As we get older, people start venturing into more and more hobbies. For some, that could mean playing the guitar or reading, but others may venture into hobbies that could make them some money as a bonus. There are plenty of easy ways to make money with your hobby, so you can still have fun while potentially creating a money-making empire all along the way.
Open Up Commissions
If you’re an artist who paints or crafts items as your hobby and wants to make some extra money, open yourself up to commissions. People are always looking for cute custom pieces for themselves or gifts for friends and family. You can paint people’s pets, friends, or family for them, all in your style. Or, if you’re on the craftier side and make blankets, scarves, or jewelry, you can create custom pieces for customers. You’ll still be engaging in your hobby, but at the end of the day, you won’t have a hundred pieces filling up your home—instead, you’ll have money in your wallet.
Get Into Trading
One hobby many people start is collecting, which comes in many forms. Some of the various items that collectors will amass over time can include:
- Trading cards
- Vintage and antique items
- Classic cars
- Collectibles
While collecting and filling your bookshelves with goodies is fun, plenty of people don’t have the space for everything they want. Instead, they start building their collections and start noticing there are specific items they hold more dearly than others. If that’s you, you can begin selling or trading some of your collectibles to make more money. For example, if you’re a sports card collector, you can safely package and ship your sports cards to other collectors. In the process, you’ll make some money, and you’re helping other collectors like yourself find the cards they’ve always wanted.
Create Some Content
In addition to selling commissions or trading your items, you can start monetizing your hobby by making videos or a podcast. More and more people are getting into content creation like this, and depending on your hobby, you could attract a big audience.
For example, birdwatching may be hard to make videos around, but there is an audience somewhere who would love to consume content like that. Others, like those in trading cards, already have a big audience, but regardless of the audience size, you can create media around your hobby. Then, depending on how many people engage with your content, you could start making some big bucks.
There are plenty of different easy ways you can make money with your hobby, but at the end of the day, you must step back and remember why you started your hobby in the first place. You should never start a hobby because you can make money—that’s no longer a hobby; it’s a job. Always be sure to find the time for yourself and enjoy your hobby. When the hobby isn’t fun anymore, you need to stop making money with it or find a new hobby.
