The Hobbyist: First Step in the Leadership Journey for Online Business Owners

Are you in the "Hobbyist" stage of entrepreneurship? Learn the exact steps to build confidence, overcome self-doubt, and grow your online business.

The Hobbyist: First Step in the Leadership Journey for Online Business Owners

Welcome to the Permission to Lead blog, where we gain the confidence to build teams as small online business owners. In this post, I'll dive into the first stage of the leadership journey: The Hobbyist. Discover how to recognize if you're in this stage and the exact steps to move forward on your entrepreneurial path.

If you haven't read my previous post on the leadership journey framework, I recommend checking that out first for context. You can also take my leadership quiz to understand where you are on your own journey. This self-assessment is crucial for identifying your current leadership stage and creating a personalized growth plan.

What Does It Mean to Be a Hobbyist in Your Business?

If you're at the hobbyist stage, you likely have one foot in the entrepreneurial waters and one foot out. You're excited about starting something new and having a creative outlet, but you're not dedicating focused time to the business aspect of your venture.

As a hobbyist, you're probably:

Coming up with great ideas and feeling excited about their potential impact
Questioning if you can (or even want to) turn your passion into a real business
Constantly doubting yourself and undervaluing your products
Experiencing minimal progress in your business
Downplaying your efforts to friends and family to avoid criticism
Operating without a solid plan (the classic "throw spaghetti at the wall" strategy)
Keeping one foot out the door so if it "fails," you can't be blamed

Being in the hobbyist space isn't inherently bad—it's actually wise to test your ideas before going all-in. However, if your ultimate goal is to become a successful entrepreneur, staying in this half-committed state has consequences.

The Consequences of Staying a Hobbyist

If you remain in this one-foot-in, one-foot-out place, you risk:

Forgetting why you started in the first place
Quitting this idea to pursue something else
Unnecessarily revamping everything until your business becomes unrecognizable
Limiting your ability to expand your business, reach, and impact

A Real-Life Example: Hannah's Story

My client Hannah was internalizing dismissive remarks about her "hobby" from friends and family, which unintentionally diminished her own opinion of her business. She had real intentions for her business—to generate income for her family and bring joy to others—but those external comments fed her internal doubt.

Hannah was experiencing panic attacks and self-hating thoughts. During our first one-on-one conversation, she realized she shouldn't be frustrated with her family for seeing her business as a hobby because she wasn't taking it entirely seriously either.

She was the one putting limitations on herself—believing her business wasn't "real" until she hit certain revenue goals or sales numbers. When Hannah acknowledged her self-judgment, she saw how often she was operating based on assumptions about what her family required or expected from her.

These untrue stories in her mind were creating anxiety and self-induced pressure. It wasn't her abilities preventing her from experiencing time and financial freedom—it was this internalized pressure.

Only when Hannah came to this realization could she do the moment-by-moment work to reassure herself that the pressure wasn't real and that she had what it takes to grow her business.

Today, Hannah has two store locations, multiple employees (including a manager and a full-time marketing person), and has far exceeded what she envisioned for herself just a few years ago.

How to Stop the Self-Doubt Cycle

If you'd like to break free from this self-doubting mindset, here's what I recommend:

1. Change How You Speak and Think About Your Business

The amount of time you put into your venture or the money you make doesn't determine whether it's "just a hobby." It's how you speak and think about it that matters.

It's a business if you say it's a business—if you have goals of making money and impacting others through it. That's it. You don't need to demean the work you're already doing or add more to "legitimize" it.

When you say things like "I know this won't work but it's fun anyway" or "I don't have what it takes to be a real entrepreneur," how does that make you feel? For me, it creates a negative spiral—my shoulders curl in, my head hangs lower, I feel more depressed throughout the day. This mindset affects everything—how I show up as a parent, as a partner, as a leader.

2. Adopt the Mindset of a Leader

When you shed the hobbyist mindset and adopt the mindset of a leader, you'll understand that success isn't determined by time invested, effort expended, or money earned in any given moment. Success is about impact—or being on a trajectory to positively impact others.

Two Focus Areas to Level Up from Hobbyist

1. Ask for Help

Leaders know they can't do everything alone. Don't be afraid to seek guidance when you need it.

2. Create Supportive Systems

Focus on Needle Movers

Needle movers are the 3-5 key actions that will get you to your goal of creating impact the fastest. Unfortunately, most hobbyists (and many entrepreneurs) cap their potential by trying to do everything at once and spreading themselves too thin.

Are you trying to do too much to prove yourself? I certainly was. I'd make one positive move—like finishing my website—and immediately run to show it off, seeking validation.

Often, hobbyists simply do the first thing that comes to mind or run with the newest idea from the latest podcast because prioritizing feels like a waste of time.

If you focused most of your effort on only a few key actions that would move the needle toward your goal, you could build self-trust that you're capable of achieving your aims. The more you grow that self-trust, the closer you are to becoming a leader and experiencing success.

Needle movers are priorities that allow you to take yourself and your business seriously. They prevent you from flailing, second-guessing yourself, or constantly reevaluating your to-do list. They streamline your efforts and help you see successes clearly.

Moving Forward: From Hobbyist to Successful Entrepreneur

If you focus on shifting your mindset and creating momentum through needle movers, you'll find yourself advancing to the next level of the leadership journey: The Starry-Eyed Hustler (which I'll cover in my next post).

The transformation from hobbyist to true business owner doesn't happen overnight, but with consistent application of these principles, you'll build both confidence and tangible results in your business. The most successful online entrepreneurs began exactly where you are now—they simply took decisive action to move forward.

Take Action Today

In the meantime, if you haven't taken my leadership quiz yet, I encourage you to do so to determine if you're indeed at the hobbyist stage. I'd love to help you move beyond that perpetual cycle of self-doubt into a place of confidence where you know your mission and believe in your ability to achieve it.

Read the Leadership Journey blog or listen to the Permission to Lead podcast to learn more about the complete leadership journey framework and how it can transform your business.

Conclusion: Embrace Your Entrepreneurial Potential

Remember, your business is legitimate when you decide it is. The difference between a hobby and a business isn't determined by revenue—it's determined by your mindset, intentions, and the systems you put in place. By identifying your needle movers and building self-trust through consistent action, you can break through the hobbyist phase and create the impact you've always dreamed of.

Need personalized guidance? I offer free 30-minute phone consultations to help you take those next steps forward on your leadership journey. Schedule your consultation today and discover exactly what you need to do next to grow your business with confidence.

Categories: : personal stories, sustainable business, work-life balance