Earn money by completing 10 passionate hobbies

Earn Money

I always enjoy painting, drawing, and whatever else provides me with the creative outlet I need. I never knew these are great hobbies that make money.

I’ve been working primarily with digital media, rather than painting and writing. Yeah, it may sound lucky, but I’m not that lucky. It was all hard work getting to this point.

For the past 5 years, I have been doing side projects. In addition to freelance writing and design work, I also run multiple blogs. Managing these on top of my full-time job as a software engineer can be tough sometimes, but it’s what makes me the happiest in life. However, I am currently working on transforming my business from a sole proprietorship to an LLC by working on my strategy and how to go about it full-time.

I’ve been working and trying to start a business for myself for the past 2 and a half years, but I’ve had to shift my focus at different times. The goal I never lost sight of was starting a full-time business with the skills and passions that I love.

Who says you can’t make money doing what you love?

It’s never too late to reach your goals. As you get closer, it can be a good idea to explore different hobbies that have the potential for making money and turning into full-time businesses. This list includes 43 ideas for things you may not have considered.

1. Writing

As I’m earning money from writing, why not start with that?

As a writer, I enjoy writing in different styles because it engages my readers and helps me think critically about what I am saying. The best thing about writing is that there are so many ways to monetize your work, from self-publishing to freelance writing.

Various ways of bringing in cash with a composing side interest:

• Blogging (most money comes from advertising placed on the blog, affiliate marketing, and sponsorships) — see #14 below for more information.
• Work as a freelance writer for other blogs and websites.
• Create and sell electronic books.
• Write articles for publications.
• Advertisement copywriting

2. Reading

If you’ve ever flipped through your Facebook feed and noticed ads for online book clubs, then it shouldn’t come as a surprise to find out that you can get paid to read. These “readers” are usually paid for reviewing the books they read but can also be employed for other forms of editing such as freelance editing and copyediting.

Sites that pay readers for book reviews:

• Online Book Club
• The U.S. Review of Books
• Booklist Online

Other ways to make money with a reading hobby:

• The narration of an audiobook
• Manuscripts are read by freelancers.
• Make a publishing company.
• Become a proofreader on the internet.

3. Social Media

More and more people are using social media as a part of their daily lives. While many enjoy it, they’ve also managed to find ways to make businesses by managing social media for others.

In addition to simply managing an online social media presence, there are other ways to make money doing what you love:

• Turn into a brand minister and get compensated by a brand to advance their items
• Have posts supported by brands
• Review other web-based entertainment profiles for clients

4. Pet Loving

As a pet lover myself, I tried out various pet-related niches and as it would so happen, they all worked!

Last summer, I started Rover, and I signed up for three cat-sitting jobs. Each one was only 30 minutes per day and I made $45 off of each one. You had to go to their house and play with the cat while they were gone!

That was it.

I know many dog walkers and pet sitters who can make a full-time living by just doing what they love — walking and caring for animals. I’ve seen people start their pet care businesses thanks to their pastime.

Other ways to make money by loving pets:

• Grooming services for pets
• Photographing animals
• Make pet clothes and sell them on Etsy.

5. Graphic Design

When it comes to your love of graphic design, you can easily make money using sites like Creative Market and Etsy. You can sign up to become a seller on those sites, upload your designs, and market them with ads or specific promotions.

Other ways to bank off of graphic design:

• On Fiverr or Upwork, offer design services.
• Create a website with a subscription service that allows users to obtain new designs every week or month.
• Your website may be used to sell your graphic design services.
• Using businesses like Printful and Printify, you can create designs and have them printed on t-shirts and other goods.

6. Painting

As I said, I love painting. It’s one of my first side hustles that I’ve never really tried to push.

In college, I would paint at live shows and festivals and usually sold all of my paintings. I also had some of my work displayed at a gallery for a while.

Unfortunately, I just never got around to continuing with it. As life slowed down and I started working in IT, the time for painting became more limited.

Other ways to make money with a painting hobby:

• Sell artwork on Etsy
• Sell them at bistros
• Make an Instagram and sell them there straightforwardly with individuals and take installments through Venmo

7. Building

This is an interesting one. I can’t build anything to save my life, but there are lots of people who love it and are already making decent money from it on platforms like Handy.

Handy is an app where you can book jobs like installing ceiling fans or handy work. For example, after 4 hours of working through Handy, my reader was able to make $140.

8. Illustration

I love using Creative Market for all sorts of different things. The website is like a one-stop, virtual store for design resources. You can find all kinds of themes, plugins, and templates. And if you’re looking for specific products within each section (illustrations, Photoshop files, etc.), they’re broken down so it’s easy to search through them.

You could design a few illustrations and sell them on Etsy or on there.

Other ways to make money from your illustrations:

• On Fiverr or Upwork, offer illustration services.
• Use services like Zazzle to print them on t-shirts.

9. Running

I love running, but, indeed, I don’t have enough time to focus on a business right now. But for someone who is a running and fitness fanatic over anything else, try to think about how you can leverage that.

10. Hiking

Hiking is a fun activity and you can even get paid to take others hiking if you enjoy it.

Airbnb Experiences are available in your city and provide you with an opportunity to offer experiences that can be tailored to the specific location you’re in. For example, an experienced tour of your local state park where you can lead guided hikes or share some of the interesting aspects of that park. You can monetize your love for the outdoors by offering advice. A good idea is to charge around $50-$100 per person for each trip and focus on one region at a time.