How do/did you make your hobby/passion your income/life

[I joined up]

A number of people make mention of finding what you love and and then truning that into your work. Then work is never really work, rather you always pursuing your passion.

I would love to hear from those that have done this or are in the process and how they have gone about it.

What interests me in particular is what if you have found what you enjoy but obvisuly arent world-class at it, how can you make this your life/income ?

Lets take drawing as an example. So I take a drawing course at a local communtiy school. Awesome, I enjoy it and want to do more and more. My non-work and family time is conusmed reading, looking , drawing and learning more about it.

I stick it out over they year and defintely know it's just not a phase I've gone through and still want to take it further.

Now I want to live off it or at least be able to do it more than I am working. However I'm not world class, not the best in my town/city/country.

Why would people care about some random guy drawing and his work.


Again , Im using drawing as an example and it could be anything that you want to have as the focus, passion of your life.

I struggle understanding how you take it beyond a hobby and into something BIGGER when you are not elite at it.

I have also heard people say stick at it and the more you 'foucs' on it the more it'll give you.

I am lost with this.....but would dearly love to succeed in turning a pssion/hobby into something more.

Any help is welcomed and appreciated

[ssandra]

I'm in the proccess of making my passion my "work".

Which is coaching and giving workshops, teaching and helping people.

I know I'm not yet the best in the field, simply because of lack of experience. I don't care But I do adjust my prices accordingly. I know what I'm worth now, and I know what I'll be worth in the future...

There are always people who are willing to pay less for less quality and when you get better (quality goes up) you can charge more.

[Silwer]

I'm actually starting my own business where I will draw pictures for people, luckily... the thing with drawing or other art forms is that it doesn't really matter how "good" you are as long as people like your style.
If they really like what you do then they are also ready to pay for it ... at least that is my experience ...

Starting a business wasn't my first plan when I first had to start looking for a job, but as I am not very good at anything else and slightly uncomfy around people outside the internet I thought I got nothing to loose.

[Kei]

I'm actually starting my own business where I will draw pictures for people, luckily... the thing with drawing or other art forms is that it doesn't really matter how "good" you are as long as people like your style.

Hear hear! I draw pictures for people too. I think my work is good quality, but when I was younger I wasn't so sure. My friends and family were desperately trying to encourage me to be more confident and make a career out of drawing, and one of the things they taught me was that if there is demand for your work then people must like it. Besides, as Silwer says, everyone has different styles of drawing and the people who buy art know what they like and dislike. Don't write yourself off just because you're not an expert yet. You can still provide a service that people want. I agree with Sandra about pricing your work accordingly.

I realise the art thing was probably just an example, but I think this advice applies to a lot of areas of work

[Stargirl]

Playing devil's advocate here, the art world can be cruel, and it is hard to survive with pressures and popularity waves pushing and pulling at you. Especially if you're living off your art.

For me, I create in response to the world, art is my sanctuary and consequently, I like to keep it sacred from too many outside pressures.
Yes, I make art for people. Yes, I will sell my art. Yes, I display it. But I do not depend on it.

So what I'm saying is, if you do want to make your passion tied to your income, make sure you have the strength to protect it from becoming only an income source and no longer a passion. Because your income should be a slave to your art, not vice-versa.

[Kei]

Good advice Stargirl

[James81]

For me, it's become a game of seeing what the things I was doing was ultimately bringing me, and what the purpose of it all was. Probably the singlemose effective thing I've done to date is to distinguish a highly personal purpose for my life, and to see that that purpose has been everywhere.

And when that puzzle piece dropped into place, the path ahead of me suddenly became clear.

The obstacles and the challenges that are on that path don't intimidate me. I know what it is that I ultimately enjoy doing, and that there are zillions of ways to realize that and bring it to pass.

[AlmostGodess]

First of all, I feel really grateful that I know my passions and that I can live a life which is in line with my passions.

Then, I allow myself to get really excited about my passion. I don't tell anyone, just feel it inside of me and tell it grow in my brain. I sometimes think about Christopher Columbus and how he felt when departing looking for India and finding America instead. Gosh, he must have been excited! Imagine, they were in the middle of the ocean for months and they never lost faith. This is what I call excitement and this what I try to feel each time I start something new

Third, be and talk to people who have achieved what you want to achieve. In the same time, put on ignore those who keep saying you are crazy. Being around with people who are where you want to be will put you into a "It is possible!" mindset that is a very important ingredient in this story.

Once you do all these, things should develop by themselves. You'll get signs, people will call you and your proposals will be accepted.

This is what my experience says

[kinworm]

You don't need to be an expert on a subject to make a living out of it.

Before I had my daughter, I ran an online craft site which gave me a full-time income. I was by no means an expert crafter but I was 100% enthusiastic on the subject and my website was devoted to showing craft tutorials (text-based, image-based and video) and then I made an income through selling the items needed for each project.

So just by being enthusiastic and helping other people to enjoy the same hobby as yourself can really pay dividends.

I applied a similar principle to my blog which I started last year - I'm not an absolute expert and don't pretend to be but I like to show people things they can do. Although the income this time is much more of a passive one with money from affiliate links rather than having the headache of shipping physical products.

I don't think I'd want to do a job if it wasn't something I was totally interested in.

So I guess I'd say just share what it is you love about your hobby and help other people in their quest to do that hobby too - tutorials, advice, where to buy/source products required, reviews, links to other helpful sites online, tips OR even showing your journey and how you progress with your hobby because sometimes people like to read about that.

[martyinmaui]

Congratulations on finding something you love to do, many people never do. I'd like to suggest that you try opening yourself up to considering different ways of using your talent in addition to drawing.

I was an art major in college, but ended up having to go into business to make living. Happily I've been able to find many ways to express my love for art in my work - creating presentations and training materials, designing my blog, and many other things. My dream was always been to write and illustrate a book and I'm doing that now. There's almost always more than one path to making your dreams come true. Wishing you all the best!

[Mounds]

You might find that a hobby/passion is better off as a hobby/passion. I've had a few hobbies that I've attempted to monetize and as a result, I haven't really enjoyed those hobbies for a while now. Once you start viewing something as a source of income, it becomes less about yourself and more about others. I prefer to keep my hobbies for myself and share unconditionally whenever I get the chance.

-Tim