TheMadScientist - 12:16 am on Jan 5, 2013 (gmt 0)

Hmmm ... Personally, I think long-term viability is what distinguishes the difference between running a business and a hobby, because according to your line of reasoning Facebook was a hobby for it's first two years as a publicly traded company since they didn't make money ... They actually lost $138,000,000 in 2007 and $56,000,000 in 2008, but in 2011 they made $1,000,000,000.

Many businesses actually have periods of time when they lose or don't make money, think GM, Ford, American Airlines, and on and on, but I highly doubt anyone would say they're a hobby, because they all have long-term viability, even if they are always profitable.

[edited by: TheMadScientist at 12:25 am (utc) on Jan 5, 2013]