Do You Want To Get Paid For Your Hobby?

In this modern age, we have all had thoughts of side hustles; small things we can do to make some extra cash. There are a lot of different ideas out there to make money, and most of them are either not worth the small amount you'd make or too oversaturated with competition to make anything at all.

There are, however, hobbies.

Most people have that thing they love doing, which could be making a few bob for doing so, especially if they were to push themselves and look into it a bit. There are many different sites that allow people to sell their creations. Most of them can take time to - set up, market yourself, and after all that, they'll take a commission for any item you sell. But, the fact that with some work, you can potentially be making some money on the side is really good.

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"No matter what you can do, just know that right now, someone is out there doing it worse than you, and they're getting paid for it." - I heard this recently, but have no idea where I heard it. It's really good though, especially if you're looking for a healthy jolt of inspiration.

Sometimes people need that push to just say, "Feck it, I'm going to just go for it."

Personally, I'd much rather see someone trying their hardest to succeed at something they're passionate about, as opposed to someone who won't try.

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Source

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The Dirty Statement

Countless times in my life I've seen a friend, or family member doing something cool and said something to the effect of, "Wow, that's amazing. You know, you could sell these online and make a few quid."

Well, it's strange, but anytime I say that I'm met with a look of slight disgust and the reply. "No, that would take the fun out of it." Or, "Nah, I doubt that. Who'd buy it?"

Instantly, the person shuts down the conversation due to the mere mention of money. It's almost like there's this attitude of. I don't even know how to describe it. It's like people just think, "No that couldn't happen to me. That's the sort of thing that happens to other people."

It's this general idea of people not wanting to get their hopes up, or they have a feeling that trying to profit from something they love doing would result in people laughing at them or something.

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It Is Possible

For example, before I joined Hive, writing was a lonely and solitary experience. If I wrote a script, the only chance of it seeing the light of day was if I gathered people and filmed it. Other than that, it sat on my desktop gathering dust... digital dust.

Currently, I have a feature film, three pilots for TV shows - one that I continued to complete a first season, two novels, and about eleven short films. None of them have been used, or even looked at by anyone but me. They're just there. I have shot a bunch of scripts I wrote, but a large portion of my stuff is just sitting there waiting.

After joining Hive I have been able to publish work, and have somehow been able to make a few bob by doing so. That is amazing as far as I'm concerned.

I was doing this alone before Hive. Now I can share fiction, and more than that, I can share some daily happenings of my life, and keep this digital diary of sorts here forever. Blogging, or just sharing stuff about myself was never something I did on traditional social media, and writing diaries was never something I did alone. But here I'm able to, while also getting a few quid for it.

My hobby turned into something that can potentially make money. To be able to do something I love while also being rewarded for it is just amazing. Is it enough to live on? No, but living on it isn't the point.

Just because I mentioned money and Hive in the same sentence doesn't mean I just think of the monetary aspect of Hive as the main draw. I just wanted to use Hive and my writing here as an example. It goes without saying that there are countless benefits to Hive, far greater than making a few Euro.

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Does It Kill The Fun?

No. It's something I've heard a lot, and the more I think about it, the more I think the statement is false.

Getting paid to do something you love is literally the dream of everyone, isn't it? It's the saying we have heard over and over again since we were kids. It's a collective idea in the minds of every Human on the planet. Yet, when we have the potential for that to be a reality, the narrative changes. Now, being paid to do what we love will kill the fun. How does that make sense?

Let's say you're a sculptor. You make clay figures and sell them on Etsy or something like that. If you were working 9-5, 5 days a week, fair enough, it might kill the fun a bit. Because your hobby has now become your full-time job. You have to pack and ship items, manage an online store, do customer returns, taxes, and market yourself. Okay, in that sense, the fun is thoroughly killed. But, all that stuff could be considered the "work" side of things. Once that side is taken care of, you can then focus on the fun part, which is creating.

The idea isn't to become some one man - or woman - sculpture factory, churning out piece after piece. You could make a few things, as you do anyway if it's your hobby, and just throw them up online for a price. Simple. Someone might buy it, or maybe they won't.

You can test the waters and see how things go while continuing to work your regular old job.

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Afraid To Charge

Maybe it's the idea of charging for something or putting a price on your skill. There are more people out there willing to just give away something they drew, painted, or sculpted, rather than selling them. Perhaps the artist feels like they'd cheat someone if they were charged, but that isn't the case. If it took time to create, then it is worth charging something. Even if it is a small amount.

The fear of charging can stem from a lack of confidence perhaps. But, let's bring things back to that quote from the start.

"No matter what you can do, just know that right now, there is someone out there doing it worse than you and they're getting paid for it."

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Ideas?

Has anyone ever encountered this situation with talented people? Have you got a skill that you would like to potentially earn from? Do you think you'd be afraid to charge for it?

Do you want to buy my sculptures? If so, come visit my Etsy store and send me some mullah.

If you don't want to buy anything, I also accept donations. Just two Euro a month could keep the bill collectors at bay.