The majority of us have hobbies that we fit in around the things in life we have to do. Hobbies and pastimes are a great thing to have. They allow you to explore your interests, whatever they may be. They can help to give you confidence, as you see your skills develop and realise that you’re capable of things you might have previously thought impossible. They can add a social aspect to your life, giving you an opportunity to meet others who have similar interests and tastes as you. They can give you positive challenges and give you a way to spend your time productively and happily. But have you ever considered that you could actually profit from your pastimes? Sure, you might want to remove pressure from your hobbies and ensure they stay something that you do for relaxation and fun. But for many people, making money from doing something you’re genuinely interested in has a whole lot of appeal. Here are a few options to draw into consideration.
Know the Legalities
Of course, in any situations where you’re making money, chances are that there are rules and regulations surrounding taxes. Taxes are a compulsory contribution to state revenue that you pay from money that you earn. These laws will vary from one country to another, so it’s genuinely important that you look into guidelines and regulations in the country that you’re operating in in order to make sure you’re doing things properly. Generally, most countries will charge tax on hobby income if it’s a large amount of money that could constitute an income. However, many countries also have a limit that you can make a hobby income up to without having to pay tax. If in doubt, consult a local financial advisor or an accountant who will be able to explain the ins and outs to you!
Blogging
Blogging is something that we often consider to be a personal activity that we do for the fun of it. For years, people have been creating blogs and using them as spaces where they can share their thoughts and opinions with their friends and family, or they are often simply used as a journal and space where they can collect memories and keep a track of what they’ve been doing on a day to day basis. But nowadays, with the rise of influencers and influencer marketing, blogging can actually generate you a significant income. So, how does it work? Well, if your blog is popular and a large audience checks in to read your posts and look at your content, there are going to be a lot of eyes on your blog. Companies are aware of this and are always looking for new places to advertise their goods and products, looking for spaces to advertise and get their items seen by their target audience. If your blog draws in their target demographic, they may offer to pay you for product placements, to place reviews of their products, or to simply use empty space on your site to advertise – for example, putting banners at the top or sides of your blog page.
Social Media
Again, social media is something that is personal to many of us. Our feeds are spaces where we show images of ourselves, what we’re up to and what we like. But again, social media pages can draw a lot of attention and if your feed is successful and you gain a lot of followers, companies will see your page and its content as a potential site for marketing too. They may pay you to post images with their products in, promote their products or feature their products in your story. If you genuinely enjoy curating beautiful feeds, chances are you can make some money from it!
Gaming
Believe it or not, playing games can quickly become a career. Don’t believe us? All you have to do is take a look into Esports! Esports stands for “electronic sports” and takes gaming to a professional level. Basically, if you’re good at playing a particular game, you can engage in Esports by challenging others competitively and working your way up to a professional level. Sure, we’re aware you can win cash prizes in these competitions. But games companies will likely notice you if you get a reputation and following and may ask you to plug their games at competitions or promote them on Youtube or other places where you may stream your playing. Another way to gain money from games is to bet on games with a bookmaker, but you need to remember that profits aren’t guaranteed and you should never rely on this for an income, or play with money you can’t afford to lose.
Playing an Instrument
If you can play an instrument, this is great. Not only does playing an instrument develop all sorts of beneficial life skills, but it’s a great skill to show off to people. But you can make money from playing an instrument in various different ways too! You could join a band and the band could take off, selling merch, selling gig tickets and being paid to perform in different places. You could go solo in the same way. If you play piano, you could land a residency playing in a bar or at events. Harp playing can work in the same way. Then there’s the opportunity to become a session musician. Put simply, a session musician will play for a band on one-off occasions or you could work with a band for an extended period of time while they only need the instrument you play for certain songs or albums when they’re recording or touring. Alternatively, if you also have a knack for teaching, you could start tutoring others and teaching others how to pay the instrument for a fee too!
Illustration
If you’re great at drawing, chances are you’ll come up with plenty of illustrations in your spare time. Use these to build up a portfolio. Plenty of people look for illustrators on a freelance basis to complete one off projects. It’s a good idea to make yourself available for this kind of work. It could be a great opportunity to bring in some extra money to supplement your income, or a way to build up a professional portfolio and get your foot in the door of an illustration career. Just make sure that people don’t take advantage – many companies will offer to give you “exposure” in exchange for your work. When it comes down to it, this often simply means they get the work done for free and you don’t benefit all too much. Make sure to charge for your work – your time and efforts aren’t free!
These, of course, are just a few different pastimes that you can genuinely make a profit from! There are plenty more out there, but these are just a few suggestions that, hopefully, will exemplify how possible it is to make money from doing something you genuinely enjoy and are invested in. Just make sure to ensure you’re playing by the rules when it comes to declaring your income and paying your taxes, as these apply to hobby income too – not just employed income!
