If you have a hobby that you love, and you’re looking to move into a career that you will love just as much, why not combine the two and turn your hobby into a business?

Turning a much-loved hobby into a business can be a great way to make money doing something you truly enjoy, and thanks to the internet, it has never been easier. That being the case, let’s look at a few things that will help you to make a business out of your hobby right now.

Get good at it

Before you can make money from your hobby, you must be good at it. Few people are going to buy poorly knitted sweaters or pet portraits that look like they were drawn by a five-year-old, but if you hone your skills and get good at your craft, you can make a successful living from it.

Find your niche

If you want to successfully sell your hobby, then you first need to find out who is looking to buy. Work out what your unique selling point is (maybe you knit scarves for dogs or carve houses for bugs) and then find the people who are likely to need those services (dog owners, environmentalists) so you can market to the right people right from the off.

Start making

If your hobby involves making products for sale, it is a good idea to have lots of them ready to go when you start selling. It’s much harder to fulfill orders as they come in, so unless you are only offering custom products for sale, get a headstart by making as much stock in advance as you can before launch.

Set up a website

Next, you are going to want to set up a website or set up your own store on an existing marketplace like Etsy, where you can then direct people to buy your stuff. You may also want to look at getting a stall in a local market or mall because these days you can accept credit card payments virtually with the right tech, and more people are looking to buy locally. As long as you have a base where people can find your business, you will be off to a good start.

Start marketing

Once you have done that, it is time to start marketing your new hobby business. Social media is a good palace to start because it is free and you can build up some excitement amongst friends and family who will hopefully share your posts for further reach, However, you might also want to consider paid marketing techniques such as Google and Facebook ads to get you off to a flying start.

The steps required to turn your business into a hobby are not all that difficult to put into motion, but you will need to persevere and keep going through the tough times until you build up a reputation and start getting lots of customers. If you have a hobby that you think is a viable business would you take the leap?

Until our next rendezvous…

XOXO

Trudy