Got a hobby you want to monetise this year?
If you’re reading this because you’re wondering how best to go about it, this collaborative post is for you!
Running a small business is an excellent way to generate income and support your household – and it’s even better if that business is built around something you love to do anyway, such as a hobby.
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Small and medium-sized enterprises account for 99.9% of the business population in the UK alone if the figures are to be believed, and by the start of 2022 there were 5.5 million private sector businesses.
So, if you fancy joining the millions of people who have already turned their hobbies into a small business here are 7 ways to help make it a success.
7 ways to turn your hobby into a business
1. Create a strategy
Creating a business out of a hobby is an excellent idea; it means that you don’t dread getting up in the morning and you can enjoy the time you spend making a living. However, there are some differences between a hobby and a business, so creating a strategy is a must.
Think about what you are offering and how it can help other people to improve their quality of life. For example, if you’d like to support people with disabilities, make sure you do your research on how to start a disability support business and ensure you have a goal in mind.
Position yourself in a niche and create compelling content to engage your audience and bring them to your website. These days, the best strategies are often content marketing and social media.
2. Do your research
Running a hobby business is not all fun and games; there is work to be done as well. One of the first items on the agenda is researching your competitors. You need to know how to position yourself in the industry, what customers to target, and how much to charge for your services.
All of this can be done through a process of market research and competitor analysis. If you are new to these terms, don’t panic – there is plenty of information online about how to research your competition and create a pricing strategy that works. Software and analytics also play a role.
3. Focus on self-development
Don’t forget about self-development for your small business. If you are selling a product or service that you enjoy in your free time, the chances are you have researched and practiced the topic fairly regularly. Still, you can expect plenty of developments in the field, so keep learning.
Career and professional development is a feature of most careers and professions, so why should your small business be any different? Find out about online workshops and virtual classrooms where you can learn about the latest practices and industry developments.
4. Promote yourself
Learn how to promote yourself, and you will hit the ground running with your start-up idea. Businesses of all sizes need marketing and promotions to ensure they stay relevant and visible in their niche.
Content marketing is the process of creating high-quality content for your industry. It doesn’t necessarily have to relate to your business, but there should be some connection. Social media is also an indispensable tool whether you want more visibility or you want to promote products.
5. Build an online presence
If you want to build an online business, you need excellent visibility. It’s best to start with the basics, and that means Google My Business. Make sure you are listed on Google as a business and you have a functional website and you can then focus on social media and content.
Building an online presence is a long game. It is also fairly community-oriented, so be prepared to connect with your audience on a personal level and make your processes transparent. Consider an ecommerce integration platform to ease the process and make it easier to find your target niche. An online presence is invaluable, and once it starts growing, it will need to be carefully cultivated.
6. Get creative with your time
When it comes to running your own business, there is never enough time! If you have made the shift from a conventional working environment to a home business situation, you might find yourself working late and feeling overwhelmed a lot of the time. So get creative with your time.
Consider outsourcing certain tasks with the help of a Customer Service Virtual Assistant who can handle admin such as incoming calls and chat enquiries, leaving you free to focus on bigger tasks such as promoting yourself and building your online presence.
It helps if you set some standards from the start regarding how often you are prepared to work at your small business. Remember to give yourself enough time to switch off and relax, which is easier said than done, but you’ll get the hang of it! Find ways to control your workloads and clients.
7. Be business minded
It might be a hobby, but now it is a business, so you need to put on your business hat and start thinking like one. A business requires a quality product or service to sell – one that stands out from the competition with a unique selling point – but it needs to have an accountant as well.
Whether you choose to manage the accounts in your business or you hire a professional, numbers form the foundation of your business and are the secret to your success. If you aren’t business-minded in this way, you might think about taking a course and developing your skills.
This is a collaborative post.
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