My son asked me “Would you sell your business for a million dollars?”. I quickly chuckled and said “Absolutely not.” He then asked, “How many millions would it take?”....and that got me thinking. I thought about it so much that I asked my fellow wholesale company owner, Jay from New Jersey (or as he likes to say, “Joysey”) how many millions he would need to hand over the keys to the warehouse and walk away forever. Apparently the question stumped him too because he also had no answer.

Eventually my son asked again and this time around I was a little more prepared so I said, “I think I would take 4 million for a full buyout”, to which he immediately asked, “Then what would you do?”... and here I sit, befuddled again. What would I do? Then I came to these realizations:

I think I would be bored to death without this business, without our amazing buyers, without the daily challenges, without the hustle… I think I would turn into the crazy cat lady, but instead of cats I would have lizards… just tons of lizards, everywhere; me in a rocking chair with lizards, just rocking back and forth with a wall-sized aquarium behind me (the kind you see on that tv show called Tanked). I think I would turn into the crazy lizard lady because my drive to succeed would be gone. - This revelation is what gave me the idea to write this blog post for you, so here we go:

PASSION -vs- MONEY

I turn 40 in January. Yes, 40. I can’t believe it either! I can’t believe I am still doing the same job I did when I was 25.... That’s a hell of a long time to stick with anything, Heck, according to Brides.com the average marriage only lasts 8 years (that means if you have an expensive wedding you’ll probably still be paying it off after your divorce). So what keeps some things moving forward in life while others crumble? PASSION. It all comes down to passion.

Over the years I have come to realize that when it comes to online selling there’s really three types of sellers:

1. Passionate Sellers

2. Business People with No Passion

3. People who only jumped in because it sounded like the “easy / fun alternative to a 9-5 job”

The people who sell online because they want an effortless job usually fail very quickly. They go through the “honeymoon phase” when they first launch their new company. During the first couple months they are super excited and listing away. By month #4 of no-sales they blame it on everything and everyone else so they can give themselves an excuse to quit without accepting any responsibility for their choices. These types of people never had any passion to begin with so their chances of success are slim-to-none.

Business People with No Passion typically have “the smarts” to understand how to run a businesses and the finances to purchase inventory, but these types of companies typically average 3-stars (or less) because they are only in it for the money, don’t care about the merchandise and have no desire to provide customer support. Buyers can always tell when a business doesn’t value their products, let alone them.

Then there is the last category: Passionate Sellers. These are the sellers who eat, sleep and breathe their business. When a buyer is upset the passionate seller feels stress. When a buyer is happy, the passionate seller is thankful. The passionate seller lays in bed and thinks about how they can improve tomorrow. The passionate seller wants to learn, wants to be the best and will do whatever it takes, without question, to make it happen. - And these are the people who WILL succeed. Yes, there will be bad times, there will even be really awful events, but the passionate buyer will push through, some way, somehow.

IF YOU CURRENTLY HAVE NO PASSION:

If you are not in the “Passionate Seller” category, you’re probably not happy at all, unless you’re still in your honeymoon phase. But here’s a couple things you can do to find your passion:

Switch your products… sell stuff YOU LOVE! Don’t sell what other people told you sells good. When you list merchandise you enjoy it makes work more enjoyable. For example, let’s say you're a man and you're currently listing Victorias Secret bras because you read that they are very popular, but in your spare time you obsess over sports. In fact, when you’re listing you always have Sports Center on the tv. Every year you anxiously plan the Fantasy Football team you are going to create. - Why on earth are you selling womens intimates? You should be selling sports merchandise! Jerseys, accessories, home decor, sporting equipment, etc, whatever you enjoy. Since you are a sports fanatic you will have a highly successful sports business because you KNOW and more importantly… because you LOVE IT. You won’t mind spending time finding inventory and when it arrives you’ll be super stoked to open it and even more excited to list it.

If you really hate online selling, why not start a blog or YouTube / Rumble Channel about your passion? You can monetize your platform to make money. Just like with an online business, it will take time to grow, but you will stand a much stronger chance of succeeding if you WANT to work. The good thing about a blog or channel is that, unlike online selling, you do not have an inventory cost.

WITHOUT PASSION YOU WILL NOT SURVIVE LONG ENOUGH TO MAKE MONEY

Your business is your spouse (or second spouse). I absolutely can tell you that I spend way more time with my business than with my husband. But, just like with marriage, If you want it to work, you have to work at it. You have to grow the relationship. However, if you don’t really enjoy your spouse, you will end up in the “8 years or less” statistic (50% of businesses fail in the first 5 years and 30% don’t even make it 12 months).

So back to my sons question;  I think what the question really is, is "How much money would you need to give up your passion?"... and I think this is a great way to decide if you really love what you do. 

A wise man once said, "Always do it for the passion and the money will follow."