Monetizing my Hobbies
Wed, 05/04/2011 - 18:42 — Sean Carney
Every now and then my thoughts wander on to the topic of monetizing my hobbies. The though that runs through my mind is typically "Why can't I be paid to pursue my hobbies and what I enjoy?".
Naturally monetizing hobbies is a long and difficult process, but I found a good framework a couple of years ago to work under. So here is a discussion of my hobbies and the potential of monetizing them based on this framework of "Happiness in Business".
Let's get started.
Photography
What I want to do
I really enjoy photography for a wide number of reasons. The two areas I enjoy the most are typically landscapes and night photography.
What I do well
While some pictures I take are excellent, I have other days in which I produce nothing special. My pictures also don't necessarily have the same 'look and feel' about them. In short, I tend to lack consistency in my pictures.
What I can be paid to do
The issue with photography is there is lots of competition in the field. The barriers to entry are low since professional grade equipment has been steadily dropping in price and landing in the hands of consumers. Despite this a strong market does exist for photography and people are still willing to pay for it.
Overall status: Learn to do this better
Given a higher quality product and some degree of advertising it could be possible to monetize this hobby to some extent.
Electronics
What I want to do
I enjoy creating devices such as my Weather Clock since it combines the challenge and problem solving associated with coding and development with the tactile work of creating a tangible object.
What I do well
I have received many compliments on the build quality of my Weather Clock. While making a similar model that could be used by someone without technical experience may be a challenge, it is certainly within the realm of possibility.
What I can be paid to do
While I can produce a quality product that people may be inclined to buy, the most difficult challenge lying ahead would be determining a price point which would stimulate business. Some projects take a fair amount of my time and have a large labour cost which may discourage customers. Finding a suitable market for my work may also be problematic.
Overall status: Learn to monetize
I should be able to monetize this assuming I find a suitable market for my work and determine how best to price my work to appeal to customers.
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Comments
This is something I have
This is something I have thought about too, specifically the electronics section. I've considered doing something like what Adafruit or JeeLabs does creating open source kits for hobbyists, but the market and margin are small. What I think I need to do is just make more things and see if I can get interest in them.
You mentioned that it takes a lot of time to make your electronics projects which could make them expensive, but the economies sf scale (and unassembled kits) can help a lot.
If I did start down the road
If I did start down the road of selling stuff I make, I would approach it more along the lines of selling 'art' rather 'kits'. Nothing I've done so far would really make a good kit and scaling them for mass production wouldn't work well.
I hadn't really thought much
I hadn't really thought much of that as I know it would make the products more expensive, but that is totally an option. I think that is what Ben heck does mostly, one offs commissioned by individuals. You can always advertise things/services places like the Hack a Day forum or Etsy. I think Make might even have a place for people to sell their creations.
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