Do You Need To Know Your Hobbies And Monetize Them?

According to popular industry reporting website Statista: On a global basis, the Toys, Hobby & DIY segment is projected to grow by 10.52% between 2022 to 2027 resulting in a market volume of US$ 994.80 billion by 2027.

This is very good news for anyone who wants to start a business or is already involved in the toys, hobby and DIY industry. Also, the pandemic which left a lot of people homebound to pursue their interests has greatly affected the growth in sales of these sectors.

It is also to be noted that many people even before the pandemic already have a hobby. It might not be apparent for some/many, but many people are already preoccupied in things and activities beside family, friends, society and work.

Incidentally, a hobby is defined by the online Oxford Languages dictionary as: “An activity done regularly in one's leisure time for pleasure.” I could also add that there are also people who spend a good deal of money pursuing their “hobbies.”

A hobby is one good way to counterbalance the stresses of life. Your Job or even Career can become monotonous if you do it non-stop with only little breaks in between. A hobby can make you forget at least temporarily the stresses of a job or career.

Although someone’s Family should be one’s utmost concern, there are also times when someone has to pause and take a break from their family concerns. A hobby can help someone recover from the stresses of being in a family.

Although Friends make up the most of our societal interactions, there are also times when you need to distance yourself from them at least temporarily. There are even people who prefer to be alone and are content with their hobbies.

Interacting with one’s Community and Society can also be unbearable at times especially if you’re only doing it out of a sense of Civic Duty. Hobbies can serve as a counterbalance between personal and societal pressures.

In general, life can be very lonely if you’re not spending at least a little of your time on the things and activities that you are passionate about. Hobbies may even clear your mind if you are deciding on a very important decision.

If you give it a deep thought, you would surely know what your true hobby is. For example, if you find that your day is incomplete without knowing the results of a certain sporting event and play it everytime you have free time, then the sport may be your hobby/passion.

Maybe your hobby is actually your job or career. Unlike many workers who may complain about their job, your hobby/passion might advancing in your job or career. So, don’t mind if people call you a workaholic.

If you spend good money on a thing or an activity even though its not a necessity in life, this might be your hobby. This is especially apparent if you are by nature a cheapskate. A lot of people’s weakpoint even financially are their hobbies.

Maybe your hobby is money so much so that you can’t stop thinking about having more of it in spite of the fact that you have already plenty of it. Many don’t realize this and feel guilty when people call them greedy.

Hobbies are also the things and activities you look forward to doing as soon as you get off work. For example, there are many workers who spend hours drinking at a bar after work. They’re not alcoholics but are just involved in their “hobby.”

This is because you are the best person to know most about your hobby and is therefore the best person to monetize it. This is especially true if you have a niche hobby where very few people participate in.

For example the hobby of some employees to drink in a bar for hours everyday can be turned into a product. Their conversations can be turned into a podcast especially if they talk about popular subjects such as the news of day, politics, sports and so on.

By monetizing your content in the form of YouTube videos, blogs, websites…etc, you are more than likely to come in contact with other people who share your hobby. Using our previous example, the bar drinkers might attract drinkers from other bars because of their podcast.

It could also be a way to showcase your talent and may open the doors for you to become known. Using our previous example again, the bar drinker’s political views might attract media companies who would pay them for their regular podcasts while they are drinking.

And finally, your hobby can become your full-time source of income. This enables you to engage in the things and activities you love and get paid doing it. Isn’t this what all people want as their jobs?

He actually came from a family of lawyers and civil servants and was actually studying at Harvard to become a lawyer. His past time or hobby was tinkering with business and computer technology back then.

He actually decided to pursue his hobbies more seriously and dropped out of college eventually. This is a very life-altering decision for him considering that he could have had leisurely cruised through life being just like his parents are.

He was actually taking a lot of risk back then considering that personal computers and computers in general were still considered more of a hobby back then and many considered that you can’t make a living out of them.

But even though many considered that personal computers were just a hobby, Bill Gates never relented on his passion for them. He bought the DOS software and the rest is history: For many decades he became the world’s richest man and to date is still one of the richest.

His hobby was clearly business and technology. Decades later, he also predicted that the internet would become very popular but he got laughed at. Later, he would prove all his detractors to be wrong. His hobby of technology allowed him to see in the future of technology.

We all know this man who created some of the most loved cartoon characters. His hobby and passion was always drawing cartoons. Even at the early age of seven he was already selling his sketches to his neighbors.

He did this whenever he go and at all ages. Even during World War 1, he sold his sketches to people while working as an ambulance driver in Europe. Imagine an American selling his own sketches to Europeans despite the cultural barrier.

After the war, he got a job as an advertising cartoonist to not only earn money but to also hone his craft. Despite cartoons not being very culturally popular back then, he nevertheless persevered on selling his cartoon creations.

He faced so many rejection from Hollywood and many other media companies, but this didn’t faze him. He was even laughed upon when he suggested the idea of Disneyland to investors. Many even branded him crazy for coming out with the concept.

But he never relented. He dreamed of a world where children and adult enjoyed seeing cartoon movies and going to his theme parks. The rest is history. Arguably, Walt Disney holds the most number of fictional characters in its portfolio. His hobby/passion became a profitable reality.

Please don’t start a hobby if your main goal is to become very rich and famous because of it. This is because you are more than likely to give it up once you realize that your wealth and riches may not come through it.

You must also get to know your true hobby as it is one of the ways you can counterbalance the many stresses of life. You might not get to have what you really wanted in life but hobbies can give you at least temporary bliss.

There are many ways to monetize a hobby especially since we are already living in the digital age where many physical things and activities can have an online equivalent. Online monetization of your hobby can be very profitable.

Hobbies can come in many forms. Your very job and career might be your hobby because you can’t imagine spending life without performing your job or career. It could be chasing money. There are people who are completely happy when they’re doing activities related to money.

Lastly, don’t be obsessed with your hobbies even though they are the ones you want to spend all your time on. Life is also about spending time with your family, friends, community and society in general while pursuing your life’s passions.

A hobby is a good way to counterbalance the many stresses in life. A bad situation at work, home, community or society can be at least temporarily relieved by a hobby. This must be the reason why there are people whose hobbies are drinking, partying or exercising.

Many of the things we spend our time on can be monetized. This includes our hobbies so it is best if you try to monetize it. Who knows, your hobby might become your full-time source of income. You can actually get lucky and be paid doing the things and activities you love.

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