How Passion Fuels Entrepreneurial Success

By Nick Pietropinto

In 1997, marking his return to Apple after a 12-year hiatus, Steve Jobs shared these motivating words with the struggling company’s staff: “Apple is not about making boxes for people to get their jobs done … We believe that people with passion can change the world for better.”

Under his leadership, that’s exactly what Apple did. Jobs reiterated his pursuit of passion in 2005, during his famous commencement speech at Stanford. “You’ve got to find what you love,” he told his audience. “The only way to do great work is to love what you do.”

Jobs’ passion for creating products that transform lives was the driving force behind Apple’s phenomenal comeback. For any entrepreneur, passion is absolutely essential. Indeed, research shows that the more passion an entrepreneur has, the more likely he or she is to succeed.

Aspiring business innovators understand this. In a survey published by the Harvard Business Review, 90 percent of Columbia Business School MBA students said they believed that pursuing their passion was important.

As Jobs pointed out, it’s not just about having passion for the product you’re producing, but the mission you’re striving toward: the why behind the what. Finding that passion in your purpose is ultimately what gets you out of bed every morning, energized and excited to make a difference in the lives of your employees and clients. Your mission is a vital pillar in your marketing strategy.

As the founder of Double Diamond VIP and an entrepreneur with more than 25 years of experience in management, I’ve discovered that passion is critical to entrepreneurial success in four important ways.

1. Passion powers creativity: When you’re passionate about what you do, you see limitless possibilities, the “what-ifs”that others can’t. You’re driven to try new things, ask questions, takes risks, and shake up the status quo — all of which leads to innovation.

2. Passion keeps you productive: When the entrepreneurial journey gets hard — and it inevitably will — passion is what keeps you going. With passion, you have more positivity, resilience, and grit to overcome setbacks and turn challenges into opportunities.

3. Passion is contagious: Passion comes from the people around you, as well as from within. A passionate business leader inspires and motivates others to take on new challenges and engage in a shared mission. A recent survey of 800 companies found that employees who work for highly passionate entrepreneurs were more likely to have a high level of passion themselves, as well as a deeper sense of commitment to their company.

4. Passion builds stronger relationships: When you’re genuinely passionate about what you do and the impact you have, customers are more likely to trust your motivations, get on board, and share your enthusiasm. Passionate business leaders are often the most effective communicators, as well (case in point: Jobs’ commencement speech).

At Double Diamond VIP, our shared passion is the foundation on which we’ve built our company and our core values: hard work, client-centric service, data-driven and methodical consistency, and unwavering integrity. Passion also needs light and air to grow and thrive; as such, every member of our team is encouraged to pursue their passions not only in their work but in their lives outside the office walls.

Our passion comes through in our mission, as well. Nothing brings us greater joy and fulfillment than helping marketers grow their brands and unlock their full potential. And while passion may be an intangible quality, the results it generates are very much quantifiable.

Through passion, we help clients overcome their own limitations, think creatively, and innovate. Once those limits are no longer holding them back, we help brands achieve stability — like an engine running smoothly and seamlessly. That’s the point when we’re able to build their momentum and accelerate their growth to maximum capacity. And it all starts with passion.

Our D2C clients recognize how passionate we are as well, as evidenced in their own words: “Nick brings an unrivaled passion and enthusiasm for seeing businesses exceed their goals,” and “Nick’s passion for his work is inspiring and those who have the opportunity to work with him are fortunate.”

That’s where the passion really pays off: in seeing our clients exceed their goals, seeing their brands achieve astronomical growth, and seeing their products reach more customers and improve more lives.

Learn about Double Diamond VIP’s passion for D2C marketing at www.tryd2c.com.

Nick Pietropinto is the founder and CEO of Double Diamond VIP. He can be reached via email at nick@doublediamondvip.com.