This guide outlines 11 money making hobbies that you can turn into a lucrative side hustle — or even perhaps take full-time!
Have you been looking for a way to make more money? Do you want to start a business but can’t quit your job? Are you tired of your dead-end job and ready for work that you enjoy and is fulfilling?
More people than ever are trying to break away from the traditional work environment, and starting a side hustle that can generate a bit of extra income is one way to get started working on that goal. What a lot of people don’t realize is that the money making hobbies they already have can be a good side hustle.
11 money making hobbies
Here are some of the money making hobbies that people are turning into side hustles
Photography
If you have a talent for photography, you can offer your services as a freelance photographer for events or stock photo websites. While it can be hard to get subpar photos to sell on stock image sites, those who have professional-level photos have been able to turn this one of the popular money making hobbies into a successful side income in this way.
You can also make money through photography if you offer portraiture and event photography, like wedding and graduation photos. There are many courses available online to help people advance their photography skills to a professional level.
Woodworking
Woodworking is one of the money making hobbies that can be a good side hustle for those who have the equipment and know how to build. From furniture and home decor to backyard chicken houses and pet houses, there are a lot of people seeking custom woodworking.
Some hobbyists prefer to work on commission, creating items that people ask them to build because there is less risk, and materials are often paid for up-front. Other carpenters enjoy following their own creative lead, making things that they plan and design themselves such as a popular river epoxy table or farmhouse table. They then sell these items at craft fairs or online.
Crafting
If you enjoy making handmade goods such as jewelry, clothing, or home decor, you can sell them on online marketplaces like Etsy or at local craft fairs. This can work especially well among the money making hobbies if you have an unusual or practical craft niche.
Selling items that aren’t common or that people need to buy for practical reasons can help you make more sales. Some items, like quilts and home decor items, can sell for substantial amounts while other things sell for less but take less time to create.
Another way to make money crafting is by offering lessons, classes, or group sessions. Some people have created successful businesses offering group painting, ceramics, or sign-making classes that people book with family or friend groups.
This is often done to celebrate events such as birthdays or anniversaries, but it is also a way to have fun on any occasion. Most group classes offer fun snacks or drinks along with the crafting lesson.
Blogging
If you have a passion for writing and a particular area of expertise, you can start a blog and monetize it through advertising or affiliate marketing. While it can take a long time to create a successful, profitable niche site, once enough posts are written it can become a sustainable, passive income source, only requiring occasional updating and monitoring.
These sites can even be sold later for a substantial amount, after you are finished using them as money making hobbies. Learn how to create a successful, ranking website by taking an online course or by using free videos and articles.
Cooking or Baking
If you have culinary skills, you can offer your services as a personal chef or caterer for events. Caterers often make a lot of money but they have to learn how to be organized, and efficient, and usually need to hire help to manage large events.
This can be a good one of the money making hobbies that can lead you to start a business as a side hustle because most events take place on weekends or evenings and can fit around a regular work schedule. Later, as the business grows, it could become a full-time job.
Another option for money making hobbies as side hustles is baking. Many people have started successful cake and cookie decorating businesses alongside their regular jobs. Baking and decorating cakes for events such as weddings, birthdays, and company parties can be a good way to make money. Other people prefer to work on their own terms and sell baked goods at craft fairs, farmer’s markets, and out of their homes.
Fitness Training
If you have experience in fitness and health, you can become a personal trainer or fitness instructor, offering services to individuals or groups. This is a good option for those who have education or training in healthcare or fitness, such as coaches or health instructors.
By working on the side with people who want to become healthier, you can help people while also making money. Because evenings and weekends are hot times for fitness classes, it is easy to schedule sessions when they are most needed while also holding down a normal job. Eventually, with enough customers, you might be able to start a full-time fitness business.
Content Creation
Writers, designers, filmers, and photographers who know how to produce quality work can build successful money making hobbies around content creation. Businesses and social media platforms need constant sources of new content to post, and most owners and managers prefer to outsource this creation.
Freelancers can get paid to create content for these companies, whether it is written content, videos, photography, drawings, or a combination of these. The more skills you have and the more professional you are, the better you will be paid for your content and the more clients you will have. Some people have successfully created full-time careers around content creation.
Pet Sitting and Dog Walking
If you love animals, you can offer pet sitting or dog walking services to pet owners in your area. Depending on where you live, this may be more or less in demand. Pet sitting services can be great money making hobbies offered out of your home, where you can keep pets in a familiar family-centered environment. Many pets do poorly if they are kenneled or kept in boarding facilities, so home-centered sitting can be a big need in some places.
In cities and other populated places where backyards are rare and many people live in apartments, dog walking can be a very in-demand hustle. Talented people can offer training along with dog walking and can coordinate clients so that they can walk several dogs at once, thereby making more money. Many people need their dog walked in the middle of the normal workday, so this might be best as a side hustle for students or people who work unusual hours.
Music
If you have musical talents, you can offer music lessons or perform at events. Lessons can be highly valued by people who want their children to learn this skill, and lessons can continue for years. If you work well with children and have a good understanding of music, tutoring or offering music and singing lessons in the evening can potentially be a lucrative business.
Other people prefer to start a side business performing at events, such as weddings and dinners. Performing at venues such as restaurants and bars can also be a way to make some money and have fun.
Gardening
If you have a green thumb, you can offer gardening services such as landscaping design, plant maintenance, or even start a plant nursery. Landscaping design can be a fun and interesting challenge for people who understand plants and design theory as one of the outdoor money making hobbies. Once the design is created, you can also do the planting and maintenance for a long-term side hustle or business.
Other people make money with plants by growing a large garden and selling vegetables and flowers at local markets. Finally, you can even make money by growing and propagating house plants and garden plants and selling them.
Tutoring
If you have a strong background in education, a specific subject area like science or math, or have experience as a teacher, you could start a money-making tutoring business on the side. You could even combine tutoring services with after-school care and homework help to give busy families easier and more relaxed evenings. Tutoring usually pays by the hour, and since it is done in the evenings or on weekends, it can fit nicely around a teaching job or other regular work hours.
Conclusion
No matter what hobby or interest you have, with some outside-the-box thinking and creativity, you can find a way to turn them into money making hobbies or ventures. Many of these businesses can even be started with little or no capital since they are hobbies or interests and you are likely to already have the knowledge and materials needed to get started.
