Turn your hobby into a business with just a few simple steps that will change your life!
Rocket science? Difficult!
Quantum physics? Hell No!
Do you spend a lot of time thinking about a new career? Is it a hobby of yours that could easily be your profession?
Hobbies are something you truly love doing. Our parents inculcate these habits such a baking, reading, writing, experimenting, etc.
so that we feel good when we do them after a tiring day. These are not just to pass time. We tend to put in a lot of effort and patience into harnessing the best from within us.
For instance, the DIY recipes we make are so much of an effort since we do so much trial and error alongside the research to yield something wonderful.
A job is also a place where you yield something and foster productivity.
While you grind yourself from morning to evening at your job, you may not actually like doing it.
Your hobby is something that describes you as a person. If you are passionate about it, then it’s time to get out of the daily torture and turn your hobby into a business.
Here are some easy steps to follow your hobby and be your own boss!
Step 1: Make up your mind
Stand in front of a mirror and ask yourself, “What do I love doing?” If it’s your hobby that you’re thinking about, then you are exactly where you need to be.
The first step to success in anything is a firm mind working towards it.
Weigh the pros and cons, make a list, understand your experience and your expertise in the area, explore your mind and then settle.
Also, explore the career options associated with a good hobby of your choice and see if which one fits you best.
Before you jump to business, be sure that it will work out and if it doesn’t, you will manage to take care of it.
Step 2: Scour the market
Selling your skill needs a market! You have to research on the courses you might have to pursue in order to become a professional, the services you can give and the ones that you can outsource. Explore your mind and the world to understand how your hobby will fit in.
Figure out who your competitors will be and how they could influence you.
Market research also helps you understand the demand of what you would like to supply and how much of it.
The niche for your hobby is out there, you just have to find it. So before you step into business, test the waters you will be stepping into.
Step 3: Start small
How does a baby grow? It crawls, walks and the runs, one step at a time. Such should be your business coming out of your hobby. Dream big but take one step at a time to achieve it.
Start by breaking down your business idea into small pieces.
How do you do that? If you were to start a beauty business, start by learning how to formulate skincare and haircare products or makeup formulation, whatever works for you?
Then go to make products and sell them, slowly. You may want to take this up as a side gig or do a few passion projects.
That’s okay! Try swimming before you jump into the deep end.
Step 4: Outline a plan
A nuclear war or a small business, everything starts with an idea turned into a plan.
A plan is like setting goals that help you grow and monitor your progress. Make a plan on how you are going to approach your hobby as a business.
Involve in the planning of nitty-gritties such as raw materials, educational background, area to target, etc. Write down the mission and vision of your brand.
This will give you a clear direction to travel in.
Step 5: Piece together your transition
A new beginning needs the old to end.
You have to transition from that job you dislike to the hobby you love. Creating an empire means leaving and learning from the previous one to generate better.
Plan how you quit your job or business to pursue a new career. If you plan to start this as a side gig, chalk out how you will take time out every day to do this.
Investing time in your hobby is equally important as you desire to build a business.
Step 6: Draft out your finances
Time, energy and money are essentials of a business. A hefty bank balance comes from taking risks and investing skillfully.
Considering your economic status and according to your priorities is imperative to build a business that you do want to fail.
Plan the amount of money you want to spend on your new business. You should realistically decide how much of your finances go into the different parts of your plan.
Create a revenue generation model! What is it? A revenue generation model is pattern that you decide to earn money.
It will guide you to figure what you have invested and how much is your profit.
Step 7 : Connect and create a network
We all need each other to survive. The same way, we also need a network to thrive in our business.
Go out there, meet or engage with people who do the same thing that you would like to do.
They will aid you in understanding the groundwork needed in the industry, understanding the process and also help you grow.
They would also look for opportunities where they can grow through you. Make friends and connections so that you establish your presence in the trade.
Step 8: Get the word out
Market yourself through the network you have built. Tell people about your business. Share your story of how it used to be a hobby some time ago.
Be a good community member, tell people what’s different about you and how your business can lead to their betterment. If you can enforce their development directly or indirectly, they should know.
You can give or seek help that way.
Marketing yourself would open the doors to blooming and an inflow of new opportunities. Most importantly, it will make you belong to a community.
Step 9: Put your own projects first
Starting a business is also like wearing an oxygen mask.
You have to prioritize your life and your growth before you assist others. Start working on your plan and marketing yourself with the finances that you have decided to invest.
Help people on the way but only after you have completed your work or achieved that short-term goal you had set for the end of the day.
Step 10 : Be persistent.
Pursue your hobby like it’s your passion and it will slowly become your business.
The idea is to be persistent and determined. In other words, be at it and settle only when you have accomplished what you had intended to do.
For instance- if you were to build a skincare brand, learn formulation and formulate those products until it looks and feels exactly what you wanted it to.
Be strict with yourself and try to be punctual with the timelines that you assign to your tasks. Pursue all the leads that you get and create the best with learning from each. Above all,
DON’T GIVE UP!
Step 11: Reassess your goals.
The plan you set at the beginning of the process, may or may not be working. It would be a good idea to see where you stand according to your initial plan and map your progress.
Experts in every field suggest that one should keep a tab on their and their business’ expansion from time to time. This enables risk analysis and the correction of any off-track movements.
At the heart of it all, your business will show further growth when you reassess your goals as your achievements and failures will also come to light.
Step 12 : Develop a feedback model
As you assess your progress, you will realize that you have come a long way.
Meanwhile, you may come across a lot of things that you have done right and some steps that you have taken wrongly.
Take help from your peers and the network you have built to rightly evaluate what must go on and what needs a change.
The criticism you receive from people will feed you improvement and the praises you encounter will add too your confidence.
A feedback loop is important as it helps you stay grounded and achieve more at the same time.
Step 13: Never stop innovating
The only way to flourish as you turn your hobby into a business is to never stop innovating. Push yourself to be unique and bring something new.
Plan some rest time in between work so that you can get your creative juices flowing. A tired mind falls prey to routine and hampers innovation.
So sit idle or engage in some other activity to give your head the space to think. When you explore yourself, you will be able to fill the gaps and provide people with the things that are missing.
Show the world how your business can transform their lives for the better. Get yourself charged up as you invent or discover, but do not stop at any cost.
All of this might seem like a lot of work at this point. But, belief in your passion and your dreams. They will fuel your career as you go.
Also, let me remind you of something. Times may come when bouncing up to your hobby from its level to a business may take away the happiness, passion and relaxation from it.
The change from it being a part-time to a full-time thing may change how you feel about something you once loved.
Take time in the beginning and later to explore what it’s like doing your hobby without any stress.
Turning your hobby into a business is a wonderful idea.
The feeling of fulfilment that you get when you do something you love is unmatched. It will enrich your life.
For instance- Learn Canyon helps several skincare and haircare enthusiasts to turn their small DIY practice into a huge beauty brand.
Learn formulation of products and the techniques to build a company of your own at one place.
Save yourself from repenting 5 or 10 years later! Start turning your hobby into a business right away!
