Do you have a hobby that you’d like to start making money from? The global economy is just about getting to its knees after a difficult half decade, but nevertheless, it is suggested that 4 out of 5 small business start-ups fail within their first year. This means that if you’re looking to turn your hobby into your profession, you’re going to have to work really hard to offer a valuable product with excellent customer service if you want to win over your customers, keep them loyal and turn over a profit at the end of the year. With that in mind, here are three of the problem areas you’re going to face and how to overcome them.
Selecting the Appropriate Product
It’s quite obvious, but you’d be surprised by how many people don’t really consider enough the product they’re going to be selling before they embark upon their business journey. Thankfully, you have a head start on them because you already know what type of product you’ll be selling: whatever your hobby is. Whether it’s videogames, music, jewelry, comics or clothes, there’s a market for them all if you know how to sell them and to what audience.
Where to Run Operations from
A second issue you’re going to run into is where you’re going to select to base your operations from. Your initial thoughts may be that you should hire out a small office that suite your requirements, but why pay the monthly lease fee on an office space when you could create one at home, sell your products online and ship them from your front door using a delivery service like TNTDirect that delivers nationally (as well as internationally). You can customize your home office space (use Pinterest if you need a little bit of inspiration) and make it just as productive a space as any office would be.
How to Get the Customer Service Right
Customer service is an important part of any business, but because you already presumably know a fair amount about the product you’re selling (it’s your hobby, after all!), you should already be able to answer the majority of the questions customers throw at you. The skill to offering top quality customer service is to be congenial, polite and knowledgeable without coming across as ‘salesmen-like.’
Ultimately, turning your hobby into your dream job might be a challenge, but if you follow the advice above, you should be able to make a living by doing what you love.
In the late 90’s, when I was in my 20’s and single, my roommate was a DJ, and I started working with him to earn extra money. I did it for five years.
I started a mobile DJ business three years ago, and it has become a good side hustle. I love music, and now average over 100 events per year. It is good extra money, but not yet enough to leave my day job. My office and “warehouse” is at home, and I meet clients at Starbucks/coffee shops, so my office expenses are negligible.
I agree, having a hobby or past experience is a great way to help start a small business!