Turning hobby into full time job

by Marija
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Maya Angelou once said:

Pursue the things you love doing, and then do them so well that people can’t take their eyes off of you.

When you love what you do, you do it with ease and passion, and that never goes unnoticed. There are those lucky few who have already chosen the right profession and who enjoy their 9-5 job, but unfortunately, there are many more who have just “settled”.

So if this is the case and inside you, you wish things to be different, think about what you love to do. What are your hobbies? Do you pursue your hobbies with passion and love and can spend hours and hours doing what you love without getting tired?

If yes, then maybe you should start thinking about turning your hobby into a full time job. Odds are, if you are so passionate about it, you just might excel and be fabulous in your new profession.

There are many people who started like that. Take Cupcakes and Cashmere blogger, Emily Schuman, and Topiarius owner, Craig Jenkins-Sutton as examples.

DOING WHAT YOU LOVE MAKES YOU SUCCESSFUL

Emily knew she loved writing about food and fashion. She started blogging for fun and all of sudden found herself doing it more and more. Soon, her hobby became her profession. Emily today is an accomplished woman. Her blog turned out to be huge success and she even released the bestseller writing about things she is passionate about.

Craig, on the other hand, always loved gardening but never had formal landscaping training. Pursuing his passion, he started working for a local gardening company, but was not satisfied to work for another. So he came up with idea to run a small ad in the Chicago Tribune, offering his garden design services. Within a week, he received 40 calls but only one turned into a customer. This was enough for him to start a business. That year he founded garden design company, Topiarius, and within few years his business made $1.2 million in revenue.

Emily and Craig are just two of many people who turned their love of something into their full time job. You can too. But in order to be successful, love for what you do is not enough. You also have to make sure that what you love is marketable.

7 THINGS TO ASK YOURSELF BEFORE TURNING YOUR HOBBY INTO A FULL TIME JOB:

1. Do you have passion for what you do?  Please note that being passionate about your hobby is not the same as being passionate about getting richer. Do you have idea that can solve a problem and make life easier, better, cheaper? Do you have experience that can help others? Are you artsy and think that your “products” make people feel better? Take Jessica Alba as an example. She had passion for all things natural, so she started a company who made all things for the house and people based on natural ingredients. And guess what? The company is a major hit now! Turns out that passion sells. Especially passion that helps others lead a better life. What is your passion?

2. Do you have a vision? Do you think you have discovered something that lacks in your society and can turn it into service or product? Do you have great imagination and have the ability to communicate your vision of “another world” to others? Do you think you can discover overlooked niches and put them at the forefront? Having vision is so important because:

“Entrepreneurs often face naysayers, because they see the future before the future plays out.” – Eldad Matityahu

3. Are you persistent? Starting a business is like starting an ultramarathon. You have to be able to live with the uncertainty, to push through a numerous obstacles for years on end, to go the extra mile and to work that extra hour. Many break here because they think they will get rich over night, but if money is what fuels your passion than it is hard to be persistent for years on end if you are not getting what you are aiming for.

4. Do you believe in yourself? Self-confidence is a must for entrepreneurs. It is what makes any business venture successful, that crazy-sure belief in yourself and the product you want to pitch to the public.

5. Can you adapt? Are you flexible enough and can adapt easily to changing behaviours and needs of others? In order to swim with the sharks, you need to be a shark.

6. Are you a rule-breaker? If you have the tendency to follow the rules blindly, you will never have it in you to venture out on your own. Be a rebel. After all, entrepreneurs live to defy conventional wisdom.

What is your hobby? Do you think you could turn it into a full-time profession? 

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