Some of the most common advice you’ll hear from business coaches and in online business programs is that you should find a niche; find something you’re an expert in to focus on, and then grow that into a six-figure income stream, before you focus on something else.
It’s not bad advice. In fact, logically, it makes total sense: why wouldn’t you want to grow something to six figures and make it successful, before you divert your attention elsewhere?
But this advice is actually toxic for multi-passionate people.
Multi-passionate people CANNOT “grow one thing first” before doing the other things they’re passionate about. And when we try, we experience burnout, we get bored, we’re inconsistent, and we constantly question ourselves.
For a multi-passionate entrepreneur, confidence, freedom, fun, joy and all the other things you’re looking to feel in your life and business doesn’t come from making six figures doing one thing first and then expanding.
It comes from building a six-figure business (and beyond) around ALL of the things you’re passionate about.
Yes, it makes sense to focus on one thing and build it to six figures first. It’s logical.
But doesn’t it also make logical sense that you can do several different things–things that you enjoy, love doing and are passionate about–and have the total of what you make from all of these things add up to six figures?
Exactly. And while it may not make sense to an expert-preneur, it makes total sense to a multi-passionate one.
I totally get the reasoning behind the “do one thing first” logic: if you do a bunch of different things, they’ll each grow slowly because you’re splitting your energy, whereas if you focus on one thing first, you can grow it faster because all of your energy is going into it.
I get it, I really do.
And for a long time I operated my business in that exact way. I focused on one thing (story coaching–private and group). I grew it to a full-time income that totally replaced my day job income and then kept growing. I could easily see that I would eventually be making six figures from doing this one thing.
In 2017, I made around $82k in my business and most of that came from doing story coaching (doing it in multiple ways, but still all story coaching).
Except I was BORED AF. I was burned out. I hated my business.
I loved the work I was doing and the people I was working with, and I’m insanely passionate about writing and storytelling…
…but I felt like I was suffocating my soul by not doing all the other stuff I wanted to be doing.
The truth is, I could’ve kept going. I could’ve continued focusing on story coaching and 2018 would have been my first six-figure year from doing that one thing. Yay me.
But I didn’t want to do that. It didn’t feel like a Hell Yes to me. It felt like another year of shoulding myself and following other people’s strategies and rules, and putting the rest of my passions and ideas off for later.
And I didn’t like it one bit.
So I made a decision that most entrepreneurs would say was crazy. I cut off my biggest income stream.
I made the decision to just stop doing private story coaching, in favor of doing business in a whole new way. I wanted to build a business around ALL of my passions, following soul nudges and Divine Downloads, and doing more of what makes me happy.
Full permission. Zero judgment. Total freedom.
It’s been an interesting year. And as the one-year anniversary of my multi-passionate business approaches (in November), I look back and realize that I just had one of the happiest, best and most feel-fucking-good years of my life. Especially when it comes to my business.
#ThankYou #MorePlease
So while I totally get and understand the whole “grow one thing first” advice, I will no longer follow it in my own business or life.
I’m doing business in a whole new way and it feels amazing. Things just get better and better every day. I feel like I’m moving closer and closer to fully unleashing all of me.
I’ve had so many soul nudges and Divine Downloads over the last 12 months I couldn’t even use all of them. I’ve had more fun in my life and business than ever before. I’ve spent less time behind the computer working.
I’ve hustled less. I’ve allowed more ease. I hired a Digital Content Manager (that was a BIG ONE for me!!).
And, amazingly, my income hasn’t changed all that much. It went down a little at first because of how abruptly I cut off the income stream, but over the course of 2018, it has risen back up.
Only this time, the money is coming from me just being me, doing the things I’m passionate about, and creating and launching what I feel like creating and launching.
Will I hit six figures this year? There’s a pretty good possibility that I will.
But I no longer care.
It takes as long as it takes. I’m in it for the long-haul.
And at least now I’m actually enjoying the journey.
Dream life or bust,
jen
