Passion Is Great, But Is There Demand?

Last week a new restaurant opened in a building we frequent.

I'm not here to kill someone's dream, so I'll be a bit vague. I'm hoping the new place succeeds. The location is good. It sees steady foot traffic and there are no other food and drink options for a two-block radius.

We stopped in on a Saturday morning, bought a drink and a sandwich, and people-watched.

In the space of 20 minutes, three people came in. They all wanted coffee.

The new restaurant doesn't offer coffee.

Instead, they chose to specialize in a different drink, offering nearly two dozen variations of it.

Two of those three people walked out. One adapted and ordered the house speciality instead of coffee.

Two sales lost in 20 minutes.

It made me wonder why the restaurant owners chose the menu they did.

Maybe this particular drink was someone's hobby? Or a passion?

The internet is rife with advice like:

"Make your hobby a job and you'll never work another day."

"People don't buy what you do, they buy why you do it."

"Do what you love and the money will follow."

Doing what you love is great. Who wouldn't want a job that doesn't feel like work?

But here's the thing.

There has to be demand for that thing you are so passionate about.

And by demand, I mean actual people willing to pay actual money.

Not likes.

Not shares.

Not comments.

Cold. Hard. Cash.

Find the demand. Meet it with a service or product. Then find your passion in the doing.

I had one of the house specialty drinks. It was good. But it's not something I would drink every day.

Most days, like the two people that walked out, I need my coffee.

So the question is, now that the owners of the new restaurant conceived it, named it, branded it, built it out, staffed it, and opened it, will they stick to the original idea?

Or will they adapt and start offering what people are asking for?

I'll be watching.