You might have to read that again. Usually, everyone is trying to do the opposite. It’s a common and widely accepted goal. “Do you hope to go professional with producing beats, or do you just do it for fun?” But what about the other way around?
When I tell people that Four Minute Books is not doing so well, they usually ask me whether I’m trying to sell it or shut it down. “You know, since I’m not really making any money with it anymore, I thought I’d just have fun with it,” I might respond. Mostly, people are surprised.
Many side projects turn into businesses, yet turning a business into a side project is not an option that’s commonly on our radar. But why not? If that’s how you started, why can’t you continue that way? Ego, for the most part.
It hurts to admit your business is no longer working. It feels like you’ve failed. Of course you’d like for it to continue to be a business. But if it can’t yet you still love it, why close the doors or hand it to the highest bidder? Just run it the way you want it to. You’re already unprofitable, so you may as well make more unprofitable decisions.
With Four Minute Books, advertising, affiliate, and sponsorship revenue have all dropped so much, none of them are worth chasing anymore. It’s not good for my wallet, but it does make my life easier. If new book summaries don’t drive much traffic, I can write fewer of them. I can summarize only the books I actually read and like. And if I don’t have to send two professional-looking newsletters each week to make more dollars, I can revert to a simpler format. Write like myself—and only when I have news to share.
Without the omnipotent incentive of money, you actually have to think about why you do things. In that sense, turning a business into a hobby is much harder than the reverse. But it is very much an option, and not only when profits are waning. Indeed, it might be just the right path for you to walk on for a while, and who knows? Sooner or later, you might literally be back in business.