Guest Article :: How to Take Your Craft From Hobby to Business

With a new decade ahead of us, one can feel rejuvenated and motivated for a fresh start with their creative pursuits. It is perfect timing to have Guest Writer, Abby Holt from Craftability provides us with another inspiring blog for emerging artists: How to Take Your Craft from Hobby. We hope this blog provides much insight into how to turn your passion into your career!

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The majority of visual artists, musicians, and craftspeople pour their hearts and souls into their work. Relatively few, however, find ways to make money through those avenues. Instead, most creatives make a living through other means, scraping by as much as they can through day jobs to support their art in their free time.

When artists find ways to make money with their work, however, the balance shifts. They’re able to spend more time with the kind of work they love and less time pushing pencils. If you can use your creative pursuits to bring in income, you’ll find yourself mastering your skill even more day by day. Here’s a look at how to start making money with your art.

Photograph by Sanketh Rao

How to Get Started

No matter what your craft, your first step is figuring out how to market yourself. If you haven’t already, look into creating a business website or social media page. This will allow you to connect with potential customers and easily share your story online. Social media offers the added benefit of allowing you to get to know other artists in your area. This way, you can create a network of professional creatives you can turn to for advice and opportunities.

Sell Goods

The most straightforward way to make money off of your hobby is to sell goods. If you’re a visual artist or craftsperson, there are many different ways to make your work available to customers. For example, you can reach out to small shops in your area to see if they’d feature local artists. You could also look into the craft fair circuit or get your art displayed in a gallery.

If you want to expand your market beyond those nearby, consider selling via an e-commerce site. By putting your goods up for sale online, you can reach anyone with an internet connection. Getting started in e-commerce can be a little intimidating, but there are plenty of guides and wikis that will help you get a strong footing in the online marketplace.

Show Off

Another great way to make money with your work is to find ways to show off your process. For some artists, such as musicians or actors, this is the simplest and most natural way to share your work with others. Finding paid gigs requires tenacity and persistence, but if you stick to your goals and make a name for yourself in your market, you’ll find it’s easier in the long run.

Photograph by Brett Sayles

If you’re a visual artist or craftsperson, you may still be able to find ways to work performance into your business. For example, glassblowing is known to draw a crowd. You don’t have to charge for the show: by demonstrating the process, you’ll pique interest in your product.  

Teach Others

Finally, you can turn your hobby into a business by sharing your skills with others. Becoming an art, craft, or music teacher is a great gig for the blossoming artist. Not only will you make money via lessons, but you’ll also reinforce and improve on your own skills. Students are likely to ask questions and come up with ideas you may not have considered on your own. In this way, you’ll get out of your own head and expand your process, making you even better with time. Plus, you’ll experience the joy of sharing the work you love with other interested – and with time, passionate – people. There’s nothing like watching your students come into their own.

Making a living from your art may seem like a dream, but it doesn’t have to be. With hard work and a touch of creative thinking, you can make your hobby into a lucrative business.

Photograph by Pixabay

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