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Monetizing hobbies

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Re: Monetizing hobbies

#61

Post by mooreds »

blantonl wrote: post #34

Ah, the old phrase "my avocation is my vocation" I'm very blessed to be able to tell people this. When I was growing up, my grandmother had a radio scanner in her small town Virginia home, and I was fascinated that you could listen in on what the police and fire departments were doing on a daily basis. My parents bought me a radio scanner a few years later and as a young boy I followed the rabbit hole of radio commun…

That is awesome, congrats!

I wonder what percentage of people of working age have this privilege (or more precisely, have earned it!).

Re: Monetizing hobbies

#62

Post by mooreds »

AussieWog93 wrote: post #8

I've monetised my hobbies three times so far. All three times it has become lucrative, but none of them are hobbies any more. One of the important things along the way I've learned is that what makes hobbies relaxing and fun isn't about the specific task you're doing but the fact that it's about enjoying the process of making/doing rather than feeling pressure to deliver the end result. That's not to say I have any r…

> the whole adage about "do what you love and you'll never work another day in your life" doesn't apply to running a small business.

Is that because when you turn a hobby into a business there are lots of non-hobby tasks and requirements? Like sales, marketing, etc, etc?

Or because of the pressure of delivering the result?

Or for some other reason?

Re: Monetizing hobbies

#63

Post by earth_walker »

mooreds wrote: post #62
AussieWog93 wrote: post #8

I've monetised my hobbies three times so far. All three times it has become lucrative, but none of them are hobbies any more. One of the important things along the way I've learned is that what makes hobbies relaxing and fun isn't about the specific task you're doing but the fact that it's about enjoying the process of making/doing rather than feeling pressure to deliver the end result. That's not to say I have any r…

> the whole adage about "do what you love and you'll never work another day in your life" doesn't apply to running a small business. Is that because when you turn a hobby into a business there are lots of non-hobby tasks and requirements? Like sales, marketing, etc, etc? Or because of the pressure of delivering the result? Or for some other reason?

Most hobbies doesn't have sales, marketing, taxes, regulatory mandated recordkeeping, deadlines, people yelling at you, or "regular business hours". Businesses have most if not all of these.

Re: Monetizing hobbies

#65

Post by WJW »

mooreds wrote: post #62
AussieWog93 wrote: post #8

I've monetised my hobbies three times so far. All three times it has become lucrative, but none of them are hobbies any more. One of the important things along the way I've learned is that what makes hobbies relaxing and fun isn't about the specific task you're doing but the fact that it's about enjoying the process of making/doing rather than feeling pressure to deliver the end result. That's not to say I have any r…

> the whole adage about "do what you love and you'll never work another day in your life" doesn't apply to running a small business. Is that because when you turn a hobby into a business there are lots of non-hobby tasks and requirements? Like sales, marketing, etc, etc? Or because of the pressure of delivering the result? Or for some other reason?

Hobbies are almost by definition not mandatory activities. Earning money to eat and pay the mortgage is not really optional. Making the hobby activity mandatory will make it feel a lot more like work and a lot less like a "fun" activity. It might not be as bad as working in an Amazon warehouse, but it'll be a job all the same.

Worst case, if you get burned out on the new job you will not only no longer have a job but also won't enjoy your hobby anymore.

Re: Monetizing hobbies

#68

Post by jlokier »

DoreenMichele wrote: post #55
u2077 wrote: post #10

As someone with a somewhat successful side project, I highly recommend monetizing it. However, you should choose a small enough price that you don’t feel like you owe customers fast support or every feature they ask for. (In some cases a donation button may be better) Also, when you start expecting your project to meet income requirements, it can take the fun out extremely fast. Part of the fun is being able to work…

(In some cases a donation button may be better) If you are not a charity, do not call it a donation. Call it a tip .

Fun fact: Tips are subject to income tax, donations are not.

That may be relevant to people seriously monetizing their hobbies.

(Whether something is, for tax purposes, a tip or a donation is determined by the reason the money is given, not what you call it, but if it's truly a donation then I'd be inclined to call it one just in case that influences some judgement further down the line.)

Re: Monetizing hobbies

#70

Post by WJW »

DoreenMichele wrote: post #55
u2077 wrote: post #10

As someone with a somewhat successful side project, I highly recommend monetizing it. However, you should choose a small enough price that you don’t feel like you owe customers fast support or every feature they ask for. (In some cases a donation button may be better) Also, when you start expecting your project to meet income requirements, it can take the fun out extremely fast. Part of the fun is being able to work…

(In some cases a donation button may be better) If you are not a charity, do not call it a donation. Call it a tip .

Is there some legal distinction? Getting money with the expectation that it will be used to further some vaguely defined public good you are doing (writing freely available software in this case) sounds exactly like a charity, especially since you will be doing most of the public good regardless of whether you get the donation or not. A tip on the other hand is an additional payment for some good or service that you were already paying for, but that is not the case for most software projects.
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