I recently brought the Ask Away feature back to Soul Speak, which I’m really excited about!

I wanted to create a space where we could bravely ask the questions that may make us feel exposed or silly or… human. 

And I wanted it to be where you weren’t just asking me for the answer, but you were asking an entire community to listen to you and to offer support to you.

What you ask is completely up to you.

Maybe you’re feeling stuck in a particular area of your life and feel like some guidance would be helpful.

Or maybe you’re struggling with making an important decision and feel like you could use a fresh perspective to help you weigh your options.

Maybe you’re super close to having a breakthrough and just need some new tools to help it progress.

It can be any question that comes from your authentic soul – any question that you truthfully are looking for guidance with.

If you have a question, please email it to me here: jodi@jodichapman.com with “Ask Away” in the subject line. 

While I can’t promise that I will answer every question, I can promise that I will do my best to get to as many as I can. If your question is chosen, I will let you know if I need any additional information. It’s completely up to you if you would like your question to be anonymous or public. If you would like to keep it anonymous, please make sure to leave out any identifying details.

Disclaimer: Please know that I am not a doctor or a therapist, and so any suggestion that I give is from tapping into my soul and sharing from my heart. Please don’t substitute it for medical treatment.

Also, if you would like to talk with me one-on-one (rather than getting into the queue and having me answer your question here), click here to learn how we can make that happen!

And now for today’s question!

Should I turn my hobby into a business?

This one comes from someone who wished to remain anonymous. She has been making handmade gifts (candles, essential oils, etc.) for her friends for some time, but never in a professional way. She really enjoys making the goods and wondered if it was time to make it official and turn it into a business, or if she should just continue keeping it just a hobby.

Oh boy. I definitely know quite a bit about turning a hobby into a business, and so I’ll tell you a bit about my own experience and then open it up to exploring how you feel.

Like you, I started off making gifts for friends – jewelry, candles, stationery. It was so much fun to make everything by hand. I loved it, and I definitely didn’t love editing (what I got my degree in), and so I took a leap of faith and started a gift company with my husband.

I didn’t have any business experience – I just knew that I loved being creative and that people seemed to want to buy what I was offering.

I wish I could say that I took the leap and it was smooth sailing right from the start. It definitely wasn’t. We made tons of mistakes simply because we didn’t really know what we were doing. But, we learned and grew with each mistake, and we ended up evolving into exactly where we are right now.

Here are some of the things that I learned along the process of turning my hobby into a business:

• I found that I absolutely loved being my own boss. And after 10 years, I can’t imagine ever working for anyone else again. 

• Starting your own business is the easy part. Supporting yourself with the money that you make from your own business can sometimes be tricky. It takes time to build the foundation and to set the wheels in motion. Eventually though, if you stick with it and stay passionate about it, I found that you can make the business soar and grow into your dream life. It’s definitely possible. 

• I work so much harder working for myself than I ever worked for anyone else. And I’m okay with that because I know that I’m planting seeds that will grow into great big trees down the line that will continue supporting my family, nourishing my soul, and hopefully inspiring others.

• The love that I once had for making things by hand – jewelry, candles, crafts, journals, cards, etc. – has left me. After making thousands and thousands of products over and over again, the passion for it is gone. I burned out. And that’s okay. The creativity moved into writing and digital creations, which is where my heart is these days, anyway. But just know that you may experience this as well if and when you move from hobby to full-fledged business.

• There is always more to learn about running a business and being an entrepreneur. And there’s no reason to start from scratch and try to learn it all on our own. Reaching out to others and asking for their support has helped me immensely.

• I’m so glad I took this leap and followed my dream. Even though it has evolved throughout the past decade and changed and grown as I’ve changed and grown, the entrepreneurial lifestyle is something that I couldn’t imagine not living in some form or another. 

• I know that if I didn’t have the passion to live this way, I wouldn’t have kept going. I have an insatiable drive to create and share and inspire and live independently that has kept me pushing when I wasn’t sure I could keep going. It’s been my saving grace and my fire starter and my butt kicker throughout the years. For anyone who is thinking about venturing into this world of working for themselves, I definitely think this deep passion is a must have. It will pull you through the hard times and be the cape that helps you soar.

So that would be the first question I would ask you:

How passionate about starting a business are you? Is it just something that you sort of think you’d be good at, so why not give it a shot? Or is it something that you wake up in the middle of the night and jot notes down about because you’re so excited you have forgotten how to not think about it?

Basically: does this idea come from your brain or your soul? 

If it comes from your brain, you probably could put a great business plan together and could sustain yourself for some time with it, but the passion is what will keep you pushing if and when things aren’t going as smoothly as you hoped they would. It’s the passion that keeps you afloat when you feel like everything else is sinking around you. (Yes, most entrepreneurs know what I’m talking about here – most of us have seen some pretty dark times and also some pretty amazing times.)

A second question I would ask is this:

Are you doing this because your friends think you’d be good at it or are you doing this because you can’t imagine doing anything else? 

And if you aren’t sure, let’s go back to thinking about what you dream about, what keeps you up at night, what do you find yourself talking about all of the time with your friends (and anyone else who will listen)? Whatever that is, that’s what you’re passionate about, and that’s what I would suggest building your business around.

Now, this definitely doesn’t have to be all or nothing either. If you wanted to just start a side business at first to see how it felt, that might be a great way to get your feet wet and see whether you enjoy making products for customers you don’t know (rather than your clients and friends).

I just pulled a Soul Clarity Card for you: 

I think this is a really great assignment for you as you decide whether to take the leap and turn your hobby into a business.

I believe that the universe is always sending us clear signs, and it’s our job to open up to notice them and receive them. So maybe for the next few days, you could state your intention that you’re open to receiving signs to help you gain clarity around this question, and then be on the lookout for signs that help you find that clarity.

If you answer the questions above and feel like it is your passion and you would like to give it a try, then I definitely would encourage you to – especially if you start out slowly and just see how it feels! What’s the worst that can happen? You’ll decide that it really isn’t for you, and you can move on and try something else. But at least you’ll know that you tried it, and you’ll never have to wonder.

I’m all for that!

***

The Soul Speak community is filled with loving souls. I would absolutely love if you would chime in and support this person. I know that many of you have made the leap from having a hobby to turning it into a business, and I would love for you to share your experience and wisdom!

Please help spread the love by sharing this post on Facebook and Twitter.

Hugs,

P.S. – Just a few days left to download these 7 gifts for FREE! Click here to grab them while you can!

 

Plus, if you would like to join us for the Coming Back to Life group session, make sure you sign up by the 31st to receive your earlybird discount!