A few years ago, I heard a story about a friend of a friend who baked her way through med school. Baking was what kept her sane. It was how she dealt with the stressful demands of her degree, and her amazing chocolate chip cookies certainly kept her friends going during those late-night study marathons. At the end of seven years of studying, she found she was so much happier with her hands in a bag of flour that she decided to hang up her stethoscope and open a bakery instead. Talk about being a highly qualified baker!
If you’re inspired and passionate about your hobbies, don’t underestimate them. They could be income-generating avenues and even highly successful career options. Here are a few things to consider if you’d like to turn your hobby into a profession one day.
- The Internet is your friend
Whatever you’re doing, get it online. Sell your homemade earrings on Etsy, show off your photography skills on Insta and promote your decor designs on Pinterest. If you love reading, set up a blog and start writing reviews. A digital presence is essential if you want to get noticed – and in most cases, it’s free and super easy to set up.
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- Do your research
Do people like the small pots of succulents you create? Is there anything they would do to change them? How much would they pay for one? Chat to your family and friends about your favourite projects and get their input to help refine your product before you put it on the market.
- Take it slowly
If people love the funky T-shirts you design and print, make sure you can keep up with demand. You’ve still got to get through all your homework after all! Building your business up slowly and keeping the quality consistent will stand you in good stead in the long term.
- Stick to one thing
It’s easy to get ambitious about what you’re doing, but combining graffiti tours around your city with advice on how to fix computers isn’t going to gel. As you start to create a business out of your hobbies, make sure you stick to one hobby at a time.
- Take the feedback you receive on board
If your friends and family love what you’re doing, take that encouragement and let it fuel and inspire you. But it’s also important that you listen to some of the criticism you might receive, even if it’s tough to hear. This feedback could be the very thing that helps you to reach new heights.
Taking your hobby out into the world is a scary thing, but you won’t know if it’s your ticket to success until you try! Be bold and believe in yourself, create and innovate, and enjoy every step along the way.
