Investing Wisely From a Hobby to a Career
Do what you love, and the money will follow. – Unknown
net a great return. If it is priced too low, the seller
could be giving away their heart and soul.
More will be demanded from you. Do you
have it?
It is very important for the hobbyist turned professional to determine the amount of space and
Do what you love, and the money will follow –
Unknown
An entrepreneur at the AGOA forum
In this day and age, people are coming to
terms with the fact that academic pursuits do
not always translate into high flying careers
and legacies of success. If anything, some
people abandon careers built from their academic background for other ventures. For instance a doctor turned musician or a banker
turned into a curios exporter all over the world.
In our column this time around, we share some
key essentials drawn from people who have
made names for themselves and their business by simply capitalizing on a hobby or talent they have. There is this lady I know who
tweezes eyebrows by use of a thread and her
fingers. For each job she charges Kshs. 150
i.e. (USD 1.9). In a day she will attend to approximately 100 clients and that translates to
Kshs. 15,000 per day (USD 190). In a month
assuming 22 working days. You do the math.
For anyone who has ever considered turning
their hobby into a full-time career, here are ten
essentials you need to consider before venturing in that direction.
Don’t let it become all work and no play
Familiarity and repetition can breed contempt
or cause one to take something for granted.
Many times people take up a hobby because it
relaxes them and takes their mind off their
work and worries. Turning a hobby into a career will remove this element. Be sure to consider that this will now be a day in, day out
venture or what was once a passion can
quickly sour.
You are investing time and money. Are you
getting a return on your investment?
It is important to understand how much people
are willing to pay for services or products. Just
because it takes someone five hours and lots
of pain-staking love to put their item together,
doesn’t mean it will have the same value to
other people. That’s why proper pricing becomes crucial. If it is priced too high, it may not
time needed for this venture. Sufficient physical
space for storage of inventory of both unfinished
and finished goods as well as a reasonable number of hours needed each week should be determined in advance. Having a home-based business requires self-determination, discipline, motivation, and lots of hours may be required in the
start-up phase.
Work on the start up costs carefully
Having sufficient financial backing to be able to
meet expected production demands may seem
far-fetched when first starting out, but it is important to be prepared for all situations. This includes investment in equipment such as computers or secondary phone lines. Along with having sufficient finances, it is equally important to
have raw material resources - even if that just
means the shop next door or seeds in your garden.
Know your competition
Whether or not there is a market is a very real
consideration, so it is important to do research to
determine if anyone already offers the product or
service. Even if there is competition, differentiation goes a long way to shoe he heart in your
product where it may be absent for your competitors.
Know the industry
It will be extremely beneficial to know the industry you are venturing into. It helps to know the
high and low seasons if any as well as the varying customer tastes that have to be met. You
also need to know if the industry is influenced by
other markets in more developed countries and if
there is a threshold for all your business.
A little knowledge is as dangerous as no knowledge at all. Equip yourself greatly
Develop a network of professionals who
share the hobby either as a hobby or as a
career
A great way to find out what others are doing is
to network. Whether online social networking or
the traditional networking, you should take the
initiative to find out if there is an association or
organization for the hobby and participate in
events, this way you can learn from other members’ experiences or even find out about the pros
and cons of doing business.
Page 6
Know your market
It is important for any new business
person to consider their customer
base. Are they local? National? Worldwide? For many people who enjoy arts
and crafts and have turned it into their
career, traveling to trade shows is a
large part of the business. However,
traveling all over the country or even
all over the world not only eats into
profits – fuel, show fees, living expenses – but can take up valuable
time. That’s why many have set up
personal websites, but only after traveling the circuit to develop a following.
Not everyt