Five Questions To Ask Before Turning A Hobby Into A Business

Does your job feel like a 9 to 5 grind? That may be a sign that you need to make a change in your life. A career change can be a great way to alleviate boredom and re-engage yourself. The problem often times is that making a career change often means you have to start at the very bottom and work your way up. If you’ve already climbed the ladder in your current career, the prospect of heading back to the entry level can be quite disheartening.

There is some good news, though: If you want to make a career change but don’t want to drop to the bottom of the pecking order, you can take a hobby of yours and turn it into a business. That being said, turning your hobby into a business isn’t necessarily easy. 25% of new businesses fail in their first year, and 44 %fail by their third year. Even if you have all the passion in the world, your business might not succeed. That’s not to say you shouldn’t try, it just means you should stop and think about it before making any rash decisions.

Here are five questions before to ask before turning a hobby into a business:

1. Have I Done Enough Research?

You have a great idea for a business and you’re totally the right person for the job:. You’re passionate, skilled and a budding expert in your field. However, you must figure out whether or not your business fits in to a market. Are you competing with other businesses? Who are your competitors and how does your business compare to theirs? Is your target market local or global? By asking yourself these questions. you can begin to determine the next step in your process. You can also determining a business model, which is a nice way of saying that you’re figuring out how you will make money.

2. Do I Know My Target Market Well?

One of the best parts of starting out on your business is that you’ll quickly get an idea of who is purchasing your products and why. You’ll also learn which items are in demand and which ones may not be! It can be hard to retain this exact audience as you transition over to your own website since you’re not allowed to promote any outside websites or social media pages on the listing sites. However, you should be able to paint a complete picture of who your typical buyers are and where you can find them.

3. Am I Ready To Become A CEO – Amongst Many Other Things?

What most “technicians” turned entrepreneurs don’t know is the unknown of starting a business! You are a gifted artisan and you probably have no doubt about your skill and ability to create a product that others will love. As an entrepreneur, there will be far more hats to wear, beyond that of an artisan. In fact, in an ideal world, you won’t even be the person making the product in the future as employees will do that work. Do you know how to balance your books, market your company, master social media, set appointments with retailers, and the many other jobs that an entrepreneur is tasked with? If not, are you prepared to devote the time and effort to learn all this stuff.

4. Am I Ready For The Time Commitment Required For This Endeavor?

Will this be a part-time or full-time commitment for you? Will you work at home from a laptop or in a studio? Even if you only intend to commit to part-time hours, starting a business can be very time consuming. If you’re hoping to travel and live an active lifestyle, consider how much time you need to yourself and how much time your business really needs to grow. If it seems like too much, re-consider the size and scale of what you’re doing. If this is a retirement project, remember that you need a break from work, no matter how fun that work may seem.

5. Will You Enjoy Turning Your Hobby Into a Business?

Many use their hobbies not only to practice a skill, but also to wind down, stave off boredom, or escape from the daily grind. Turning a hobby into a job may intensify everything far too much for you. Your hobby won’t be about escaping the grind anymore, it will be the grind. You’ll need to hit deadlines, put in an average of 40+ hours per week, meet customer service requirements and quality standards, correct errors, and deal with some disappointed and critical consumers. Just make sure you’re oaky with this and that it won’t ruin what was once a great hobby for you.

Conclusion

Starting your own business seems appealing to many people for several reasons. However, it’s not always what you bargained for so it’s always important to ask some questions before jumping into it. In this post, I shared with you five questions to ask before turning a hobby into a business.