Turn Your Hobby Into A Business
It’s a dream shared by millions around the world –turning
their hobby into a business; actually making money from doing what
they love. It’s what journalists and authors do when they
write. It’s what mechanics do when they tinker on motors and
get paid for it. It’s what artists do when they draw, sculpt,
or paint.
When you’re in a business that you love – it’s more
like “pleasure” than “work.” The difference you’ll
feel leaving “working for a living” for “doing what
you love” is astounding. Imagine what the person who loves to
bake feels when they bring the loaf out of the oven and smell the
overwhelming aroma of fresh-baked bread, hear the customer exclaim “mmm,”
and hear the cash register go ka-ching at the same time.
Tiger Woods once said, “I get to play golf for a living. What
more can you ask for - getting paid for doing what you love.”
Back when I began my career, I was skeptical about being able to
survive as a writer; because I’d heard so many ‘starving
writer’ stories. My first job was as a secretary, but in my
personal time, I wanted to research things and write books,
articles, poetry, songs—anything. People were always coming to
me to write their resumes and speeches, to help with their essays
and reports, or to fill out their paperwork. Yet, I was actually in
my 30s before I finally got around to believing that my real love
and talent—writing—could become a viable career and a
business.
Maybe you’re one of those people who have discovered that
your hobby is expensive to maintain, and you’d like a way
simply for your hobby to ‘pay for itself’. That’s the
case of a man I know who loves flying his airplane, looking at all
different types of airplanes, and talking about airplanes (this man
has miniature airplanes on his “second” Christmas tree).
After retiring from his “real” job, he merged his work
with his hobby, and now he gets paid to manage the airport where he
keeps his plane. Many businesses and careers have been started for
that reason.
Business savvy individuals and tax attorneys may share with you a
semi-guarded trade secret: You can deduct hobby losses from your
main income if you can prove the hobby is a legitimate,
profit-motivated business. That means you must be engaged in the
activity “for profit.” If you want to go that route, you
will need to set your hobby up as a legitimate business with:
business cards, a separate set of books, a separate business bank
account, advertising, business cards, etc.
You should also make sure to obtain all the required business
licenses and permits. For those of you, who love to travel, consider
how nice it would be to have your travel and entertainment expenses
deducted from your taxes as a business expense. It happens every
day, all around the world.
Two great resources for further information are: Home Business
Tax Deductions: Keep What you Earn by Stephen Fishman, and Women
Biz Mentors, where experienced business women mentor other women who
want to start their own business.
You may be someone who engages in your hobby part-time and you “accidentally”
made income from it. That’s how a lot of hobby businesses start
too. You sold a friend some outdoor furniture you made in your hobby
shop; word got around; and soon, you were making money on the
weekends, just because you liked woodworking.
The guy who loves exotic sports cars may broker the sale of a few
each year just to support his own “passion” for cars. Nuts
for Cars, one of the businesses I write for, began because three
friends were searching for car events to attend one weekend and
couldn’t find anything in the local newspapers or magazines.
Later on, they learned they’d missed a big car show that was
near them. So they solved their problem – and in the process,
created a viable business—by getting together to create an auto
event club and online directory of auto events.
Could it be that Shakespeare was really enlightened when he said:
“This above all: to thine own self be true; And it must
follow, as the night the day, Thou canst not then be false to any
man.”
Take a few minutes today to consider what you love to do.
Do you find yourself always talking about your hobby or favorite
interest? Do other people say you’re really good at a
particular skill or talent? Whether you use your
hobby/talent/passion as a tax shelter; use it simply to make your
hobby pay for itself; or use it to make your fortune, it is worth
your time to consider making your hobby a business today. Life is
too short to spend it in a miserable job if you don’t have to,
and you give your best to the universe when you operate within the
sphere of your primary talent.
Sally H. Morton is Publications Editor and Senior Writer with
Partners Online LLC (d/b/a http://www.hobbiesgeneratecash.com
and http://www.womenbizmentors.com).
An experienced freelance writer, copywriter, and editor, Sally can
be reached at sally1@ncfreedom.net
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