How to Make Extra Cash From Your Hobbies
- 1). Evaluate what hobbies you have that could potentially make money. Almost any hobby can potentially become a business, but there are certain activities that may lend themselves more towards making money than others. For example, if you have two hobbies--making crafts and swimming--making crafts may be potentially more profitable because you produce something tangible that you can sell.
- 2). Sell the items you make. If you are crafty or if your hobby produces something tangible, it may be very simple for you to begin making some money by selling the product. From homemade bird feeders to hand-stitched quilts or handmade pottery, there are markets available of people who may want to buy homemade items. Even such hobbies as putting together model airplanes may become lucrative if you sell the completed planes, since some might want to collect them but not put the models together. Look into websites like Etsy that allow you to sell crafts, or consider e-Bay and the online classifieds. You can also talk to small local stores who might be interested in carrying your wares on consignment (which means you only get paid if something sells and you give a portion to the store owner).
- 3). Teach someone how to do what you do. If your hobby doesn't produce something tangible, like swimming, you may still be able to make money at it by teaching someone else how to do it. If you are a master fisherman, for example, you could teach classes on fishing for beginners. Cooking, music lessons, sewing, or any other activity that takes some degree of skill can all be taught. Advertise your classes in local classified services or by passing out fliers in your neighborhood, or offer to teach a class as part of the Adult/continuing Education program at your local schools or community colleges.
- 4). Write a guide. If you can't find enough local students or don't want to interact with people and teach on a one-on-one basis, you can always consider writing a guide if you have some writing skills. It can be relatively inexpensive to start a blog about your hobby or to write an ebook, and if you make it a quality site and teach yourself a little about how to help search engines find the site (a skill called SEO) you may be able to make money by selling the ebook or getting advertisers on your blog.
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