as the Great layoff rumbles, salaries continue to rise at a slower pace than inflation, and we are ordered to return to offices, it’s no wonder many of us are considering turning part-time hobbies into full-time jobs.
The appeal of self-employment is obvious.
You get the freedom to set your own hours, choose your own workplace and get paid to do what you love.
But how do you make the transition from a side job to your main performance?
Rob Ballentine, 54, lives in Hampshire with his wife and teenage daughter. As a child, he found drawing “incredibly curious, mysterious and challenging” and persisted throughout his adult life.
When a friend was devastated by the death of his dog during the initial shutdown, Rob drew the dog with a pencil — and was stunned by his friend’s reaction.
“It was such an emotional moment for my friend that he posted it on Facebook,” Rob tells Metro.co.uk. “I was blown away by the great feedback.”
Stepped in Rob’s wife, who posted his art to a local Facebook group, and RobBallentineArta company offering beautiful portraits of pets was born.
For Rob, this was a big change from working as a consultant trainer in the military, defense, government, healthcare and telecommunications.
When Covid-19 and lockdown hit, Rob had just quit his job, earning around £80,000 a year, to start his own training company – but he was soon out of work.
Now in high demand for drawings, he expects to double his former salary in the coming years, charging £450 for an A4 drawing and £750 for an A3 with more depth and detail.
When asked how he coped with the transition from employee to self-employed, Rob believes that at the start of the pandemic there was so much uncertainty and fear about everyone’s fate that not doing something was scarier than doing it.
“It brought the face of death ever closer and the terrifying greater than the possibility that it ‘could be’ me,” he tells us. ‘It brought the ‘I’m not as invincible as I thought’ thing closer to home.
“When one’s life is dominated by their possible demise, everything else takes a back seat — including the fear of starting a new venture, especially one where my skills were in their infancy.”
The popularity of the portraits helped the decision.
He adds: ‘Without that feedback, it would have been a much riskier and perhaps reckless decision to pull out all the stops.
“One must tread carefully and wisely in the snow that covers the frozen pond, no matter how much the other side beckons.”
Kendall Platt, 35, of Reading, found that her regular gardening sessions helped calm her overworked brain.
In December 2018, she taught four wreath-making workshops that incorporated techniques intended to help relax, as a soothing passion project alongside her main job as a forensic scientist.
She soon realized that being busy had to be her main occupation, telling herself that life was too short to stay at work that made her “miserable.”
In 2020, Kendall shifted her focus to her business, Adventures with flowers, and in March 2022 she launched The Mindful Gardening Club; a gardening and floristry membership that costs £19 a month and already has six members.
Her new company is more than just a job change. Kendall becomes self-employed to restore her self-confidence.
After being bullied by a coworker at work, pregnancy discrimination during her daughter’s pregnancy, and being fired twice, Kendall’s self-esteem had plummeted. This was gradually restored as she slowed down and gave herself time to think.
She tells us, “Gardening for mindfulness had such a hugely positive impact on how I felt about myself and my relationships with loved ones, that I had an overwhelming urge to take it to more women in situations similar to myself.”
Turning your hobby into your business can be a lucrative move.
Sophie French was Project Coordinator and PA with approximately £29k a year. While still living with her mother, she founded Anvil and ivy in 2014, making handmade modern heirloom jewelry in the gazebo. Five years later she moved to a high street outlet in Maldon. Now living the dream with her fiancé and her dog on a houseboat in Essex, she reached her goal of £100,000 in sales and doubled her income last year.
Sophie’s jewelry journey started after an evening class in 2014. She enjoyed the craft so much that she already ordered tools and materials on the train home to do more.
After a few years of making jewelry in every spare time she could find, she started gifting items to friends and family. From here she gradually gained confidence and started selling her pieces, starting with just £500 that she had set aside to buy some silver.
She started with some smaller items costing over £36, but has now grown into making engagement rings and custom pieces, costing up to £2,800.
That may sound dreamy. But be warned: such a switch takes a lot of work.
“Turning a hobby into a business is not a get-rich-quick scheme,” advises Lisa Johnson, which helps people monetize their passions online. “It takes time and consistency to show up and let people know you have something they want.”
For twenty years Priya Velusami, 42, worked in a variety of roles, including what she calls “the dream job” of sourcing fabrics and textiles for John Lewis, earning up to £75,000 a year.
When her niece was born, she started making party dresses from her mother’s saris and soon received compliments on her unique and comfortable designs.
Priya started selling the styles on eBay for between £9 and £35, and soon after her Pri Pri brand was born – she now sells colorful upcycled accessories and children’s clothing using much-loved vintage saris.
On the target of turning over £30,000 this year, money is not the main driver for Priya.
“Working the hours I want without the cost of childcare, doing something I enjoy, and also being able to give work to people who might not otherwise have had a chance is a priceless figure,” she says.
‘The flexibility and impact I feel more than compensates for the slight change in turnover and the company is on an upward trend.’
Inspired by early memories of sewing with her sari-clad grandmother, who taught zero waste values, she says: ‘I love to breathe new life into beautiful textiles while helping people, the planet and being there for my two young children.’
Priya used to make everything herself, but now works with an Indian charity that makes her designs and helps underprivileged women upskill and empower with tailoring courses.
Sales coach and strategist Jade Jemma, the founder of Freedom Zesthas been working with FTSE 100 companies and startups for over ten years.
She says there’s a common denominator for success: “Those who become industry leaders love what they do, live up to their brand values, and come from a place of genuine service.”
When asked what advice she would give people looking to turn their hobby into a business, Sophie wished in retrospect that she had taken the time to properly praise the articles: “The confidence in my work and business that I do now would very useful then.
“It’s hard to get out of that ‘hobbyistic’ headspace and get into a business mindset.”
And for anyone looking to start a new business, Dragon’s Den star Deborah Meaden emphasizes environmental and sustainability concerns, telling us, “The good news is that consumers are increasingly making their purchasing choices within their value system and sustainability is at the forefront there. state. .
“This gives start-ups a huge advantage when it comes to environmental impact, as they can make their business more sustainable from the outset… without having to change existing embedded values and systems.
“They also don’t carry the baggage of legacy, which can be difficult to shift in the eyes of the customer.”
Lisa recommends immersing yourself in social media – ‘examine people who are already making money from their hobbies so you can see what’s selling well’ – but cautions not to compare yourself to others!
“Start building a social media following and give helpful tips about what you know,” she adds. ‘You have to start by showing that you can help people.
“Don’t give up and be consistent!”
Do you have a story to share?
Contact us by email [email protected].
LAKE : ‘We are secret digital nomads – our bosses have no idea we work abroad’
LAKE : Five signs your workplace is ‘digitally toxic’ – and what to do about it
LAKE : Why we should celebrate entering new ‘eras’ of our own