Imagine your child graduated from a prestigious university and decided to take a year off to just “get in the right headspace”? 

That was the case back in 2013 when Karishma Mehta graduated from a prestigious UK university with a degree in industrial economics and decided that business just wasn’t for her.

“I felt very disconnected from the concept of working in a bank,” says Mehta, founder and CEO of the uber popular Indian photoblog Humans of Bombay. “I came home and just decided to do nothing and figure out what I felt passionate about.” Her parents were not happy.

Risky decision? Not really, says Mehta. “That was one of the most crucial decisions of my life.”

Fast forward eight years and Mehta has built an enormous and engaged community (she has 1.4 million followers on Instagram and 1.3 million on Facebook) who flock to her photoblog and social media accounts to learn about their fellow humans.

 And the best part? Mehta has figured out a way to turn her passion into a real, fulfilling and profitable business. How? Here are some of her tips:

Tips From A Successful Humanitarian Entrepreneur

Listen to that little voice in your head. And go with your gut. Not interested in banking, grad school or marriage (the 3 paths expected of her after graduation), Mehta couldn’t stop thinking about the photoblog world. Rather than ignore her passion and pursue the safe route, she used a camera and forged her own path. Now with a community of over 2 million people and nearly 3600 stories, Humans of Bombay is India’s largest blog.

Be ok with rejection. It’s a normal part of the process. When Mehta traveled to Mumbai’s iconic Marine Drive and attempted to convince people to tell her, a not-so-professional looking 21-year-old, their story, she endured hours of straight rejection. She finally convinced one woman to share her story about loss. “The feeling I got knowing someone who didn’t know me was willing to tell me her story was fascinating. So, I kept going and kept facing rejection, but I ultimately got enough stories to start a Facebook page.” 

Jump in with both feet. Taking that leap from passion project to business can be daunting. But you won’t know unless you try. Mehta collected 10 stories and decided to go all in. She threw together a Facebook page and crossed her fingers. At the end of the first day, she had 1,000 followers. That grew to 20,000 by the end of the first month and Humans of Bombay was born.

It’s not NOT your job. Be prepared to roll up your sleeves and become an expert in, well, everything. Mehta created her first logo herself in Microsoft Word, designed her Facebook cover photo in Collage Maker and even self-published her first book. Learning these skills will make it easier to manage the process as your business grows and you begin to outsource the same functions. 

Be authentic. People want connection. Mehta believes her community grew as quickly as it did because “people saw themselves in somebody who wasn’t pretending to be someone else.” With Humans of Bombay, people talk about themselves and that’s very relatable. “When we post about a single mother, we’ll get a thousand comments from other single mothers saying, ‘that’s my experience too!’” 

Serve a higher purpose. Have a mission. Mehta realized early on that by featuring stories of real people, she could generate much needed attention and money. Just last week, she posted about a 12-year-old impoverished Bangladeshi boy who came to India for life saving cancer treatment. The post ended with a call to action and a link to donate. In less than a week, her followers donated more than $36,000, enough to cover his treatment. Her focus now will include reaching and featuring Indian women in rural areas who often have significant needs but don’t have access to social media.

Make money. Passion projects are great, but they don’t always pay the bills. Find a way to earn income while fulfilling your goals. Humans of Bombay partners with major brands, like Amazon, P&G and Tinder, to sponsor stories or to feature calls to action. One post, for example, highlights the budding relationship between an Indian man and an Italian woman. The post is sponsored by OkCupid.

Today, “Humans of” blogs and social media pages exist for cities, countries, universities and social groups around the globe. Check out Humans of Lahore (it’s in Pakistan) or Humans of Kiribati (the small Micronesian island boasts 5600 followers). And while you go down the rabbit hole of inspirational posts, think about what you might do that will bring you joy, serve a higher purpose and make some money. And then, in the words of Mehta, just go for it!