What if I told you that you can earn extra money from the hobbies you already enjoy? Earning money on the side not only helps you reach your financial goals faster, but it can be a way to perfect skills or crafts you enjoy doing.
The truth is, the more you enjoy doing a side hustle, the more likely you are to make money off of it. It can be very difficult to find motivation to do things you don’t enjoy, but by focusing on making money off of a hobby, you can actually have fun while making extra money. Here are 15 popular hobbies that can be turned into profitable side hustles.
1) Making Music
Are you skilled musically, whether it is instrumental or vocal? There are many ways you can make money off of your musical talent.
People are constantly looking to hire musicians for events such as corporate gatherings, weddings, or festivals. No matter what your musical skill is, you can earn extra money by finding gigs. And it pays well. I know for our wedding, the organist for our church charged $500 for a short 30 minute ceremony, just to provide one example.
2) Writing
Writing is one of my favorite hobbies, and I earn money through blogging and freelance writing. And not only do I make money through doing something I enjoy, but writing allows me to research and learn about topics that I am interested in (like personal finance), fulfilling two of my hobbies.
If you are interested in making money by becoming a freelance writer, I highly recommend starting a blog and then reaching out to other bloggers and companies that you are interested in writing for. A blog acts like a portfolio of all of your own writing works, and helps to increase your marketability ten-fold.
3) Coding
There is ample potential to make money through coding. Whether you can write programs, develop websites, or something else, you can earn a premium through your technical knowledge.
Coders can take on as big or as small of projects as they want. They can even code website templates and sell the template over and over again, making for an easy side hustle.
4) Photography
Photography is an art, and it seems like photographers are always in demand. Weddings, family portraits, newborn photos, and engagement photos are all just a few instances where people are looking to hire a photographer.
I know when I was looking for wedding photographers in the city where I live, I was astonished at how much some photographers charged. On average, it seemed like one day of photography cost anywhere from $3,000-10,000 or more. If a wedding photographer charges $5,000 a wedding, for instance, they would only have to work at 20 weddings in a year to make $100,000, which is more than enough to become a full-time job.
5) Fitness
Are you constantly at the gym and addicted to fitness? If you are passionate about working out, you could earn money by sharing that passion with others through teaching and motivating as a personal trainer.
To become a personal trainer, there are likely classes you have to take to get certified before you can start marketing your services. You can either work for a gym directly, or go out on your own as an individual personal trainer.
6) Teaching
Teaching and tutors are in demand for just about every skill or subject. You could be a piano teacher, a math tutor, or a tutor for just about anything.
Teachers and tutors who are very knowledgeable can charge a premium for their services. I have a friend who charges $100 an hour for her tutoring services in middle school science. At that rate, she could work only 10 hours a month and earn an extra $1,000!
7) Baking
It takes someone with skill to bake delicious and artistic looking treats. For those who are skilled at baking, it can easily become a money-making side hustle.
With baking, you mostly would be preparing desserts for events, whether it is weddings, baby showers, birthdays, or other. If you have beginner baking skills, cooking stores and craft stores, like Michaels, often will have baking and decorating classes you can enroll in for cheap.
8) Crafting
Do you enjoy DIY projects? Are you visionary enough to make something beautiful from scratch? If you love to craft your own decorations, jewelry, art, or other handmade items, there are plenty of ways you can make money by selling them.
You can start your own online Etsy shop, which is an online marketplace that allows you to open your own digital store. Thousands of people check Etsy every day for handmade goods, so you already will have a customer base.
Another way you can sell your items is locally and in-person. Plenty of cities provide regular markets and craft fairs for you to sell your goods and make extra money.
9) Shopping
Who knew you could make extra money by shopping? Whether you enjoy shopping for clothing, antiques, accessories, or furniture, you can make purchases and resell it for extra money.
Designer purchases and vintage clothing pieces do particularly well when being resold because they are rare and in higher demand. Apps like Poshmark make it easy to sell.
10) Graphic Design
Though many people can do a few graphic design basics, it takes a true artist to do well in graphic design. Companies, charities, bloggers, and many other people all need graphic designers to help them with their material.
If you are interested in getting started with your own graphic design side hustle, consider starting an interactive website to showcase some of your work.
11) Carpentry
Anyone who can build and be handy around the house can use those skills to earn extra money. If carpentry is something you enjoy, ask around to see if any friends, family, or neighbors could use your services.
12) Coaching
Coaches are always in demand in every sport and age range. For anyone passionate about a particular sport, coaching can be a great way to fulfill that interest and help others along the way.
Perhaps the best part about coaching is that it is a seasonal side hustle, so you only have to dedicate part of the year to it. You can pick a sport that works best for your schedule.
13) Blogging
Perhaps our favorite hobby to turn into a side hustle, blogging is an excellent way to make extra money on the side. Most of us started our blogs as hobbies, only to start making money along the way.
There are many ways you can make money through blogging, including advertising, sponsorships, and affiliate marketing. The best part about blogging is that you get to run your blog exactly how you want.
14) Mechanics
Mechanical skills are always in demand, and I know as a consumer, I would much rather take my car to be fixed by someone I know than to a shop. If you have the tools and skills to work on basic mechanics, why not start advertising and charging for your services?
15) Taking Care of Pets
If you love animals, you can earn good money by pet sitting or dog walking. You can either market to people you know, or you can sign up for websites like Care.com or Rover.com to market your services.
You’d be surprised by how much money you can earn through taking care of other people’s pets. You can charge $30 to take a pet in for the night to watch it at your own home. Do this for a week, and you could earn over $200, just by having an extra pet in your home.
Have you ever turned a hobby into a side hustle? Are there other hobbies you think you could earn money from?
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Great list Rachel!
It’s funny, I totally agree with your comment that “the more you enjoy doing a side hustle, the more likely you are to make money off of it.” I’ve been working for 13 years in a position that I didn’t enjoy and have never earned as much money as I felt I’m capable of.
I recently started a blog about personal finance, and even though I don’t make any money with it – I find myself gravitating to this blog with much more enthusiasm and excitement than I ever have in my day job as a lawyer. Not to mention, our finances have already started to improve with all that I am learning.
Keep up the good work!
The Bearded Money Guy (“BMG”)
The best part about side hustles is when you are empowered by what you do, it really can be pretty much up to you on how much you want to make. Thanks for the comment!
Really interesting list:D
Thanks, Giulia!
Do not forget the easy ones too, which can make a ton of cash money. Mowing grass, cleaning houses, shoveling sidewalks and driveways, etc. Manual labor is not as much fun, but generates a lot of money and there are always people in need of it.
Great point, though I don’t know if I would consider manual labor a personal hobby. But that certainly doesn’t mean they can’t be great ways to make money if you don’t mind doing it.
Graphic Design is a great one, and a seriously under-rated skill! There isn’t a company in existence that doesn’t need a graphic designer, and it is so much more difficult than people think to get the design elements right. If I had an eye for design, I’d be reaching out to all those small businesses with the terrible 2004 websites to show them how a professional look could translate to business growth.
I thought about that too, as I wrote this! I am definitely no graphic designer, and even though I think I have a decent eye for design, I know I personally would definitely consider investing in a graphic designer for my website in the future. It is tedious for me to do when I have no experience (or patience!) in design.
Blogging and writing in general turned out to be a great way for me to earn!
I never would have thought, I was never good at writing essays in school :D
Somehow though, starting a first blog 10 years ago was enough to get me going. I discovered a hobby I never thought would one day turn into something profitable.
That’s great to hear that you turned a hobby into a side income! Though I only started a few years ago, I too was surprised to figure out I could earn money by writing and blogging.
“The truth is, the more you enjoy doing a side hustle, the more likely you are to make money off of it.”
This is so true! We flip houses on the side, for some extra income. And it takes a ton of work! It’s not fun sometimes to go look at properties or check on contractors on your nights and weekends.
No matter what your side hustle is, the reality is that it is going to cut into your free time. You have to really like doing it in order to sacrifice your nights and weekends. Liking your side hustle for a reason other than the money is crucial.
I love blogging! It’s my new found hobby and I’m enjoying every step!
Glad to hear! We love blogging, too :)