Starting a business doesn’t have to be all business.  Sure, you have to create a plan, take it seriously, and work hard to execute it in order to have successful results.  But before you write out your plan of attack, you need an idea, and I encourage you to remember this small piece of advice that you’ve probably seen and heard but haven’t used: find an idea that you are excited about!  If you’re not passionate about your idea, no matter how great it appears, you’ll struggle to succeed.

You can start with a simple hobby or an idea that plays to your strongest skills.  It’s always going to be unique to you, but here are a few fun business ideas to start with.

• Host parties!  Get into independent consulting with companies like Partylite, Beachbody, Mary Kay, Avon, Pampered Chef, etc.  These are businesses that already have a plan set up for you, but you can tailor details to fit your personality and your life.  They also only require a minimial investment to get started.  You can run them entirely out of your own home, on your own schedule, and get paid to host other people’s parties.  If you’re excited about the company you choose, it will never feel like work.
• If you love kids, start a daycare.  Especially if you can offer cheaper prices than the bigger local businesses, you’ll have parents practically begging you to take their kids while they go to work or have a much needed night out alone.  If you’re of the mindset that you’re getting paid to play with kids, this can be a lot of fun!
• Perhaps you’re into physical labor, or you’d just love to work outside during the warmer weather.  Get into landscaping or home repair.  Many people simply don’t have the time, talent, or energy to do the work themselves.  Enter you to save the day and make money.  Just as with the daycare, if you can offer a competitive rate and quality work, you’ll have so many jobs lined up that you’ll have to turn some people away.
• Do you like to write?  Do you always have a lot of ideas floating in your head or an opinion on almost every topic?  Start a blog.  It will take some time to build a following and be able to make any significant income, but if you can market yourself well and stay interesting, you can have a high chance of success doing something that you love.
• Sell on ebay.  You can sell your old “junk,” scour rummages and sell other people’s junk, or sell unique items that you’ve created yourself.
• If you’re handy and creative with a camera, you can start your own photography or videography business.  Get the word out that you’re available for weddings, bands, corporate and special events, family functions, etc.  You can do this part-time or work to turn it into a full-time gig, too.

Coming up with your idea might be one of the most difficult parts of starting a business.  You have to make sure it can be profitable and that you’ll be excited about it everyday.  What are your strengths?  If you’re much better with numbers or money itself and therefore not into a so-called “creative” idea, become a financial consultant or a wealth coach or even a personal accountant.  If you find your passion, run with it.  Your chances of success skyrocket when you start a business that you believe is fun!

If you’re new to trading stocks, penny stocks may seem appealing to you.  If you’re unfamiliar with them, you can see from the name itself that they are cheap stocks.  The actual amount can vary, though.  Some people classify them as being $5 or less, others just $1 or less.  They do have their advantages, but there are also some pretty big pitfalls to watch out for.  Here are some guidelines to help you gauge the opportunity vs. the risks.

Opportunity

• Penny stocks are advantageous for an obvious reason: they’re cheap.  This means you can buy more shares of the particular stock that you’re interested in.
• More shares=higher profit.  Of course, this is assuming that your stock rises, but when it does, your profit percentage will be quite high.
• Penny stocks move quickly. It is not unusual for a  stock that is worth $0.10 to quickly become worth $1. If you owned $100 worth of stocks at $0.10, they would now be worth $1,000.

Risks

• Penny stocks are risky just by their very nature.  They can rise and fall by hundreds of points multiple times during a single day.  You either need great faith in the stock or the ability to constantly keep an eye on it and know the right action to take.
• There is normally little to no solid information available on the company.  You should be able to trust the company you’re investing your money in, so research is crucial.  It’s possible that your penny stock is either a very new business or an older business in danger of bankruptcy.
• Lack of information means no history.  This makes it difficult to analyze any financial trends that the company has experienced, turning your investment into a guessing game.
• You risk unknowingly falling into a scam.  Penny stocks are sometimes sold through spam emails and subscription newsletters.  Just as with any other email in your spam folder, you must be careful about any decisions you make to go ahead and buy stocks through someone you don’t know and haven’t investigated.

It sure looks as though the risks far outweigh the opportunities, doesn’t it?  The truth is that any stock that you invest in comes with risks, and you’re just as likely to lose your money as you are to gain no matter the case.  Penny stocks do come packaged with a few risks, but for someone with little money to invest and little experience, they can be a good stepping stone with huge potential.  Make sure you do as much research as possible before investing, and find a trusted source to help  you.  Your best bet with any stock is to work on gaining experience first.  When you’re comfortable with reading trends, you can move on and take some bigger risks and make some bigger profits.

We all have passion within us; are you using yours?  Perhaps you’re stuck in a job you can’t stand, or you didn’t follow the right career path.  Or something inside is just nagging at you, reminding you that you’re not living up to your true potential and you know it.  Do you know what your passion is?  How do you find it and bring it out?

I found a great quote recently by a famous dancer and choreographer named Martha Graham: “Great dancers aren’t great because of their technique; they are great because of their passion.”  You don’t have to be a dancer for this to apply to you.  You probably know people who are fortunate enough to have jobs that they love.  They’re successful, they get to use their favorite talents everyday, and they don’t view their jobs as “work,” no matter how much of their time must be invested.  These people are the “dancers” in the quote, and you can be a part of it.  You just need to find your passion, too.

Question Yourself

Start with what you already know about yourself.  What are you good at?  What are your favorite hobbies?  What did you always want to be or do when you were growing up?  What topics get you excited?  These are great places to begin your personal investigation.  Don’t write anything off just because you think it might not be a big moneymaker.

Research Your Passions

Once you have your talents, hobbies, etc., written down, you can begin research.  Run internet searches, read books on your topic, network and talk to other people.  Someone somewhere has figured out a way to connect this topic to a career path, and if they’re truly passionate about it and not only in it for the money, they’ll be willing to share their knowledge with you and perhaps serve as a mentor in some way.

Follow Your Passions

If you’re going to start your own business, you’ll read many times over that you must begin with a profitable idea; sell something that people will want to buy.  I’ve even written that in previous articles myself.  But make sure you read on and get all the information—your idea still has to be something you’re passionate about and enjoy doing in order to have the greatest chance of success.  If you’re not excited about your idea, how can you convince others to be excited and buy into it with you?  If you’re not excited, you’ll be less likely to put forth all the necessary effort and you won’t reach the level of success you might be expecting.

Perhaps Harold Whitman can put it into perspective for you: “Don’t ask yourself what the world needs.  Ask yourself what makes you come alive.  And then go and do that.  Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.”

Stay Curious

Once you’ve determined what makes you happy, you can start turning it into a business idea, or even just keep it as a hobby for your free time.  You’ll be more inclined to keep learning about something when you’re passionate about it because you won’t view it as a chore.  You’ll be genuinely curious to discover more information about it, learn how to become better at it, and find more ways to perhaps make some income from it.

It’s Okay to Change Passions

Are you finding that your passions are different today than during your childhood?  That’s okay!  Follow what excites you NOW.  You don’t have to force yourself to live out a childhood dream that no longer ignites passion or feels relevant.  As we get older, everything about us changes, and sometimes the change is so subtle we don’t notice it until we’re really taking the time to look within.

Here’s a personal example.  I always knew I wanted to be a writer.  Always.  And I’ve followed through on that, even through school and to the present.  But I have also had a passion for music.  I took clarinet and keyboard lessons, then focused more on singing, then set it aside.  When I entered college, I started off with my writing major, then added a theatre major as well because I discovered in high school that I loved acting.

I had full intentions of following acting dreams after college.  Then I joined a band as a singer.  I realized I should have been pursuing the musical route all along, and that’s where I am now.  I’m still extremely passionate about writing and acting, but my passion for music wins out—and I can easily combine all three while keeping music at the forefront.

I also began working out in high school.  I hated it.  I didn’t want to spend 30 minutes or more a day doing cardio.  Fast forward to just a few years ago.  A friend introduced me to a cardio workout that I absolutely loved.  I stayed motivated, convinced others to try it with my enthusiasm, and today I’m on a journey to become an instructor for the live classes that can be taught in health clubs.

Is it going to interfere with my pursuit of a music career?  No way.  Is it going to be a source of income?  Absolutely.  Is it going to reach the point of providing full-time income?  Probably not.  Will that stop me from putting my full passion into it?  Not a chance.  Will such passion open up a better potential for me to be able to turn it into a successful full-time job?  Very possible.  I can ask myself the same questions about pursuing music and give the same answers.  That’s not stopping me from going full-force on either one.

And it shouldn’t stop you, either.  It’s okay to have multiple passions, it’s okay to have changing passions.  I only encourage you to make sure you’re following them!  Don’t start out pursuing money: “Follow your passions and the rest will come.”  If you do something because it’s what you love, and you put passion into your passion, you’ll open up more opportunities than you ever thought possible.