What better way is there in life to make money than to do something you love? Each day you get up and work on your passion, and someone pays you to do it! You probably cannot believe your luck. However, it doesn’t need to be about luck; you can work hard to make it a reality. Here we offer some of the best advice for living the life that you deserve.

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Choose your passion

You might have a few hobbies. You will do some of these hobbies because they are fun and you get to socialise. Then, there are those that you do because they make you feel whole and you lose a sense of time. The hobby that will do the best business is the latter, the pastime which you can’t help but do. Once you do a job that you love this much, you will never do a day of work in your life.

There are all sorts of passions that can also pay well, whether it is as an artist or writer, a job in the world of computer repair or a ham radio operator.

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Increase your expertise

Turning your hobby into something professional will most likely require you to increase your training. Taking on courses in your hobby and even obtaining qualifications can help you make money from it. If you are interested in selling your art, taking classes can help you understand what it takes to be as commercial as possible. If you enjoy mending and rebuilding cars, getting a qualification that demonstrates your expertise will help assure people that they can trust you with their vehicles.

You don’t have to take these classes straight away. However, when your side hustle shows signs of making you real money and supporting you financially, then that is a good time to look at ways of turning yourself into a qualified professional.

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Start small and prioritise carefully

While it is a dream to work at your hobby, transitioning your career takes some planning. You are best to start your hobby-led business small while continuing your job. You will still need to pay for your rent or mortgage be able to afford to eat and keep warm, so the money needs to keep coming in while you start building an understanding of your new business.

You also need to assess if your current job will always pay you more than your hobby. You need to consider if pursuing your passion is worth more to you than the increased financial security of your employment. If you start small and see what money is out there to earn, you can make a better decision about whether the work you are doing on the side would be sufficient as your main income.

Also, be mindful of feelings of reduced self-worth when making the transition. Many people, often unconsciously, link their career to how they measure their own value in life and how they perceive others may evaluate them. Being self-aware in this situation will help to remind you that the new path you have decided to follow has the potential to offer you greater fulfilment and an alignment between your work and your authentic self, can be making it  as worthwhile as perhaps a more traditional career which you are moving away from, if not more so.

Write a business plan and budget

When you are happy to switch, you need to put your vague plans into much better order. All successful small businesses have a business plan to identify the market, the funding, the way money is made and more. If you need to apply for a loan to get started properly, this is not essential but is always good practice.

It might also be necessary to save up to buy the necessary equipment to make your hobby a job. If you are going into graphic design or video editing, the software packages and technology you use right now will likely not cut it. You will need to invest to properly make a move into this career.

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Begin to spread the word

Once you have chosen to make money from your hobby, you need to start to spread the word. You can begin by talking to your friends about your hobby and seeing if they would be interested in making a purchase. You can use social media to advertise your service or product or sign up for a freelancer site. Alternatively, you can start to blog about your hobby regularly and then work from this basis to monetise your idea.

You need to be confident enough to reach out to your customer base. If you enjoy event planning, you probably need to contact those likely to need your services. If you are a cake maker, you could start approaching bakeries to see if they would buy your wares.

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Pocket money to fully-fledged business

The approach to turning your hobby into your career can be as simple as applying for jobs in that area. However, more likely, you will start small by selling your service or product to people you know. Then, you are likely to stretch out to others who have heard about you. There will come a time when you realise you are earning enough to quit your main job, and there you are, your hobby is your work.

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