Money Making Hobbies

Earn Money from Writing on Squidoo.

2011-11-10T01:27:00.000-08:00

If you enjoy writing as a form of hobby or indeed use it to promote your business or other activities, you will love Squidoo! I recently discovered it and quickly became addicted. I certainly find it much more rewarding than plain blogging, which can be disappointing if nobody reads your stuff or bothers to comment. Squidoo is far more interactive in a community sense.

According to Wikipedia, Squidoo.com is a community website that began in 2005 and allows users to create pages (called lenses) for subjects that interest. them. Squidoo now has nearly 2 million hand-built lenses. The creators of lenses are called “lensmasters”.

What I particularly like about Squidoo, is that it also allows content creators to earn revenue from referral links to sites like Amazon.com and Ebay, and several others. These advertising links are primarily under the lensmaster’s control. Some Google Adsense links are also added by the Squidoo people and 50% of the revenue shared amongst all lensmasters under a payment tier system based on ranking. Some experienced lensmasters claim to earn significant monthly incomes from Squidoo. Some voluntarily donate part of their earnings to charity.

Click Here to see some of my Squidoo Lenses

Squidoo uses the concept of a lens (“shining light on a subject”) as its primary feature. Lenses are much like blog posts, except they're on a single subject chosen by the lensmaster. Squidoo contains lenses on dozens of different topics, including Food and Cooking, Green Living, About Me, How to Do It advice, Photograhy, Travel and Places, all kinds of Small Business Ideas and topics like My Favourite Films, TV shows, Music, Stars and Musicians etc. The list is endless and the possibilities are infinite.

Squidoo is very user-friendly and is notable in that it allows users to create multimedia pages without learning HTML, though some knowledge of this can be useful in adding extra enhancements to the content. The pages often achieve built-in popularity due to their association with thousands of other Squidoo pages, and can rank highly on search engines like Google and Yahoo under the Squidoo influence.

As an encouragement, Squidoo engenders a real sense of community spirit by awarding points to lensmasters for almost every small activity in building their own lenses, and visiting, liking and commenting on other peoples lenses. Voting in polls and taking part in quizzes also earn points. Extra points are suddenly awarded for runs of continuous activity, as are Squid Trophies.

All in all, participating on Squidoo is great fun and potentially very rewarding. I recommend it to both budding and experienced writers.

Turn Your Photography Hobby into a Way to Make Money

2009-11-29T10:13:00.000-08:00

These days, in the age of cheap digital cameras, EVERYONE is a photographer!

Remember when only a few years ago you went on holiday with your old point-and-click camera loaded with a 24 exposure film, took a few snapshots such as "me standing by the hotel" or "the kids playing on the beach", and then had to take your film to the chemist to be developed and printed. Those days are well over!!

Now you take your compact, intelligent, digital camera with all its built-in applications and SD memory card, with massive picture storage capacity, and come home with a unique collection of maybe 500/600 photographs, which you can easily upload to your Home PC and instantly send a copy of any picture to any other computer in the world via the Internet. How good is that?

Photography is a worthwhile hobby in itself that is becoming immensely popular. Photographs bring family history alive, they record special events in our lives and create personal memories that last forever.

But, there is another side to photography. They say that "Every picture tells a story" and that "One picture is worth ten thousand words". Advertisers, marketing men, newspaper and magazine people and publishers of all kinds have an insatiable and ever present need for new images to illustrate the messages and words they constantly pump out. That's where you, the hobby photographer come in!

All of these people buy stock photographs by the hundred from agencies, most of whom operate online. There are a few large, long established photographic agencies who only deal with experienced professional photographers, but with the explosion in Internet technology, there are many newer younger agencies working to get established in the business of selling stock images and they need your photographs to build up their online stocks.

All types of photos apart from family snaps are urgently wanted. Scenes of town and country, wildlife, buildings ancient and modern, groups of spectators at public events, sporting moments (unstaged), seasonal and weather pictures, etc, are all eagerly sought. If you took the picture ... it's yours to sell as long as no one's privacy has been violated and in a few obvious cases permission has been obtained.

You can make money from your photographs by uploading them FREE to these agency's websites. Their customers download them in bulk and each time they pick one of your images you get paid. It may normally be only a few pence per picture, but each one can sell over and over and if you have hundreds or even thousands of appealing photographs on offer the money will soon mount up. And if you use several agencies you could soon be earning some serious cash!

Start making a part time living now. Look for photographic agencies advertising online and read their Terms and Conditions. Sign up free and start making money selling some of those thousands of photos 'gathering dust' on your hard disk. Good luck!

Keep Fit, Lose Weight AND Make Money

2009-11-06T10:03:00.000-08:00

A friend of mine at the gym has always been a fitness fanatic. She spent hours at the gym exercising, doing aerobics classes, swimming and consequently kept herself in good shape. She is very particular what and how much she eats and made a point of finding out all about nutrition and healthy diets.

She studied a number of books on fitness, exercise, pilates, yoga, dietary health, etc, and became very knowledgeable about many aspects of keeping fit.

She got a job at a gym helping in the café because she got free use of the gym facilities and could use them at any time she was not on duty. This meant she met a lot more of the members socially and found people started asking her how she kept so fit and what they themselves could do to lose more weight, get fitter, etc.

At first she was happy to help all she could and devised a number of fitness programmes for people. Someone said she should charge a fee for doing this and set herself up as a professional lifestyle coach.

She made enquiries about becoming a personal trainer and enrolled on some courses for specialist disciplines. She soon became qualified and began taking on private clients. Her clients pay her £30/£35 per session and she now has more work than she can cope with.

So, she is now earning a living doing something she always loved doing, her fitness hobby, and is happier than ever.

Can a carpenter make money on eBay?

2009-11-01T07:40:00.000-08:00

A young friend of mine, who is a trained and experienced carpenter and joiner, just asked me "Can you think of anything I can make out of wood that I can sell on eBay?" He has access to offcuts of quality timber and often makes small wooden knick-knacks at home as a kind of hobby.

Not having immediate access to my files and notes on the subject of eBay ideas, and while giving due thought to eBay sellers' principles of items needing to be fairly small, more or less unbreakable, easy to pack into a parcel, and light enough to be cheap to post, I couldn't actually come up with anything on the spur of the moment.

All I could suggest was that he spend some time looking round gift shops, cheap shops, pet shops, hardware and homeware stores, for wooden items that are already on sale.

If he sees an article made of wood that he thinks he could make himself, he should consider how he could improve on the design, personalise it for individuals, ie., with a persons name or a witty slogan etc., or combine it with another idea to bring something new to the marketplace.

He began to get very enthusiastic about building up a home business making wooden craft items and selling them online. Together we came up with a few ideas such as house name boards, bird feeders, pet boxes and hutches, toy furniture, wooden toys, cooking utensils and storage boxes, dolls houses, specially designed picture frames, small book shelves, CD/DVD racks, nursery furniture and equipment, novelty clock faces ... we went on and on.

When I came away he had a new sparkle in his eyes and was talking about making a range of wooden gift items to offer to local shops on a wholesale basis as well as selling them online. I think the Internet has found another online entrepreneur!

My Own Money Making Hobby

2009-10-30T07:48:00.000-07:00

You might say my own money making hobby is my computer. I spend more time sat at my computer keyboard than on anything else. It is the first thing I do in the morning and the last thing I do at night.

I check my emails, I check my website stats, Twitter, Facebook, affiliate sites, share dealings, Google Adsense ... I tweek and update my websites and add new content ... I admit I sometimes play simple games like Freecell just for a break while I have a cup of coffee.

Of course I do have a LIFE! I play golf, squash, go to the gym, eat out, visit friends and family, keep the garden tidy, do any necessary DIY around the home, all the usual things. But, when I'm not doing all these other things, I'm on the computer. Dreaming, scheming, thinking up new money making ideas, I'm always researching, learning, picking up tips and tricks that will "come in handy some day".

Click to: Read how this factory worker made incedible money doing the complete opposite of what the books say

I've learned a lot about working from home, making money online, using the Internet to advertise business, but there's still a long way to go. Such a lot to learn, and things are constantly changing, like eBay rules, Google's search algorythms, SEO, public awareness and preferences, etc, etc. Even the changing seasons bring new challenges and create different demands and interests. It's hard to keep up.

I almost envy anyone who has no interest at all in earning extra cash or making a living on the Internet. Their's must be a joyously simple life if they only use their PC for the occasional email or to Google something.

Click to: Get Real Home Business Ideas for Real People

Personally, I prefer my own chaotic search for money making ideas and the means of putting them into practice. It keeps me mentally young, alert to the cash generating opportunities offered by the Internet and its billions of users. I'm constantly evaluating work from home, money-making business ideas and picking up bits of information and handy tips which I can use in my own enterprises.

You should be doing the same! One day you might hit on an idea that you can stamp your own personality onto and get started on the road to riches!

Click to: Learn a brand new method to generate a massive income from home

Make/Save Money Dog Grooming

2009-10-29T08:21:00.000-07:00

My sister-in-law is a dog lover. She has always owned several dogs at any one time. She recently had three Shitzus and a German Shepherd. She never seems to mind that the dogs require a great deal of care and attention. I suppose you could say dogs are her hobby.

Of course all pets cost money to keep. Food, veterinary care, pet accessories, the occasional kennelling, don't come cheap. And grooming time seems to come round all too often. She found she was paying a small fortune in cash to a local dog groomer to keep the dogs looking good and caring for their health and well-being.

At a difficult time, when it was hard to find the money for regular grooming, she looked around for alternatives. After making enquiries she decided to get some books on pet care and grooming and eventually enrolled on a dog grooming course. Fortunately she had her own dogs to practise on and found she saved so much money the course paid for itself many times over.

Click to: Learn what it takes to become a Pet Groomer

Friends, particularly other dog lovers, admired her pets and someone pleaded with her to groom his dog and offered to pay the going rate. She found herself drifting into becoming a professional dog groomer as word got round that she was very good and was happy to do home visits at a time that suited the client.

Her husband built her a grooming shed at the bottom of their garden and she set up in business, advertising in local papers and shop boards. She now also has a simple website which also brings in work, and is earning a lot more money than she was paid in a regular job.

Click to: Get a Dog Grooming Video that Downloads Instantly

Nowadays the family spend most of their time in Spain where she still earns a good living grooming dogs and every couple of months she travels back to the UK where her long list of clients are happy to give her their dog grooming business.

If you have dogs and could use some extra cash, why not consider learning how to groom them yourself and possibly offer your services to other pet owners.

Click to: Learn the Secrets to Dog Training and Behaviour

Got a Hobby - Make Money from It!

2008-11-28T23:23:00.000-08:00

If you have a hobby you are spending time doing something you LIKE doing! We don't all like the work we do. We work because we have to, to make enough money to live. Some people take up a hobby simply as a means of turning off from the boredom or stress of work.

Some people are blessed with a job they enjoy. They like going to their place of work and love every minute they spend there. Their jobs are fulfilling. The job almost becomes a hobby in itself. When they come home in the evening, they just want to relax and do nothing in particular because they have exceeded their daily dose of happiness. It's time to wind down, refresh and get ready for tomorrow and another satisfying day at work.

I don't honestly think there are too many people like that around. Do you? Most people work because they have to. They work to pay the bills. They're in the job they do because that was all they could get. They'd like to move on but they can't find anything better.

So, what do they do to counteract the boredom, to cope with the stress, to make themselves feel happy, to feel they are acheiving something? They start a hobby! Something, almost anything, they can do in their spare time to make themselves feel better.

Hobbies come in all shapes and sizes but they all involve one or more of the following: collecting, doing, making, and above all learning. Learning is the most important activity because it applies to all the others. You learn almost by accident as you work on your hobby, you discover hints and tips just by doing what you do, you look for ways to overcome problems that arise, you research your hobby in order to do it better. All the while you are acquiring KNOWLEDGE and EXPERIENCE!

Whatever your hobby, all this knowledge and experience can be put to good use ... to MAKE MONEY!

In later posts I will be suggesting more ways all kinds of hobbies can be easily turned into money making ventures and detailing a few hints and tips about getting started.

More later ...

Another Hobby Turned Money-Maker

2008-11-25T08:39:00.000-08:00

I was talking to a lady the other day who makes a good living having turned a hobby into a full-time money making business.

This lady's hobby for many years was clay-modelling. She would fashion tiny figures out of the special modelling clay, fire them in her kitchen oven, and then paint them. She could produce caricature figures of almost anyone or anything. Her collection became so large it outgrew all the shelves her husband had specially put up to display them! He issued an ultimatum, "Stop modelling or I'm off!"

Her enthusiasm and skill were endangering her marriage! She had to find another outlet for her artistic talents.

Then one day out shopping she passed a cake shop. There in the window were three decorated celebration cakes, a wedding design and two humorous birthday cakes, advertising a made-to-order service. She wasn't overly impressed with the designs, and thought, "I could do better than that!"

She made enquiries inside the shop and was shocked at the prices they were charging. She determined there and then to try her hand at making and selling cakes herself. There was only one problem. She COULD NOT COOK!!

None the less she enrolled in a cake-making class at the local night school. Whilst there, she met another lady with similar aspirations. As it turned out the other lady was a dab-hand at baking but hopeless at decorating. They were a match made in Heaven and decided to join forces.

Today they are equal partners in a thriving celebration cake business. They have as much business as they can cope with. Each job they do seems to bring in more work by word of mouth. They hardly have to advertise. Lily bakes the cakes and Jean decorates them to any size or theme the customer wants. Birthday cakes sell from about £60 up to £160 and they charge as much as £300 to £500 for wedding cakes, and their customers are delighted.

Not money for old rope ... but good money for quality cakes!

More later ...

School Boy Hobbies and Money Making

2008-11-23T22:42:00.000-08:00

When I was at boarding school, many years ago, it was customary for boys to have at least one hobby to help pass the limited amount of spare time between school activities.

There were of course many stamp collectors in those days but also a lot of quite unusual hobbies.

One boy I remember spent all his spare time wood-carving. He specialized in heraldic crests, coats of arms etc., and spent hours carving the intricate designs and then painting them. They were beautiful. Another boy taught himself to play the ukelele, I was fascinated by his musical talent and asked him to teach me, which he did, starting me on a lifetime of interest in musical instruments. Yet another boy was building a collection of geological specimens, rocks to you and me. He used to carry his rock collection to and from school each term in a large wooden crate with rope handles, called his "rocks box". As his collection grew, the box got heavier! In the end it took two of us to help him lift it into the train at end of term. Phew!

The point of this story is that although these boys were academic and probably went on into careers of an entirely different nature, they had their hobbies and the special skills they involved to fall back on for relaxation and possibly even a small second income.

There is no end to the possibility of making money out of the most bizarre of pastimes. All hobbies require that you build specialist knowledge and skills, sometimes without realising it. Knowledge is power. Whatever your hobby is, if you are not earning at least a bit of "pin money" out of it, you may be wasting a valuable talent.

More later ...

Sing a Song for Sixpence? - Not likely!

2008-11-21T02:10:00.000-08:00

I've got a friend who was a choirboy at school and has loved singing ever since. He can do church music, classical, opera, popular ... you name it.

He sings just for the heck of it, any time, any place. I suppose you could call it one of his hobbies ... and one he makes money from!

He gets asked to sing at weddings, funerals and various other public functions. He doesn't advertise directly but has made himself known to all the local conference and function venues, wedding planners and funeral directors, and of course the service he offers is spread by word of mouth.

I know he gets quite well paid as a singer ... but he just WON'T tell me how much!!

More later ...

Make Money from Your Interest

2008-11-19T03:28:00.000-08:00

Most of us could do with a little bit of extra cash, and most of us have at least one hobby or special interest. But, we don't always think of putting those two things together; of finding a way to turn our leisure pursuits into profit.

Hobbies and pastimes usually start out as a way of occupying our free time doing something purely for pleasure. The money-making is done 9-5 in our regular jobs. Hobbies begin as a form of relaxation.

We tend to drift into hobbies. For example, someone buys you a model car kit for Christmas. You put it together and proudly display it. The next thing you know, you get another for your birthday. There's a collection starting! Next you're getting really interested. You start reading up about model cars, looking at catalogues, researching online, talking about your "new hobby". You maybe join a model-makers club ...

You may not realise it but you are becoming an expert, accumulating knowledge ... and knowledge can be turned into MONEY!

People will pay a high price for expertise. There are many ways you can turn the know-how and skills acquired from a practical hobby into a means of making money.

Here's just a few ways:
* Selling the things you make at craft fairs, and markets, and to shops.
* Writing articles for magazines that specialize in your particular interest.
* Teaching courses for people with similar interests.
* Buying and selling model-making kits online.
* Making models to order for shop displays, exhibitions etc.

Remember, the model car thing is just an example, but you can apply the principle to any of your own hobbies. Try it and see! It can certainly be done; how much money you make is of course entirely up to you.

More later ...

Can You Make Money from a Hobby?

2008-11-18T12:07:00.000-08:00

Answer: Yes of course you can. And I've done it ... several times. Don't get me wrong - I'm no millionaire, but I have made a living through to retirement, from part-time businesses and self-employment.

Sometimes what money I made was hardly worth the effort, but occasionally I turned a fun activity into a means of earning cash and eventually into a thriving business. And all along the way my hobbies, and more importantly the skills I aquired from them, helped me build my enterprise and at the same time save money by carrying out some jobs myself, which otherwise I might have had to employ someone else to do.

Just lately I have been thinking a lot about hobbies. Hobbies I do now, some I gave up long ago, a whole list that I want to take up some time in the future. Interests and activities that others do have always intrigued me. There are almost an infinite number of hobbies and pastimes that people engage in.

And almost any one of them could be turned into a profitable means of making money. That's what I intend to explore in this blog.

More later ...