What kind of hobbies could turn into businesses? Well, anything! If it makes enough money to pay your bills, expenses included, then it’s enough of a business. Even if you can’t make money out of it right away, if you love doing something and think people would pay for it, then it might be worth giving on your way to success (if that’s what you want).
You could turn your passion into an online business by creating your website or blog, selling merchandise, becoming an affiliate marketer, or starting any other similar venture that requires little initial investment. There are many ways to monetize your hobby.
The key is to realize the difference between making money and turning a hobby into money. Some things don’t work well when made into businesses because they’re too time-consuming or difficult to manage. People will not pay you to do something that they can do themselves, even if it’s just a matter of hours. For example, I love cooking, and you could easily pay me to cook for you, but nobody would pay me to clean their dirty dishes or sweep the floor.
The following is a list of hobbies that I think would be profitable side jobs/businesses:
Painting/drawing/sculpting
I believe many people out there would love to have unique paintings on their walls or cute drawings on their desks at work. If you’re good enough with your craft, others might want one of your originals too! It takes time and effort, but it doesn’t require a large investment. Art supplies are cheap, and you can use them repeatedly.
Music
This is very similar to the previous point, but with songs! If your songs are good enough, somebody might pay you to sing or play for them. Or maybe they’ll want a music video of yours on their YouTube channel? You can find many ways to make money from someone’s love of music. It won’t be easy, though: first, you have to be good at it, and then people need to like what you do. These things don’t happen overnight and will take lots of hard work… But if you enjoy playing an instrument or singing, I think this is worth trying out as a side business/hobby!
Baking/cooking
These two go hand in hand, but both can be turned into profitable businesses. People love good food, and there’s no limit to the types of treats you could make. For example, I would pay someone to create custom cakes for me! If you’re talented enough to develop your recipes or recreate ones from other people, it might be easier to sell them online. You could also open a small restaurant or become a personal chef… But obviously, these options require more money and work than selling cookies from home!
Blogging
This isn’t exactly a hobby (since most people do it for fun), but blogging is an excellent example of turning a hobby into money. Suppose you love writing and interacting with people, blog about things that interest you, and share your knowledge with others. It may take months or years before you start making good money out of it, but if you enjoy doing it, then I doubt this would be frustrating or boring for you.
Building websites
This might seem like an odd hobby, but building beautiful websites is not as difficult as most people make it sound! There are thousands of tutorials out there explaining how every little thing works… But the best way to learn is to get your hands dirty and see what happens when you press the buttons (carefully, though). Making websites doesn’t require much initial investment: get a domain name and hosting and start working on your website. If you make it good enough, others might want to hire you to build them one!
I’m sure there are many other things people can turn into businesses, but these were the first that came to mind when I thought of my hobbies and how they could be monetized. You can also try turning an existing business/ job into a hobby: for example, if you’re already good at building websites, turn it into a side hustle after work or school. Or maybe you love baking cupcakes? Try selling them at your local farmers’ market or bake sales (if it’s legal where you live).
