Got a hobby you love? What if you could turn that hobby into a profitable side hustle?!
From painting to candle making, so many viable businesses are turning hobbies into revenue streams. It makes sense to turn a passion into a career.
After all, if you find a job you love, you’ll never work again! Not to mention, those talents and skills you may have otherwise kept hidden can be shared and enjoyed by everyone! And who knows, there may be a real market for your type of products or services.
While some hobbies might not be enough to turn into a full-time job or multimillion-dollar enterprise, they can be enough to give you some extra spending money!
How to turn a hobby into an income source
Here are some tips to turn your hobby into a business:
1. Research
If you have a special hobby or skill, try getting on the net to conduct market research. For example, if you are skilled in oil painting or like to create jewelry in your spare time, try doing a Google search or browse various online marketplaces such as Etsy and eBay for listings. See how they’re being marketed, what prices they are selling for, and your potential customer base.
Conducting market research helps you study the available market and analyze the competition, giving you more selling potential once you start building your brand.
2. Make a business plan
Before you start monetizing your hobby, you need to create a plan. Do you need a website to market your goods?
If you’re a keen writer, should you look at posting adverts on websites such as Upwork or Fiverr? For those with hobbies in the arts & crafts field, you might gain greater success by starting an Etsy store or a Facebook or Instagram Business.
The second half of your plan should also involve establishing your costs. How much will you sell your product or services for? How much do you need to set aside for things like postage or marketing?
Identifying a business plan and listing everything from your products and services, sales and marketing strategy, and a financial plan will help you jump into your brand development more easily and find a platform that will bring in more paying customers.
3. Build your brand
Take small steps when it comes to building your brand. You might want to market your products or services to your close friends or family first. This can help you test your concept and receive valuable feedback to market your product better.
You can start by offering a free trial or pitch your idea to potential customers using a “no risk” strategy if you’re selling a service. For example, you can offer an article or blog post, marketing service, or graphic design concept for free in return for exposure or potential onboarding.
The proof is in the pudding. When you start marketing products or services that you believe in, the first real job is convincing people to believe in your product and services. So those early stages of building your brand should really be focused on marketing, word of mouth, advertising, and proving yourself until one sale is made, then two, then three, and so on.
4. Turn your skills into a career
What if your hobby isn’t a product but a skill?
For example, you might be a passionate horse rider who takes a keen interest in animals. You can take this love of caring for horses (or cats, dogs, fish – you name it!) and create a career out of it! For example, you could find a job in equine care, you could consider becoming a dog walker, or you could even become a farmhand.
The same thing applies if you’re an avid gardener. While you can grow, cultivate and sell your own vegetables, you can also turn this hobby into a paying career by working in a nursery or finding a job in horticulture.
Just because it’s a hobby doesn’t mean it can’t turn into a rewarding career! Try to let go of limiting beliefs and explore the potential your hobbies and passion projects have.
It’s hard work, but it can pay off
Turning a hobby into a successful business doesn’t happen overnight. It takes a lot of time and dedication.
If you’re serious about turning your hobby into a revenue-producing side gig, then you have to start approaching your hobby as if it is your job. This means taking the time to cultivate your skills, research the industry and your competitors, learn about sales and marketing, and keep pitching your product via advertising or word of mouth.
If you’re good at what you do and there’s a market for your product, then you’re likely to make a nice profit and find great satisfaction in doing so. Play around with it, take the dive and see what happens! You might just find those skills you have really do pay off!
