Christina has a small bakery. As a hobby, she has been designing websites for fun for the last 10 years. What she enjoys most is trying all the new web building software. In the past three years she’s created websites for her friends and family but never for money or as a business.
She was recently approached by a small business to design their website. This opportunity started her thinking about generating additional income this way. Many business owners want to follow their passion and make money, but is it really feasible?
Hobbies are supposed to be fun and oftentimes we spend a lot of money on them. Christina pays over $200 in web hosting fees for her various websites. The transition from hobby to business can easily take the fun out of the hobby: as any business owner knows, there’s a lot more to a business than simply what you sell.
The upside of being a business business owner—like Christina with her bakery—is that you already have the knowledge to build a new business. With your systems in place, adding a second revenue stream should not be a daunting process. Here are a few considerations to think through before deciding to turn your hobby into a second business.
Current vs. New. Should you spend your time developing a new business idea or work to grow your current one? Everyone gets in a rut sometimes and has days where any business idea seems 10 times better than the one they’re currently embroiled in. But the answer there is simple: to succeed, you have to persevere. Every business faces rough patches and jumping ship is not going to solve that problem. If you are starved for time, starting a new business is not going to fix the problem.
Complementary service. Does the hobby align with your current business? While rare, some hobbies can complement your current business, and this can be a great way to provide more value to your clients. However, it’s important to stick to your niche and not dilute your core offering with unnecessary products or services. Leveraging your current clients is a great way to grow your business; however, what you offer should bring just as much value to them as your core product.
Fun or business. Will turning your hobby into a business take the fun out of it? We often enjoy hobbies because they are stress-free and offer a way to escape the day-to-day grind. This freedom is lost when the beans have to be counted and every expense justified. You must be willing to apply your business knowledge to your hobby. If you’re simply in search of some extra income, consider getting a job in the industry rather than turning your hobby into a business.
Making money. Can you monetize your hobby? I like to go wine tasting, but that’s a long stretch from being a wine blogger or wine judge. It’s unlikely I can monetize this hobby directly, but I can leverage wine tasting events as networking events: enjoy a great Cab and get more business, does life get any better?
Making the decision to turn a hobby into a business can be quick, but there are always other angles to consider. If making more money is the goal, consider spending more time on your current business instead of a new one. With a complimentary service, the fear is that more sales to your current customers will turn them away—but it can also provide more value. As well, not everyone likes to mix business and pleasure, so it often comes down to personal preference. And, if you look for them, there are often other ways to leverage your hobbies to boost your current business.
After Christina considered the current offer to build the website, she chose to decline it. The service has nothing to do with her main business: the bakery. While she enjoys designing websites, she’s afraid that errors will reflect on the quality of her baked goods which is misaligned with web design. Not every opportunity that shows up is the right one to jump into.
This article originally appeared on Entrepreneur