For entrepreneurs, passion is the driving force behind their success. Joining in the latest episode of The Small Business Show is Geroge Deeb, Author, Forbes Contributor, and Managing Partner at Red Rocket Ventures. Deeb offers his insight and shares his perspective on the matter.
Webster’s dictionary defines passion as an intense, driving, or overmastering feeling of conviction. But according to Deeb, in English, that translates to, “As an entrepreneur, you better absolutely love what you’re doing because if you don’t, your business will fail.”
Key Takeaways:
1. Passion is a crucial element for any entrepreneur, and it usually comes from a firsthand love or knowledge of a particular product. For instance, Deeb launched his adventure travel business, iExplore, out of his love for adventure travel, which he developed as he struggled to plan his own trips. As he solved the problem for himself, it solved the same issues for others.
2. When hiring staff for your business, finding individuals who share the same passion is essential. However, as the founder, you are responsible for living and breathing enthusiasm for your business, just as you’d expect your employees to do.
3. Entrepreneurs can effectively create a passion for their business by living the lifestyle, and that’s what Deeb did with iExplore. He required his staff to live the adventure travel lifestyle to share their stories, be excited about the industry, and share that enthusiasm with their customers.
4. Passion can be seen within an organization by engaging your team, reminding them of the ‘why,’ and consistently supporting their growth. Deeb measures passion in two ways – job satisfaction ratings and productivity levels.
5. It’s important to note that passion needs to be balanced. One should not be so passionate that they lose their common sense. Therefore, one should employ checks and balances and ensure they put proper business judgments before their passion.
"When the going gets tough, and the tough gets going, that passion is the motivator that will pull you through the good and bad times." – George Deeb
