Passion to Profits. Alice LaPlante

      You have a dream. And that dream involves more than just following others, punching a time clock, or showing up at a cubicle on a schedule created by someone else. Even if you’re doing that now to earn a living, you know that your long-term goals involve satisfying a much more important need: following your passions, talents, skills, and desires. Your dream is to someday—maybe today—start and run your own business.

      You have a passion. Perhaps you’re a snowboarder and spend all spring, summer, and fall waiting for that glorious moment when you can buckle your board on your boots and really begin living. Or you’re a craftsperson devoted to designing and building custom cabinetry from recycled or sustainable sources. Or maybe you’re an avid fashion designer with an eye for predicting which styles are going to become the Next Big Thing. You want to make your avocation your vocation. But you’re not sure how to begin.

      You have training and talent. You’re a highly skilled pastry chef. Or you’ve just graduated from engineering school with top honors. You’re good at what you do, but that won’t be enough out there in the marketplace. Most professions require you to do more than simply practice your skill or craft well. You need business skills to back up your flair for design, your knack for software programming, or your talent as a musician. But how do you acquire those skills?

      You want more than what conventional employment options will provide. You may have—or be planning to start—a family, and a nine-to-five job isn’t compatible with your parenting ideals. Or you’re a free spirit who would feel hampered by a traditional employer-employee relationship. Or you want to earn the kind of money that just wouldn’t be possible on a salary, perhaps even become truly wealthy. Yet when you search the Internet job boards, all you see are ads for the usual. You want to take control of your own destiny. But how do you proceed?

      You want to move your business forward, but you’re being held back by your lack of business knowledge. Or you may have jumped feet first into a business before realizing you don’t quite have all the know-how you need to make a go of it. Whether you’re one of the scores of freelance technical writers struggling to differentiate and market themselves to potential clients, or a software engineer with a brilliant idea but no clue how to turn that into an actual business, you need to acquire the business skills to support your vision.

      In all these cases, you have a passion—and a talent—for something that would place you beyond the boundaries of most