Key Takeaways
Passion matters, but a sustainable business must meet financial, lifestyle and role requirements.
The best opportunities balance what excites you with what realistically supports your life.
When it comes to entrepreneurship, the word ‘passion’ gets thrown around quite a bit. And it makes sense — when professionals choose to bet on themselves instead of taking the road more traveled, they’re far more likely to be passionate about their work.
But here’s the thing: Passion can work for or against you in a business model. Your goal? Make it work for you. 
First, I think we tend to categorize individuals with passion into the enigmatic genius entrepreneur who hits it big or takes the leap with the smallest of chances for success, only to watch them absolutely crush it.
And these stories are inspirational, no doubt. But they’re hardly accessible to most of us. What about the entrepreneurs who aren’t in their 20s anymore and aren’t able to eat gravel for years to pursue this passion?
What about the entrepreneur simply looking to replace (or increase) their corporate income with a new business venture? What about the entrepreneur who is fed up with the corporate bureaucracy and red tape, ready to take control and better align their working life with their life goals? What about the new parent who got laid off? The executives in their 50s who hit a career plateau? The uninspired drone selling a widget they haven’t cared about for the last two decades?
These kinds of entrepreneurs undoubtedly seek passion in their future careers, but they also have to balance must-haves that support their commitments and lifestyle.
This is where learning how to evaluate business opportunities is essential.
In my experience as both a former franchise owner and current franchise consultant who works with hundreds of aspiring business owners, I’ve both struggled myself and watched many entrepreneurs struggle with this balancing act.
Through this, I’ve learned a few key factors in balancing “passion” and “must-haves” when evaluating business opportunities.
1. Fit financial parameters
It may seem like a given, but ensuring the business you choose will realistically reflect your anticipated necessary earnings is vital. Your business needs to have the capabilities to deliver what you’re looking for.
Unfortunately, this can sometimes be at odds with passion. For example, you may love a particular business concept or mission, but if it doesn’t fit what you need to earn in order to sustain or build wealth, it’s a losing battle.
The numbers have to pencil out.
Sign up for Entrepreneur’s Franchise Bootcamp, a free, 5-day email course on how to find and invest in your first profitable franchise — no business experience required.
2. Lifestyle alignment
Regardless of brands or concepts, remember that you aren’t going to wake up tomorrow and magically change who you are and how you work just because there is a new opportunity on the table. Your motivators and priorities will very likely remain unchanged, and your business must fit your lifestyle.
For example, if you have young kids who demand time and energy, you must pick a model that works with those parameters. While this can look different for different people, it’s important to be attuned to your non-negotiable priorities and select a business model accordingly.
3. Clearly defined owner role
I’ve found this to be one of the most important factors to determine before making any major business ownership decisions. In fact, it’s one of the things I think is most valuable about working with a consultant early in the exploration process.
For example, if your goal is to be the owner-operator who is in the thick of making day-to-day business decisions, there are models for that. Alternatively, if you want to be the semi-active owner who maintains other business ventures on the side while getting updates from a general manager who runs daily operations, there are models for that.
There are also models everywhere in between. It’s vital to determine your future role in the business before big decisions are made.
Sign up for our weekly Franchise newsletter to get the latest franchise news, advice and opportunities. Get it in your inbox.
The following are three passions to have when evaluating business opportunities.
Passion for the industry
Rather than focusing on a specific brand, sometimes a passion for a particular industry can effectively drive your search. Maybe you’ve always been someone who likes to see projects take shape, and you determine that you want to work in some type of home repair business.
Fortunately, there’s plenty of variation within this industry. Maybe you are open to owning a brand that does plumbing, or painting or hvac, or any number of other home services. You’re letting passion guide your industry search, without the rigidity of pigeonholing yourself into one brand.
Passion for the work
Building off of the point above, maybe you’re willing to consider a variety of brands, but you know that there are certain expectations that are essential to the work you perform and, therefore, the business model you choose.
Let’s take our home services example above. Maybe you like sales and opt to be the face of your organization and work directly with customers on high-ticket project-based home service options (think roofing, fencing, hvac replacement, etc.). Alternatively, maybe you hate sales and want a low-ticket, marketing-driven model to set up recurring subscription revenue (think lawn care, pest control, irrigation, etc.) Both are great models, but they lend themselves to different levels of owner involvement.
The “ick factor.”
Last, but not least, the all-mighty “ick factor.” Perhaps more impactful than any particular passion for an industry or a particular passion for the work is the strong apprehension we have against certain concepts.
I’ve worked with people who, on paper, were a perfect fit for a certain brand — budget, professional experience, skillset all check out — but they simply couldn’t get behind a franchise in drain cleaning, or pet care, or salon services. While the industry and particular brand shouldn’t be your singular guiding light, listen to your gut.
At the end of the day, passion can work for or against you in a business model. It’s essential to long-term success that you make it work for you.
