We all have hobbies or interests we’ve had for a long time. Sometimes we are just not aware of how much we actually know and we think it is not enough, but we always know more about something than someone else who is just starting and we can provide information, training or a product. And we can charge for it, and add extra income to our household. What is more, we will most certainly enjoy it since this hobby or interest is something we love doing and talking about, meaning we can earn while having fun. Here are a few quick tips how to go about it:
- Make a list of all your hobbies, interests, skills, knowledge
- Think what you could offer – there are three main avenues: service (you will sell your service to someone), product (you will sell your product to them) or training (you will teach them how to do or make something)
- Explore the market – do a little research, see if there is a lot of competition out there, and how other people have done what you are planning to do
- Develop your service / product / training modules – give it shape, size, looks and a price
- Market your new business – online, in print or both
Here are a few examples of what hobbies you could turn into a source of income:
Traveling
Everybody likes traveling, but most people only spend money while traveling, while few people earn money on the road. But it can be done. The easiest way is to start your own travel blog, get some following and then offer advertizing space on it, there are many options nowadays like brand partnerships, affiliate links and destination marketing. You can also sell your travel photos and do some freelance travel writing for other more established travel blogs, there are many that pay for articles. Also, writing for a traditional travel magazine is an option. Some websites pay for hostel and hotel reviews. There are families with a permanent travel lifestyle and they need nannies so if you’ve done some babysitting in the past, you can be a travelling nanny!
Crafts and Arts
Whether it is jewelry, decorations, painting, knitting or anything in the arts and crafts category, you can probably monetize it. For example, you order your materials from online yarn stores. Then at home you make your products, it can be clothes, accessories, wedding decorations or lamps, you really don’t need a lot of skill to make yarn decorations. Then you take photos of it and set up an online shop, there are websites that sell unique arts and crafts, or you can make your own website and promote it. You can join arts and crafts fairs and have your own stand there or even offer your stuff to local stores to decorate their store windows.
Music
If you can play an instrument, you can start giving music lessons, as a private tutor. There are many platforms for this, where tutors and students can connect. You can teach people one-on-one or offer group lessons where more people attend your class, for example in a Skype group conference. You can give webinars, charging for access. You could also record videos and sell these online.
Just remember you will need to have at least intermediate skills at something and read up about teaching methods, but you don’t need to be a flawless expert. Your hobby can turn into your home based business if you invest a little energy and time into it. Good luck!
