How to turn your hobby into a profitable business online?

[Harry P]

Have you ever hear that people do best what they like to do the most? Is it really exact? Do you agree with that?
And how to develop an online home business depending on your hobby?
Please share your thoughts.

 

[Developer]

OMG, this is absolutely one of the easiest and quickest ways to make money online.

First off, when you run a site based on your own hobby, you are obviously already
knowledgeable in that topic, so, information is already on hand.

Secondly, the old adage applies... If you do something you love, you'll never work
a day in your life. The saying holds firm in that when you create a site based on a
hobby, it doesn't ever feel like "work", just "fun".

Thirdly, when creating a site and business around your own hobby, you will be very
PASSIONATE about it and that WILL shine through in everything you do, be it a blog
post, an email promotion, a forum post, whatever...

I could go on and on, but I am sure you get the point.

As far as HOW to turn your hobby into a business, well, lets clarify that when I think
"business" I am not talking in the normal sense of what people think of as a business.

I am simply talking about "making money" with your hobby... and that can be done in
a number of ways...

Starting a Blog
Starting an Online Store
Creating A "Service Offering" Web Site

For example, I am a professionally trained chef as well as a programmer AND en EMT.

I LOVE helping people, LOVE IT LOVE IT LOVE IT. So, I started a website a few years
back which was geared around offering safety tips and medical related bits of info.

Not that I ever expected it, nor was it my plan, but I made a killing by using affiliate
links to promote products that I myself used in the industry. I also started a mini
membership site in which I offered general how-tos as well as advanced information
for anyone looking to get into the medical field or who were interested in just learning
more.

Now, the "chef" in me also required me to start a "food" blog a few years back as
well. I posted recipes, tips & tricks, and all sorts of other information (what wine
is best with what meat, substitutions in recipes, etc.) and again, I had started
a mini membership site in which I offered a plethora of my own recipes, tidbits
of not-so-well-known tips and tricks (stuff I learned in Culinary school that normally
only classically trained chefs would be privy to -- at that time anyways), and again,
I made a small killing.

Whenever I worked on any of those sites, it was NEVER like a "chore" or something
I "had to do", it was all stuff I WANTED to do and stuff I ENJOYED talking about, so,
the money I made was just icing on the cake sort to speak as whether or not I made
any money, I would have still created the sites and whatnot.

Now, one downfall, however, is that if your business takes off too quickly, or if problems
start to arise, it could easily turn you OFF of what was once your hobby. So, you need
to make certain that if the "FUN" ever starts to subdue, find a way to GET OUT, LOL.

 

[blueclcl]

Hobby niches are a great way to make money online without the feeling of dread.

If you build a business around a personal hobby of yours, then the chances of you staying committed to the business will be much higher.

Yes you can make money in niches of no personal interest, but if you can choose a niche of interest that is suitable, then you should go with this in my opinion.

You can build a blog around your niche and monitize it through product creation or affiliate marketing, as well as a whole load of other options.

Your going to live and breath your niche choice, so a niche of interest is the better choice.

 

[adeaugustus]

To be successful in whatever you do, you must enjoy doing it (which means it must be some sort of hobby). I once read an article that researched the greatest motivation to achieve highest productivity, the article concludes that "fun" is the greatest motivation as opposed to the general believe that money is the greatest motivation.

So back to your question... The first plan is to find a way of packaging your hobby into a service or a product. Let's say you like watching movies, you can start a site the reviews and recommend movies. That's just an example.

Once you create a product or service, the next thing is to find your audience; people that share the same passion then tell them about it.

It works all the time.

 

[srirambyrapaneni]

For example, if you are a web design enthusiast, you might design new templates when ever you are free, or invent a unique design, or develop snippets for wordpress or joomla. Web designers tend to be very enthusiastic, passionate and willing to spend time on designing and related work.

When you have the passion,you will be working hardly.

 

[Crystal Violet]

Building a business based on a hobby is a great way to reach people who have a common interest and provide them value. that's like chatting and recommending products to friends. It doesn't feel like work but it is work. So if you choose something just to try to make money you are going to have to push yourself and you may have to do research (which if it's something you like won't be suffering). Many people feel like if you they are making a lot of money the kinks will work themselves out and it won't feel like work, but that's just not true. That's why have so many people leaving six-figure jobs to chase their passion. I'm one of them. Money is important but it doesn't replace the need to fulfilled, to contribute in a meaningful, and to want to show up every day. Many people are successful in their online business through persistence. You increase your likelihood of success through persistence when you are doing something you love.

 

[AndiLim]

Just keep this in mind do everything with passion, when I started my career as a blogger I didn't actually think that it will be profitable. Its basically just for fun and just for me to showcase my skill in writing. And I also don't wanna set aside my passion aside from having my permanent job. Income wise yes it might not be big but the fact that you are doing what you love the most for me is already enough. When you choose to do something you need make sure that you want it, you need to keep on challenging yourself to become better and to do well on your chosen field. As of now I've been working as a part-time blogger for a friends website, I am not gaining a lot but atleast I got to do what I loved the most.

 

[EpicGlobalWeb]

Hearing all these great remarks is amazingly stimulating. I've never once started a "niche site" because I thought There was no money in my personal interests. I don't even know how to group my interests, they're too diverse.

What do you guys think - my niche blog of politics, satirical humor, big business and govt cover ups?

 

[bigupman]

Making money from my hobbies has always appealed to me. The only crappy part is that my hobbies are already done to death online: writing and design. Having new potential customers wade through a bunch of crappy content creators to get to me often leaves me wanting, unfortunately.

 

[PTTed]

PTTed

That is a weak excuse if you truly have any desire to pursue an online business around them somehow. You can almost always find a more specific niche/sub-niche/related niche to take a leadership role in. You just need to look for it. Don't let that competition stop you. Figure out where there is demand that isn't being served well.

 

[velvet]

Hi Harry P,
it is a great idea to pursue a hobby you have for all of the reasons above.

The thing to remember is that many will want to do the very same thing, and they need to learn somewhere.

You need to dissect your hobby piece by piece, and try to catch yourself glossing over the many things that will come naturally to you.

Even the very obvious is information that someone will need.

Break it down, put it into an order of some kind, simplify it and make it a step by step process.

Then you can fill in the blanks with awesome information, and you will have a great resource to offer people who want to follow in your footsteps.

cheers, Mal.

 

[Joe B. Ray]

I can't even imagine working on anything that I don't enjoy. I just couldn't do it. There is no way. I tired and it was a disaster.

But, we are not all the same. Some people might be able to run a successful business, doing something that they're not
even remotely interested in. I guess...

 

[AffEngineer]

Making money via your hobby is great but not all hobbies are monetisable to the extent you're happy with.

Sure, you can blog about your favorite tv shows or fixing cars but does it bring a paying audience? Adsense is great but if you want to make a monthly income that will replace your full-time income then you need to blog about niches that have paying customers.

 

[Maria Rubina]

For instance, if you love to create videos, you can do so and share it online. But do so in a way that it cannot be downloaded. So to keep your creativity from being robbed, host it on a secure platform which also allows you to monetize on what you are hosting. This way you make money out of your videos and it is secure as well.