If you can learn to create value for other people by doing what you love, then you’ll never have to get a “job”. The problem, of course, is figuring out how to create that value in a way that fulfills both you and your customer.

Self-fulfillment can guarantee the greatest level of success because when you feel satisfied with what you do, you’re motivated to do more. You’re committed and inspired. But how can you assure the greatest potential for self-employed happiness? Below are the three keys to determining the most successful value that you can offer:

1. Passion

You go to work from 9 to 5 because you have to. You’re probably not doing work that you love… just work that you know needs to be done so that your boss will give you money in exchange.

Running your own business requires more. You have to feel passion about the field you’re working in and the niche you’re focusing on. Business won’t become your life, though it’ll be a bigger part. An employee has to worry about putting in time. You have to make sure that your time brings in money. Of course, if you have a passion for what you’re doing and you believe in what you’re doing, sales and marketing come much more easily. You want to actually enjoy working, a luxury that most people never experience.

Without a love for what you do, you’ll fall to the hard stuff.

Yeah we all know that if we don’t like animals, we shouldn’t open pet shops. But think of what you love. Some passions—like scrapbooking—are difficult to turn into a marketable business that leads you toward riches. Other passions—like building stuff—could take you on the road to building hotels (which are a hot ticket item right now), custom cabinets, finish carpentry, birdhouses, or cabins for the Girl Scouts.

2. Talent

When I was in high school, a good friend wrote, “Katie, you’re one in a million… which means there are about 6,500 of you in the world.” I think that he wanted to get a message across: every person is unique, and yet you’re always going to find people who are better than you. But does that mean give up?

The hardest part of starting anything is the fear of failing. Failing to succeed, failing to find happiness, failing to find appreciation or fame… We don’t hesitate to think of a handful of things that are wrong with us. You’re not doomed to failure, though. The key is to use the talents that you have to build your business.

If you don’t know some of your greatest attributes for business potential, ask a friend. You’ve got to give it your best. Your passion probably has something to do with your talent—you’re good at it, you enjoy it.

3. Values

If you don’t stand for something, then you’ll fall for anything. Who said that? Well besides your mom. Every business has a set of core values besides making money. In the strongest businesses, every employee knows those values and makes them a part of the work environment and decisions. In some businesses, even the founders don’t know where the values lie, and that neglect leads to struggle.

We hold values in our personal lives, why not in our business ideas? You have opinions on what’s right and wrong, whether we should drive Hummers, eat meat, pay for education, alter illegal immigration policy, and wear shoes in your house. Why not look for those values in yourself and make them a part of your business. The happiest person holds the same values as his company.