Mmh, the real reason the author came to hate his passion/hobby is that he could not make money from it. It’s that simple.
Turning my hobby into a business made me hate it
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Re: Turning my hobby into a business made me hate it
#22I love programming (not just playing with code) and making excellent things with code, and electronics and mechanisms. I get paid to be good at it and help others do so as well, and I love that, too.
All that said, the author’s warning is well heeded. There are things I’ve built and run at my own expense. They could be commercialized, but that bit doesn’t seem like fun to me (I don’t need the money, so there isn’t a problem there to solve). I could give them to someone who would commercialize them, but that would create problems for the new owners and old users - so again, not fun.
Perhaps there is room for both - pure fun and enjoyment without obligation or commitment, as well as the commercial tangible benefit to others (i.e. paid for).
Re: Turning my hobby into a business made me hate it
#23The article should be called: >Started doing Marketing for My Passion and It Appeared I Don't Love Marketing
Agreed. As soon as the post pivoted from doing the writing, to all of the other aspects associated with running a business, I lost interest. The author would do well to understand the power of delegation.
Re: Turning my hobby into a business made me hate it
#24comes down to each individuals relationship with money imo and for that I say "its complicated."
Re: Turning my hobby into a business made me hate it
#25Good to keep in mind for sure but don’t assume it can’t be done either. Currently I’m lucky enough to be managing it but there are two of us. Every day is great and I hope we can do this for a very long time.
Re: Turning my hobby into a business made me hate it
#26It's hard to imagine the economy of your hobby and all else that goes into any business. Taxes, marketing, customer service, and if you hire people, management. Very few enjoy these activities, let alone excel at them, especially with a hobbyists's mindset.
The influencer is the closest to a marketing hobbyist, but from the many I've met, it often crosses the line into addiction and narcissism, which some see as talent.
Re: Turning my hobby into a business made me hate it
#27The person who said this article should have been titled "Started doing Marketing for My Passion and It Appeared I Don't Love Marketing" is right on.
I've met musicians who were totally uninterested in going to see anyone who wasn't "happening." You can't blame them, since they're trying to make a living.
I always thought about programming: "I like it OK. Sometimes I like it a lot, but it's a living. I don't do it at home for fun."
If you don't mind writing what sells, then that's a living. F. Scott Fitzgerald tried selling out in Hollywood, but he's not remembered for that non-passion part of his work:
Re: Turning my hobby into a business made me hate it
#28While I somewhat agree with the premise of this post, I think it is exacerbated by the fact that the author was trying to turn something like fiction writing into a business. When I think of businesses that suck in terms of economics and chances of success, fiction writing is one of the first things that come to mind. In general, you like things more when they make you a lot of money. A lot of fun things suck when yo…
I think you have it reversed, a lot of fun things suck when they make you money.
Re: Turning my hobby into a business made me hate it
#29This is why I never attempted to find a programming job. I am the typical nerdy polyglot, having dabbled in a two-digit amount of programming languages. But I somehow always knew, if I had to do this 8 hours a day, for projects I am likely not intrinsically motivated to work on, I'd likely hate it after a few weeks. I envy those which managed to make this passion into a paying job without loosing the love for it.
This is exactly why I'm pursuing programming. I hate it with a passion. I'm an artist at heart, so programming is a great fit because, not only does it pay much more than art, it's completely artless, so it won't ruin my desire for making art at the end of the day.
Programming is certainly not artless.
Re: Turning my hobby into a business made me hate it
#30This is why I never attempted to find a programming job. I am the typical nerdy polyglot, having dabbled in a two-digit amount of programming languages. But I somehow always knew, if I had to do this 8 hours a day, for projects I am likely not intrinsically motivated to work on, I'd likely hate it after a few weeks. I envy those which managed to make this passion into a paying job without loosing the love for it.
This is exactly why I'm pursuing programming. I hate it with a passion. I'm an artist at heart, so programming is a great fit because, not only does it pay much more than art, it's completely artless, so it won't ruin my desire for making art at the end of the day.
Programming is used to make a lot of art, you could combine the two.
I also think that programming well is an art as much as it is science/engineering/math