2013-08-17

With the persistent downturn in the economy showing no signs of abating, it has become increasingly difficult for many families and individuals to make ends meet. You often have to work overtime or do an extra job to maintain the same standard of living that you did even a decade back. Lucrative and high paying jobs are hard to come by in a fragile economy.

In these uncertain times you’re haunted by a feeling that you might lose your job or might go out of business that may rob you of your sole means of livelihood. Amidst such a scenario, it goes without saying that you’d have felt much more secure if you could do something that’d provided you with a steady source of income. Have your ever toyed with the idea of turning your hobbies or passions into a money spinning venture?

As a child, you surely must have followed some hobby or pastime with ardour and zeal like painting or drawing or making toys and handicrafts. Maybe, you still find the time to engage in your passion once in a while amidst your busy schedule. So, why not make your obsession for playing the piano or wildlife photography work for you? In other words, you can make your infatuation or craze earn money for you.

Many men and women keep fretting and fuming that they are not satisfied with their jobs or careers but are nevertheless compelled to trudge along. Surely, these people are not without their passions or pastimes. Unfortunately for these people, they just can’t imagine throwing away their secure and cushy jobs and focus on capitalizing on their intellectual capital.

To do something in a professional manner that you’ve always enjoyed doing for free would require you to get out of your comfort zone in the first place. You’d have to be mentally prepared to slog it out in the initial phase (which could last for years). Furthermore, there won’t be any fat paycheque waiting to be cashed in the first week of every month.

However, if these deterrents cannot hold you back from pursuing your passion with missionary zeal, sooner or later you’ll be laughing all the way to the bank. Once you start earning real money from your hobby in a sustainable manner not only will you feel more secure about your income source but will also be able to lead a more fulfilling life. Following are some Hobbies That Can Become a Business.



1. Photography

Nothing catches the image of a person more candidly than the camera. As anybody can take a snap by being click happy, it takes a specialist to capture images that leave a lasting imprint. Photography has been furnishing people with a steady source of income since long.

There are so many areas of interests in the realm of photography. You’ve got wildlife photographers, wedding photographers, corporate photographers, and so on. If you’re confident about your photographic skills, you can create a portfolio of your best shots and upload the same on your social networking profile.

You can think of participating in photography exhibitions and shows. When offering your services, keep your rates down to earth in the starting phase and gradually hike your rates once you’ve got a steady client base. Having digital photography skills would be an added advantage.

2. Workouts and Aerobics

If you’ve always been passionate about bodybuilding and maintaining a washboard abdomen, then you can start thinking seriously about opening a fitness centre. You may not be able to invest heavily in equipment and kits at the outset but once your centre becomes self-sustaining, you’ll always have the wherewithal to buy all the gear you had dreamt of initially. You can also consider taking up a job as a coach in your leisure time. So as a fitness expert not only you get to keep yourself in the pink of health but also rake in the moolah.

3. Carpentry

If you thought that your skills in carpentry would not be able to match the ones that create wooden furniture meant for the mass market, then you better think again. Although large furniture establishments and woodcraft companies have an iron grip on the market for low priced wooden furniture and fixtures, there still exists a niche market for fine handcrafted woodworks.

4. Fashion Designing

You’ve always had a penchant for turning out in the apparels and outfits that were in vogue. You make it a point to attend the most important fashion shows in town. Why not turn your love for fashion into a money making enterprise? You can try your hand at becoming a fashion designer or becoming a celebrity’s personal stylist. Thereafter, you can graduate to writing blogs or books to herald your arrival in the world of fashion.

5. Music

Nothing soothes or becalms the soul like music. Music is food for the soul. If you’ve been an expert in playing the piano or strumming the guitar and have participated in music shows and competitions, then you can sincerely contemplate about giving music lessons. In the starting period, you can hold private classes in your home or consider going to homes of your pupils to give music lessons. Later on, you can rent a place for yourself that will double as a music studio as well.

6. Blogging

You’ve always had a flair for writing. You’ve won essay competitions and contests on creative writing throughout your school and college years. However the necessity to earn a living doesn’t leave you with enough time to follow your passion.

These days, there are many online sites that welcome articles and blogs on a variety of subject matters from anybody with good writing skills. If you have your own Facebook or Twitter profile, you can post blogs, weblogs, newsletters, podcasts, and webcasts in your areas of interests. You’ll have to be patient if you want to make money from your writing assignments and projects.  It’ll take time to create a solid and steady base of readers who’ll keep coming back to read your articles.

7. Antiques and Artefacts Collector

If you have a weakness for antiques and artefacts and would not mind blowing a fortune on a treasured piece of objet d’art, then you can make a living out of it. However you’ll have to diligently keep combing the flea markets, antique and vintage shops for works of arts and artefacts and bargain aggressively before buying them. You can resell the items at a much higher price than you bought them.

Nevertheless, you’d need to have a good knowledge about the relics that you’re dealing in. You’ll periodically have to conduct a lot of research on the net regarding these items to satisfactorily answer queries of your prospective buyers. You can go online for selling your wares or you can rent an outlet on a busy thoroughfare

8. Consultant

If you have gathered sufficient experience in your line of work to get started on your own, you can mull over becoming a consultant. People from various walks of life and diverse professions have gone on to open their own consultancy firms after amassing extensive experience and knowhow. If you’ve been on the payroll of a company as an accountant, architect, biologist, chemist or a physician for quite a long time, you can set up your own shop or consultancy firm.

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