Everyone has something to do and are passionate about even if you don’t make any money doing it. It could be writing, translating, editing, painting, and others. But what if you could turn your hobby into a business? What if you get paid to cook food or take pictures?

Check out what you need to know, before you set out to make money with what you love to do.

Ask yourself why?

It’s important that you know your goal, do you want to earn extra money while keeping your job, or are you looking to start a business that is your main source of income? Being clear about your goals would be helpful in the process.

Are you ready to handle stress?

Turning your hobby into an endeavor could cause you to stop liking it at times. Are you so passionate about it that you have to endure the stress, the deadlines and the financial repercussions, atleast in the initial days of starting the business? It’s one thing to practice your passion in a relaxed way, in your spare time, and quite another to practice it for years, every day, under pressure. Of course, as your business grows your motivation will also increase.

Make the most of your time

Between office work, children and other responsibilities, you may have little time left to start your business. That’s why, at first, you’ll need to use your creativity to find your free time. For example, you can wake up an hour early in the morning or, why not, ask your children for help.

But remember, if your schedule is too tight, you could lose productivity.

Research the market

Before you invest money in your idea, you should find out if there is demand for your product or service. Among other things, you should investigate how big the potential market is, who the people would be interested in, what their income would be, if there are other businesses offering the same thing as you and how much you are currently paying for that product or service.

Create a plan

To start monetizing your hobby, you need to put together a strategy. The clearer your path and outlook (including what you’ve found out about the market), the more likely you are to do well. Guitar teacher Tom Hess, for example, began teaching in the evenings and on weekends, while continuing his work and saving money, according to the magazine. Once he had enough funds to cover four to six months of expenses, he would have quit his job, devoting himself entirely to teaching. Your plan, of course, will depend on the business being planned.

If in doubt, you can consult a financial advisor.

Money Saving Tips for Small Businesses

Running a business (small or big) is no easy task, especially if costs increase every year. However, you can use some smart methods to reduce costs. Sounds good, doesn’t it? Let’s understand how small business owners can save money

1. Reduce space

The offices have become more efficient, because thanks to mobile devices and collaborative workstations, among other advances, space has been reduced.

Work from home?

If your business allows it, you can save money on insurance, taxes and services. Today, technology offers you a much more mobile way to manage yourself.

2. Save on employees

Look for interns or freelancers. You can also offer short-term jobs. If one of these employees stands out, you can hire him or her on a permanent basis.

3. Print less

In addition to ink and paper costs, you should also consider storage space. Instead, save your files digitally on a hard drive/cloud servers and print them out only if necessary.

4. Travel less

While you cannot avoid certain meetings, it makes sometimes worth to schedule meetings digitally with video calls, and avoid travel (and save the costs of doing so).

5. Negotiate with your suppliers

These are necessary expenses, but many suppliers are open to negotiate a better price, as they would rather do that than lose a customer.

6. Save on advertising

Traditional advertisements, such as those seen on television, are very expensive. On the other hand, paid ads on social networks tend to be cheaper and also capture a large audience, according to Money Crashers.

Free advertising

If you take the time to build an identity on social networks, gain followers and generate content, you could get a lot of attention for free, without paying for ads.

7. Insurance

Sit down with your insurance agent and detail all aspects of your business to find convenient coverage. You’ll be surprised at the difference in price between different companies.

8. Make the most of your time

Find out which tasks are priorities and better manage the time you spend on them. For example, work on your company’s marketing to attract new customers, which means more profits.

Other benefit: less stress

Making good use of time means understanding that some tasks, such as answering emails late at night, do not provide a benefit. If you work on this aspect, your health will also improve.

9. Prepare for your taxes well

Minimizing your tax bill can be the most efficient way to improve your business results. This means taking advantage of all available deductions in your favor.

10. Maintain business expense record

Get into the habit of keeping track of all business expenses by keeping receipts. You can also write down your vehicle’s mileage when you travel on business.

11. Use the cloud

If you want to reduce costs in maintaining your servers and everything related to technology, using “the cloud” is very beneficial, as it requires virtually no technical support.