My blog focuses on Financial Literacy/Money and Business/Entrepreneurship. Most of us have hobbies. The most ideal situation is being able to turn those hobbies into legitimate businesses. The following contributed post is entitled, Turn Your Creative Hobby Into a Business That Actually Pays.
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Image: https://www.pexels.com/photo/woman-in-green-long-sleeve-shirt-holding-white-printer-paper-6932520/
Doing something creative in your spare time is one thing, but selling what you’ve made is another. If you’ve been making jewellery, candles or artwork (or anything else!) by hand just because you enjoy it, then the idea of charging money might feel strange. But plenty of people have turned casual creative work into a reliable business and not just a side project that brings in the odd sale here, and there but something consistent that actually covers bills.
Start by figuring out if anyone genuinely wants what you’re making
It’s easy to think that just because something is beautiful or handmade or took hours to create then people will immediately want to buy it. But in reality, plenty of lovely things sit unsold because there just isn’t a market for them and that’s why it’s worth doing a proper search across sites like Etsy, Depop, eBay and Amazon Handmade to see what’s actually getting bought and not just what looks nice. You want to see consistent sales, realistic prices and a style that people seem to come back for more than once. Because if nothing like yours is selling that’s probably not a good sign, and it’s rarely because no one has thought of it before. Rather than asking friends or family what they think which never gives you a clear picture, try listing a few items on a platform where total strangers can find them and watch what happens because if someone who doesn’t know you is willing to spend money on your work that’s when you know you’re not just making something nice, you’re making something viable.
Get serious about the numbers, even if you’re not great with them
If you want this to become something that actually earns money rather than just pays for more supplies, then you need to start tracking what each piece costs you. You need to account for every bit of ink used, every roll of double sided sticky tape and every stick of glue. And there’s more than just materials too, because your time, energy, tools, packaging and postage all need to be part of it too. Even if you don’t sit down with a proper spreadsheet right away you can still keep notes on how long things take you to make and what you’ve spent along the way, because underpricing is one of the quickest ways to burn out and it’s something almost everyone does at the start. If you’re selling something for fifteen pounds that took you three hours to make plus five in materials and you still have to package and send it out that’s not a profit, that’s you working for less than minimum wage while covering someone else’s postage with your time and that’s exactly the kind of habit that turns a good idea into something that becomes too stressful to keep going.
Make people believe they’re buying from a real business not just a hobbyist
If someone stumbles across your work and they have no idea how to buy it, what it costs or when they might get it then they’re not going to spend money no matter how much they like what you’ve made. That’s why it helps to get some kind of simple shop setup, even if you’re not ready for a full website. That could mean setting up a small Etsy page, building a basic Notion storefront or just using Instagram or TikTok with a pinned post explaining exactly what’s available, how to order and what to expect in terms of delivery because the easier you make it for someone to spend money the more likely they are to do it. The name you use matters too and if everything is posted from your personal account with photos of your pets and no prices anywhere people won’t feel like they’re dealing with a real shop which means they’ll keep scrolling even if they liked what they saw and not because they didn’t want it but because they didn’t know how to get it.
Test the waters before going all in
Once you’ve had a few proper sales and you know you’re able to keep up with demand without it becoming stressful, you’ll start to get a feel for whether this could actually grow into something more consistent. That’s when you can start thinking about expanding, but there’s no point bulk buying supplies or booking a stall at a craft market if you haven’t yet figured out how to handle things like delivery delays or awkward customers or last minute changes. The boring parts matter just as much as the creative ones, and if you still enjoy it even after dealing with all that then it’s a sign you’re probably ready to take the next step.
