MedBillAdvisor raises the question; albeit mostly via post to this blog.
I’d say no one starts a company without profit as a motive, yet it’s never the only reason to be an entrepreneur. As the company grows, these goals can conflict. Profit is so generic and passion so individual, it’s often assumed you don’t need to negotiate between the two.

When I talk with entrepreneurs about what they want from running their companies, there are almost two dozen categories of response. Money only plays into 4 or 5 of those. The more specific you are about your passion and your goals, the better chance you have to run the company in a way that satisfies them. Otherwise it’s like designing a ship before you know what your destination is. Building an ocean liner to get across the pond is as bad as trying to cross the sea in a canoe.

Takeaways:

• Passion and profit conflict less in a private company than in a public one.
• The clearer you are about your passion and how it plays out in your business, the better equipped you’ll be to deal with conflicts.