Starting A Passion Project? Keep These Guardrails In Mind

I have specific pet peeves lately when it comes to how we talk about passion projects. An unpopular opinion I hold is that I don’t think every hobby or passion project needs to be a profitable side hustle. Our current economy makes it incredibly easy for you to take on side gigs in ways that earn you extra revenue and if that’s calling you, go get your bag and start your side business. I’ve done it and I find so much joy in it.

But I’ve also picked up hobbies and passion projects that don’t earn me anything financially, but have helped me immensely when it comes to bringing peace into my life, a coping mechanism for my mental health, or simply turned into a fun way to spend a Saturday afternoon. For instance, I’ve picked up a real interest in interior decorating over the last year. I’m reading the books. I’m subscribing to the sites that let me create 2D models of my living room. I’m living my best life spending hours looking through Target for the best finds. The hobby doesn’t help anyone other than me (and my boyfriend) and that’s okay.

Often the conversation around passion projects, side hustles, and hobbies become conflated as a single conversation because the assumption is made that the words are interchangeable. I actually define all 3 differently.

Hobby — something you do for fun with no intention or thought of ever making money off of it

Side hustle – a project you set off on with the intention of profiting off of it

Passion project – a project you’re starting because you’re passionate about in the way you are a hobby, but with an open mind that it could one day turn into a side hustle

Knowing which bucket you fall into will help you better understand what your next steps can be. If you’re leaning towards a passion project, I think it’s also useful to set guardrails for yourself from day 1. I’ve learned through the process of starting a passion project that led to a hobby and others that led to a side hustle that either path can impact your mental wellbeing (and overall life) for better or for worse.

Set time boundaries

Because most of us start a passion project as a way to step out of our “normal” lives for a bit, it becomes incredibly easy to dedicate all of our hours into the project sometimes without ever noticing. I did this when I first started toodamnyoung.com, I spent all my hours on it and never had any real sense of direction of when my “off” time was going to be. It ended up sucking a lot of the joy out of the passion project. It also led to many hard learned lessons on the power of having boundaries, particularly with myself.

Don’t put all your financial eggs in this basket

You don’t want to put pressure on your passion project to financially support you, at least not until it actually can. One of the best kept “secrets” people who start hustles out of passion projects rarely share is that how they financed the first few days of that project came courtesy of their safer bets. Whether the safe bet was a full-time job, a part-time job, or other hustles, they didn’t make their risky bet the only egg in their basket. It helped them financially, but also made it easier to not resent the project.

Remind yourself you’re allowed to do this just for fun

No matter what the top entrepreneurs in the game of side hustles tell you, you’re allowed to do things just for fun. You’re allowed to take on passion projects that help you cope with grief, your mental health, a breakup, a miscarriage, or anything else that you’re going through. You’re allowed to because ultimately you set the rules on how and why you’re spending time on these projects.

Choose the people you share it with wisely

I do believe that we’re a combination of the people who surround us and who we open up to. If you’re surrounded by friends who turn every passion project into a business they may not understand your decision to keep it a hobby. On the flip side, if you’re surrounded by friends who only pursue hobbies, they may not get it when you want to make money off yours. At the beginning of any project, keep your circle close and full of those who will water the seeds you’re trying to help grow.

No matter what path you choose, you get to pursue the one that makes you happiest. It’s just really nice to be reminded you have a choice.