Last Updated on Apr 14, 2020 by James W
There’s a whole host of reasons why you might be looking for some extra cash, from needing to make ends meet to saving for a dream vacation. Unless you are intending to start your own business, in which case you’ll be formulating your plan and have a good idea what it’s going to be based on, you may not be very sure what money-making opportunities are open to you. Most people tend to look at either what they are good at and what they already know about, for example, a secretary taking on home transcription work or a talented designer taking on freelance web design work. If you are thinking along these lines you could be missing a trick though, so instead of focusing on your work skills, think instead about what you love doing away from the office.
You’ve got talent
Most people have hobbies and pastimes, activities they are interested in and things they do in their spare time. If you have something you love doing and are knowledgeable about, why not see if there’s a way of making money from your hobby? Some talents are more easily translatable into money-making opportunities than others. For example, if you love to write in your spare time, you could register with a content creation agency, where you can advertise for writing jobs. You don’t need to restrict yourself to writing articles and blog posts; you could offer fiction, poetry, technical writing, anything that you are good at writing about will have a market.
Less obvious hobbies can generate cash too
Perhaps your hobby is cycling or swimming, or maybe you are obsessed with collecting meteorites. You might not be able to see any immediate connection to possible job opportunities, but there are very few leisure activities that can’t make you a bit of money on the side. If you are an expert at getting bikes race prepared, you could advertise your services locally offering to set other people’s bikes up. Or you could contact cycling magazines offering your services as a reporter, product tester, mystery shopper and so on. You may not get a bite straight away, but if you sell yourself well, you stand a good chance of making a worthwhile contact. Your collection could be very sought after for society talks or displays – organizations are always looking for interesting topics and unusual artifacts to entertain and inform their members. Some may only pay expenses, but others will be good money earners.
Getting started
If you’re having trouble seeing any opportunities for making money from your hobby, try doing an Internet search to see what inspiration you can find. You may find a source of income you never knew existed, or get ideas for creating a whole new side hustle. Don’t shy away from the idea of using your interests to make money because you lack confidence in yourself. If it helps you, take an evening class to hone your skills and give you a more positive take on your abilities. There are people all over the world with far less talent than you making money, so there’s no reason you can’t succeed too.
