Whether you’re a hard-working stay at home mamma, or a have a busy career (or perhaps you’re juggling the two), more and more women are venturing out into new business territory in the pursuit of a happier work life balance. If you’re spending most of your weekly work time dreaming about the free time you’ll have to pursue your creative outlets; then maybe it’s time to rethink how you can make an income from them. You don’t need to drop everything and run off into the sunset, tools in hand; however, you can take steps towards potentially changing your and your family’s life for the better.
Understand What’s Needed
If you have a hobby or talent that you regularly enjoy doing, then you’re already lucky; those able to pursue a creative or physical pastime are often less stressed, and happier people. However, before embarking on the transition from hobby to artisan business; you need to scope out whether there’d be a market for it. Maybe your kids enthuse endlessly about the wooden dolls you make out in the garage every Saturday, but try to think and investigate if they would appeal to wider audience. If your talents lie in fixing up vintage bicycles and cars, or you’re able to understand SaaS business and customer churn, then it’s likely that there’ll be a customer base waiting to pay for your services or buy your creations.
Time Is Money
As previously mentioned; if you have a passion or hobby that you love, you’re probably already spending your Saturdays doing it. However, for you to push your talent into a business, you’ll need to increase the amount of time you spend on it. By using any opportunity in the evenings, weekends, and holiday time, will not only allow you to hone your skills; but you’ll be able to get a sense of how long production would take you, and if you feel there’s a feasible business in what you’re creating. You might also realize that you’d rather keep it as a hobby, as you don’t want the added pressure, or you’d prefer it as a “side” income, but until you try, you’ll never know, so it’s a smart idea to find out.
The Right Environment
Once you’ve decided that your talent and passion for your hobby is going to make a successful business venture, you’ll need to think about the space in which you do it. Unless you’re lucky enough to own a large plot of land, with plenty of out-buildings, you’re likely to need to lease somewhere to start off with. Separating yourself from the family home when you go to make your homewares or renovate vintage vehicles, will allow you to switch from treating it as a pastime to it being an official, money-making business. Having your workshop or unit, will also give you the clarity to focus on the job, and not have to worry if chores, or other tasks, have been completed at home. Your space should be somewhere you look forward to visiting each day too; check out some small business spaces online, and get inspired to live your dream.
