profit from your passion
Great chocolate is being made all over the world. You just have to look for it!
Many people ask me how I got such a great gig: writing about the best chocolate of the world. My response is simple. No one handed me this gig on a silver platter. I’ve created a niche for myself as someone who focuses on chocolate travel.
Cover of “Chocolatour: A Quest for the World’s Best Chocolate.”
But it’s not easy. In order to travel to various places around the world, I need to prove to host destinations and properties that I am serious about my work, that I have an audience, and that if I find positive things to report, I will pass them on.
That means a lot of behind-the-scenes work in lining up future travel, discovering chocolate events and professionals that I want to feature, and creating interesting and enticing content for my readers.
By doing that, I’ve been able to publish a book that people are enjoying, research future volumes of Chocolatour, host delicious chocolate events, and offer myself as a chocolate expert to groups who are interested.
So how can you make that principle work for you? Turn your own passion for something into an opportunity from which you can generate an income stream. Have you turned your passion into profit? Share with us, and we can all learn from one another’s success strategies.
And you’ve chosen the perfect niche? Who doesn’t enjoy chocolatey goodness?
Hi
You’re so right. It’s nice if someone jumps out at you and offers a ton of cash for you to pursue your passions but that rarely happens. In fact when you talk to people successfully pursuing their passions they more commonly start as you have. And as I, myself have. They start researching and pursuing their areas of interest and finding ways to make a living at it. I must admit though that you’ve done much better than I at making connections with chocolatiers etc.
Thanks for your comment, Pat, and welcome to the blog!
I think the whole key to success and enjoying one’s work is to find something you can really feel passionate about. Your passion in turn, attracts the passion of others, and helps connect you with the right people.
I do apologize to those of you who have had difficulty posting a comment on the blog. My webmaster has been tweaking plug-ins and working hard to figure out why some readers are receiving error messages when trying to post here or on https://chocolatour.net. Here’s hoping the comment gremlins have now left the building and we can get back to our regularly scheduled programming. 🙂
Your energy is so infectious it doesn’t surprise me at all that you have managed to carve such a unique and personally satisfying niche for yourself. When you talk about chocolate your enthusiasm is so evident that it draws people in. That’s hard to fake or replicate.
Thanks so much, Debra. You have no idea how much your words have meant to me. It has really been my goal to be real and sincere in my writing, while including quite a bit of fun!
I love how you’re sharing with us, not just your passion, but HOW you make it work for you. My passion is writing for kids and I’ve been able to make nice career out of it by focusing my energies and time studying the market and learning how to connect with publishers.
Thanks for your comment, Nancy. I really admire the network you have created, and the strategies you have implemented to market your work. It’s definitely working for you!
My passion is writing fiction and my first book was published in 2008. Even though I have a heavy background in sales and marketing, I found that unlike any other “product”, selling this product of my imagination seems self-serving and a little immodest! I’m working on it! 🙂
Hi, Jacqueline. Yes, it is indeed difficult to promote ourselves and our work. But if we don’t do it, who else will?
I have been notified by Jacqueline Gum that she has had difficulty posting a comment to the blog. We’re not sure why this is happening, but she has asked me to post this comment for her:
“My passion is writing fiction and my first book was published in 2008. Even though I have a heavy background in sales and marketing, I found that unlike any other “product”, selling this product of my imagination seems self-serving and a little immodest! I’m working on it! 🙂 ” Jacqueline Gum
Doreen,
You serve as inspiration to those of us who are interested in becoming well recognized in our own niches. I have no doubt that you work diligently to achieve your success. Congratulations on your new book.
Thanks so much, Sherryl. Your friendship, encouragement, and support mean much to me.
I really admire your success in turning your passion into an area of expertise and writing platform. Best of luck with future chocolate adventures!
Thanks very much, Melissa, and thanks for visiting the blog. I hope you’ll subscribe and stick around for future discussions. We have a great community here.
You have done a great job Doreen by building yourself up as the best choice when it comes to writing about chocolate. Chapeau!
Thanks, Catarina. I’m getting there! But it’s still a lot of work getting some folks to acknowledge my efforts. As long as there’s forward movement everyday, I’m happy!
Great post Doreen – I am so happy that you are really doing what you love everyday. It was wonderful meeting you and being able to sample your passion. 🙂
Thanks so much, Susan. It was great meeting you, and sharing my passion for chocolate with you, and sharing our mutual passion for fine wine. Looking forward to more collaborative ventures in the future!
My passion is changing lately and I am not good at marketing myself, like you, as Irene commented. But once you do have a passion I know it will drive you to do everything you can to make it become reality. That’s the the lesson I’ve learned from you my friend. Glad you’re enjoying your current trip on the West Coast.
Thanks so much, Suzanne. I know that your new passion will find you. You just need to sort it out as you move forward with the next chapter of your life. Thanks for being along with me virtually on my latest journey.
Its so lovely to hear this and this is what I am trying to achieve with my blogging. A handful of people really make a living out of bloggingin SA or writing tutorials and this is something I love so I intent to continue even though I’m not sure in which direction to go with it right now.
Thanks, Wendy. Eventually your own focus will sine clear and you will know which path to pursue. Good luck, and thanks for joining the conversation.
Hi Doreen,
I am not at all in your league when it comes to marketing myself, but my experience might be of interest to people who wonder how to make their passion work for them. My passion is Canadian history with a particular interest in the lives of women. My first book was the biography of Marie-Anne Lagimodiere, Louis Riel’s grandmother and the first white woman to settle in what is now the Canadian West. Because she lived during the fur trade era, it happened that I have became a specialist in the fur trade era instead of in women’s fight for political and social rights as I had originally intended. Five of my 8 books are about the fur trade. I make a effort to combine women and the fur trade as much as possible.
I don’t get to travel around to exotic place like Doreen does, but I have toured many places connected to the fur trade. I also have travelled on Via Rail as a story teller and given readings to various historical organizations. The most exotic place I have gone was to Scotland to visit the Highlands and the Orkney Islands where many fur traders originated.
Terrific, Irene! Thanks for sharing. You have done wonders in establishing yourself as an expert in the fur trade era. Cheers!