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Your Hobby Can Be Your Financial Resource

When Your Hobby Becomes A Business

It is possible to turn ordinary activities into money-making projects. All you need is the determination to put yourself out there with the best of them. There is satisfaction in doing what you love and being paid for it. Here’s a quote by Les Brown: “Success is doing what you love to do and finding somebody to pay you to do it.” 

Hobbies can be a fun way to pass the time and unwind. From early stages in our lives, we gravitate towards certain activities that align with our passions or skills. We can sum these activities up as things we are good at or things we learn from those around us. Examples include drawing, painting, dancing, sewing, writing, designing, baking, and so on. The list is endless. Everyone has at least one hobby that they have picked up from childhood; something they enjoy doing outside of their regular school or work schedule.

With the changes we experience because of shifts in global economics and technological advancements, it has become possible for hobbies to become more than just ways to pass time. With so many needs arising because we are always evolving, people use their skills and passions to fill gaps left by conventional businesses and service providers. Many use their hobbies to meet people’s needs. This not only fills the gaps mentioned, but it has also helped people turn their hobbies into profitable businesses.

There are people who found themselves unemployed because of automation. For some, it came as an effect of national and global recessions, with companies having no option but to downsize in order to stay afloat. Others found dissatisfaction in their regular nine-to-five jobs. To find alternative sources of income, they stumbled upon the idea of using their hobbies to make money. For some, the ventures turned into full careers and employment creation opportunities. For others, it put food on the table. When you research on the internet, you find many testimonials of people who are making profits out of things they consider to be hobbies.

Hannah Dale was made redundant in 2007. She was three months pregnant at the time and they had diagnosed her mother with cancer. The situation was stressful for her considering her savings were too little to support her to take care of the baby and her mother. Her hobby, watercolor painting, continued to be her way to relieve stress as she found it therapeutic. She started selling her paintings to local shops, but she was still not earning much. An idea hit her to print her designs on greeting cards and sell those instead. Ten years later, she had started her company called Wrendale Designs, with twenty employees and a substantial yearly profit, all from printing her watercolor animal and bird designs on stationery, tableware, wallpaper, and cushions.

As exciting as it can be to monetize your hobby, it is difficult to do. There is a significant risk that once you fail to make a profit, you will lose your passion for that activity you once loved. The pressure of working to a schedule and meeting financial goals and customer expectations can take away the fun, relaxation, and personal satisfaction in the activity. This, however, should not deter you from trying. After all, every business comes with a lot of risks and failure is a significant possibility.

The art of turning your hobby into a financial resource.

It is not automatic that you can make money out of your hobby. It will demand a lot of hard work, more so because you want to turn in a profit and not just do the normal activity to pass time. Commit the time to research if your hobby is marketable. Not every hobby can turn into a business. Carry out your research. You also have to risk failure. Encountering setbacks is no reason to quit trying to make money out of your hobby. It is normal to find obstacles in the journey to achieving your goals. Push through every barrier you encounter in order to see what is on the other side.

Hobbies that you can monetize.

If you are a performer, you can teach others or perform for a fee. If you are into crafts, you can create something for resale. If you are creative, you can write or draw or paint.

How to turn your hobby into a financial resource.

Do your research.

The first stage is to list your hobbies down. Which one can you turn into a business? This involves extensive market research, including people who are already in the same line of business. Find out if your competitors are lacking something and see how you can cover the gap. Find your niche. Research on how much capital it will require to turn your hobby into a business. Educate yourself further by taking a course. Do everything you can to attract attention to your business.

Come up with a plan of action.

It is never a good idea to delve into a battle without a strategy. It exposes you to failure. Create a plan for monetizing your hobby. Set goals and timelines. Get other people to help you if you must.

Do a trial run.

Take advantage of having friends and family that will give you honest feedback. Let them be your first customer base. Sell to them and record all the feedback they give. Ask for advice on areas of improvement.

Expand your reach.

Once you are in the clear, invest back into the business. Make the improvements you can to attract more customers.

Market yourself.

The only way people will pay you for a service or a product is if they know about what you have to offer. Take advantage of social media to let people know you exist. Build an intriguing online presence. Print out posters and fliers if you must. Attend networking events. Do what you can to get your name out there.

7 Deadly Mistakes That Make You Lose Money Fast

Avoid These 7 Deadly Mistakes If You Don’t Want To Lose Your Money

The 7 mistakes and habits below have the wicked potential to make you broke fast! If you are not careful, you will always find yourself in the negative when it comes to your finances. Look out for these mistakes and always be mindful when it comes to your budget and your spending.

#1 No Budget

The sad truth is, many people live from paycheck to paycheck. Most of our money is gone in the first few days right after receiving our wages. If we don’t set a budget for ourselves we’ll most likely just spend it impulsively, pushed by our temporal financial freedom of getting paid. Most people will manage to do the bare minimum of meeting their monthly bills but then spend the rest quickly on a bunch of useless things. It is hard to keep track of the money when we just spend recklessly. So, sit down each month and work out your budget. Know what to prioritize and deal with all the important things first. This will leave you in a better financial position.

#2 Living a Life You Cannot Afford (Keeping Up With The Joneses)

It’s easy to want what others have. After all, who doesn’t want the finer things in life? However, when we focus too much on our creature comforts and less on our finances, we will end up spending a lot more than we can afford to. This is a dangerous trap that leads to debt and worst yet, bankruptcy. Most people end up accumulating a lot of useless things in life, just to live the semblance of a good life, trying to portray a certain lifestyle in order to impress their neighbors and friends.

#3 Chasing After Fashion and Trends

There is no shortage of bright shiny objects. There always seems to be something new that comes along that grabs our attention. For example, the latest gadget being released, a new shoe, or some fancy outfit. Many young people today lose their money this way. The materialistic view has pretty much gripped people today, seeking instant gratification. We are being programmed to always chase that new design. This means that each month, people are spending thousands on things that they do not need and it’s easy to get sucked into this insatiable vacuum that swallows all of our money. Be careful not to buy into this kind of lifestyle.

#4 Having Expensive Friends

They say birds of a feather flock together. If we hang around people who love to spend too much, chances are you’ll do the same. These are the so-called “friends” who’ll pretty much compel you to toss it all and use it all, you will find yourself using more than you can afford to. Instead, try to surround yourself with people who will encourage you to invest and save, people who encourage you to do something constructive and not just to spend every dime to have a good time. Our friends and companions can pretty much drag us into bankruptcy if we allow it and that’s because most people will do anything to please our friends or to be part of a group. Try to find friends who do not engage in mindless spending sprees, but ones that’ll actually encourage you to build wealth instead.

#5 Credit Cards and Debts

What better way to get instant gratification than to spend the money that you do not have? Many of us fall into this trap where we unwittingly spend large sums of money we have not earned yet. You must get out of the habit of relying too much on credit cards or some may call virtual cash. This is money that you have not yet earned and in most cases will have to pay back with interest. If you get too carried away, you will always live a lifetime of debt, up to retirement, and notice that you have no savings at all and no way to pay the debts. Credit card debts are very easy to accrue and very hard to pay off because of the accrued interests. And for those of you who don’t have a budget in place, it’ll be a constant uphill battle. So, sit down and work your finances out thoroughly before you put it on the charge card.

#6 Not Investing Or Making Bad Investments

Investing is a great way to build your wealth. In fact, investing is one of the best ways to boost your finances. However, one needs to be very careful when investing. Always be vigilant when you are about to invest in something. Research and learn more about it, read and ask for a professional opinion. This will help you know when and how much to invest. Never invest in things you have no knowledge of because the scammers are always preying on the ignorant. The world today is rampant with many Ponzi schemes and lucrative pyramid schemes that will rob you of your hard-earned cash faster than you can say “Get Rich Quick”!

#7 Not Saving Any Money

The tragic truth about money is that it is very easy to spend and a lot harder to save. Many of us, especially in our younger and more productive days, spend or lose money recklessly and never get to fully invest in anything worthwhile. We never learn, it seems. It is so much harder to save, especially when all you want is to live a good life. But having some savings is a good way to invest in your future. Those who do not set aside savings will constantly live from one paycheck to another until they find themselves at the age of retirement with nothing much to show for. Start saving today, try to set aside some funds each month. Life is very unpredictable and you should have some kind of investment and savings plan. Acorns help you grow your money.