Why You Should Consider Making Your Hobby a Full-Time Job

News
Ashley Littles


=Do you have a passion for a particular pursuit in your spare time? Many people spend their leisure time enjoying a favorite hobby and often wish they could turn it into a full-time business.

While there are plenty of people out there willing to tell you it can't be done, there are lots of benefits to making the transition from an enjoyable hobby to profitable full-time business.

You might have a passion for baking delicious cakes and pastries, or creating hand-crafted toys, or designing unique clothing or jewelry, or repurposing pre-owned items for profit. No matter what your passion is, you can be sure there is a market out there for it somewhere.

Doing What You Love

Confucius is quoted as saying "Choose a job you love and you'll never have to work a day in your life." The old adage is true. When you have the freedom to do what you really enjoy every day, it never quite feels as though you're working through the drudgery of a day job.

Freedom to Pursue Your Passions

It's common to hear people say they enjoy a particular hobby or leisure activity, but they simply don't have enough time to explore it as fully as they would like. As the owner of your own business, you have the freedom to pursue different aspects of the same hobby that give you an entirely new perspective.

You may also find that exploring new fields opens up opportunities to create new product lines or alternative income streams into your business.

Tax Advantages

When you're doing what you're passionate about in your spare time, Uncle Sam views your free- time activities as nothing more than a hobby. However, when you decide to turn your side-hustle into a business proposition it suddenly comes with various tax advantages.

The IRS offers plenty of tax breaks associated with running your own business from home. You may find that paying the costs associated with your hobby become deductible.

Freedom to Work Your Own Hours

Many people are lured by the temptation to work the hours they want, rather than being dictated by traditional office hours. After all, if you're the boss, you have the freedom to work when the kids are at school or after they've gone to bed at night.

A Reality Check

While turning your hobby into a full-time business sounds like an awesome idea, there are times when your plans could translate into less freedom than you had when you were still working a job. When you're running your own small business, you're responsible for everything.

Aside from dealing with all the sales and marketing, you also need to find time to worry about keeping the bookkeeping up to date, deal with customer service inquiries or complaints, keep up with sales and marketing, organize packing and shipping and everything else that needs to be done.

Making the Transition from Hobby to Business

The key to successfully making the transition from fun hobby to profitable business is to plan ahead. Create a business plan that allows you plenty of time to still do the fun things associated with your hobby, but still incorporates the serious side of running a business.

It's also important to remember that your fledgling business may not give you the financial independence you hoped for right away. It takes time to build up a small business to a point where you're able to draw a comfortable wage regularly, so consider starting out part-time until your hobby is paying for itself and you may find it easier to make the transition to a full-time pursuit.

Starting a business based on a hobby you're passionate about can be incredibly fulfilling. You have the opportunity to spend your days doing things you love at the same time as building your a profitable business your way.