Do You Have A Business Or A Hobby?

Online business owners – and even coaches – can easily “open their doors for business” without a firm business plan in place. Depending on the owner, this can be a blessing or a huge mistake. Some people may test the waters to see if they attract any clients and some start out doing this online work as a side gig while working their full time job. So, how can you tell if you’ve got a hobby or a business on your hands?

A hobby traditionally is an activity that brings you pleasure that you do in your spare time. A business, on the other hand, provides services or products to clients, has regular business hours, and strives to make a profit. Here are some questions to ask yourself to determine if you are working on a business or a hobby:

Do you have firm business hours or are you working sporadic hours as your family or full time job allows?

Do you make the most of your business hours or work time, working as efficiently as possible, or do you get distracted with social media or other behind-the-scenes tasks?

Do you have a business plan, even a simple one-page one year plan, which includes expected profits?

Do you make opportunities happen or do you wait for them to come to you?

Do you withdraw every penny from your account after clients pay or have you created a payment structure/schedule and reinvested some of your profits into software, training, or other business expenses?

These are just a few of the questions you can ask to help you understand if your business is truly a business. Even if you are running it part-time, it is all about how you approach and operate your business. There are full-time “business owners” who do things with no rhyme or reason, while there are people earning almost as much with their part-time businesses as they do from their day job salaries.

Need guidance? Hire someone who can help you along.

Not everyone needs a business degree (or any degree) to start a business; sometimes a unique product idea or a strong desire to offer services is enough to get started. However, hiring a business coach or strategist, regardless of your formal education, can be a valuable step toward setting up your company to grow and generate profits. You don’t know what you don’t know and without guidance, you’ll likely make more mistakes than necessary, some of which could cost you substantial money. No one can save you from all mistakes – and mistakes are part of learning. But minimizing mistakes can mean the difference between a growing, thriving business and one that shutters its doors just as quickly as it began.

Instead of closing your eyes, gritting your teeth, and hoping for the best, a business coach or strategist will can help create a plan with you and will guide you through the next steps of the plan with tried and true business advice and strategies.

A good business coach also serves as your accountability partner, someone who wants to hear from you about your progress and who will call you out when you don’t do as you promised. Oftentimes knowing someone is expecting results is enough to spur people into action because they don’t want to let down their coach or accountability partner.

If you’re ready to turn your hobby into a true business and want the expertise of someone who lives and breathes systems that will help you grow, while saving you money and minimizing mistakes, contact me to set up a discovery call.

Pin It!