Grow Your Hobby Into a Thriving Business

Grow Your Hobby Into a Thriving Business

by Micah Norris

 

If your hobby is your passion, then it makes sense you’d want to turn it into a business. In fact, you may have even heard this from friends and family, but you’re not sure where to start.

 

Is There a Market?

 

You should probably begin with an honest assessment of whether or not there is a demand for what you create. Conduct your own research to find out if there is a market for your product or service. You don’t have to hire a firm or spend a lot of money right away on that research. You can use social media sites you’re already a part of. You can create polls and questionnaires on your personal Facebook page or to people on your list of email contacts.

 

Or you can spend some time online looking at products similar to yours and see how much they sell for and if there appears to be a consumer base. And the Small Business Administration has a lot of good market information on its site as well.

 

 

Now It’s Time to Plan

 

Once you’ve decided there’s a market for your product, it’s time to plan how to set up a business. Whether you want to start as a side business or go all in and make it your full-time job, you’ll need to create a business plan.

 

This is a critical task since it will help you outline all the steps you’ll need to take to get your business off the ground. It will outline your goals and define your market strategies, financial projections, and product inventory. You can find a lot of resources online for how to write a business plan, as well as templates that you plug all your data into.

 

 

Create an Online Presence

 

You’ll need a website to be competitive in today’s marketplace. If you want to create one yourself, there are sites that can help you make your own customized website. If you’re not comfortable doing that yourself or you want it to be more professional looking, and especially if you want to have the ability to sell from your website, then your best option is to hire a freelance web designer.

 

Social media platforms can be a powerful marketing tool that can reach a huge audience. Facebook for business allows you to choose how much you want to spend on ads and allows you to filter for your target audience. You can create a special cover image for your Facebook business page yourself that can help your business page stand out and look professional.

If You’re Working With a Team

 

You’ll need to coordinate all your tasks with your team to keep everyone on task. Having a shared calendar is a great tool to keep everyone on the same page.

 

Try project management software, like Trello, which will allow you to collaborate with team members in real-time. Or Zoho Projects, which is cloud-based and helps you plan projects and collaborate with remote team members.

Get a Business Education

 

Getting a business degree can be an excellent way to grow your small business into a not-so-small business. A business education will give you a firm foundation of finance, accounting, marketing, management, and communication skills.

 

If you’re interested in obtaining a business degree online, this may be a good option. Getting your online bachelor’s degree in business here, you’ll even be able to obtain certificates in areas that interest you, like business analytics, entrepreneurship, and more.

 

Starting a business is a huge accomplishment, and turning your hobby into a business can be extremely gratifying and rewarding. By following some tried-and-true strategies, getting an education in business as a foundation, and using some great collaborative tools, your dream of entrepreneurship is just around the corner.

 

Global multimedia brand, Nexxlegacy, is dedicated to providing direction to help strengthen aspiring artists and businesses in growing and enhancing their personal goals and aspirations. They have the tools to educate children and adults across the world in building a legacy and carrying out a commitment to give back to others based on our effort, hard work, and determination.