Unpopular opinion: The "follow your passion" advice is terrible for most people

My buddy Mark told me to quit my steady accounting job and open a craft brewery in Austin back in 2018. I actually listened, put in $40k of my savings, and watched it fail within 14 months. Turns out loving beer doesn't mean you know how to handle permits, payroll, or a broken glycol chiller at 3 AM. Anyone else get burned by that kind of "do what you love" pep talk?

3 comments

3 Comments

adam_hernandez12d ago

Ha! @fiona_lane beat me to the beer failure club, just with tacos instead.

fiona_lane12d ago

Oh man, your story hits way too close to home. I did something similar except with a food truck because I "loved cooking" and thought that was enough. Spoiler alert: it was not enough. I spent a year paying for health permits, dealing with a broken fridge on a 100 degree day, and arguing with the health inspector about things I didn't even know existed. Lost about $25k and a lot of sleep. The whole "do what you love" crowd never mentions the boring stuff like insurance, zoning laws, and how you actually make money instead of just burning through it. I still love cooking but I do it at home now where the only thing that can break is my oven.

abby_robinson5812d ago

Counterpoint: nobody talks about the boring stuff because that's literally the job. You're supposed to figure that out before you start. The "do what you love" crowd isn't wrong, they just assume adults know how to run a business. Health permits and zoning laws aren't secrets. They're on government websites for free. 25k is a cheap lesson honestly. Some people lose their house.