6 Money Making Hobbies that can help you turn your Passion into Profit

Bharat Sharma

10/10/2018



“How do I make money with my hobby” – before we get to that. It’s time for a fun fact.

Did you Know - Walt Disney (creator of Disney), had a fun hobby of cartooning which ultimately paved the path to one of the most profitable hobby (and company) in the world.

As a child, Walt was fond of drawing cartoons in his free time and as he grew up, he started creating cartoon advertising for newspapers and magazines. Today his company is worth a billion dollars and world knows and adores his creations.

Even recent billion-dollar companies like Facebook and Amazon were started when their founders had a pastime or hobby to pursue in free time.

The point here is - if you have hobbies that make money, you will never have to work a day in your life.

Anything from photography and performing arts to blogging and teaching can open up new ways of making money (if you know how to make the most of it).

Want to know what are some smart money making hobbies that can turn your passion into profit?

Here are 6 hobbies that will get you going (and you probably have one of them) -

#1 Training/Coaching

Does your life revolve around sports, adventure, outdoors and events? Are you a fitness enthusiast?

If yes, you can easily become a trainer/coach to turn your hobby into a profession.

Thanks to the growing interest in travel, fitness and lifestyle – there are numerous opportunities for people with relevant skills and interests to monetize their hobby.

For example – if you are fond of traveling and trekking, you can start organizing short trips and tours. Once you have like-minded people with you, you can even form your own company and reap profits from your hobby!

Similarly, you could be a fitness instructor or a yoga coach and you can use your knowledge to promote healthy living among people. This will give you an opportunity to teach as well as earn with your hobby.

If you aren't sure how viable this option is, there are numerous fitness bloggers in India that make money with their hobby of staying healthy and fit.

A lot of people today are opting for personal coaches and trainers so you can easily use your hobby to your advantage!

You would be surprised to know that, quitting your full-time job to pursue fitness training and coaching is quickly emerging as one of the easiest ways to make money.

Want to start fitness training or coaching? Join us as a teacher today with us and reach more students near you!

#2 Writing /Blogging

People love reading stories. If writing is your hobby and you have an interest towards creating and telling stories through words, you can easily start making money online with a blog.

The fun part? It usually takes nothing to start a blog – platforms like WordPress, Blogger and Quora are great mediums to promote your writing and build an audience.

Writing and blogging is one of the most preferred ways to make money these days. With the power of technology and internet, you don’t even need to have a full-time writing gig to start something of your own. Once you get better at blogging, you can even create your freelance writing profiles at Upwork and Fiverr and take up part-time writing gigs for companies and brands.

Take the example of this mother-turned-blogger who is now following her passion with parenthood!

You can choose any niche (or interest) that you like. From fashion and entertainment to information and reviews, when it comes to writing as a money making hobby, you can start with anything that you like. Make sure to find something that truly interests you and then start.

In case you are wondering how to turn your hobby of blogging into a money-making hustle, here are 3 ways to monetize your blog -

You can offer writing/blogging courses to beginners

You can do brand partnerships and promotions on your blog

You can run ads on your blog

Looking to start blogging on your own? Check out our simple guide on 5 ways to start your own money making blog

And don't you limit your hobby of writing to the online world only, with enough practice, passion and perseverance, you can even go on to write and sell your own book!

If Amish Tripathi - a banker-turned-writer can script history with his world-famous books, you too can start your own journey of turning your passion for words into a money-making hobby (or profession).

#3 Designing/Crafts

Who knew popular design and craft hobbies like – drawing; sketching, painting, doodling and quilling could get you cash!

If designing/crafts is your hobby, no matter whether its graphics or products, you can turn your skill into one of the most profitable hobbies. Since the demand for hand-crafted products is always on the rise, from clothes and prints to stationary and paintings, there are dozens of way to make money with an artsy-craftsy hobby.

If you are not sure where to start, here is a helpful guide to sell your art online

Maybe you can create your own home décor products or can sell your own merchandise through your own website or blog…the possibilities are endless if you have a hobby for designing and creating things. All you need is an online presence (or a shop) and the entire world is your audience!

Nowadays, many companies are collaborating with individual designers and artists to promote their collection. In addition to selling your art online, you can also monetize your hobby by licensing your original artwork to merchants and companies.

Furthermore, if a brand or a company likes your stuff, it can be used to promote or advertise their own products, therefore giving your money-making hobby a bigger audience and profit margin.

Not just online, the offlin world also offers lucrative opportunities for designers and craft artists to teach their talent to kids and adults who want to learn a creative hobby.

For example – if you are good at a craft hobby like painting or origami, you can start taking hobby classes near you and make money by teaching your talent to students of all age groups.

Ultimately, whether you choose to sell your craft hobby as products or as knowledge, there are dozens of way to make money.

#4 Performing Arts

We all know someone who is good at dancing or playing a musical instrument and probably they are also good at making money with their talents.

Performing arts is an ever-growing field of life and the demand for professional artists is on the rise. Plus, with the growing number of content creation tools like YouTube, more and more people are turning their hobby of music and dance a money making art.

Need an example that performing arts is one of the best hobbies to make money and follow your passion in life?

Check out the inspiring journey of Shiamak Davar – India’s dance guru and a hobbypreneur who has turned his hobby into a successful career and global million dollar brand.

Coming back to the topic, if you are wondering how to make extra money as a performing artist, there are number of ways to start –

Online Communities : you can online platform and talent communities that offer you an opportunity to showcase your talent and teach people. Some examples are - Spotify, YouTube, SoundCloud, Reverbnation, Apple Music etc.

Social Media: create your own social media profiles to reach and attract people to your talent. This will give you exposure and confidence and an audience. Even create your own social media profiles to reach and attract people to your talent. This will give you exposure and confidence and an audience. Even Selena Gomez has monetized her social media following.

Create Content: content is what attracts people to your hobby. Create your own content (videos, blogs, and tutorials) and promote it using your social media.

To do it the offline way, you can either start teaching dance and music online or register as a tutor with us to reach more students.

Performing arts like music, singing and dancing are always promoted and there are numerous competitions and shows that reward you with money as well as exposure (both important ingredients of a successful money making career).

#5 Food

Food is a rapidly growing industry with a wealth of opportunities for earning money. If you have a hobby of baking or cooking, there’s good news for you.

From food photography and food design to cooking classes and cookbooks, your passion for food is one of the best ways to make money.

Even if you are not into baking/cooking, your love for food can be turned into a source of income with a side-hustle like blogging about food and new things to eat (read #2 above to know how to start a food blog).

With the rise of online platforms like YouTube and Instagram, people can easily share their favorite food recipes, cooking tips and tricks and other food related knowledge and skills with the world.

FoodTubers, as they are called, are taking the world by the storm with their unique style of cooking/baking!

Related: Top Indian YouTube channels you must follow to learn cooking

If you think you are only limited to the online world for turning your passion of food into a profitable hobby, think again!

Professional chefs and cooks like Sanjeev Kapoor, Jiggs Kalra and the likes have successfully released their own shows, organized workshops, opened restaurants and sold books – therefore turning their hobby into a lucrative, life-long profession.

#6 Photography

Like writing and designing, photography is a growing means of generating revenue with your talent. Especially since the demand for visual content is on the rise, it can be a profitable hobby to have in life.

If you own a nice camera (sometimes a phone would also do), then all you need is to learn the basics of photography and start making some side money.

The first step is - pick your niche.

Do you want to be known as a travel photographer or a wildlife photographer? Maybe you can pick up portrait photography as your niche or try your hand at landscape photography…the point here is to find and define your style of photography before you start shooting (and selling).

If you already own a website or a photography blog, you can then start posting and selling your photographs online. Every successful photographer leverages the power of community to build their personal brand and make money with a hobby of photography.

However, if you are a complete beginner and want to explore photography as a money-making hobby, here are three ways to start your journey –

Sell stock photos: websites like Shutterstock 500px websites likeandare great online stock photography sites that will pay you for your pictures.

Build a portfolio: to sell your photos, you must first show them to the world.You can either have your own photo blog or can start submitting photos to community sites like to sell your photos, you must first show them to the world.You can either have your own photo blog or can start submitting photos to community sites like Unsplash

Sell photo prints and products: there are online places and sites there arewhere you can list and upload your photo products like t-shirts, photo books, mugs and calendars

Teach photography: once you get better at your hobby, you can start taking online courses or organizing photo workshops for beginners

Turning your Passion into Profit

When it comes to turning your passion into profits, these are just few examples of what can be done with a hobby.

There are many more hobbies that make money and all you need is to find what you like doing, invest time and energy into practicing it and then find a platform to promote your hobby/skills/talents to the world.

If you can make money by doing something you love, you can truly live the life you love.

Further Reading