IT’S NOT JUST WHAT YOU KNOW
A bit of caution is in order, however, when I say you should do what you know. Some people will tell you to follow what you love, and in some cases that can be good advice. But not always! Just because you love to drink doesn’t mean you should own a bar. In fact, you’ll probably be a better bar owner if you don’t drink at all. Just because you like to go to parties doesn’t mean you should be a caterer. Just because you watch ESPN all day doesn’t mean you should aspire to owning a professional sports franchise. You may be good at designing print advertisements, so perhaps this means you would be good at running a creative boutique. It doesn’t mean, however, that you would find the same sense of purpose in running a full-scale advertising agency, since your true drive applies to only one small part of the business.
Would-be business owners often mistake their love for a product or service as a sign of opportunity. However, most of the truly successful growth leaders I know eventually find a greater passion in other facets of their business. You may start with a product or service bent, but it normally takes a new-found passion to reach the next level—a passion for helping people realize their dreams, a passion for a fanatical base of devoted customers, or a passion for building something good, tangible, and lasting.
The greatest sustained success I ever led was as president of a uniform apparel company. Our primary product was aprons. Instead of the cheap, white, nearly disposable “back-of-house” aprons you would regularly see on kitchen staff, these were the more substantial, expensive “front-of-house” aprons worn by wait staffs, convenience store clerks, and the Wal-Mart /Home Depots of the world. While I never articulated this sentiment at the time, it is now clear to me that I never loved aprons. I loved the challenge of filling a void. I loved building a culture that others admired and of which I was proud. I loved helping other people make money so that I in turn could make money. I was passionate about our sense of purpose, but it really had very little to do with the product we produced.
