There's an old familiar phrase that says, "If you do what you love, you'll never work a day in your life." While this may be simplifying things a bit, there's something to be said for making a passion a career. Not everyone's passion can be turned into something lucrative, but there are plenty of people who have figured out how to turn what sets their soul on fire into what pays the bills.

Finding Your Passion

Before you can follow your passion to profits, you have to discover exactly what that passion may be. Some people find their passions early in life, and others later discover what they love. Discovering your life's passion takes some soul-searching and learning to open your eyes to when you feel happiest and most fulfilled.

Passion could be found by analyzing your hobbies or what you love to read about, but a true passion that can sustain a career needs to come from your heart. What is it that you cannot stop thinking about? Maybe it's something you encountered as a child that followed you into adulthood. Perhaps it's something you found in school or through a friend. Whatever your passion is, you'll know it when you find it. As corny as it may sound to some, you have to follow your heart to your passion.

Ali Hynek, the founder of Nena & Co, a company that seeks to preserve the traditional weaving of Guatemalan culture, knew her passion early and found a way to grow that into her career.

"I'm passionate about family and traveling. I decided to travel to visit family and felt a deep connection with the women who weave traditional textile," said Hynek.

She took that spark of passion and developed it into a full-blown fashion business. Hynek's passion for family and her connection to the weavers has allowed her to provide work for 360 artisans and leatherworkers.

Turning Passion into Viable Work

While finding your passion is a work of the heart, turning that passion into something viable on the business front requires a more thoughtful and organized approach.

Denise Reddy, the founder of sustainable clothing company Harebell Shop, knows the uphill battle it can be when building a business born from a passion.

"You need to know that it's going to be a rollercoaster," says Reddy, "There are moments when everything will be wonderful and others where it gets challenging. Both are valuable information. It is a must to be flexible."

Reddy developed a passion for sustainable living amid vacations with her family in the mountains of Cordoba, Argentina. The family's primitive mud home holidays, with no electricity or hot water, brought Reddy back to nature.

"When getting so close to nature at such an early age, you learn to love it so deeply. It creates such an awareness!" explained Reddy.

Reddy leveraged this passion for nature into her sustainable business, whose mission recognizes that the better care we take of our surroundings, the more beautiful and fair the world will be. The obvious passion Reddy holds for sustainability touches every aspect of her business and bolsters its success.

"Being a value-based business, we work differently, and so do our teams," says Reddy, "Harebell Group is an attempt to leave the world I want for the future generations."

The Complications That Come With Passion

Turning your passion into a worthwhile career does not come without some hiccups along the way.

Ekin Ozlen is a former model who turned her passion for skin and hair care into KERACELL, a luxury cosmeceutical brand.

"I think it's a slippery slope; of course, you want to work in the field that you love and are extremely passionate about," says Ozlen, "But you also need to consider your career and your finances."

Needing to make a living, hire employees, do paperwork, and work with clients or customers can quickly turn a passion into, well, work. Without a solid foundation in why you began in the first place, the reason for the passion, the passion-turned-venture is likely to fail.

Ozlen had no experience building and scaling a business when she set out to create KERACELL.

"Because I didn't have a background in business, everything I've learned I've learned by doing," she explains, "There are constantly challenges and obstacles when running a business and trying to scale."

Harebell Shop's Denise Reddy focuses on self-care when she runs into the challenges of running a business.

"I am very grateful to have been able to turn my passion into work. And when I have to do one of those tasks I do not like that much, I put all my best into it and then compensate," Reddy says, "This does wonders. Being gentle and loving. Respecting your needs and taking a break when necessary."

Ali Hynek from Nina & Co. has also learned to weather the ups and downs of turning her passion for Guatemalan culture into her business.

"As we scale, it's hard to keep everything like a small mom and pop shop where you know every aspect of your business," she says.

Plant a Seed, Watch it Grow

Taking something you love, no matter what it may be, and scaling that into a full-fledged business can be exciting and scary all at the same time. You can run the risk of losing connection to something that, at one time, was just yours and yours alone.

"You just can't serve everyone and do everything," says Hynek.

Giving a piece of yourself and your passion over to a growing business mindset is one of passion-based entrepreneurs' biggest challenges. These entrepreneurs also risk losing their love for their passion once it becomes their job. There are countless stories about people who lose connection with creativity and their once dearly loved passion once it becomes monetized. Entrepreneurs can avoid these common pitfalls by having a solid business plan, learning from mistakes and taking constructive criticism, and building a solid team behind them.

"It is so very important for me that the team around me is trustworthy," says Ekin Ozlen from KERACELL, "The beauty industry is very saturated and very competitive. Trust is my biggest requirement."

Growing a business, ultimately, takes more than passion. Passion for the product or service, or who the company serves, can be the foundation. But, if a business is going to succeed and be profitable, you have to add in the other essential components.

Keep the Passion Going

People who successfully turn passions into profitable businesses are easy to spot. When the bedrock of your business is something that sets their hearts ablaze with passion, it shows on their faces, their demeanor, and in the way, they speak about their businesses.

Setting forth to turn your passion into your job takes not only a lot of heart but a lot of commitment to an idea. A passion reaches out and grabs you for a reason; paying attention to that reason and building on it is when highly successful ventures are born.

"Life is not written in stone, and there are a lot of different ways to get to your goals," says Denise Reddy, "So just be open and keep on moving toward them even when it seems nothing is happening. Life is not linear. Things are always happening."

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