Fun money: whether your passion is pottery, painting or playing video games, there's money to be made from your hobby

Entrepreneur, April, 2003 by Nichole L. Torres

PENDING YOUR FREE TIME GARDENING, restoring classic cars or collecting antique jewelry can be a joy, right? It's the thing that renews your passion, the thing that makes you feel that all is right with the world. Wouldn't it be great to find a way to make money doing what you love? Turning your treasured hobby into a business will take hard work and a truckload of creativity, but the rewards are getting paid for it.

The benefits of starting a business based on your hobby are many, according to Rachna D. Jain, founder of business coaching firm Excel With Ease Coaching in Columbia, Maryland. "Many times you'll have a lot of knowledge about [your hobby] already," she says. "And the most successful entrepreneurs are the ones who have a passion for the work they do.

Turning passion into profit takes serious work, though. Just because you love making pottery doesn't mean you know enough to create a profitable business from it. Experts and entrepreneurs stress the importance of researching any business idea before jumping in. Denise O'Berry, president of business consulting firm Small Business Edge Corp. in Tampa, Florida, notes that research is one of the most important first steps: "You need a full plan of how you're going to address your objectives. It's all that stuff everybody hates to do."

You may know everything about your hobby, but you only know it from a hobbyist's point of view. Think like a business owner by conducting a market analysis and a competitive analysis to see if existing businesses are similar to your idea. Is there a similar business in your area or nationally?

Next, find out if selling your hobby wares will sustain you. Jain echoes that sentiment: "Once you have a market identified, canvas Internet neighborhoods and invite people to meet with you [for focus groups]." You may even consider contacting a mentor who can point you in the right direction while you're researching your business plan.

Mentors can also offer guidance about what kinds of businesses are a natural fit for your hobby. To jog your brain for any possible business ideas, lain suggests listing 20 ways you can use your knowledge, skills, talents or hobbies. (Turn to "Not-So-Trivial Pursuits" on page 100 for even more possibilities.)

Beware of Burnout

Once you've found your passion and turned your favorite hobby into a profitable business, you're home free, right? Not quite. As many a hobbyist-turned-entrepreneur has experienced, burnout tends to set in. Think about it: Once you get your hobby-based business off the ground, you start to live and breathe that hobby 24/7. "You're no longer doing [the hobby] for your enjoyment," O'Berry explains. "You're doing it for your livelihood."

Before you make the leap, you should think long and hard about whether doing your hobby as a business will ultimately drain your enthusiasm for it. According to lain, you'll have to ask yourself "If I never did this for fun ever again, how much would I miss it? Is it replaceable by something else?"

One way to avoid burnout is to continue learning new things about your hobby. Another is to spend your free time pursuing an entirely different hobby. That's what entrepreneur Steve Edmiston has done for years. In the early 1990s when he ran a law firm, game-making and writing screenplays were two of his favorite hobbies. When he chose to pursue game-making as a full-time business, screenwriting naturally took over as the fun outlet.

In 2000, Edmiston sold his interest in the law firm and launched a Seattle business that manufactured coffee table games. "I had that desire for game creation that had nothing to do with being a lawyer," explains Edmiston, co-founder of Front Porch Classics Inc.

It all came together after he met a few contacts at the local Young Entrepreneurs Organization, who also wanted to start a new business. Edmiston, 41, then decided to join forces with Mark Jacobsen and Mark Pattison, both 41. In 2002, their game, Old Century Baseball, earned the Toy of the Year honor from Disney's Family Fun Magazine.

Currently on Front Porch Classics Inc.'s agenda: marketing Dread Pirate, a treasure hunt game that Edmiston had originally created for his daughter's birthday a few years ago. With sales exceeding $1 million, the hobby has certainly proved to be more than just a game for this trio.

The Next Step

Now that you've done all your research, and you're sure that this is the business for you, how do you get going? Most hobby enthusiasts start their businesses part time.

But still, to project a professional business veneer, there are a few things you should do. Get a separate business phone line, for starters. Says Jam: "Marketing begins at the point of contact. You don't want your child answering [the phone]." You'll also want to set up a professional Web site and get a dedicated fax line (or an e-fax). And make use of some small-business Web site tools, such as those available from bCentral.com, Entrepreneur.com and Jian.com--there, you'll find how-tos and tips on everything from marketing your business to making your Web site e-commerce ready.