It’s often said there is no better way to make money than from something you enjoy. And turning your hobby into a business could be the perfect way to make money, especially if you’re looking for a part time/sideline home based business.
Not only can a hobby-based business be enjoyable, but your passion for your hobby will show through, attract customers and help your business to be more successful.
In this article we’ll look at ways to make money from your hobby.
What sort of hobbies can you make money from?
You can turn almost any hobby into a business, here are a few ideas: Football. Fitness. Cookery. Wine appreciation. Music. Pets. Knitting. Angling. Cycling. Reading. DIY. Classic cars. Painting. Antiques. Camping. Genealogy. Dogs. Gaming. Food.
But here’s an important principle – don’t choose something too specialist. It needs to be an interest shared by enough other people to make it financially viable.
How can you turn a hobby into a business?
To turn a hobby into a business you have to have a clear idea of the way or ways you are going to monetise it. That is, turn your knowledge and enthusiasm into a tangible product or service people will be happy to pay for.
Here are some ideas:
* Sell supplies, tools and equipment for your hobby. You’re very well placed to know exactly what other hobbyists need for their hobby, and what prices they’d like to pay. Source stock from wholesalers and sell online… eBay and Amazon are perfect for this.
* Publish hobby guides. Write a book or book covering aspects of your hobby. Don’t worry if you’re not a writer, you can illustrate it heavily with digital photos, sketches etc. Publish your book either as a paper book or as a Kindle book.
* Write a blog. A blog is basically a diary in the Internet. You can post all your thoughts, ideas, tips, techniques and news there. Generate an income from your blog by selling affiliate products or use it to generate traffic for your eBay or Amazon listings.
* Set up your own YouTube ‘TV channel’. Create instructional videos covering aspects of your hobby. Even a basic digital camcorder will produce decent results, and you can also produce videos on your PC/laptop using Camtasia. Then set up your own YouTube channel to promote them.
Here’s an article which it explains how it works: How to Make £100K+ Per Year with YouTube
* Run a hobby newsletter. Publish a paper based or email newsletter for your hobby. It doesn’t need to have fancy presentation. Include news and articles every month. Generate an income from your newsletter by taking advertising from suppliers.
* Run a hands-on course for fellow hobbyists. Put together a course where people can actually come together to learn new hobby skills. Rent a room, such as a village/community hall or function room in a hotel. Advertise in hobbyist magazines. Put together a study programme lasting a day, or even several days. Similar existing courses can cost anything from £50 for a beginner’s ‘taster’ to £300 a day for an advanced skills course.
If you’re genuinely enthusiastic about your hobby you’ll probably make an ideal lecturer/tutor.
* Set up your own membership website. Post news, reviews, tips, information and videos there. Update them on a weekly or even daily basis. Sell regular monthly subscriptions for £10, £20, £30 or even more per month.
Here’s an article explaining how: Start a Membership Site and Turn Your Hobby Into a £1,000+ Recurring Monthly Income Stream.
Final thoughts. You can pick and choose whichever hobby project you prefer. However, here’s an even better idea… make use of ALL of them. This way, each project will generate sales for the other projects and really maximise the potential of your hobby based business.