How to turn your hobby into an income stream
Find out what the market is like for the product or service you are offering. How many other people are offering the same, or similar? Do they seem to be busy? How much do they charge?
Some particularly profitable hobbies include making quality bespoke goods such as jewellery, wall hangings, buying and reselling vintage fashion, or services such as music or language tutoring and gardening.
Think, too, about where you see these services advertised. Etsy, for example, is a great place to sell crafts but sites such as Fiverr and TaskRabbit are better for selling skills, such as home improvement or writing services.
Make sure you are clear on any regular costs incurred by selling your services or products on these platforms.
Etsy charges 15p for each listing and asks for a 5% fee when you sell. If you make a sale directly through its offsite advertising, it charges a 15% fee.
It is free to set up on TaskRabbit – it adds a standard service fee on to your client’s invoice, as well as any VAT.
Fiverr, meanwhile, takes 20% of every transaction and charges your clients a service fee.
Does the cost justify the profits you stand to make – or would it be easier to sell via social media, on sites such as Facebook Marketplace?
Don’t sign up to anything that costs money until you’ve considered your options. The last thing you want is another bill that adds to your monthly expenses rather than helping alleviate them.
Deciding on the perfect price point is key to the success of your side project. You want to charge a figure that is competitive, will satisfy your customer, and bring in the money you need to make a profit.
To do this, consider your costs for making a single item or providing a service. How much will raw materials, posting and
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