Ever thought of starting your own business? You must have. Was your idea based on a handmade business? If yes, then you must have thought to turn a hobby into a business?
That is how it works for most of us. This blog is an outcome of my never-ending love for my various hobbies.
I am glad you are here. Because it means that you have a fascination towards hobbies that lead to success.
I get you. Ever since I was a kid, all I wanted to do was CREATE. I do not know why, but I derived great pleasure in making things. By that I meant clay art, making crochet wrist bands, making diaries, and a whole lot of varied crafts.
My crafting skills brought chagrin to my parents. And at some point in time, they discouraged me from pursuing my hobbies. For them, it was an utter wasteful activity that can never be a career.
I wish I could let them know today that my love for handmade arts brings me a handsome revenue. Moreover, it renders hope and sales to so many artists all over the globe.
But for sure, I would not have been able to make my hobby a full time thriving career had I not treated it like a business.
Do you or people around you ask the question – Can your passions and hobbies be a career? Then, you have to read further to know the answers.
Know How to Turn a Hobby Into Business Easily
There are a lot of us who invest in our hobbies. That could be as simple as reading books or as complicated as rescuing reptiles.
The pleasure and peace of spending time on hobbies are lucrative. But as much as you might try, you might not pursue your hobby as a profession.
The fear of the hobby not generating income prevents hobbyists from taking it as a full-time job.
But what if I told you that there are many who have had success with their hobbies?
By success, I mean earning a million dollars.
If you do not believe me, then read further. I have compiled case studies of 3 hobbyists turned entrepreneurs.
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Real-life Examples of Career Based on Hobbies
1. Surfboard Painter
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Image Courtesy: Jess lambert’s Instagram
I am a big fan of the gorgeous lady Jess Lambert. She is full of positive vibes and is an inspiration for every creative person.
She started drawing mandala art on surfboards and ended up making a full-time career out of it.
Apart from drawing freehand mandalas on surfboards. She also does commission mural art for restaurants and cafes.
Armed with basic color pens and loads of creativity, she has conquered her niche. She is one of the best examples of how to go about turning art into a business.
You can check her Instagram handle to see how popular she is the world over.
2. Hand Crafted Wooden Furniture
How to turn woodworking into a business may come across as a difficult one to answer. But Tristan Pereida Rice did not take much time to pick up and master this hobby.
Gaining knowledge from YouTube videos, he came up with his own label of custom-built furniture. Today, he runs a full-fledged company that also has his 3 siblings working with him.
Tristan turned his hobby into a business after going through a divorce. That goes on to prove that your personal setbacks should not deter your dreams.
His story leaves no doubt that woodworking is not a profitable hobby. It is a vast one that includes a number of individual sub-niches.
If you would like to leap with woodworking like Tristan. Then, you can start off with small wood hobbies that make money quick.
3. Turning a Hobby Farm Into a Business
This real-life story is my favorite.
Growing a grape farm to sell your own label of wine in India was unheard of in the 1990s.
That is where a former Oracle employee and a Stanford graduate thought out of the box.
He is the pioneer in bringing the winemaking revolution in the country. He also grew from small farm business ideas to a prestigious name in hospitality as well.
His brand Sula started as a wine farm. But today they have diversified into other related businesses as well. Wine courses and events, Hospitality, and Wildlife Conservation are some of their forays.
The small farm that they started set the foundation for their current endeavors.
If you are wondering how to make money with a farm or land, then do remember Sula’s story.
Exploring Various Hobby Business Ideas
Now that you know that it is possible to turn a hobby into a business. So, the next step is to know what can constitute as a hobby.
If you already have one. Then, you are lucky to have found your calling. But if you have not, then you can pick up one as per your interest and skills.
There are hundreds of hobbies that you can pursue. Wikipedia has a long list of them which you can refer to.
Though do not make yourself believe that the hobbies that make money are the ones that are queer.
You can even be successful with common hobbies like reading and photography. Even though these 2 seem saturated with competition. You can still turn them or any other hobby to business ideas with a well laid out business plan.
That brings us to the topic of ——–
How to Turn a Hobby into a Business
Once you have zeroed in on a hobby. Then, the next step is to turn your hobby into a career.
For that, you have to move out of the hobbyist mentality. By that, I mean you cannot continue to give away free stuff. That means you have to think big. Else, you will keep trading your time and skills for money. And that would mean making your hobby a stressful full-time job. Then, that would defeat the purpose of having a hobby.
So, to pursue your hobby as an enjoying career. You will have to grow from step 1 to step 3 as listed below:
Start Selling at Craft Exhibitions
This one should be a natural progression after selling to your family and friends.
Selling at exhibitions lets you understand the concept of Production and Operations. Through these events, you get to know a lot about managing various aspects of a business. Some of them are:
- What and How Much to Create
- How to Price Each Product
- Managing Revenues and Resources
- How to Handle Customer Interactions
- How to Withstand Competition
Though the best part of selling at craft exhibitions is “understanding your customers”. Because irrespective of whether you run a hobby business or a traditional business. You got to know who is your audience and what to serve them.
Grow to Sell on Third-party Online Platforms
After you gain confidence by selling at Handmade craft exhibitions. Then, you can move on to selling at various online platforms.
Selling online is a more relaxed experience vis-a-vis the chaotic one at craft fairs.
You can sell on Amazon Handmade, Etsy, and ArtFire. All these platforms have their own pros and cons. But with Amazon, you can outsource most of your shipping. That eliminates a major portion of your operations and customer iterations.
Open Your Own Store – Offline and Online
The next advancement from the third party marketplaces is your own flagship store.
Your own store along with the 3rd party platform ones will expand your business.
A Shopify e-commerce store is one of the easiest ways to open an online shop. You can combine an SEO strategy for your store and blog to increase sales.
Along with your online store, you can also start off your offline store. Your online presence will boost your brick-and-mortar store, and vice-versa.
The steps above can work to start your hobby business from scratch.
You can work on them one-by-one to make your hobby business plan successful.
The steps above can work to start your hobby business from scratch.
You can work on them one-by-one to make your hobby business plan successful.
You can also download a simple 2-Page Business plan from my Shop. It will work as a ready reckoner to run your hobby business.
In Conclusion
If you have been looking for resources on how to run a hobby business. Then, this article provides baby steps to begin making money from your craft hobbies.
Running a business out of your hobbies is not about trading your time and skills for money. Rather, it is about scaling and optimizing your resources to create a steady flow of income.
There are numerous hobbies in this world. If you are passionate about picking up one. Then, it is a matter of sticking with it to turn that hobby into a business. A solid business plan will help you achieve that goal.
Image Courtesy: Pixabay
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