It’s essential for everyone to find something to focus their time on other than their job. While some would say that their careers are what they’re most passionate about, adopting a hobby can be a great way to channel your creativity and round you out as a person. Furthermore, CNBC points out that having a hobby can even help you advance your career as it supposedly boosts productivity, alleviates stress, and enhances your physical health.
Even though hobbies create a clear divide between your enjoyment and career, it could also turn out to be a very lucrative activity. The current global crisis has disrupted almost everyone’s financial stability, and having a side hustle in the form of a hobby could be of great help. What’s more, there’s virtually no need to go out and market your talents or craft physically as the internet has made it possible to do all of this online.
If you don’t have a marketable hobby or skill just yet, we’ve come up with a list of fun and doable hobbies, and how you can make money off of them.
Sewing
The humble needle and thread have been often overlooked due to its reputation as an old-timey and monotonous hobby — but it’s a skill that everyone should learn. Other than saving you the time and money to have your clothes repaired or altered, sewing as a hobby can be your gateway to a growing fashion career or a crafting empire. From stylish pieces to cute plush toys, you can monetize your sewn creations by selling these off on online marketplaces. Another way of monetizing your sewing skills could be in the form of selling off your sewing patterns on eBay or Etsy.
Photography
While everyone can easily take a great photo on their phone nowadays, photography as a side hustle is so much more than just whipping out your phone and snapping a pic. To make your photography hobby more marketable, it’s best to have decent gear and constant practice. And once you have these two down, you can now proceed to the business side of things. In fact, Adorama’s guide to the ‘10 Ways to Make Money as a Photographer’ highlights how you can make money off your photos by selling them off as prints or submitting them to stock photography websites. Whichever way you choose to monetize your photos, always remember to enjoy your craft and learn the business ins and outs during the process.
Teaching
While this isn’t exactly a hobby, teaching students online can be a great way to get hard-earned bucks. What’s great about this is that you’re free to set your class depending on your schedule, and you can teach a wide array of subjects that you’re knowledgeable in. Our article on the ‘14 of the Best Side Hustle Ideas’ notes that teaching English as a second language is one of the more fruitful online teaching niches, and you can start your teaching side-job by signing up for websites like VIPkid and gogoKid. The training isn’t that difficult too since you already have a head start by having English as your native language. However, it’s worth pointing out that you’re going to deal with kids in real-time through a video chat app, so it’s best to work on your teaching skills to prepare for this side gig.
Baking
These days, a ton of people have been turning to baking their own treats and pastries to cope with the stress of being constantly indoors. But while the carbs can be comforting, the cash brought by turning your baking hobby into a profitable business can also put you at ease. A guide to ‘Selling Baked Goods From Home’ details why baking can be a great money-making hobby since the market for delicious baked goods never disappears and you already have the tools that you need in your kitchen.
If you want to make your baked treats more marketable, start a social media page on Instagram and Facebook so you have somewhere to post your scrumptious photos. Moreover, having an active social media page for your home bakery also allows you to freely advertise your business and gives you a platform where you can easily correspond with your customers.
Blogging
Creating your own blog is one way to generate profit from your writing hobby. The great thing about blogging is that you can write about anything that piques your interest, no matter if you’re a seasoned writer or just a casual wordsmith. However, blogging entails a little strategic thinking as you’ll have to post consistently and create engaging content to reel in an audience. But once you find your niche and get comfortable with the blogging process, this hobby can be extremely profitable. A Forbes’ article on making money from a blog points out that aside from the revenue you get from ads running on your blog, you can also set up a shop or partner up with different companies to make your blog even more bankable.
Gaming
The popularity of video streaming websites has ushered in new and revolutionary ways to make money — and this includes streaming yourself while playing video games. Thanks to gamer dedicated websites like Twitch and YouTube Gaming, people with engaging personalities can now rake in big bucks by simply recording themselves while playing their favorite video games. In fact, Business Insider reports that more than 3 billion hours of gaming have been watched on Twitch alone, proving that today’s audience is more than willing to consume this type of content. Going about this couldn’t be easier too, as you only need to find a video game you enjoy and create an account on a streaming website in order to start your gaming side hustle.
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