Chapter 4: Business Success = ?

There's an old saying out there that tells you to follow your passion. Follow your passion and you'll become successful! Following your passion leads to happiness! 

Lets be real, following your passion can be terrible advice when it comes to business. We would all love to start a business in something we are passionate about, and some businesses do start that way, but if passion is the motor behind your business vehicle...good luck. It will eventually break down.

Instead of saying "Follow your passion!, we should be telling each other "Follow your skill!"

Skills are invaluable. With enough skill, you can shape, grow, and dominate a business market. Skills allow us to become experts in whatever marketable field we find ourselves in. A great example of this from an individual named Erik Hanberg, who used his 20 years of experience in nonprofit management to create a business around advising nonprofits. In his media interview by cityCURRENT, "From Boardroom to Bookshelf: Erik Hanbergs Guide to Nonprofit Excellence," Erik talks about the start of his career. He explains how his passion for helping people motivated his journey through various business adventures, but what really started his success story was by running and growing a nonprofit at the age of 23. His passion lit the fire within himself to start something new, but his experience in growing a nonprofit gave him the skills to succeed. Erik is a fantastic example of how passion can help motivate us into a new adventures, but through his dedication to learning new skills in management, it helped him conquer the business world.

Now with multiple years of nonprofit leadership, Erik was able to build on his skills by writing books centered around nonprofit management. This further boosted his experience, got his name out there, and was able to profit himself off of his many skills. 

Skills. Are. Invaluable.

If there is any take away from this blog you're reading, it is this. Build your skills. Passion can give you the motivation to try something, but skills are the key to business success. Capitalize on your skills, find a demand in the market, and utilize those skills as a spear to strike your next success story.

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