3 Things To Consider When Turning Your Hobby Into A Business

“Hi Jackie, the cookies you made for us last weekend were so good!”

“Oh, thank you, Jenna! I’m so glad you and your family enjoyed them.”

“I was wondering if you would have time to bake a cake for my son’s birthday in two weeks? Or maybe just some of your amazing chocolate cupcakes with your delicious salted caramel frosting? My son, Reese just absolutely loves all your baked goodies.”

“Aww… thank you so much for saying that, very sweet of you both.”

“You know Jackie, you are such a great baker, have you ever thought about opening your own shop? You should definitely start your own baking business; you would do so well.”

“You know Jenna, I have thought about it many times but I wouldn’t even know where to start. I have never run my own business before; I do not know the first thing about running a bakery.”

This was a very frequent type of conversation that I would have with many of my friends and family throughout the years.

Even though my parents were bakers and I basically grew up in a bakery, my moments of imposter syndrome would sometimes kick in and make me doubt myself. I guess I never really thought of myself as a professional baker or having the ability to own my own bakery one day.

Have you ever had a conversation like this with someone or maybe even with yourself? Have you ever dreamed of turning your hobby into a business, or even becoming an entrepreneur?

I certainly have and if you have too, then let’s talk more about how to turn that conversation, that idea or even dream into a reality.

Now you must be thinking: when does a hobby, your weekly distraction or simply your love for baked goods, for example, become more than just a hobby?

It can sound fun to turn your special skills or favorite hobby into an actual business, but it is also a big decision with several factors you need to consider.

Here are three key questions that I asked myself and what you should consider when you are thinking about how to turning your hobby into a business.

1. What is my hobby of choice and why?

I always found myself in the kitchen, whether it was cleaning, cooking, and of course now — baking.

Being in the kitchen was the most natural and comfortable place in the house for me and I would often find myself itching to bake something. A batch of cookies, brownies, or even a cake would satisfy my urge to make something. I would bake for the sake of baking and oftentimes, I wouldn’t even eat what I made; I would simply give them away.

Eventually, I would get so many requests to bake something for an event, a birthday or just because so many people loved my baking so much. Maybe I should go into business, I thought. Since I am always just giving them away, why not try?

Choose a hobby that feeds you more than anything else and that doesn’t feel like work.

Once you figure out what that “thing” is then you can make it into any kind of business you want.
I knew mine was baking and it wasn’t so much because my parents were bakers, it is because I found my place in the kitchen and my joy in baking.

2. Can you see yourself doing your favorite hobby, everyday?

You know, sometimes, we love doing and having certain hobbies because there is freedom of creativity and time. We can practice them when our schedule permits or when we simply have the desire to engage in our hobby.

This is how baking is for me. I loved baking goodies to share with my family and friends. It is honestly one of the best feelings because you get tons of compliments and people love it. This made me want to bake more and more.

That was the upside of turning my hobby into a business; but what about the downside?

There are always two sides to everything, right? Will I be comfortable baking every day? Would I still find joy in it or would it become a chore versus a hobby?

That is one of the biggest considerations when you’re thinking of turning your hobby into a business. Would you still love doing it, if you were to do it every day?

3. How is my product or service unique?

This is actually the fun part: figuring out what product or service you want to offer, and making it uniquely your own. When I was thinking about starting a baking business, I had to decide on what type of baking I wanted to focus on and what type of product I wanted to offer.

I remembered how many different baked goods my parents had to make on a daily basis and I didn’t want or have the time to do that.

So, the best thing to do is to niche down and specialize in one particular product and work on perfecting that product.

I decided that my specialty would be French Macarons, which are very difficult to make and takes a certain skill level to master, so I spent two years perfecting them before eventually starting my macaron business.

Now that you have answered those three questions about your hobby or business idea, you can now better understand how to create your business plan, you can start to see the possibilities and build your own business that features your greatest asset, YOU!