When you find a hobby you love, it’s easy to get sucked in. Instead of spending your downtime on a hobby, monetizing your passion lets you work while you play. Follow these tips from Sante Fe Art Studio to convert your hobby into a small business and keep doing what you love.
Try Your Hobby as a Side Hustle
As much as you might love your hobby, doing a dry run as a side hustle is a smart first step. Especially for hobbies like crafting, material costs, and your hourly investment can be hard to pin down. Taking on some smaller projects will show whether scaling up is possible (and enjoyable).
Once you determine if your hobby is profitable, you’ll need to run some calculations. Consider your profit margins, tax responsibilities (self-employed professionals owe quarterly taxes), and up-front costs. If the math checks out, it’s full speed ahead.
Self-Study for Business Gains
Shifting from hobby to business may feel natural, but it’s wise to read up on actual business before diving in. Because startups vary so widely, it’s unlikely that you’ll find the exact instruction you need from a single source.
The solution? Educate yourself, read books about business, chat with other small business owners, network extensively, and keep trying new things. Plenty of small businesses fail, but as the US Chamber of Commerce points out, passion, tenacity, and flexibility are all crucial traits for success in entrepreneurship. Continue reading “How to Harness Your Passion and Turn a Hobby Into a Business”
