Turn What You Love Into Income

Have you ever thought to yourself, “If I could only get paid to do what I love?”

Maybe you can. In fact, that’s how many entrepreneurs get started. But you don’t have to be an entrepreneur to want to make some extra spending money. The bonus is doing something that you love!

Here are some steps to help you get started:

1. If you have more than one idea, start by imagining them and pick the idea that brings the biggest smile to your face.
2. Next, do some research:
• Is there an obvious way to make income with what you love?
• Talk to other people with the same interest and see if there’s a void that needs to be filled.
• Take a look at what’s in the market now and ask yourself if you could that and/or do it better.
• Talk to a diverse group of people about your income producing idea and ask if any of them would purchase something like that from you.
• Ask yourself what’s the least expensive way to start that will still provide greater value to potential customers.
3. Write down your goal or your mission statement. Include your specialty or uniqueness that only you can bring to this product/service. But keep it simple. For example – I will work part time and would like to generate $300. My uniqueness is to provide personalize service and offer customers buying my scented candles a chance to join my weekly Yoga club at my house.
4. Consider your first 30 days a trial and error period, and be sure to fully commit yourself to doing whatever it takes to be successful. During this period assess how, where, why, who, what, when you can improve, and make sure you can earn a reasonable profit for your efforts.
5. You may also want to create a simple business plan (optional for now). Include your goals, operational expenses, who your customers are, marketing strategy, and an overview of competitors.
6. Nurture testimonials and word of mouth to attract new customers and grow.
7. Keep asking your customers for their feedback and continue to improve and learn.

The key is to keep it simple. You want to share your passion, avoid wasting money, and earn some extra spending money. In the end, you want to still love what you do while you gain some financial benefits. You may be surprise to find yourself a budding entrepreneur, or you may simply want to keep a good thing going.