TURN ANY HOBBY INTO A PART-TIME BUSINESS

 

If you are planning on beginning a business, your best bet is to start out

part-time while you are still earning a full-time income at your present

job. If you are like most people who are existing from payday to payday -

you don't have a lot of money to invest in a full-time business. No need

to worry! Just use your favorite hobby as your business base and grow from

there! There's no telling where you'll be at 2 or 3 years down the road.

Perhaps you can even tell your present boss to "take that job and shove

it." Wouldn't that be great?

 

Using your present hobby or favorite pastime as your business base has

many benefits. Why? Because ANY business you decide to become involved in

should be doing something you LOVE _ something you believe in _ something

that you would work at NO MATTER what income it would generate. This will

give you the stamina to see your business through the beginning hard times

and times when there is more work to do than you can handle. We all know

the feeling of doing a job that we hate to do. There is no way we can give

it 110% of our abilities because we procrastinate getting through it and

just want to get it over with. That's why it is vitally important to

dearly love the product or service you have chosen to build your business

around.

 

Do you like cooking? Start a recipe newsletter for others who like the

same thing and sell your recipes by publishing a simple booklet. Do you

enjoy making crafts? Sell them through mail order (be sure and mark up the

price for shipping and handling). Do you enjoy working on cars? Print and

distribute flyers in your neighborhood listing your prices. Offer a coupon

discount for the customer to use on their first auto repair job. Do you

enjoy writing? Write a small booklet or how-to manual and sell it through

mail order or to multi-level enthusiasts. Do you enjoy computer programming?

Write a program and sell through shareware groups or even to mail order

computer owners.

 

Yes - just about anything you love doing can be magically transformed

into a business opportunity for you. Some items may only sell well in your

neighborhood, while some products and services do well in mail order. If

you decide to sell through mail order, all you need to do is write a simple

ad and have it typeset. Start out with a smaller 1-inch, 2-inch or 3-inch

ad. Ask the customer to send a "first-class stamp" or "$1.00" for more

information. When they write you, include a 8 1/2x11 sheet detailing your

prices. Make sure you have a small order form to make it easy to order your

product or service. And of course _ include a cover letter stating that you

appreciate their inquiry and look forward to doing business with them in

the near future. You'd be surprised how many sales have been lost because

a business didn't take the time to write a cover letter and personalize the

mailing.

 

Also, start educating yourself by reading and researching other home-based

businesses. Before I opened up my business I read national publications

like "Small Business Opportunities," "Entrepreneur," "Home Office

Computing," and "Spare Time Magazine." Although there were some full page

ads in there filled with hype (claiming to make me $1 million dollars with

a sheet of paper) _ the articles are excellent. Don't spend more than $3

for information in the beginning of your business because if a company is

legitimate you should be able to call them and discuss the opportunity over

the phone with them. Businesses that claim to put you in business

overnight should never demand a large amount of money from you. On the

contrary _ legitimate businesses have nothing to hide and will not charge

you more than a few dollars in postage to learn the "whole" story behind

their claims. Instead _ use these publications, as well as books from the

library on starting a business to further your knowledge of the world.

 

Another good move on your part is to invest a few hours by attending a

meeting that is sponsored by SCORE from the Small Business Administration

in your area. It's free _ and the valuable information you obtain from

actual people who have been in business before is something that will be

extremely valuable in the months ahead. Just call the SBA to find out more

information.

 

Yes - it's that easy! Of course, this is only the beginning. As with any

hobby, it will take time (probably many months) to realize a profit but

think of it this way: Most people that have a hobby know they have to spend

money to take part in their hobby. It only makes sense to invest money in

advertising your hobby to others so you can eventually make some of that

money back in sales for your own business!