Can you turn your passion project into a business? Take our quiz to find out

Are you ready to make a go of it in business? Photograph: Luca Sage/Getty Images

1. You have a side-hustle you’re passionate about, but what does it take to turn it into a business?

   1. Turn it into a business? That sounds like hard work. Maybe you’ll think about it next week.

   2. All of your passions could be business successes, but you need a knight in shining armour to get things off the ground.

   3. You have a strong feeling that to make things happen you’re going to have to do it yourself.

2. What’s motivating your ambition to go into business?

   1. You truly believe in yourself and your product, and feel you have something that people will love, so you want to share it. Plus, it could make you rich. What’s not to like?

   2. You feel it’s about time luck was on your side (and, being brutally honest, hope to reap maximum reward for minimum effort).

   3. Success would be nice if it came along, but you’re just farting around really – it’s more of a hobby.

3. What’s the best first step?

   1. Get yourself on Dragons’ Den and let that nice Peter Jones take care of you.

   2. Maybe … a website? Like, a nice website though. A shop window for your business on the world wide web.

   3. Sit back and wait for your genius to be discovered by, err, someone.

4. A domain, you say? Can’t you do everything on social media nowadays?

   1. Of course you can. A series of punchy TikTok videos is where it’s at.

   2. You probably would have an opinion – if you could only remember the names of those flippin’ apps.

   3. Nothing wrong with a nice Instagram account or a Facebook store, but getting your own domain massively increases the opportunities for your business for very little hassle.

5. How do you go about getting a domain name?

   1. Probably involves some fancy lawyer work, maybe registering it in some office or other?

   2. Pretty easy: you go online, find a helpful third party, and they’ll sort it out.

   3. Just, er, build a website and give it a name? By, er, coding? Or something?

6. Gah! My dream domain name is taken. What now?

   1. Nothing for it but to track down the owner of the name and make them an offer they can’t refuse.

   2. Abandon your dream – in the sense that you should just choose another name and not be overly precious.

   3. There is surely some sort of compromise to be made if you think things through.

7. What’s the secret to becoming a success?

   1. As far as you’re concerned, it’s death or glory, and if neither occurs in the first month or two you probably can’t be bothered.

   2. Success is such a bourgeois concept: it doesn’t matter whether your business is successful as long as you’re having fun.

   3. You need to be ready to play the long game, but you would rather like all the effort to pay off at some point.

8. Once you have your domain name, what’s next?

   1. Next? Isn’t buying the domain enough? Are you saying there’s MORE?

   2. Ummm – hire a tech wizard to look after it. You don’t have a clue.

   3. Find an easy way to build your own website and set up a business email address – you’re keen to keep costs down.

9. You need technical help with your website – what are your options?

   1. Surely if you obtained the domain through a reputable third party they can help you out?

   2. Is there not an official “internet helpline” you can get in touch with to sort things out?

   3. Call your parents! Even though they’ve lived much of their lives in a pre-internet age, it’s their responsibility to know.

10. What inspiring words did Richard Branson have to say on the subject of starting your own business?

    1. “I’ve had a horrible time, but it was all worth it because now I get to take revenge on my many enemies.”

    2. “A big business starts small”.

    3. “To infinity … and beyond!”

Solutions

1:C - If you want to turn your passion project into a business then you need to be prepared to make it happen yourself. Fortunately there are plenty of tools and resources that can help you – starting right here., 2:A - It’s vitally important to believe in what you’re doing, otherwise you’re unlikely to have the will needed to make a success of things., 3:B - Register yourself a domain and get a website going, pronto – in the digital age, it’s probably the single most vital thing a fledgling company can do to get itself out there., 4:C - Social media definitely has its uses, but it’s limited in many ways and was never intended to host whole businesses. Ask yourself: what serious business doesn’t have its own website? And you’re starting a serious business, right?, 5:B - Have you ever heard of GoDaddy? Its simple, user-friendly website will walk you through getting a domain name in seconds., 6:C - If you can’t get the .com name, how about .co.uk? Failing that, there’s likely to be some sort of smart tweak you can do – adding “The” at the start or “shop” at the end, for instance., 7:C - It would be silly to not make a go of it, but at the same time you need to be prepared to play the long game and not give up if you don’t instantly become the next Steve Jobs. Fortunately, you can operate a domain with low overheads and without needing vast amounts of technical expertise., 8:C - Website design couldn’t be simpler: just choose and customise one of GoDaddy’s pre-made website templates to sort your needs. GoDaddy will also sort you out with your own domain email address for a couple of quid extra a year. , 9:A - GoDaddy offers comprehensive and helpful technical support – the idea is to make setting up your own domain as easy as possible, and that comes down to running it., 10:B - Branson started his business empire with a small mail order record company. And now he’s trying to set up commercial flights into space. The sky isn’t even the limit to where your business could go.

Scores

1. 10 and above.

   Sure, you’re a newbie to all this but you have what it takes. You believe in your passion project as a business idea and you have a good sense of how to get started with it. A hassle-free domain purchase from GoDaddy will serve as the perfect launchpad to your dreams of entrepreneurship. You can do this.

2. 9 and above.

   Sure, you’re a newbie to all this but you have what it takes. You believe in your passion project as a business idea and you have a good sense of how to get started with it. A hassle-free domain purchase from GoDaddy will serve as the perfect launchpad to your dreams of entrepreneurship. You can do this.

3. 8 and above.

   Sure, you’re a newbie to all this but you have what it takes. You believe in your passion project as a business idea and you have a good sense of how to get started with it. A hassle-free domain purchase from GoDaddy will serve as the perfect launchpad to your dreams of entrepreneurship. You can do this.

4. 7 and above.

   Sure, you’re a newbie to all this but you have what it takes. You believe in your passion project as a business idea and you have a good sense of how to get started with it. A hassle-free domain purchase from GoDaddy will serve as the perfect launchpad to your dreams of entrepreneurship. You can do this.

5. 6 and above.

   You’re into the idea of turning your passion project into a business but, frankly, you’re not sure about doing so, probably because you think it sounds hard. But it doesn’t need to be. GoDaddy will take care of all your digital basics in no time, for a nice price. You’ve got very little to lose, except a future in which you’re a kajillionaire.

6. 5 and above.

   You’re into the idea of turning your passion project into a business but, frankly, you’re not sure about doing so, probably because you think it sounds hard. But it doesn’t need to be. GoDaddy will take care of all your digital basics in no time, for a nice price. You’ve got very little to lose, except a future in which you’re a kajillionaire.

7. 4 and above.

   You’re into the idea of turning your passion project into a business but, frankly, you’re not sure about doing so, probably because you think it sounds hard. But it doesn’t need to be. GoDaddy will take care of all your digital basics in no time, for a nice price. You’ve got very little to lose, except a future in which you’re a kajillionaire.

8. 3 and above.

   In the kindest way, you’re maybe a little divorced from the reality of what it takes to set up a business in 2022. But that’s OK. Setting up a website with GoDaddy is meant to be an easy process for those with ideas but no in-depth technical know-how – give it a whirl and even you could soon be coining it with your passion project.

9. 2 and above.

   In the kindest way, you’re maybe a little divorced from the reality of what it takes to set up a business in 2022. But that’s OK. Setting up a website with GoDaddy is meant to be an easy process for those with ideas but no in-depth technical know-how – give it a whirl and even you could soon be coining it with your passion project.

10. 0 and above.

    In the kindest way, you’re maybe a little divorced from the reality of what it takes to set up a business in 2022. But that’s OK. Setting up a website with GoDaddy is meant to be an easy process for those with ideas but no in-depth technical know-how – give it a whirl and even you could soon be coining it with your passion project.

11. 1 and above.

    In the kindest way, you’re maybe a little divorced from the reality of what it takes to set up a business in 2022. But that’s OK. Setting up a website with GoDaddy is meant to be an easy process for those with ideas but no in-depth technical know-how – give it a whirl and even you could soon be coining it with your passion project.

Kick off your passion project, start here