If you make candles as a hobby and have an average of $200/month from it, you might not want to quit your day job. But what if you make candles as a hobby with an average of $2,000/month from it? Well, now we’re talking!
So maybe you’ve thought about making candles as a possible business, and that’s great! Here are 7 ways to turn your hobby into a business:
1. Make Your Own Website
This is the easiest way to make money from your art or craft. Having your own website enables people worldwide to buy products they like without going through so much trouble, such as going on google and searching for hours to find people who sell this product online. It’s all right there, organized, and easy to access.
How to make an awesome-looking website? Firstly, your site needs to look professional, and it needs a secure shopping cart system with privacy protection, so it’s easier for customers to make payments using e-commerce software, take advantage of social media to market your products, have a blog where you post about your creations regularly, have an email marketing campaign ready so that when someone buys from you, their email address is automatically added into the list of people who will receive new product information first!
2. Sell Your Products at a Local Store
If you want extra money from your hobby business, simply sell some of your products at a local store near you. You can craft your own business cards to at least make this method look professional. If candles are your product, be sure to make samples so that store owners can see what kind of scents they are and then give them out to the people who visit the store just in case they want to buy it later on or just take one home for free!
3. Sell Your Products Online
If you’re looking for more exposure for your products, then merely selling them online is something you should consider trying out! This way, not only will you put extra money in your back pocket, but you’ll make money from all over the world, particularly in countries where there are no stores nearby selling similar products like yours to offer their customers. To achieve this, you’re going to have to make a marketing plan. Use social media sites such as Facebook, create a website of your own (and design it to be fast and easy to navigate), make use of sites such as Instagram and Pinterest to promote your products just by posting photos of them, publish ads that people can see when they visit Facebook and be sure to monitor any feedback you get from the advertisements.
4. Sell Your Products in a Local Market
This is another way to earn extra money from your hobby business! If you find out there are other businesses in your locality selling similar products like yours, then go ahead sell yours amongst theirs with a price tag higher than theirs so they will buy from you instead. Of course, it all depends on how many people live in your locality for this idea to work but if done right this idea can be lucrative and generate free advertisement in the form of word-of-mouth.
5. Selling Your Crafts at Art Festivals
Selling crafts is one of the best ways to earn money from your hobbies. If you craft something using your hands – jewelry, sculptures, paintings – then getting it out there into the public by selling them at art festivals will be beneficial for both sides: it will legitimize what you make and make you money simultaneously. A good idea is to go around town and find out what kinds of art festivals are happening nearby. Then, make a list of them on your computer and start choosing which ones you want to do business with.
6. Host a Craft Night for Your Friends and Family
One of the easiest ways to make money from your hobbies is by offering handmade items as gifts. If you manufacture little things – jewelry, crafts, etc., make some extra ones and keep them on hand for when people come over for dinner or special occasions. When they do, make sure to generate some hype over their handmade presents and encourage them to make these gifts themselves next time around – with a commission, of course!
7. Organize Your Own Craft Workshop
If you want to earn money from your hobbies, why not make it easier on yourself by teaching people how to hone their crafts? If you are good at knitting, painting, etc., why not make this into a business opportunity? People will be more than willing to pay for the convenience of learning new skills without leaving home, so if you think of creative ways of making these workshops interesting and informative, more people will sign up!
8. Sell Other People’s Handmade Goods Online
One of the best ways to make money from your hobbies is by becoming an online selling platform for other handmade products. Sites like Etsy make it easy for people to create their own crafts and retail them online, earning the site a commission for each item sold. You can make money from your hobbies by taking advantage of these sites by selling other people’s handmade products on your personal website or blog. These items make great conversation pieces for visitors and will make you some extra cash in the process.
And there you have it, a nice and easy guide to follow when starting your journey on the road to turning your hobby into a profit-making business. It might be that growth is almost instantaneous when you first begin, but as sales and production increase, you’ll quickly discover that you’ll need to optimize your business management to handle how fast it’s scaling. A quick hidden bonus step is to invest in software that has been built for microbusiness but can be scaled to grow alongside your business as it starts to grow from micro to an SMB company. Check out MRP software to see how it can help you manage your sales, manufacturing, and inventory management – read more here.
