Most people want to keep their hobbies pure. They feel that monetizing them will make them impure. Others feel like their hobbies just aren’t monetizable, but where there’s a will there’s a way. People need to stop living for the weekend, dreading going to work in the morning, and constantly watching the clock for the second it becomes time to clock out for the day.
It’s possible to make just about any hobby profitable. For example, I have a friend who took her love for doodling and turned it into a digital art, marketing, and branding company. She even puts her designs onto apparel and her original quotes onto posters which she sells online. I also know of many people who have turned their love for traveling into a business by documenting their travels through a blog which they monetize.
Many people say that hobbies can’t be real jobs. I completely disagree with them. Anything that takes time and effort and generates money is a real job. It’s work. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.
The first step to turning your hobby into a job is to figure out what your hobby or passion is. At first, it might seem more sensible to pick up a venture that has a track record of being more profitable. However, you will quickly grow bored of it if it isn’t something you truly love doing.
There are many ways to monetize your hobby so you can turn it into a full-time job. As I mentioned before, you can become a blogger. In today’s day and age, this can be a written blog on a site like WordPress or Medium, video blogs on a site like YouTube, or even a podcast. Through your blog, you can not only share your experiences but also share honest reviews you have been compensated for. Compensation can come in the form of free products or services, discounts, free upgrades, and money. You can even sign up as an affiliate on websites such as Amazon where you get links to share on your blog for products. If someone buys something through an affiliate link you promoted on your blog, the company will pay you a portion of the sale. It’s easy to find products related to your hobby.
Another way to monetize your hobby is to become a consultant. As a consultant, you claim to be an expert, or at least extremely knowledgable, in a particular subject, and people pay you to share your knowledge with them. One of the most basic forms of consultants are employees at a travel agency. Travelers rely on travel agents to tell them the best sights to see, the best restaurants, and even the best time of year to visit a particular place.
There are many other ways to monetize a hobby and turn it into a job. These are just two examples. This is all easier said than done. It can, and probably will take a long time to get your hobby to the point where you are making enough money to completely quit your day job. Until then, you will have to put in many hours on your hobby during mornings, nights, and weekends.
If all of this is done properly, you will finally have a job you enjoy. You will actually look forward to going to work, feel the work day go by fast instead of dragging on, and you won’t feel as much need for a weekend as you will love your job. You will finally have your ideal lifestyle.