How to Get Paid Doing What You Love & Start Your Business Today

How can you get paid doing what you love? Often, the best way is to build a side business around something your passionate about.

Doing so not only feels good because you get to do something you love, it also can help you create another income stream and bring in extra money during challenging times.

In a moment, I will reveal the secret that will allow you to start your virtual side business... this week!

But first, let me introduce you to someone I was connecting with a while ago. This woman, let’s call her Cindy (not her real name) really cares about helping people with their financial planning.

When we talked, she was wondering about how to build a business around her passion and purpose. Cindy so badly wants to help people on their path to a more secure financial situation but is unsure how to go about it and get herself out there.

Cindy’s situation felt like when I first started working on my Ph.D. thesis.

My topic was very broad and involved so many different layers that I was wondering how to bring it all together. I also had all these big ideas about what I wanted it to look like when it was finished.

Since I hadn’t even gotten to the writing part yet, spending too much time thinking about the final result I was aiming for felt overwhelming.

While I had big ideas, I really didn't know how to bring it all together.

Back then, with no words yet on paper, I had an academic marathon in front of me. And, I had literally just left the start line of the long-distance race.

But, as they say, a journey of 1000 miles (or 1609 kilometers) begins with the first step.

In other words, to complete my Ph.D., I had to put one metaphorical foot in front of the other instead of getting lost thinking about the finish line. I had to focus on one footnote, one sentence, one paragraph, one page, one chapter at a time.

When I did this and kept my eyes on the next step, I made progress, enjoyed my work and celebrated my successes. When I focused on the finish line instead, I often grew impatient or became stressed by how much was still ahead of me.

What I have learned from my own entrepreneurial journey is that creating a full-time, profitable business takes time.

The process of building a business is not that different from completing a big project, such as a Ph.D. thesis. In both cases, it makes sense to focus on one step at a time.

Now, the first step when it comes to turning your passion into a living is to find at least one person you can help with what you do.

At first, it doesn’t even matter if you do this for free or if you get paid for it. (Unless you need the extra income right now in which case it makes total sense to start charging right away.)

Making your business as profitable as you want comes at a later stage, just like editing a Ph.D. thesis comes after creating a draft.

It's one step at a time. But, before you worry about the second step, let us get you started with the first, shall we?

Take a moment to gather some ideas on how you could help a single person (or, if it’s absolutely necessary, a group of people) with what you’re passionate about.

One of the best and simplest ways of doing this is through coaching/consulting/teaching in your area of expertise. The benefit of a service-oriented business is that you can get started right away without needing to either order or create products. (If you like, you can always do that at a later point.)

While your passion might not lend itself to this at first glance, it can work in so many areas, whether you like to do copyediting , want to help people who suffer from insomnia or improve the lives of chefs (these are all examples from people I personally know).

If you have many passions, pick the one that people might want the most help with and be most willing to pay for.

--> For instance, right now people might be interested in learning about how to grow their own food, cook their own healthy meals, home school their kids (or remain productive while doing so), exercise from home, create a meditation practice, start a new side hustle, go digital, save money, etc.

--> If you know how to sew, you might be able to help people in your network (and, ultimately, in their community who benefits from more people wearing them) by creating hand-made face masks. All you need is the material, a sewing machine, and a way to ship the hand-made masks. Just make sure people actually want them before creating a dozen masks that you can't sell.

Whatever you come up with, just make sure you follow all applicable laws.

Example: “Hmm. I guess one way to help one person could be to help them get a clearer idea of what their financial needs are. So many people don’t even know how many assets or liabilities they have, and it typically really scares them to investigate it. Maybe helping someone create a financial overview could be a way for me to help one person with my passion for finances.”

There is a lot of effort that can go into creating a post like that. But, please don’t aim for perfection! Just be specific about what service or product you offer people.

Especially if you are very nervous about this or if it is your first rodeo in helping people with your passion, it might be easier to offer your services for free. Also, I would encourage you to put a cap on the number of clients you take on, especially if you offer your services for free or for a discounted fee. I would suggest a number between 3–5 to begin with, although you could also go with just one person.

If you're offering a product, such as a hand-made face mask, you'll need to find a price that feels resonant. You can search on places like Amazon and Etsy what other people charge for similar things. Take a picture of your own mask, post it on Social Media and let people know that you can also create one for them. Take their payment (for instance, through PayPal) and then create the mask.

Before you draft your post, decide where you want to share it, as this can influence the length/format of your invitation.I recommend to share it on as many Social Media platforms as possible. At the very least, I would suggest that you share it on both Facebook and LinkedIn (if you have accounts on these platforms).

If you don't use any Social Media accounts, you can reach out to people via email and ask a friend or family member to share it on their Social Media accounts for you.

Example for what to share:

“Hmm, how do I do this? So, I think the easiest way would be to share this on my Facebook profile. Maybe I can put it like this...

Hi everyone,

As you may know, I’m super-passionate about finances. It’s an area I’ve explored for the last 2 years. And, since I know how many people struggle with getting a handle on their finances, I’d like to help 3 people with all that I’ve learned… for free!

I’m offering three “Master your finances” spots. We’ll work together for one month (over phone or Skype). During that time, I’ll help you gain clarity about your financial situation and the next steps you need to take in this area.

Let me know if you’re interested by commenting below or sending me a private message. Again, I’m limiting this to three spots.”

You can use the template above and just adjust it to your specific situation:

"Hi everyone,

As you may know, I’m super-passionate about [...]. It’s an area I’ve explored for the last [X amount of months/years]. And, since I know how many people struggle with getting a handle on this, I’d like to help [X number of] people with all that I’ve learned… for free [or: for a low fee of...]!

I’m offering {give your sessions an attractive name that speaks to what people want] sessions. We’ll work together for [X amount of time...this should be a least one call] (over phone or Skype/Zoom etc.). During that time, I’ll help you gain clarity about [the topic you help them with} and the next steps you need to take in this area.

Let me know if you’re interested by commenting below or sending me a private message. Again, I’m limiting this offer to [X amount of] spots.”

Note on tech:

if you need a video conferencing platform for calls with just one person, a free Zoom account will work fine. However, you might also like to check out Jitsi which is a video conferencing platform that you can also use for free longer calls with multiple people (something a free Zoom account doesn't offer). Plus, it's open-source!

At this point in your business, you most likely don't need an appointment scheduling software. But if you want one, check out my recommendation.

Once you are done with the invitation, share it as widely as possible. If someone indicates interest, follow up with them. If you don’t hear back from anyone, play around with your wording and re-post it on the same or a different platform.

Often, it can also be helpful to reach out to people directly that you think might be a good fit.

Example: “Okay, so nobody responded but I think Jaime could really benefit from this. So, I’ll reach out to her directly. Here’s what I could write:

Hi Jaime,

I recently posted this on Facebook and just wanted to reach out to you to see if this might be of interest to you? Totally okay if not, I just wanted to let you know about it in case you’d like some support when it comes to finances.

<copy and past Facebook message>”

 If you would like to create a business around your passion, I encourage you to think about it as a hands-on Ph.D. project.

It is probably going to take you longer than you think (but you will likely also enjoy successes earlier than you thought!).

There will be challenges you haven’t foreseen. But, you will also have a lot of fun moments along the way, too. Ultimately, you can get paid doing what you love.

In the book of your life purpose, focus on writing one sentence at a time. You do that by taking it step by step.

And, the initial step to creating a purpose-driven business is to formally help the first person with what you are passionate about.

So, how about finding your first client or customer today, to start practicing helping people through your services?

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