Social entrepreneurs are always looking for new ways to use their passions and talents for creating positive change in the world. But, what does it mean to have passion, and why is it important. The most successful entrepreneurs started their careers by believing in something. In this post, you’ll learn what having a passion means.
What is Entrepreneurial Passion?
Passion has many different definitions. According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, it means to have an “intense, driving, or overmastering feeling or conviction. This definition applies to social entrepreneurism. However, there is a bit of a twist on the definition.
Entrepreneurial passion is when someone has a “strong drive to change an idea or a method into a profitable venture.” Business, passion, and profitability are the keys to a successful social entrepreneur. Without all three, you cannot hope to create a change that will benefit both yourself and those you serve.
Most social entrepreneurs pursue their careers because there is a problem in their communities or the world they want to solve. They have a vision of how they want to serve those in need and their solution. Social entrepreneurs also pursue industries that fulfill their dreams or make them feel good (Kabbage, 2020).
Finding your passion is the first step towards any career goal and to becoming a social entrepreneur.
How to Find Your Entrepreneurial Passion
Before pursuing any career, you must find your passion. There are several questions you must ask yourself when searching for it. Each of these questions answers the 5 w’s in finding your passion.
Who do you want to help?
Community service is the backbone of social entrepreneurism. As mentioned previously on the blog, Social entrepreneurs approach the business industry from a different lens. They look at how their business skills can be used to create positive change in the world.
Your entrepreneurial passion should directly relate to how different communities or how the world can benefit from your services. Think about who you want to help, who you wish to aspire to be, and who motivated you to go in this direction.
Figuring out who in entrepreneurial passion makes it easier to answer the other questions in the five w’s.
What do you want to do with this passion?
When you’re considering what you’re passionate about, you must look at two things.
- Hobbies: Not everyone is interested in the same things. You must consider what you enjoy doing and how that can be turned into a profession. No one was meant to work a miserable job or to work over 50 hours a week.
- Skill/Talents: After figuring out what you’re interested in, you need to learn and understand which talents or skills you have that can be applied to social entrepreneurism. Some people are good at writing, some are good with computers, and some are good at public speaking. Regardless of what you want to do, you need to have proficient skills to pursue it. If you don’t have those skills, then consider taking classes or finding new ways to adapt to what you want to do (Coleman, 2020).
What bothers you about the problem you want to solve?
Social entrepreneurs and businesspeople look at what problems they can solve and why they need to be solved. If you’re considering becoming a social entrepreneur, then there is a problem in the world or community you want to solve. Ask yourself these three questions:
- What are the problems that must be solved?
- What caused these problems?
- What can I do to fix it?
When do you hope to achieve these goals?
It would help if you had a measurement or criteria for when you want to achieve your goals. It drives you to stay on track of tasks and ensures that you don’t lose sight of these passions.
When times get tough, it’s easy to give up and say that it’s not worth it. Setting a goal or time limit gives you short-term and long-term motivation to complete tasks and become successful.
Where are the community or groups you want to help?
When defining your entrepreneurial passions, you must narrow down the scope of who you want to help and where. It’s unrealistic to set your sights on the entire world. Instead, think about which communities or groups of people need your services the most.
Why are you passionate about this subject?
Once you’ve found your entrepreneurial passion, you need to think about why you’re passionate about it. The ‘why’ in your entrepreneurial passions becomes the mission statement and overall driving force behind your career choice. While finding the passion is important, it’s even more important to understand why you’re making these decisions.
Without understanding the why you cannot hope to move past the what stage. No one makes decisions for no reason, so you must look at what is driving them when you’re evaluating your entrepreneurial passions.
For some people, it’s family. For others, it fame or fortune. There is no such thing as a wrong or right reason to pursue a passion, and you have to know why you’re doing it.
How do you plan to use your passion for good?
The final question in the 5 w’s is the ‘how.’ Social entrepreneurship is about how people can use their skills, talents, and passions to make money and create positive change in the world or within their communities. With that said, it’s important to understand how you will use your passions for good. This might include creating a small business, donating, teaching, or even volunteering at a local nonprofit organization.
When answeing the ‘how’ consider what your talents and skills are, and how they can be reasonably used to provide a solution. If you’re good at math, then maybe creating a small accounting firm for small businesses or volunteering as a data entry person is the best route to go on.
Regardless of what you choose to do, learning how to use your skills is crucial for being a successful social entrepreneur.
Why Finding Passion Is Important?
Entrepreneurial passion gives you a reason to keep learning and to work toward mastery for the greater good. With social entrepreneurship, you’re looking at how your skills, talents, and hobbies can be used to help the world or specific communities benefit and grow from current situations. Entrepreneurial passion is essential for creating success. As mentioned previously, passion in combination with business and profitability is the key to social entrepreneurism.
Social entrepreneurism gives people the chance to utilize their business skills towards a cause they’re passionate about. Without passion, young people and professionals alike cannot find niche opportunities to contribute to the world or their communities.
References
Cardon, M., Dr. (2014, October 30). Entrepreneurial Passion [Video file]. Retrieved February 8, 2021, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w76UfjeS-8A
Coleman, K. (2020, October 21). How to find your passion. Retrieved February 08, 2021, from https://www.daveramsey.com/blog/how-to-find-your-passion
Kabbage. (2020, January 14). Small business advice: Define passion. Retrieved February 08, 2021, from https://www.kabbage.com/resource-center/start/passion-mean-entrepreneurs/
Lee, W. K. (2018, February 27). How To Find Your Passion | An Entrepreneur’s Advice [Video file]. Retrieved February 8, 2021, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mZpDfZJZfpU
Merriam Webster Dictionary. (n.d.). Passion. Retrieved February 08, 2021, from https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/passion