5 Awesome Hobbies You Can Make An Income From

Everyone has something they are interested in outside of his or her everyday job, but is there a way to make some extra income from that? This list may help stretch your entrepreneurial muscles and help you monetize your interests.

1. Crafts

A relaxing pastime such as sewing or embroidery can lead to a living full of high-quality products. These goods can have value in the right marketplace where consumers look for handmade crafts or something with a personal touch. So don’t let them gather dust, take some photos and find a website to sell them on.

Often, if crafting is already your hobby, you will already have the tools you need to monetize your hobby. However, If you enjoy designing your own patterns or want to scale-up, then a time-saving option can be investing in superb embroidery machines such as these. Plus, you might want to start adding your own labels to your work and an embroidery machine creates beautiful labels quickly.

2. Gaming

The top streaming channels on youtube are full of gamers who live stream them playing a game. Often these gamers are very good and devote a lot of time to gaming, but if you can think of a niche or a game that not many people live stream, then this can be a lucrative way of trapping a market.

Additionally, if you prefer board games and you are especially knowledgeable in one, then advertise to your local board game cafe that you are available for hire to run a game. This works well for more difficult games such as Dungeons and Dragons that have a lot of intricate rules.

3. Photography

If you already take holiday snaps and know what an ‘f-stop’ or an ‘ISO’ is, then you already have the skills necessary to make some extra pocket change from photography. Creating a Photo studio ready for stock photography is inexpensive – a white cloth over a flat surface near a window will get you started.

Photographers often have a niche, so set about finding your own. For example, restaurants might need a food photographer, businesses may need great headshot photographs of their staff, or a store may need a catalogue of its products. If you have one particular thing that is your strength, then focus on that so that you always feel confident for every shoot.

4. Blogging

Writing is a hobby that is accessible to everyone with an amazing number of web hosting sites that are available for free. Make a list of subjects that you feel you could write extensively about over a period of time that would feel fun and not like a chore. This could be a hobby like gardening or movie reviews, or an interest such as your views on a certain industry.

Once your blog is up and running, you can attract advertisers who pay for revenue space on your blog and you can create links to products for people to buy. For more tips on creating your own blog and sustaining it, check out this post on how to start a blog.

5. Looking after Pets

For people who love animals but don’t have the time to care for one full time, or if you already have a dog you walk twice a day, there is always dog walking or pet sitting. Advertise on your local community boards to find people close to you or mention your services when you’re next at the dog park. If you take a dog for a walk anyway, then this is an opportunity to also make some cash.

This can extend to other services, such as bathing and grooming; especially if you already have all the tools you need. You can charge a premium service if you are able to take your equipment to someone else’s house and groom there.

Exotic pets with unusual requirements need specialist carers and these owners will appreciate if you are an experienced exotic pets carer. This is a great way of caring for a fussy pet in the short term without the long-term commitment.

These are just five ideas of skills you may already have that can be monetized. There are many more inventive ways that we have not mentioned here. What ideas do you have?