The Pros and Cons of Making your Hobby into a Career
The pros and cons of making your hobby into a career.
We'd all love to make our favorite hobby into a career. In many cases, it is possible to do so if you approach it from a business standpoint. But before you quit your day job, it's important to consider the pros and cons of making your hobby into a career. And, it's important to carefully plan out the move, so you can do it without too much disruption to your life. Here are some pros and cons to consider:
Pros:
1. You will be doing what you love.
2. You may be your own boss. In some cases, you might work for others while making your hobby into a career, but usually people who make their hobbies into their careers work for themselves.
3. You will be able to schedule your time and not have to punch a time clock.
4. You will not have the stress of your former job.
5. You will meet new people who share your interest in your new career. You may have time to join professional organizations and associations that are centered on your new career and you will learn new skills.
Cons:
1. You may not be able to make enough money to support yourself. Before you quit your job in order to make your hobby into your career be sure to study the market and determine if there is a need for what you will be doing. Consider whether you will be able to find sufficient customers and be able to sustain income necessary to meet your needs and those of your family before making the change.
2. Assess your skills realistically. Are you as good at your hobby as you think you are? Try selling your service or product on a part-time basis while you are working in order to determine if you will be able to find sufficient clients or customers to make a go of it.
3. When you do find the customers, will you be able to keep up with the demand for your work? As a business of one person will you be able to keep up by yourself?
4. Do you have the start up costs and do you know how to set up your hobby as a career? One of the downsides of turning your hobby into a career is that you become the boss and will have to run the business in addition to enjoying your hobby. To make a go of it, you need to secure start-up costs, to meet with a lawyer and establish your business entity, to set up accounting and billing systems, and to ensure that you keep up with obtaining and maintaining current permits and licenses. You'll need to do research on all this to determine what is required in your locality.
Before turning your hobby into a career, be sure to think through all these pros and cons carefully and determine what is best for you and for your family.
