Ep 297: Why business ownership makes a LOUSY hobby.

Many new small business owners don't realize they treat their business like a hobby - and don't understand why they aren't as successful as they should be. So today, I'm taking you through the reasons why business ownership makes a lousy hobby, and why business ownership is absolutely awesome! READ MORE HERE!

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Transcript

Introduction and Welcome

Speaker 1 0:03

Well, hello. This is Kimberly Brock, and for over 20 years I've been running my own businesses that have not only been profitable but personally fulfilling to me. So now I'm on a mission to help other new business owners, just like you, make money doing what you love to. Now we're going to have some fun, so let's get started Now we're going to have some fun, so let's get started.

Speaker 3 0:30

Well, hello, this is Kimberly.

Speaker 3 0:31

It's episode 297, and I am so glad that you are here today because we're talking about why business ownership is a lousy hobby. Oh, yes, it's a lousy hobby. Today we're going to talk about it because so many of you are unknowingly turning your business into a hobby, or you actually really just wanted a hobby and you started a business, and we're going to talk about why that's a lousy idea. Like, don't do that. And here's why. And the good news is, I'm going to share with you why business ownership is actually so amazing and such an awesome career and not a hobby. If you are new here, welcome. I'm so glad that you have found this podcast. I have no doubt it's going to help you along your business journey. Whether you're in the idea stage, starting or growing, and whether you're even starting a podcast, this is the place for you. I'm just so excited to share with you each week all the valuable tips and strategies that I've used over the past 25 years. I'm just so happy that you're taking the time to learn from others who have gone before you. I'm constantly learning from others who have gone before me too. So if you're new, make sure you get plugged in. You can scroll down in the show notes. I have a Facebook group called Women Starting Businesses and Podcasts Doing what we Love. You're welcome to get in there and if you have questions about your business, anything like that, feel free to post them in the group and we have fun weekly posts that you can comment on and just kind of get plugged in. I also have some free downloads and goodies for you if you're new to help you. Okay, for example, everyone loves the 16 step checklist for starting your business. If you're in the starting your business phase, you can find that down below. If you're trying to grow your business, I have a workshop for you for that. If you're trying to start a podcast and trying to consider should you start a podcast or not, got all that information down below. So make sure you click the link over to the free goodies and choose what you need right now to help you get moving.

Why Business Ownership Makes a Lousy Hobby

Speaker 3 2:17

And if you've been listening a while. Thank you so much to all my loyal listeners. Thank you for all the kind reviews and words. It means means so much to me If you've been listening to this podcast for a while and you find value in it. Would you be so kind to just hit the 5-star rating? If you're an Apple podcast right now, you can just hit 5 stars, and if you have 30 seconds to write a written review, that means the world to me. Thank you all so much. Okay, on to the episode. Well, hello, friends. I am so excited that you're here today, because this will be fun.

Speaker 3 3:09

We're going to talk about what makes business ownership a lousy hobby, so you can finally discern whether you are actually building a business, which is a career even if it's just part-time, even if it's just on the side, it could be a part-time career or a full-time career or if you're building a hobby. And I think this is the biggest problem. Like in general, when people think of starting a business, they're like super excited about it and they just want to get going. They have their idea, they want to start selling it and I'm going to be honest, some of you just really wanted a hobby. You didn't really want what it means to have a business, and that's not to scare you. You're probably like, well, great, maybe I just do want a hobby, maybe I don't really want a business. No, I know that you want a career that's fulfilling and impactful and actually makes money right. You want a career that pays you and some of you have dreams of, you know, maybe starting this business on the side and then going part-time and then even full-time with it. I have clients that are able to do that and it's so amazing to watch what they have done. They have a vision, they start small, they start strategically. If you listen to last week's episode, I talked about how to play big even though you're starting small. So make sure you listen to that episode 29 business as a part-time career. I don't even want to say job, because it's not a job. It's a career that you're choosing. Okay.

Speaker 3 4:54

But here is why business ownership makes a lousy, lousy, lousy hobby. Okay, I want you to know the difference between the two so that you can make a conscious decision. So business ownership makes a lousy hobby. Number one, because it's tech-heavy and time-consuming. Some type of accountability, either through your website, through email, maybe you just deal with customers by texting them. I've had service providers that do that. They will just work on text and do it that way. Whatever it is, it's time-consuming and you have to be communicating with people and presenting quotes or offers somehow online through a website, through an Etsy store, whatever it is. It is taking time away from your life by having a business because you have to work on the tech side of it. So there's tech involved somehow and it can be time consuming. You may be setting up email again, websites systems, and it can be time consuming. You may be setting up email again, websites systems, payments. It's a lot more than just creating for fun, okay.

Speaker 3 6:09

The second reason it makes a lousy hobby is you have to regularly market your stuff. Nobody wants to do that really. I mean, when it comes down to it, who really wants to market? I mean, maybe you do to market. I mean, maybe you do. Maybe you would love to just go out there and tell everyone about your business. If you do, I think it's amazing.

Speaker 3 6:33

I'm going to be honest. I would love it if I could just sit here and orders came in. And I will tell you when I had my online boutiques and when I started them in 2003 is when I started the first one all I had to do was get ranked on Google and then I did have repeat buyers that had bought from us at shows. But orders would come in, but I had to do a little bit of marketing, and that was SEO optimization so that I was findable on Google. But it was so much simpler. I'm going to be really honest. It was so much simpler back in the day.

Speaker 3 7:00

Don't you hate that when older people say that to you? Like grandparents, great-grandparents, like back in the day, it was totally simple, it was y'all. I'm not even kidding. And here's the scary thing. We're going to think today was the good old days, the simple days. Do y'all realize that, like later, in like 30 years, you're going to be like, yeah, back in 2025, when I was building a business, everything was so simple. You're going to be like, yeah, back in 2025, when I was building a business, everything was so simple. Ai was just on the cusp and it was like starting to blow up and people were learning to use it. I mean, can you imagine?

Speaker 3 7:33

Okay, anyways, you have to regularly market your stuff. You're going to have to keep up with something. Whether you're on Instagram, a podcast, youtube channel, speaking locally, networking with people locally, whatever it is, you will have to be marketing your stuff. If you have a hobby, you get to just make it in the privacy of your own home and you don't have to market to anybody. You don't have to do any of the tech stuff time-consuming, backend, email, website systems, payments, any of that and you don't really. You don't need to market your stuff. You can just like, make it and just be proud, right? That's the difference, right?

Speaker 3 8:07

Here's why business ownership makes a lousy hobby is that you're responsible for the money going in, coming in and going out, coming in and going out. With a hobby, all you have to worry about is like how much money am I spending on all my supplies or whatever it is that you're doing? You don't have to worry about the money coming in, because that's not the deal. The deal is it's a hobby and we're just sinking money into it, but a business. You're responsible for the money coming in and out. Do y'all hear me? This is what you're responsible for, and so many of you just want to ignore that. You want to treat it like a hobby and ignore the money you do. You either ignore the expenses or you are able to like, easily spend on the tech and all the things that you want, but you kind of ignore the incoming revenue because you're scared, you're embarrassed, you don't want to look at the numbers, right. So, with business ownership, being responsible for the money is a big part of it, and that's why it makes a lousy hobby, because with hobbies, you don't want to be responsible for the money, right, right.

Speaker 3 9:18

The fourth reason is you don't get to just do it whenever you're in the mood or feel like it. You don't get to just work on this on a whim, right. You have to actually be present on some type of regular basis for your clients, for your customers for the delivery of your products or services, your customers for the delivery of your products or services. Maybe you just have to work at night or whatever it is on your own time, but in general, you have to be checking in. You have to be checking in if you know there's orders coming in that you need to ship or something went wrong. And I just want to make sure that you realize that you don't just get to do it when you feel like it. Hobbies are amazing because you can. You can be sad on a Sunday afternoon and go do it. You can be in a great mood on a day and do it right, but with your business it's not like that. It is not like that. You have to be accountable and you can't just do it when you feel like it, okay.

Nine Reasons Businesses Aren't Hobbies

Speaker 3 10:21

The fifth reason is you're going to have to learn stuff you might not love. Do you realize that Prices, taxes, marketing strategy, email funnels it isn't just arts and crafts time, it isn't just like learning mode time, it isn't just creation time, creative time, it isn't any of that. I mean, it is, it is that, but it's not 100% of the time that you have to learn stuff you might not love. Okay, and most people tell me, most business owners tell me there's a certain part of their business they just don't like and that's what we usually outsource. But that's why it doesn't make a good hobby, because there's stuff that you have to do, that you don't want to do, and with hobbies you can just do whatever you want to do, right, whatever you want to do it right.

Speaker 3 11:09

The sixth reason is you need thick skin. Sometimes you will get rejected by a client or customer. You will do something wrong and you will have to apologize. You will ship the wrong product or do whatever and you just I don't know. Sometimes it can just be like an ego deflator I don't know what else to call it, because you might get on Instagram and you might do something to share your business and nobody likes it, nobody comments, nobody's doing anything. You're not getting traction. You have to have thick skin. You have to be focused on the mission that you're on and the people that you want to serve. You have to realize that. Okay, but with a hobby, you don't have to have thick skin. You can just make something and look at it and adore it and you can give it away as gifts and and you don't really have to worry about it. Okay, that's why it's not a good hobby. Okay.

Speaker 3 12:01

The seventh reason is you need to make strategic decisions. Like, you have to be smart about what you're doing. This is what I talk about all the time are simple strategies and with a business, you have to do that. That's why it makes a terrible hobby, because with hobbies, you don't really have to make strategic decisions. Your biggest decisions are if you're making something with your hand should I go to Michael's or should I go to some other craft store like Hobby Lobby, or should I order on Amazon? Or if you are just doing something for people that you know and helping them in some way. You don't have to be real strategic about it. Know and helping them in some way. You don't have to be real strategic about it. You can just gift your services. You can just show up and help people. It feels really good, whereas with a business, you are going to actually have to make strategic decisions. You're going to have to plan things, test things, evolve your business.

Speaker 3 12:52

You can't just wing it forever, right? Okay, so the eighth thing is people actually expect you to be a professional, and when you're a hobbyist, you can just do stuff whenever you want. You can be sloppy, you can be imperfect Although I believe you are imperfect all the time in your business. You're constantly use manners. You have to speak well. You can't just be like eating food on the phone when you're talking to them, and you need to look decent when you're on camera. If you're on Zoom, right. You have to be professional. Professional in your emails, professional in when you talk to them. Professional when money is involved Right. People want to know that they can trust you, right? So people expect professionalism. So that's why it makes a really lousy hobby, because you can just spend the money however you want and you're not accountable to anybody. You can just do whatever you want. It's amazing.

Speaker 3 13:50

So the ninth reason this is the final one, this is the final reason why business ownership makes makes a lousy hobby is that you can burn out if you don't take it seriously. It's true, if you don't take your business seriously, you can burn out. And what do I mean by this? Taking your business seriously means knowing what you should be doing, that you're good at. Knowing, maybe, what to outsource or when to outsource things. When things start feeling heavy and you are overwhelmed and you feel yourself kind of burning out, you have to have somewhere else to delegate those tasks so you don't get burnout, so you can focus more on what you love. Whereas with a hobby, you're probably not going to burn out because you're going to just do it when you want and you are just going to be in a good mood that you know you're just being a good mood. You're gonna be a good mood working on your hobby. So have I convinced you yet that business ownership makes a lousy hobby? I mean, I'm definitely convinced.

The Amazing Benefits of Real Business Ownership

Speaker 3 14:59

Okay, it's tech heavy sometimes and time consuming. You have to regularly market your stuff. You're responsible for money going in and out. You don't get to do it just when you feel like it. You'll have to learn stuff that you don't love at all. You need thick skin, you need to make strategic decisions Like you can't just wing it forever, right? You've got to be professional when you're dealing with people and money, and you have a chance of burning out if you don't treat it seriously. Okay, so if you're treating your business like a hobby, it's probably not going to give you the joy or income you were hoping for. But here's the good news you can treat it like a business, and that's what I teach in all of my coaching, my programs and everything. And here's why owning a business is so much more amazing and exhilarating than a hobby. Okay, when you treat it as such.

Speaker 3 15:57

Okay, number one it's purpose-driven, not just pleasure-driven. I think when we have hobbies, it's more about pleasure. It's just bringing you joy. You're just doing that. But with a business, you have a bigger purpose. Okay, now, as a side note, you could have a non, a nonprofit, that is based on some kind of hobby or something that you want to do. That's also purpose-driven. But even nonprofits are working with money and all that I spoke of above. So, again, a business is purpose-driven, and that's what's so cool about it is that you have so much more purpose in what you're doing right.

Speaker 3 16:38

The second reason is you actually get to build a career and make money doing what you love, even if it's part-time. You get to build a career. How awesome is that? A fulfilling and impactful career with a business. It's so amazing getting paid to do something you actually enjoy. Yes, please, right.

Speaker 3 16:58

Number three you get to grow as a person. You are growing in ways you never expected. I talk about this all the time. You you grow in ways of confidence, right, and more confidence in yourself. You grow in ways of clarity, like clarity on what your goals are and what you should be doing to make a difference, and courage to show up in ways that you never thought you could. You're learning new skills that you never thought you would know. You grow as a person when you are a business owner in so many ways, right. You expand all of your abilities. It's the coolest thing. God has given you so many gifts and I truly believe a lot of us aren't tapping in fully to those things and with a business, you get to use those gifts and grow as a person.

Speaker 3 17:45

The fourth reason why a business is so awesome is that you can build something that lasts. How cool is this? Now, hobbies, right, your love for whatever. That is like. If I love photography or fitness or whatever. Yes, I mean it does last through my life. But a business has more ripple effects on other people. I would say, right, could be your family, could be your friends, the example that you show, the tenacity that you display, your drive, your self-discipline, and then also how you make people's lives better. The ripple effects just kind of are widespread. I do think you can have hobbies and things that are purposeful for you and maybe your family, but I think your business is so much more far-reaching, which is really cool. And let me say too, I'm not discounting hobbies, I love hobbies, hobbies are amazing. I'm just saying that you shouldn't treat the business as such. These are two totally different things, right?

Speaker 3 18:42

The fifth reason why owning a business is so awesome is that it creates opportunities for your life, for your family, to see like what's possible and for hiring people. Right, even me hired my sister-in-law for many years. I've had a friend that worked for me for gosh several years and other people that have worked for me. It's really cool. I've created opportunities and I've created opportunities to just make a difference, right. And the sixth reason is you find a deeper joy. There's joy in making a difference in this world through a business and building a career at the same time.

Speaker 3 19:28

Business ownership is hard. It's not easy, I'm not even going to lie. It stretches you, but it's so worth it y'all. And my purpose of this episode is to make you really think do I want a hobby or do I want a business? And realize that business ownership should not be a hobby. It should not be for all the reasons that I listed above. If you need to listen to this episode again, listen again because you will hear that All those reasons why it makes a lousy hobby.

Speaker 3 20:03

So just decide in your brain today like I love what I'm doing, I actually want to build a business out of it. I want to be purpose driven. I want to build a career that I actually love, even if it's part time. I want to make money doing it. I want to be purpose-driven. I want to build a career that I actually love, even if it's part-time. I want to make money doing it. I want to grow as a person. I want to build something that lasts. I want to create opportunities and I want to find deeper joy and purpose.

Speaker 3 20:27

If that's you today, make a decision. Don't keep putting this off. Just make a decision and say, yes, I am treating my business like a business and I'm not going to allow it to go down the road of a hobby. Now let me say this too you may be thinking, well, does the revenue that I'm making determine whether it's a hobby or a business? Here's the deal. You have your own goals. You have your own definition of success.

Speaker 3 20:54

When I started my first business, when I was starting online in 2003, I just said if I could make $500 a month, I would be overjoyed. Right, and it went way, way beyond that. But I'm just saying that was good enough for me and it was the definition of a business for me. So you have to decide when you're starting what money do you need to make so that it is a business? Right, and it may not be very much money For others of you. It needs to replace an income, and so that's what it's got to be. Okay, maybe you need to make 50K a year, 70k a year, 100, whatever it is. Only you know that and I'm not going to put that on you.

Speaker 3 21:40

But what I want you to do before anything is just commit to. This is a business. I'm not making my business a hobby, okay, because that's the trap. That's the hobby trap that many of you get sucked into and it's a vortex. Don't do that. You're going to have to do things that are out of your comfort zone, that stretch you.

Speaker 3 22:04

But I'm telling you, the far-reaching effects of your business are like nothing I can describe and will truly give you more purpose in your life. Nothing I can describe and will truly give you more purpose in your life. If you're here today and you're trying to get your business started or growing but find yourself struggling, you don't know next steps, you're kind of overwhelmed with things. You feel like you're in analysis, paralysis and you want to move fast. Know that I'm available for one-on-one coaching and I have workshops for you that you can take right now that you can do on your time. Make sure you check out everything down below, because I would love to work with you and help you. I want you to have as much joy in your life as I've had in mine with my businesses. So that's it Until next time. Bye now.

Speaker 2 22:54

Now this episode may be over, but our relationship does not have to end here. Head on over to KimberlyBrockcom and, yes, you can get more valuable information for your journey and you know what. You don't need to go through this alone. I would love to help you. Thank you so much and have a great day. Bye.