How to turn your hobby into a career

Turn your hobby into a business

Many of us just dream about doing something that we truly love as our job. Have you ever thought “I really love doing X, but I’d never be able to turn that into a job”?

There’s usually a gap between our professional lives and the hobbies we pursue outside of working hours. But what if you could combine the two?

Have a think about that for a moment.

Thinking about how you’d feel combining what you love doing, with your career. Loving what you do, and turning that into your livelihood. It is possible.

Have a think about what your hobbies are.

• Fishing?
• Sewing?
• Cooking?
• Interior design?
• Painting?
• Gardening?
• Nutrition?
• Archery?
• Balloon animals?
• Working out?
• Collecting spoons?
• Whiskey?
• Quilting?
• Scrapbooking?
• Poetry?
• Museums of the world?
• Travel?
• Cats?
• Building sheds?
• Restoring cars?
• Speed boats?
• DIY?
• Model planes?
• Hair accessories?
• Dogs?

There’s lots of hobbies there. All different. It doesn’t matter how unique your hobby or passion is – they all have something in common. They can all easily be turned into your new career. You just need to know how.

How to turn your passion into a career

Let’s consider one of those hobbies for a moment. Dogs. Because who doesn’t love dogs? OK cat people might not love dogs, but let’s go with dogs for now anyway ; )

When it comes to dogs, there are so many things about dogs that are interesting. Like … all the different breeds and their personality types, their history, and the type of dog that might be right for you. The foods that dogs should and shouldn’t eat, their health, typical conditions of various breeds, and maintenance for the various breeds. Particular dog accessories, training techniques, and safety around babies and children. Then there’s socialisation of your dog, immunisations, and perhaps behavioural problems.

Even if we take a small component of the dog niche such as dog accessories, this in itself brings up so many things – like different types of leads, collars and name tags; jackets for winter; kennels and beds; food and water bowls; dog toys; dog baths; pet loos … and the list goes on.

A quick keyword search for ‘dogs’ using https://answerthepublic.com brings up the following 200 dog related questions:

“What does this have to do with a career?” you might ask. Well, anybody can turn their hobby or passion into an online business. It is easier than you might think.

Using affiliate marketing techniques, you can build a website (or multiple websites), and write about your favourite hobbies and passions, and sell products that relate to those hobbies and passions. You never need to own any of the products you sell, you just need to know how to write about them. Every time someone purchases a product through your website, you make a commission.

If we take the dog niche example, there are an abundance of things you can write about and share with your readers, which can lead to the purchase of products. A quick google search of dog accessories + affiliate programs returns almost 40 million results:

There is no limit to what you can sell online. If a product exists, someone needs to sell it, and affiliate marketing is an EXCELLENT way for a seller to move their products, as they don’t need to advertise to make the sale. That’s why you get the commission on it. When you post regularly and start to gain authority in your niche, your website becomes a trusted resource. Over time, you can build this into a lucrative and sustainable business.

The set up costs are incredibly low. The main things you need to get started are a motivation to learn something new, willingness to put the work in, and a desire to succeed. You will also need a WiFi connection and a device such as a laptop, PC or tablet.

Take the first step to turn your hobby into a business

Whilst it might sound scary to start your own online business, it is much less scary than you think. You don’t need to give up your day job to make a start. You can learn as you go. You don’t need to have any experience in building websites, or in marketing. You will be taught all of this via online learning. The platform that I use, along with 1.4 million others worldwide, will take you through the process step by step.

You don’t need to pay anything to sign up. You can create a login and password and check it out for yourself. If it resonates with you, you can sign up for a premium membership which will you allow a comprehensive suite of training, resources, and up to 50 websites of your own, fully hosted.

I have written about the features within the platform here. Have a look for yourself and see what you think!

Keep an open mind and be flexible. Things may not always go as planned, so be prepared for some setbacks. You won’t make money from the first day that you start. It will take time and dedication.

The important thing is that you stay focused on your goal of turning your hobby into your new career. If you are confronted with challenges, tackle them as rationally as possible. Keep asking yourself: “what do I need to do to get my dream back on track?”. And over time it will happen.

Everyone deserves to do something that they enjoy. There is no reason why you can’t make your dream a reality. Your dreams are only a click away!

Leave me a comment or a question below and I’m always happy to help.