We’ve all heard the saying, “Do what you love, love what you do.” It’s supposed to be the secret to working without it feeling like work. Many people would advise you to turn your favorite hobby into a business to live out this saying. But before you go full force into monetizing your passions and hobbies, consider these seven things.
1. The logistics of running a business
The first consideration you want to make when monetizing a hobby is if you’re ready to take on the logistics of running a business. If you want to make real money with your passion, you must treat it as a business.
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Study the logistics of actually running a business. You’ll need to understand things like business finances, marketing, sales, and customer service. You’ll also need to comprehend business cybersecurity. Understanding things like botnet attacks and how they can impact your business devices is essential to ensuring your customers can safely interact with you online.
If you aren’t ready to run a business, you won’t be able to gain momentum monetizing your hobbies. You may have started by freelancing, but this is a big step that transitions freelancing to full-time work. Do your research and prepare to run a business as best you can before jumping in.
2. How much money you want to make
How much money do you want to make when turning your passion into a business? Knowing how you want to fare financially will help carve out a direction for your monetization efforts.
Assess where you are first. If you’re doing well financially, you may not need to make a lot of money immediately with your hobby. You may even be able to invest more upfront when starting up your hobby-turned-business. On the other hand, if you’re struggling, you may need to fast-track your monetization process to get stable.
Once you understand where you are financially and where you want to be, you can create an actionable plan to move forward with making a living with your hobby or just bringing in some extra cash on the side.
3. If it interferes with your enjoyment of the hobby
It’s imperative to consider whether monetizing your hobby will interfere with how much you enjoy it. It’s easy to say your enjoyment won’t waver if your heart is set on making money with your passion. However, you should work through a formal decision-making process with this one.
First, identify the question you want to answer. In this case, the question is whether or not turning your hobby into a business will interfere with how much you enjoy it now and in the future. Next, gather relevant information that will help you answer this question insightfully. Then, list potential answers to your question.
Finally, carefully consider each possible solution before choosing the one that feels right. It’s okay to decide not to move forward with monetizing your hobby if you feel you’re going to hate it after turning it into a business. After all, hobbies are supposed to decrease your stress rather than add to it.
4. Holistic health implications
Running a business generally can be draining, especially when you’re at the beginning stages. Long hours, wearing many hats, and lots of sacrifices are typical. But if you want to be successful, you have to find balance. And that requires you to tend to your holistic health throughout the journey.
Consider how turning your hobby into a business will affect your mental, physical, and emotional health. How will you care for your holistic health when so much of your time and effort is dedicated to taking your passion to the next level?
Monetizing your hobby is much more manageable when your holistic health is in a good place. Make sure that you carve out time to destress — even if that means picking up some more relaxing hobbies to unwind in your downtime.
5. How your loved ones could be affected
Your loved ones will typically be affected by your decision to monetize your hobby. If you don’t consider how the journey will affect their lives, you may negatively impact the relationship.
Open conversations with loved ones about your plans to monetize a passion are crucial. Give them space to express their concerns. But fight for your dreams and show them how this could be an excellent thing for your family’s future.
If you can’t turn your hobby into a business without it being detrimental to your family, it’s probably a good idea to hold off on your plans. Consider fully how it could affect them in financial and emotional ways. Financial security may not be worth it if you are sacrificing quality time with them.
6. Your vision
Consider whether turning your hobby into a business gets you closer to your vision. Assessing if monetizing your hobby will be a part of your life long-term is essential. Consider how making this change may add or detract from the life you have in mind for yourself.
Map out your life’s trajectory. Think about your family, career, and social life in five, 10, 15, and 20 years. Visualize what would make your life purposeful, passionate, and meaningful. Then, explore how monetizing your hobby fits your life goals and pushes you closer to your dream life and career. If monetizing your passions and hobbies helps you achieve these goals, it may be a good move.
7. Whether or not you can commit
You must gauge your commitment level when monetizing your hobbies. Be honest about how devoted you are to take your hobby to the next level. You won’t get the results you want if you aren’t truly dedicated to it. Ask yourself if you are genuinely determined to monetize your hobby. Can you stay committed to the process when things get tough? Are you all-in regarding growing an actual business?
If you can commit to growing a business, develop discipline, and become self-motivated, you can make headway in monetizing your passions. Make sure the market isn’t too saturated, and your idea is unique in some way. In order for your hobby to be monetized, it must be marketable and sustainable.
Turning a favorite hobby into a business is how many successful entrepreneurs get started. You can be the next person to flourish as a business owner if you thoughtfully go into it with careful planning. Considering these caveats when monetizing your passions and hobbies will help you go into the journey with insight and intention.
