Business Opportunities Weblog

Your Biz Is Not Your Hobby: Why Many Small Businesses Fail

By on October 21, 2012 in Ask the Readers / Featured

Photo by Kevin McShane

A reader wrote:

What business should I start? I have lots of hobbies and am sure I can find something, but how do I narrow it down to one that I will really love to do day in and day out.

Many people start businesses because they enjoy doing something a recreationally. Since we’re all told to do what you love, what makes more sense than to start doing as a business something that you love to do as a hobby?

The most obvious example I can think of, are people who start restaurants because they love to cook. Unfortunately, there’s much more to the restaurant business than just cooking. Marketing, staffing, inventory, and customer relations all take up more time than cooking for new restauranteur. So do the unglamorous jobs like cleaning the toilets. Unfortunately, I think that many small business entrepreneurs are not prepared for this reality and this is reflected in the failure rate for small businesses.

Before you jump into something as a business, think it through as a business.

I don’t recommend that you over plan everything before you begin, though. When you’re starting up, you have to figure out whether or not anyone will actually buy any of what your company will offer.

Readers, what do you think? Is my advice spot on, or am I off my rocker?

Photo by Kevin McShane.

planning restaurants

Business Opportunities Weblog editor and publisher Dane Carlson lives in the Sierra Nevada mountains of California, just 15 miles from Yosemite National Park. He accidentally became a professional blogger in 2001. He has added 12,203 posts to the site.

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  • http://www.englandfurniturefactorytour.com/ England Furniture

    Good post exploring the motivations some people have in creating a small business. I wonder how many people successfully created a small business from a hobby?

  • http://www.business-opportunities.biz Dane Carlson

    There’s no doubt in my mind that thousands, if not millions of businesses have been created because they were someone’s hobby. As I explained in How I Accidentally Became A Professional Blogger, blogging was only a hobby for me when this site sort of accidentally became a business.

  • http://www.laughablenews.com The Laughable News

    I both agree and disagree. Hobbies can turn into wonderful businesses – but, you said it best with this sentence:

    “When you’re starting up, you have to figure out whether or not anyone will actually buy any of what your company will offer.”

    Just because you enjoy doing something doesn’t mean it has value to others. But, if you can turn a hobby into a business that fills a need, then you will be on your way to success!

  • http://ezinearticles.com/?​New-Restaurant-Owners---Fo​cus-on-Priorities-(Revenue​-First!)&id=2757876 Doug Caywood

    Great post. If you’re in business (or before you start) askj yourself this question…everyday. “What am I willing to give, or give up, to get what I want?” Try and remember that, especially in the restaurant business, it’s not what you like but what they (your market) likes and will buy.

  • Nan

    A restaurant is a bad example of converting a “hobby” to a business. I’m not sure you can even classify cooking as a “hobby”. A hobby might be that you love to VISIT restaurants and therefore think you can open your own.

    I think of a hobby as something that you can do independently – and requires little-to-no capitalization to start.

    Something on the order of painting, or furniture-making, or gardening are excellent examples of things that can be converted to a business with little business experience or capital.

    I think you should do what you love – first. And, if cooking is your thing, then try making a specialty food that you sell to restaurants – or to stores – before you even get the notion to start a restaurant.

    Personally, I make the best muffins on the planet. I once tried to open a cafe in a small town that sold muffins and coffee drinks. What I found was the capital and the hours required were eating me alive. People loved the muffins, but I couldn’t sell enough to pay for everything else. In retrospect, if I’d baked the muffins and called on OTHER coffee shops, restaurants and convenience food stores, I probably would have had a success on my hands.

  • http://www.business-opportunities.biz Dane Carlson

    That is an excellent point about hobbies, especially that hobbies that require little-to-no-capitalization to transform into businesses are perfect. Thanks for commenting!

  • http://www.partnersindemand.com Dee Dee

    I’ve worked with a number of small businesses. Some have started from hobbies but many have not. The primary reason I believe most small businesses fail is because many small business owners are technicians; meaning they understand and know the skills required to producing or servicing the product but they lack the business acumen to run the business. A business owner needs to be versed in finance, marketing, customer service and many other management skills to run a successful business.

  • http://www.retailedge.com Azrian

    Seems like a lot of people don’t associate running a small business in whatever they like to do with all the tedious, difficult, and unpleasant things that running a business entails.

  • http://www.digital-product-creators.com/?hop=maximdel Photography Expert

    Starting a small business is a good idea when your hobby is involved. You can express your own Idea and enjoy the work at the same time. You don’t have to worry about generating money out of your business because you will earn it fluently without even knowing it.

  • http://www.comfydogboots.com Lori Martin

    Excellent! I turned my hobby of sewing and love for animals into a small business. I love what I do and The people shopping want the product!

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