Have you been blessed with a skill or past-time activity that can be monetised? Do you find yourself happily working on this hobby in your free time and truly love doing it? Then you’re well on the way to setting up a business or side hustle!
With daily living expenses climbing higher and higher every year, a little extra cash could really come in handy, and if you’ve found a hobby that you love, it’s a great idea to monetise it!
If you’re interested in making some extra money and converting your hobby into a paying side business, then we have some great tips for you below. You don’t need a degree in business to launch one, but it’s always good to do your research to make sure you don’t find yourself in a rut down the line.
Take a look below at how to turn your hobby into a business.
Kickstart it With a Solid Plan
All great companies rest on a good business plan.
You’ll need to draft up a comprehensive business plan that keeps you in check should any issues arise. Throughout your journey you’ll find yourself referring to this plan, so be sure to get as much info in there as possible.
Aside from registration and trademarking of product names and slogans with a legal team, there are a few other points to consider.
A few things to include in your plan:
- A daily work schedule.
- Summary of your target market.
- A plan of action for marketing and advertising.
- A list of your competitors.
- Your financial plan.
- Goals or a projections list.
With these points covered in your business plan, or business summary, you’ll feel a lot more in control and have a path to follow when work gets a little rocky. It will also give you some insight into where you’ll most need to spend your time.
Prepare to Change Your Day
From the get-go, you’ll have to start reimagining how you live your life — in a good way. You’re not only heading off to a 9 to 5, you’re also getting ready to launch your business into full swing, and that means making a few life changes.
It’s a good idea to maximise your day in any way that you can, which means reducing low-productivity downtime that might be used for wealth-building activities.
A few suggestions include:
- Getting up an hour or two earlier.
- Cutting back on wasted time.
- Adjusting your daily commitments.
- Making use of delivery services to save time shopping.
A firm focus on getting the most out of your day is crucial in the early stages of your business as this initial stage can’t be drawn out for too long. Getting as much done as possible, and finding a routine as soon as possible is integral to your hobby business’s success.
Nab Your First Customer
Once the ball has started rolling, your primary focus will need to be getting your first customer, or customers. Without a steadily growing customer base, your hobby business won’t take off.
There’s a good chance your products or services won’t fly off the shelves right away, so you’ll need to be creative. Start out with social media promotions, a discount, a first-customer rewards program or some other enticement program.
A few avenues to consider include:
- Word of mouth.
- Social media advertising.
- Posters or signage.
- Cold calling (works best for B2B)
Along with these marketing activities, it’s important that you don’t try to reach everyone all at once. Your target demographic will be very small in the beginning, and so it should be. It’s far too costly to market to thousands of consumers who aren’t interested in your service offering just yet.
Act Like You’re at Work
A key tip to remember is that you’ll have to start treating your hobby like a day job. This doesn’t mean you need to take the fun out of things, but it does mean that you’ll need to extract a lot of self-discipline.
When launching a business there’s no time for ‘I’ll just do this later,’ type thinking. You really must commit and stay committed to completing workflows, getting marketing up and running and pushing your products.
Drafting up a work-day plan is also imperative in that it gives you solid work hours to follow and a free time schedule to reduce your risk of burn out. Don’t make your work hours too long, but also make sure there’s enough time to get on top of all your obligations.