For Dan Gunam, founder of Love Group, running his businesses, including Calii Love and Love Child Social House has always been about passion with a capital ‘P.’ Here’s why—in his own words.

I have been an entrepreneur for almost 15 years, and I have created some successful businesses and some not so successful businesses. Each of them led me to who and where I am today. One key element of everything I did was the passion for wanting to create experiences for others. I always believed people may forget what you say, people may forget what you do, but people will never forget how you made them feel.

When I started out, my passion was to start an event and promotional company and succeed at it. There was one little problem, I didn’t know many people, and I was an introvert, shy and reserved. My passion to succeed and not fail, made me do and learn things that were out of my comfort zone such as public speaking and breaking out of my shyness to meet and talk to new people. And because I was passionate about wanting to succeed, the things I feared became my strength.

Having passion in business is important if you want to be a successful entrepreneur, but is it necessary?

Passion in business can help you be successful

Passion is one of the best key motivators when it comes to launching a business. However, you have to also ask yourself why you are passionate about that idea. Sometimes you might find yourself passionate about an idea but not so sure about the industry. When you know the reason and understand what motivated you to go in that direction, the passion behind your idea could lead you to the business or industry you truly care about.

Passion is what moves you. Passion keeps you going despite the difficulties that you or your business could inevitably come across. I was faced with many situations to just throw up my arms and to simply give up, but my passion and why I had the idea in the first place caused me to keep going. I had no choice but to find ways to keep it going, even if I had to get out of my comfort zone again. I couldn’t imagine anything else but making this business successful.

It is important as a leader to have that passion when you launch a company. You need to inspire your staff and you need them to believe in your vision. When people around you get to witness that passion and believe in your vision, that energy will help spark other’s interest and motivate them to help you achieve your goals. This is key to your success.

Fostering Passion to Cultivate Culture

Once you find your passion and have successfully used this passion to either find your path in life, start a career, or launch a new business remember that this passion must be cultivated in order to sustain this success long term.

As a leader, as an entrepreneur it is your duty not only to ensure that the company succeeds, but to ensure it also fosters a positive culture to motivate and inspire the next generation of leaders and entrepreneurs.

Finding Your Passion

While growing up I thought I would end up working in medicine because I wanted to help people. Later in life I shifted my focus towards marketing. This was sparked because I found myself in situations where I was spending more time concerning myself with the presentation and delivery of the information than the content. I realized that I wanted to create things that would connect with people at an emotional level. At the time, I never imagined I would end up owning restaurants and bars. It wasn’t something I was passionate about then.

If you simply start something to make money, the chance of failure is likely. If you have an idea, ask yourself why you think it’s a great idea, what it is about that idea that makes you feel passionate and if you are willing to take the necessary risks. Most importantly, how is that idea going to make an impact on your personal life, and what kind of emotional connection will it have with your future customers?

When I had the opportunity to get involved in some of my previous ventures in hospitality, I was more excited to create something even though I wasn’t overly passionate about the industry. Because of that, I wasn’t hands-on in some of my ventures and partnered with people who didn’t share similar values and vision. In the end, it led me to severe depression, and a loss of relationships, investment and happiness.

It was at the lowest point in life when I understood what my true passion and purpose was. What started as a way to motivate me to get out of my depression, became the passion and purpose of my company, Love Group.