriented view, etc etc; on the other hand, it MAY make you less motivated and feel like it is 'work' more than a passionate subject, you may not know enough to realize you got a hold of bad information before passing it on to your 'herd' (which let's them know right away, you don't know your poop), etc etc etc

So my thing would be to go where the money is, take whatever steps necessary to guard against whatever disadvantages that niche has (due to being either passionate about it or not).

[bgmacaw]

Originally Posted by MichaelHiles

Seth Godin adamantly disagrees with you.

And he's wrong.

[GrantFreeman]

"But, will I build a soccer site someday?

NEVER!!

Why?

Because IT'S MY PASSION..."

Um.. errr....uhhhh.....ehhh...What!?

That's the weakest reasoning I've read in a long time.

See a trend or a need/product that will make people happy? Then give it to them and stop worrying about all this "crap" that doesn't matter.

If you're not passionate about giving me quality, I'll be even more passionate about returning it.

G

[Black Hat Cat]

Originally Posted by MichaelHiles

How many entrepreneurs that started major companies and went on to hit grand slam homeruns weren't passionate about what they did?

How many entrepreneurs who were passionate about what they did went on to strike out anyway? I suspect the answer to both is "a lot".

Success can be your passion. The market itself doesn't have to be.

[timpears]

I personally think that it comes down to my passion is to make money so I can feed my family. I have always had a bit of skepticism for the "you got to have passion" for your niche bs. Over the last couple of months I have had communication with a couple of Warriors that do pretty well. One has 285 sites according to what he saidd, and made around $35K in a month. Do you think that was all in one niche of his passion, or was it from many niches that he is probably not all that passionate about? My guess is that he is passionate about his business model, and the niches are secondary. He finds stuff that he can make money with and goes with that.

Another fellow told me that he makes about $200 a day from Adsense, so I got to assume that he has multiple sites, and I would also guess that he isn't passionate about all of those niches either.

I don't know these things to be facts, but I think it is fairly obvious that those two people are not passionate about all of the niches that they have sites based on. But what do I know, just my two cents.

[da1fitz]

Originally Posted by Black Hat Cat

How many entrepreneurs who were passionate about what they did went on to strike out anyway? I suspect the answer to both is "a lot".

Success can be your passion. The market itself doesn't have to be.

Hmmm in some ways I would say fair comment to your last update, but being quite passionate about my own niches - You still need to be mentally joined to the niche group to be ultra successful otherwise your only half way there, if that ...

[Kevin_Hutto]

The Jobification of your passion can be the ticket to Hating your life.

One of the most damaging myths perpetuated by our society is . . .
The Myth that if You Do What You Love, the Money Will Follow

There is this insane myth in our culture that if you do what you love, the money will naturally follow. It’s one of those deceptive half truths that often leads to humiliation.

The reality, however, is much more like this: if you’re dedicated, disciplined, and smart, and willing to make short-term sacrifices for long term gains, AND you fundamentally understand how money is made (i.e. and the ins and outs of successful business models and the business models of your competitors), then there’s a good probability that, if you’re selective about what you do, you can turn your passion into a money making venture. Whew.

This isn’t always the case, but it usually is.

[billionareHuman]

you don't need to have a passion to promote something however if you do your going to be able to do so much more for other people, people can tell if you know what you are talking about or not, like someone else said 'smell your BS' a mile away, and make so much more money and have fun along the way

if I started trying to sell you Soccer stuff which I know nothing about you would be able to tell straight away, people are not stupid!

[TelegramSam]

It is important to realise in all this, that a person is able to choose what they do.

No one forces anyone to enter a niche they don't want to be in. Yes, sometimes circumstances mean a niche almost seems to choose itself or one "just seems to fall into" a certain niche.

It's time to step back for a minute.

We all have the power of choice to enter any niche we want to.

It is then up to us to decide whether to go into one or not.

Just realising that you can enter any niche in the world that you want to is quite therapeutic actually.

Life is all about choices.

If you make some bad ones along the way, don't beat yourself up about it forever. Just learn from it and move on.

So what is your choice going to be?

Sam

[Kevin Marshall]

What if your passion is Internet Marketing? If you are passionate about Internet Marketing, does that mean you'll be successful at it??!!!

[Russell Hall]

Originally Posted by MichaelHiles

I think this is the second post of this kind this week.


Seth Godin adamantly disagrees with you.

In fact, if you don't have passion, you aren't going to be genuine in your efforts to build a tribe. You cannot successfully market in this day and age without your tribe, who can smell BS a mile away. Your tribe will carry your message where you cannot, and multiply your message beyond your capital to directly promote your mission on a 1:1 basis.

Couldn't disagree more with this.

This whole issue about "passion" has been taken to extremes. This is one of the big problems with newbie marketers in that many of them go with something they love. They create a wonderful website or blog (some of them) and then wonder why they're getting no sales or low traffic and no comment interactivity, and the reason is that they were so "passionate" about their product or service that they forgot to check demand and competition first. The first error in business is to fall in love with a product or service that you offer,- the reason for that is that you lose objectivity and can spend way too much time and money on your coveted product or service before you realize that your market has shrunk, shifted or been taken over by some monolith that loved it as much as you did.
Don't get me wrong,.. I like Seth and think he is quite the marketing wizzard,.. but let's not burden him with the label of "God" and expect that everything he propounds will be perfect,.. or everything he propounds will be correctly interpreted and applied intelligently and effectively in each and every circumstance.
Let's as a side example take young George Brown with his Google Sniper technique,.. which is quite brilliant in its simplicity and has proven results. He is not going per-se with products that he is passionate about,.. only where the keyword rich opportunities are. He's looking at it entirely from a business perspective and with dispassionate indifference.
Ultimately, it depends on whether you're building a niche site, an authority site or a web2.0 hub. The niche site requires zero passion (if there's knowledge and interest all the better..but passion is probably best left out of it). If it's an authority site then granted,- passion is probably going to be very beneficial provided that you can keep it in perspective. And the "hub".. no passion required... just pure business smarts and resources will do the job.

Footnote about "Passion".... ask 10 people you know "what are you really passionate about?" and you'll be amazed that the majority can't tell you!
In fact, I used to sell seminar seats at very expensive personal development training seminars and that was one of the questions we were trained to ask,.. I spent 9 months in that job and was astounded at the range of professions from cleaner to Barrister that could not answer it decisively

[Marian Berghes]

To some extent I agree with the OP...I think that you should have a passion for "business" if you want to make a business...I don't think that you having passion for a certain niche but not knowing "business" will make you any money, get my point?

You can have all the passion in the world, but without business knowledge, without business passion to drive you...you wont make it too far.

It depends on your passion as well...if your passionate about SEO good, if your passionate about collectible red riding hoods.........

Ill give you a perfect example of a man who has alot of success yet he doesn't have a passion at all for the industry: the current CEO of Activision, the game publishing company.....he brings that company hundreads of millions of dollars profit per year, and look at what he said to some news-sites/papers: "I want to take the fun out of gaming", "I only played 2 games in my life", "I look at the numbers, not at the kids screaming" and so on...he is clearly not a big gamer/gaming fan as you would expect, and yet he totally "sells out" almost every game that "his" company is trowing out there.

[nimcus38318]

Originally Posted by goldmind123

Hello Warriors,


Well, This is where CRAP starts for me.

Let's explain ...

I'm passionate about "soccer", actually I'm CRAZY about this sport, I know everything a fan can know about it, I watch every single match I come by, I know every single detail about big teams and top players all around the world, I know by heart the history of the world cup since 1930 to every small detail.

If there's a contest about anything related to soccer, I'll definitely be the winner.

But, will I build a soccer site someday?

NEVER!!

Why?

Because IT'S MY PASSION...

It's a hobby for me, I enjoy soccer, I love when I come across soccer sites as a regular fan, without thinking about checking their ranking or backlinks, or analyzing their onpage SEO factors...blah..blah..


I just enjoying being there as a fan, not a business man!

That's why I found the advice of "Doing business in what you're passionate about" a total crap...

If I do business in what I'm passionate about, what I'll keep for my own, personal, life joy?

My passions are things to enjoy, to feel the taste of life through, not to be hooked with in a business circle...

I absolutely agree. If you take all of the things that give you joy and try to figure out all of the ins and outs of the internet marketing aspect of this subject, you WILL lose a lot of the fun involved. Unless, of course, your fun comes from figuring this stuff out.

I'd hate to lose my "fandom" or my passion for anything by overanalyzing it and trying to find out what the next big "thing" is going to be within my favorite thing.

I like the idea of pursuing business on subjects that you like and subjects that you are truly interested in learning more about. It makes the business learning curve and the subject learning curve more palatable...at least to me.

BUT....I'm not as successful as Seth Godin is either, so make your own decision!!