Should I start a hobby business?

Filed in archive Start Up on December 22, 2006

Generally, my answer would be no. But there are a few exceptions.

If a hobby business is run like a hobby -- using your spare time -- I suggest not to bother unless you are really patient or willing to put in extra time to make the business fly. Your customers deserve more.

Let me explain. Running a business requires a full load of commitment, time and energy. A hobby tends to only fill in the empty spaces of our lives. We fit the hobby into the blank spaces of our schedule after everything else is done.

Most of the successful businesses I have seen are an all consuming, passionate and jealous mistress. She demands your total attention and does not tolerate being ignored particularly well.

Granted, some hobbies are an all consuming passion -- and you can succeed if you follow a few simple guidelines.

1) Use the hobby business as a test bed. Use it to test the waters, do research with living and breathing prospects and customer -- it will provide you with an opportunity to test your ideas and concepts in the real world.

2) Beware of trap doors and back doors. Be cautious that the desire to start a hobby business isn't based upon the fear of failure. If you are afraid of the business not succeeding -- do adequate research and preparation. Write a business plan and follow it. Any worry, concern or fear has the potential -- if left untreated -- to become a business ending disease. Or worse be a trap door that surprises you!

A back door is any reasonable excuse not to succeed. These are insidious little excuses, lies and stories we tell ourselves to justify and reason away making a full blown commitment to starting and running the business as a serious, full time business venture.