I was pretty excited when I received an e-mail about financial columnist, Kimberly Palmer’s new book, The Economy of You: Discover Your Inner Entrepreneur and Recession-Proof Your Life. As soon as I saw it, I knew I needed to get in touch to see if she could share her wisdom with us!
Her whole book is about turning your hobbies (or entrepreneurial side gigs) into income making machines. This is probably the #1 question I get from readers: I really enjoy XX, but how can I actually make money doing it? I asked Kimberly to write up a few of her best tips for turning your passions into a career. Here is what she had to say:
1. Pick your hobby with the best potential. Almost any hobby – knitting, woodworking, doling out free advice to friends – has a money-making counterpart (Etsy selling, teaching others, coaching). You just have to put a business twist on what you already enjoy doing in your free time. For inspiration, check out what people are already selling on sites like Fiverr.com, Elance.com, Etsy.com, and Craigslist.
2. Put your own twist on it. Anyone can start a life coaching business, but maybe only you can specialize in life coaching for 20-somethings who work in social media. Or crocheting winter jackets for pets. Figure out what only you can offer the world, based on your own passions, interests, and skills.
3. Test the market. Before spending too much time creating your new products or describing your services, offer a beta version and make a few sales, or even offer your goods for free to friends. That way you can get feedback and make any necessary tweaks before taking it mainstream.
4. Brag about yourself. A lot of creative entrepreneurs struggle to move from the creation phase to the marketing phase, because it can feel like you’re bragging. But you have to embrace the marketing side of business in order to make sales. Just remember that your product or service helps people – that’s why you’re selling it – and your target audience benefits from knowing about it.
5. Make it fun. Unlike your full-time job, your side-gig gives you the chance to experiment, play, and create whatever you want. Making sales is validating and the extra cash is nice, but even more important is the incredible sense of satisfaction you get from building something other people enjoy. Make sure you savor it.
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