I’m kind of over the Passion Industry. What I mean by that are the coaches, self-help gurus, authors, bloggers and others who make a living convincing you that any dream can be made into a living.

Reality check: Most successful small businesses have more to do with meeting a gaping demand in a particular market (air conditioner repair in Phoenix) than the hard work and passion of the seller (baseball cards, hand-made necklaces).

The Passion Industry doesn’t say much about this, because telling people to have a passion for 24-hour air conditioning repair doesn’t sell books at stores with coffee bars. Instead, they talk about how you can accomplish anything if you just use the right niche marketing or sales techniques. You’re not selling baseball cards — you’re selling your expertise on baseball cards, giving the buyer a much better experience than if they went to your competitor!

Here’s what I’ve noticed about 95% of people who base their day-to-day work on their passion, and let me make the prerequisite Not That There’s Anything Wrong With That qualification:

They are indefinitely financially supported, in whole or in part, by someone else

Again, this is America and if that’s what you wanna do, you do it and everyone else can shut up. But the Passion Industry rarely mentions this, does it? They’ll tell you about the woman who successfully sells beautiful handmade hats on Etsy and gets all kind of buzz online, but not about her husband’s office job. Or the popular online guy who sells social media consulting — did you hear about his wife, the teacher? Or the people who have rockstar blogs and enviable lives, but fail to mention that home base is Casa de Mom and Dad?

Life without passion would be a mistake. But dive into it with eyes open, and be wary of the big industry that feeds on your dreams.