Financial Hacks: How to turn your hobby into a side hustle

Introduction

Most people work in jobs they don’t consider their dream job. In fact, according to Forbes, more than half of Americans are unhappy in their jobs. People use hobbies as a distraction to this- engaging in an activity they enjoy, which makes them feel good. Imagine if your hobby paid your way? What used to be reserved for athletes and edge cases, has begun to happen more frequently. There are now more and more people turning their hobby into a side hustle-a secondary job that provides supplementary income.

Latest figures show that Americans with a side hustle earn an extra $200 a month. What people are using their side hustle to make spare cash? 

Some popular side hustles are blogging, etsy selling, and trading.

Blogging 

Having a singular niche that you write about such as fishing, or cars allows you to  organically build an audience who shares the exact same interest. You can then monetize your blog in a few ways: affiliate links, sponsored posts, or adding a shop link. In the beginning, you’ll make nothing from your blog, and you’ll be doing it solely for the passion. But some bloggers who stick it out past the first few years have made enough money to quit their job and do it full time.

Etsy Selling

Do you have a creative passion, but don’t think you would ever be able to monetise it? Direct selling platforms like Etsy allow creators to utilize their talents, and sell their art directly to people, without a middle man or prohibitive costs. It is ideal for low volume artists, who create bespoke and unique pieces, whether it’s paintings, jewellery or scarfs. PlannerKate, a former finance worker who now owns a top 10 Etsy shop, thinks it takes a passion, hard work, and putting yourself out there to create a successful side hustle that can then become your full time job,  “When you love something, you shouldn’t be afraid to play around with it because it can turn into something so much bigger than you ever imagined. I didn’t know what I was doing. I just played and played and took a chance.”

 Trading 

More and more part time traders have joined the trading arena- people who have stable jobs who trade in the evenings and weekends. These traders historically were seen as outsiders, and most often were losing traders, but in recent times there is a sub section of part time traders who use discipline and tools to make decent income despite the lack of allocated time spent trading. As see with the GameStop shares, retail traders, who traditionally were seen as outsiders, can have massive power when they group together and actually move the market. The danger is believing the social media hype of quick returns and sky high profits.

Getting lucky in a few trades don’t make you a master of trading-in fact it can create a false confidence that can end up costing you greatly in the long term. If you are serious about trading, you need to build a solid foundation of good habits, discipline, and being aware of your behavioural biases.  

Conclusion

Earning money from something you are genuinely passionate about is an exciting prospect for most people, but it does require a lot of dedication and hard work.  

Turning a hobby into something that makes you money is not an easy task, regardless of what some internet “experts” may claim. Saying that, if it’s something you are passionate about, take the leap of path! But accept it will take time, only invest what you can afford to lose, and concentrate on mastery goals instead of performance ones (read more here).