I was talking to a friend who is in a similar financial situation as me. The topic strayed to wanting more money. Being that I have been pretty involved in the personal finance realm since the beginning of this year, my thoughts automatically went to creating a secondary income stream. It dawned on me that said friend is a fantastic cook. Not only does she cook well, she loves to cook for others. I said to her “you know, you could make some money with that.” She gave me all the excuses we give ourselves to prevent change.
How would I find people?
No one would pay.
I don’t have the time.
I don’t have enough pots and pans, etc.
After talking a while, I convinced her that it was something she should pursue especially since she specializes in a type of food that is hard to find in our area. Would you believe that by the end of the day, she had her first gig? Catering for her cousins birthday party. Said cousin was willing to pay $300. I’m really excited for her because knowing how these things work, people at the party will definitely ask who made the food. I’ve advised her to have business cards ready to hand out so she can capitalize on that.. Which brings me to my first point.
Figure out what you would do even if no one paid you.
After giving such great advice {:)}, it only made sense that I should think about how to apply it in my own life. I like to write but it’s not something that pays say $300 in a weekend. It’s also a market that I feel is saturated. I took up photography a little while back and that is what I have decided to focus on. Unfortunately, photography is an expensive hobby so I will have to spend a little to make a lot. However, once I’m comfortable charging for my skill, I can start taking pictures of peoples birthdays and weddings. I like doing this anyway, so getting paid for it is just and added bonus.
Hobbies you can capitalize on
I think the main thing is to pick something you actually like doing for others. If you enjoy cooking, but don’t particularly enjoy making food for a large number of people, catering might not be for you. You don’t want to make money but end up viewing your hobby as a chore. That to me defeats the purpose. I know not everyone can cook or has the money to spend on a camera but there are plenty of other things you could do on the side. Do you like experimenting with makeup? You could get paid for doing makeup at weddings or other formal events (think prom). Are you really handy with a blowdryer and curling iron? Why not do hair for events as well. If you enjoy running, you could start a local running class. Those of you that enjoy academic subjects could tutor. The trick is to capitalize on what you love. This doesn’t have to be your full time job but it could bring in an extra $600 a month which is a great thing in my book.
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Great advice (and something that your friend will likely be grateful to you for for quite some time!). Many have something that they are good at/love doing and all they need is a good kick in the pants to get started and see if they can put their skillset/passion to work in a way that will make them some money.
That’s a really good story! Congratulations to your friend and kudos to you for inspiring her to try it out!
I couldn’t agree more with you here. And it’s funny your friend made all those initial excuses to prevent change, because I think we have a habit of sabotaging ourselves before we even get started.
I’ve been doing a bit of IT work on the side, fairly simple stuff, that most people get headaches over, in exchange for some extra cash. So far it’s been working out nicely, and it’s stuff I actually enjoy doing, so it hardly feels like “work.” Once you get past the initial phase, you really have nothing to lose!
Good article. I’m a horseback rider, and I’m still trying to figure out how to come out on top every year. You know the saying – ‘You can make a small fortune with horses, but only if you begin with a large one.’