Hobby Jobs: How to get started

If you want to really get ahead in your financial life it is a good idea to have multiple streams of income. That can include stocks and bonds, real estate, royalties, and/or a second or hobby job.

What is a hobby job?

This job should be something that you really love to do and can be done in your spare time. Jobs include things like writing, photography, web design, gardening, real estate investing, etc. The difficult part is deciding how to make money by having fun, but once you've started, you'll wonder why you didn't get the idea earlier.

How to start

What interests you? Pull out a piece of paper and write down the ten things you'd do today if you didn't have to go to work (if you were retired). Follow that list with a similar list of ten things you'd do today if you had all of the money in the world. It's fun to dream, isn't it?

Now start doing those things. Obviously you're not retired and don't have all the money in the world. You probably think you're too busy to engage in any hobbies. You're not. Find time to relax and do the things you enjoy. After a few weeks of trying different things decide on your favorite ways to spend your spare time. Set aside a regular time interval to engage in that hobby.

Making Money

If you are good at something there will be ways of turning that into a profit. Obviously this is going to vary from hobby to hobby but the best way to go about this is to find out how other people are using that hobby/talent to make money... it's as easy as googling it. Now, you probably won't make a lot of money right away... making money is almost always a lot of hard work... but stick with it. The reason most people fail is that they don't really try.

I've decided to try this, even though I'm not very old and into a career. I love music, art, web design, and money. So I spend time trying to develop talents in each of those areas. My music hasn't made any money yet but by sticking my neck out and submitting it to online forums I have gotten some valuable feedback. This money website makes very little in advertising dollars but I still enjoy writing and learning about the desing aspect. My wife made a first go at illustrating a children's book this last year. No takers on publishing it (yet) but she has learned so much about the publishing process because she went ahead and made a go of it.

I think the people who tend to be most successful in any area are those that stick with it and put in the time. It only makes sense to work hard at a hobby, while working hard to figure out how that hobby can make you money--stick with it and eventually you'll see some success.

Have a success story? Email me by clicking here.

LINKS

Get Rich Slowly (blog). 6 tips for money making hobbies. This is a great blog that not only has a good article on money making hobbies but a good discussion that follows the article.
Hobby Jobs - It's your Money. By Jerry Stewart. Article about starting a business.
Early Retirement Forum. Survey invitation for hobby jobs.
Work-at-home.org. How to make money with your hobby. Another article about money making hobbies.
Vault.com - Can your hobby get you a job? Article about turning your hobby into a money making endeavor.