The “passion” industry
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.
July 19th, 2010 at 6:43 pm
This is actually a pretty big bone of contention among a lot of Etsy sellers; Etsy puts a huge public spotlight on sellers who have been able to “quit their day jobs” and focus on their art full time (thanks to Etsy, of course). There’s a front and center “quit your day job” article on Etsy.com right now, speaking of. The vast majority of these people are, as you said, garnering the bulk of their financial support somewhere else. It bothers me that Etsy continues to put such focus on this as a goal because a) it’s just highly unrealistic, bordering on maniacally retarded, and b) by touting that it ISN’T unrealistic, Etsy manages to make other sellers- sellers who work a standard job in a cubicle with bennies and a regular paycheck- feel somehow like they’re “not doing it right” or not as successful as they could be. The Etsy forum is rife with commentary on the subject.
Rife, I tell you.
July 20th, 2010 at 11:31 am
I remember hearing about the “1000 True Fans” theory, where you can make a living as an artist if you can acquire that many fans who will spend a day’s wages per year on you. It’s certainly more realistic than, say, a multi-level marketing system where you have to build up a “team”, but it’s still a lot. More than some local band or bracelet weaver is likely to get.
This is one symptom of an advertising meme that I’ve been seeing for a long time: “If you work a nine to five job and save money in a 401(k), you’re a loser”, say the big entrepreneur who wants to sell you his idea of success. “Nobody should get all their income from a single course.” The proposed solution, take your pick. There’s the infomercial crowd, selling high-risk day trading, multi-level marketing, and buying distressed real estate with no money down. There’s the Internet guru crowd, where you write a blog and make your living on your PayPal Donate button, with Google AdSense, or cafepress T-shirts. And then there’s the Passion Industry you speak of, where you’re supposed to just take a leap of faith, start doing what you love, and also beg people to pay you for it.
It’s not that we should all be rock stars. It’s that our society seems to be built on the idea that anyone who isn’t a rock star should be shamed for not working or dreaming hard enough. If that’s the standard, then I guess our educational system will only be a success when there’s nobody behind the counter at McDonald’s because we’re all mid-level managing each other.
July 29th, 2010 at 9:09 pm
So, so true. It’s why I am no longer in the photography world that much–it’s not realistic for me. My oldest brother is currently working on some drawings for a relatively well-known fiction writer…and yes, while he is pursing his passion (lucky bastard) he is also jobless otherwise and living with Mom.
When I was at ASU and selling Avon, all the ladies who were doing it as a full time job I later learned were housewives of really well-off husbands. I would love to sell my shit on Etsy for a living, but only if I win the lottery. I’ve got retirement to think about.