In these difficult times, everyone is looking to save a little bit of extra cash. Unfortunately, fun stuff like hobbies can be one of the first areas to take the hit when you’re tightening the purse strings.
Let’s face it: who wants to spend money on craft supplies when they are struggling to pay for the weekly food shop?
Image by terren in Virginia
But with a little bit of careful planning, you might actually be able to make some money from your favourite hobby.
Arty? Teach art classes or sell crafts that you make. Love playing music? Give private lessons or perform for a fee at special events. Sporty? Train to be a personal trainer, or referee local matches.
As you can see, the possibilities are endless.
Here are some top tips for making that hobby a nice little stream of cash:
Do something you love
Hopefully you will already have this aspect sorted, as you wouldn’t be dedicating so much free time to it already if you didn’t love your hobby!
It may sound obvious, but it really is key - if you love what you do, that will shine through and leave a great impression on your customers.
Do Your Research
Chances are if you’re doing something that is naturally enjoyable, there is already a lot of competition out there. If you want to make some serious cash, you’re going to have to put in some serious research. You need to become an expert, which means getting to know the ins-and-outs of the market and know the competition like the back of your hand.
Think about costs
Cash flow is one of the major barriers to any new venture, and must be considered carefully. If you are making something, don’t be scared to shop around to find your raw materials at the lowest price. Try to save money at every stage of your business process, from premises rental, to cheap van hire (available from companies like Europcar www.europcar.co.uk), to lowering shipping costs. Every penny you save will add to your profit, and the more money you will make!
Just remember though, if you do start to make a fair amount of cash, you will need to make sure you are paying the right taxes. Head over to Direct Gov ensure everything remains above board.
Set some goals
It’s important that you set yourself some measurable goals - so that you can create a realistic timescale for getting things done.
It’s also a good measure of knowing when to quit. I know, I sound like a bit of a negetive Nancy thinking about failure before you’ve even started, but you need to know when your venture isn’t working so that you can get out before wasting too much of your time or racking up any scary debt!
And if you don’t fail - imagine how good it will feel to reach those goals!
Start online
Compared to bricks-and-mortar premises, online real estate is very cheap, and quick. Think about it - setting up a simple webpage can take up a fraction of the time of saving up for and buying a premises!
Consider setting up a shop on Ebay, or craft shop du-jour Etsy. Alternatively, if it’s a service you’re selling, put adverts up on online noticeboards like Gumtree to spead the word and gain potential customers.
…and there you have it! Some tips to help turn your hobby into an income. For more specific advice, be sure to check out our ‘Turn your hobby into a profession‘ series. We have a new article every month, so whatever your interest is, we are sure to cover it!
Do you have a hobby you want to turn into a career, or do you have a suggestion of what we should cover in our series? Tell us about it in the comments below.
Related posts:
March 20, 2023
business