Making money from a hobby

Easy money

As a student, I loved making costume jewelry from the oddest things. Paper clips, ice cream sticks, a tube from a discarded sewing machine, and lots of sea shells, stones and beads. The trick was in mixing shiny beads with other materials.  All these tickled my fancy and were made into original earrings, necklaces, hairclips and bracelets for a tidy profit. 

I would spend time in the hostel room making my jewelry when I wanted a break from my books. Then I would go down to the canteen where I would lay out my goods. Other girls would invariably be attracted to the shiny pretty pieces and I would sell at least $20 worth of jewelry at $2 to $4 a piece each time. 

The baker

My mother's neighbor was a whiz in the kitchen. She baked absolutely fabulous cakes. She was a housewife but started cooking classes from home. Her hobby became very lucrative and soon she could afford lots of luxuries she could not have had before.

What about you?

You could do the same too.  Whether you bake a mean Brownie or you love to knit, as long as you can make something with your hands that reflects your originality, you could sell it and make some extra cash.

For ideas, read Gifts

How do you start? 

First, decide on what you want to sell. If you are making something that can keep, like bags or jewelry or knitting sweaters, start designing and making several items. Then package them nicely in pretty boxes. You can make your own boxes and line them with velvet, or you could buy the boxes for packaging.

Then calculate how much each item costs. Include the price of the packaging. Multiply the cost by 3 and that is your minimum selling price. 1 third the selling price to cover the cost of raw materials and packaging, 1 third to cover hidden costs like transport etc and 1 third is your labour costs. Prepare a price list of each item.

How to sell?

You could organize sales parties and sell your stuff to your friends and relatives.

If you have am outgoing friend who enjoys meeting people, you could enlist her help to sell your goods. Increase the price of your goods by 20% and give that extra 20% as commission to her for the items she sells. If you trust her enough, you could leave them with her for a few weeks and collect the sales proceeds and remaining items after the agreed time.

Selling through the internet

You could build a website and sell or publicise your goods there.

A good hosting service may rent out shopping cart software and have the necessary security for you to carry out credit card transactions. You'll need some technical know how to carry it off. 

If you rather sell in person, you could use the web to publicize your products and let potential customers contact you via email. My friend, a home maker does that and sells about $100 worth of products each month, making these house calls.