How I Fused My Passions and Turned them into a Profitable Business (And how You can do it too, in Just 7 Steps!)

“So what made you decide to niche down and work solely with business owners in the travel industry?” 

So the answer everyone wants know stems from my childhood fixation.

You know, the thing that endlessly consumed your fascination? For some, it’s ancient Egypt, the Titanic, or World War II. 

Well, mine was Germany. My dad used to read Aschenputtel to me before bed, I strong-armed my brothers into learning the language with me, and even begged my parents to allow me to live there as an exchange student during high school (spoiler: they didn’t go for it). Either way, I remained a proper fanatic! 

I promised myself that I would one day find my way there, and with that, I chose my university and International Business major based on the goal of attending an extensive business program that traversed 14 countries in 10 weeks across Europe, Russia, China, and India. 

But most importantly, Germany. Germany! 

And well, I did get to go on that trip and Germany definitely lived up to the decades-long pedestal I had put it on (actually, so did all the countries. So much so, that I ditched my senior year in Chicago to study in Seoul! But hey, why not when you’re studying International Business, am I right?). 

So as soon as that degree was in my hand a year later, I already had a one-way ticket and a suitcase packed with little more than high hopes and a prayer.

I lived in Germany for four years and in that time co-founded my own Media Marketer and Strategist business. Not only did I find a way to use my new business degree but also to maximize my travel to the surrounding European countries. I was a kid in a candy shop!

Wanting a way to remember all these days my kid self would so happy we achieved, I began writing. I wrote rambling blog entries, semi-dramatic social media captions, and journal entries of random thoughts, observations, or new words I was learning in German.

This is where I really found my knack for writing. I’ll admit, while I didn’t ever necessarily dislike writing, I certainly didn’t like it enough to do it for fun. But for the first time, I felt like I had finally found a subject I couldn’t get enough of.

And long story short, eventually I realized I wanted to make a whole career out of it and transitioned solely to copywriting. 

So there you have it, I let the framework of my obsession guide my passion and thus found a way to fuse travel and writing together to bring Cali Copywrite Co. to life. So that’s one way to do it- figure out what you have always been fascinated by or enjoyed doing and allow that to help illuminate your way. 

But there are so many other paths I considered too before I made the official switch to copywriting. For instance, I knew I liked traveling and writing but I could have gone in so many directions with that. These are the steps I took when considering my options before narrowing down my choices.

Look at Your Interests and Strengths: 

Identify your passions, expertise, and unique skills that can be leveraged in a specific niche. Do you know a lot about one thing in a particular area? Do you love it enough to share it with others? Do you have a skill set others would pay you for?

Research Market Demand: 

Once you’ve narrowed down some potential ideas, you’ll need to do some online sleuthing to understand the needs, preferences, and trends of potential customers. Doing some market research to look for gaps or areas where your skills can fulfill unmet needs will help you determine how likely it is that people will pay for this service and product. You don’t want to spend time pursuing something that won’t be profitable for you. 

Identify Your Target Audience: 

Determine your ideal clients and customers and make sure that your niche fulfills their specific wants and needs. Going on unfiltered forums such as Reddit or through Instagram comments can tell you a whole lot about buyer’s desires as well as holdbacks and complaints. Get ahead of the game before you even start your business and consider where you can step into the market with a fresh offer. 

Analyze Your Competition: 

Evaluate the people who are already doing what you want to do. And if you can’t find many or any, maybe this is is an unexplored market that you can really shine in!

Refine Your Unique Value:

How will you be different than other businesses already existing in your desired niche? Develop a unique selling point that sets you apart from competitors and really resonates with your target market.

Consider Your Profit Potential: 

Assess the profit potential (highs and lows) and scalability of your chosen niche to make sure it aligns with your business goals and financial objectives. And remember in this step that money isn’t everything. The goal is to genuinely enjoy the skill you plan to offer. You will be trading your time for money, so really take that into account. 

Just Because You Don’t Know It Now, Doesn’t Mean You Can’t Learn It: