Companies like Uber, Snapchat, Airbnb, Lyft, or TaskRabbit are living proof that startups have a real chance in today’s gig economy. Due to smart and connected devices, it’s now easier than ever to market your skills and join the millions of workers who dropped their 9-to-5 or took a side gig for some extra money. Plus, more people do business online and look for online education or entertainment nowadays.
This means that, with the right skills and lots of determination, almost anyone can turn their hobby into a profitable business. Whether you dream of teaching music or being a web designer or cook (to name a couple), the current settings are in your favor!
To anyone who wants to make this step, here are some of the most profitable business ideas that originated from hobbies:
Cooking
Cooking is an art that requires constant learning and improvement, but it’s also a wonderful and rewarding hobby. If you love mixing textures, aromas, and testing out new recipes, you can build a successful online community.
Food and sweets have a special visual appeal that works great on platforms like Instagram, Pinterest, YouTube, and even TikTok. True, you’ll need an ingenious approach since the niche is well-developed, but there’s always a new way of describing and marketing your cooking skills.
If you don’t want to limit your reach to just online platforms, there are various options to share your cooking in the real world as well. Try a food truck or put the basis of a cooking and delivery service.
Our advice: Start small, learn from your competitors, and focus on finding a niche that works for you.
Beer Brewing
What goes with a delicious meal? A craft beer, of course!
Homebrewing is a favorite pastime for young American adults (there’s even a Homebrewers Association). Just like with cooking, the charm comes from the multitude of possibilities when it comes to creating new and interesting flavors and recipes.
To give your startup the best chance, you will have to set up a brewery that allows you to practice your craft in the optimal conditions. For this, you’ll need a business plan for brewery and a few permits for food and beverage safety production.
Our advice: Study the market and identify your target audience so you’ll know where to place your brewery and how to market it online.
Writing
Due to blogs, YouTube, and the constant need for fresh content, writing is now in high demand. Also, there’s little chance the demand will drop in the near future since social media networks and business websites require content to keep going.
Plus, you can be successful even if you don’t feel like submitting your writing skills to a certain company or format. All you need is a personal blog or a platform (do you know Medium?) and you can post your original writing.
Our advice: Focus on a specific niche and try to establish yourself as an expert on a topic that’s popular and has a future (such as tech or crypto).
Fitness & Training
You’re upbeat, energetic, and enjoy an active lifestyle. In this case, you may turn your love for fitness and working out into a profitable business.
You could lend your knowledge and skills to a gym in your area by becoming a personal trainer. But, for a better turnover (although, it’s also a bit more work), you can start your own online community and sell your services as an online submission. In this case, you can have pre-recorded programs (in an app or online platform) that people can access, or you can have live online sessions as a personal trainer.
Our advice: Fitness and good communication go hand-in-hand if you want to become a personal trainer or sell your skills online. Practice and polish your communication skills as well.
Design
Yes, the world is filled with wanna-be web designers, but there’s more to do with your design skills. From business logo creation to illustrations, sketches, and book design (to name a few), this niche has room for all kinds of creatives.
Plus, you can build an online community and turn a profit by becoming an influencer or getting noticed by big brands who want your skills.
Also, if you want to have full control over your projects, you can start a T-shirt Design company or a company that sells ready-made illustrations for posters or other items. In this case, it’s best to build a unique brand that sets you aside from the crowd.
Our advice: Check popular freelancing platforms to identify the type of design projects that are most in demand.
Gardening & Plants
Millennials are often berated for their approach to life, but they may get a few things right. They focus more on mental health and well-being and want to build a life where work and time for yourself are in balance.
Millennials are also the ones who re-discovered the incredible benefits of gardening, whether it’s outdoors or indoors. Plus, they built entire communities around this topic. So, if you have the knowledge and skills to nurture plants and want to share, there’s a good chance to also turn a profit.
Also, you could take a different approach and sell home gardening kits that help absolute beginners start their own journey with plants.
Our advice: Know your audience and help them understand how to improve their own gardening aspirations.
In Summary
At the end of the day, every hobby can be turned into a business as long as there is an audience for it. However, if you do decide to take this step, you’ll have additional responsibilities such as taxes, accountancy, or budgeting (among others). Still, even though it’s not easy to be an entrepreneur, it can be loads of fun since you are making a living off something you enjoy.
So, before making any big decisions, analyze your own wishes for the future and identify your needs. Also, do a bit of market research to understand if your hobby is on demand for the types of communities you want to create both online and offline.