Nadeem Wasil started writing short stories and poems seven years ago as a hobby. At that time, his only aim was to complete his MBA and get a decent job in a decent company. Seven years later, this Kashmiri boy has worked for produc-tion houses like Dharma Productions and also assisted several writers with their scripts. In the meantime, he also got a job with ING Vyasya with a decent salary assured. And writ-ing, which started as a hobby seven years ago, has become a second source of income for him. On an average, he earns Rs 30000-40000 per month from writing scripts and plays.

Mumbai-based Shamoly Khera is a qualified cosmetic physician who runs a chain of beauty and slimming centres. However, it was her love for acting that brought her to the Prithvi Theatre first. After doing theatre as a hobby for some time, she has successfully made a name for herself and has delivered successful performances at Prithvi and the NCPA, in the meantime winning roles in some short films as well. At present, her monthly take-home from theatre ranges from Rs 15000 to Rs 25000.

Another interesting case is that of Sharad Kale, who is a teacher by profession and took to painting as a hobby in 1996. Egged on by family and friends, he began exhibiting Nhis work on a small level. Since then, he has come a long way and has held exhibitions in places like the Jehangir Art Gallery, Art Enchante Gallery, the World Trade Centre in Indonesia and so on. His monthly take-home from paint-ings generally exceeds his salary as a teacher.

Wonder, what is common between all these individuals? They are among the new crop of people who, while being safely ensconced in their jobs, also make extra money from honing their hobbies. Still confused about how someone can make money from his/her hobbies? After all, hobbies are something that you pursue in your leisure, isn’t that so? Sorry to disappoint you, but that is not the case any longer. In the present times of rising inflation, people are looking for different means of earning that extra bit. And what bet-ter way to do it that to earn money from what you enjoy doing and are also good at?

Hobbies can be fun. They are often the de-stressing fac-tor we need to get away from our hectic work schedules. Different people have different hobbies. Some like writing in their free time while others are enthusiastic about photog-raphy. However, the journey from a plain hobby to earning money from it can be really tricky. Pursuing a hobby as just that has its advantages and disadvantages and the same goes  for taking your hobby to the next level.

Before jumping guns, you must keep in mind that a person has many hobbies or s/he is good at various things. However, s/he cannot make money from each of his hob-bies. So, recognising your strength is very important. Equally critical is to sustain that talent for a longer period

.“Even while I was pursuing my medical education, I was actively involved in the college theatre. Appreciation always poured in from all sides and that’s when you know it’s not just your vanity misguiding you into it; you are actually good at it. I always had an inclination towards the perform-ing arts and when the annual college fest stage seemed small for what I had to offer, I knew I had to hunt for a bigger platform,” says Shamoly.

Amit Grover, Founder, Nurture Talent Academy, says, “A person has interest in so many things. It could be possible that a boy is interested in writing and singing and is good at both. However, he must choose what works for him best. The best way to decide is live with your idea for 100 days. In that period, you must also think about the approach and how you want to market your skills. Once you decide all these factors, you are ready to give wings to your dreams.”[PAGE BREAK]

Challenges To Face

Agreed that you will not get rich just by playing your vio-lin at weddings or by weaving baskets from pine needles, but earning money from a hobby is a nice way to get paid for doing something you would do anyhow. However, you must remember one thing: it looks rosy from outside, but once you get into the water, you get to realise the depth. Striking a balance between family, your job and the part-time career can take its own toll. It is not at all easy to manage all the things and you have to be on your toes 24x7. Similarly, you should be ready to face setbacks in the beginning.

Ashish D’souza, a senior marketing executive with Ethinos Digital Marketing, has been playing guitar since childhood. He formed a band, ‘Cornerstone’, recently along with a few friends. They play at various parties and festivals. D’souza states that during the initial years of the band, it was highly exciting. However, as time passed, it became more and more hectic. “To earn more money, we accepted invitations for each and every show.” Attending office during the day and parties in the night started taking a toll on him. His mental as well as physical health suffered.“

One day, I sat down and asked myself, ‘What are you doing?’ Money is not the priority for the band. It’s sheer love for music. From then onwards I decided to strike a balance.

Henceforth, we play only on week-ends or during holidays. Now it’s going pretty smooth and we earn about Rs 20000 per month,” says Ashish.

Shamoly adds, “There is a lot of convincing you may have to do. Not every person really has a strong artistic inclination or the mandatory desire to prove themselves in alternative careers. So, if your parents/seniors/colleagues are the conventional kind, getting bogged down by cynicism and comments on failed attempts is just natural. But hold yourself together and do not jump into anything without prior research.”

However, the best part about playing your hobby is that you may rehearse/practise/write whenever your day jobs are done and you would never really be tired of it.

A Few ‘Paying’ Hobbies

Painting

If you are artistically inclined and enjoy painting as one of your hobbies, you may want to consider turning out that hobby into actually earning money for yourself. If you do actual paintings of different objects and subjects one great way to get started is to look and see if there are any local galleries in town. You can call a few of them and see if they are accepting works from local artists who are trying to get started on their own. Another route is through exhibitions. Online auction sites are also very popular places for painters to sell their work. They are fairly inexpensive to place your items for sale and they get a lot of traffic.[PAGE BREAK]

Photography

The simplest way is to go out and shoot high-quality photos, upload them onto a stock Website and then wait for people to buy them (for use in magazines, Websites, designs – you name it). You can also take digital photos of a convention, church, business, college campus, or other pro-motable locations and create a digital slideshow on a video CD or DVD for your customers to promote their business, organisation or event.

Singing

Look for opportunities in your own hometown/city and a lot of niches you haven’t considered. Instead of dreaming about being the next lead singer for a Grammy Award win-ning band, set your sights on opportunities in your local area. The greater exposure you get even on a small scale, the more likely you’ll be able to parlay your talents into something larger. Besides, start exploring platforms such as nearby wed-dings, small concerts, bars and restaurants and so on.

Writing

Gone are the days when writers used to beg publishers to get their books published. In this tech-savvy age, various online Websites offer you the option of getting your books published online. Also, if you like writing short stories or articles, get in touch with local magazines and start working on a freelance basis.

Gardening

If you like gardening, you can actually make a lot of money from it. There are many moneymaking options with herbs. You can start a ‘home herb nursery’ and sell potted herbs. Also you can grow organic vegetables and sell them to friends and neighbours at discounted rates. They will also be happy and you can make some money while doing what you enjoy. 

Making A Second Career: A Few Tips

Focus On Something You LovePursue something you’re passionate about. Choose a hobby that you enjoy and find a way to make money from it. Don’t choose a hobby simply because it might make money and then dive into it with that aim in mind. You should be pursuing this hobby because you love it; any side-income should be secondary. Keep it fun. Don’t let it become a chore.

Be Creative

If you’re interested in making money from a hobby, but don’t know where to start, think outside the box. What skills do you have that others don’t? Define the term ‘hobby’ broadly. Find something that you can do that most others cannot, something for which other people might be willing to pay.

Don’t Force It

Your hobby will not make you rich. In most cases, it won’t even net you enough to allow you to quit your day job. It’s quite possible, however, to earn enough money to make the hobby self-sustaining, to keep yourself in new tools and equipment.

Don’t Underestimate Your Ability

It’s easy to discount your abilities. When you truly love something, your prolonged experience can give you skills and knowledge that you don’t appreciate. [PAGE BREAK]

Market Yourself

This can be difficult. In order to actually earn money, you need customers. But just as most people have a ten-dency to underestimate their abilities, they also tend to be uncomfortable about self-promotion. There’s no shame in mentioning your money-making hobby to friends, family and neighbours. You need not be pushy. Just mention it at natural points in the conversation. If you’ve decided to do some woodwork for cash, mention this when your uncle mentions he wants to buy a new bookshelf. Marketing can be subtle, but it’s an absolute necessity if you hope to earn money from your hobby. People need to know you’re avail-able before they hire you.

Hone Your Skill

Practise, practise, and practise! The more time and energy you’re willing to devote to your hobby, the better you will become. The better you become, the more likely it will be that you’ll be able to earn money from it. Photography is a terrific example. If you’re willing to make, say, 100 images a day, you can improve your skills quickly, especially if you teach yourself about composition. You may never become a professional photographer this way, but you can develop your skill to the point where you can sell images to stock photo agencies or enter (and win) photography contests.

Dos and Don’ts

• Being talented and passionate is one thing and honing it for a professional career is another – so make sure you are as good as the people pursuing it as a full-time career

• Always keep your eyes open for an opportunity that may serve as a platform to showcase your skill 

• Meet people from your career of interest 

• Initially, you may have to invest money into your hobby and may not be paying at all and that’s when keeping a stable career option makes sense

• Insecurities and irregular graphs are a part of artistic and creative fields, so it’s all about trying until you are com-pletely satisfied with the outcome