How 4 Women Turned Their Hobbies Into Cash

“It’s really easy to set up shop. You can have an idea and set it up the next day. The real challenge is understanding your market, understanding your clients and how they access you, and figuring all that out before you start making money.”

If you’re not quite sure about taking the leap, “test out your business idea and gauge customer interest by taking on a few projects or side gigs,” says Nancy Collamer, retirement coach and author of Second-Act Careers: 50+ Ways to Profit from your Passions. “These days, there are hundreds of online platforms where hobbyists can monetize their interests, such as Etsy for crafters or Rover.com for animal lovers.”

Boost your skills to boost your business

For Annette Burke Lyttle, understanding her clients came easy because they were interested in something that had fascinated her since she was 11: genealogy. Lyttle, who lives in Colorado, is president of the Association of Professional Genealogists and owner of Heritage Detective, where she helps novice researchers reveal family histories that are often blocked by dead-ends and brick walls. 

Her interest in genealogy began with a middle school assignment to build a family tree. At her mother’s suggestion, Lyttle reached out to a great-grandmother and was intrigued to learn about an ancestor who lived during the American Revolution. “And that, for some reason, just grabbed me, and it’s never let go.”

When her mother passed away, Lyttle inherited a treasure trove of meticulous notes, photographs and other records, and “the bug just bit again.” 

“I threw myself full-time into genealogy, and then I discovered that there was such a thing as a professional genealogist,” she says. She thought it might be fun to help others, and, after a great deal of study, she opened her business in 2014.

“The key to being a professional genealogist is to get as much education as possible because it’s really very complicated,” she says. To help her business be more successful, Lyttle enrolled in several non-degree genealogy programs to improve her skills.

Nancy Collamer, the retirement coach, suggests that budding entrepreneurs investigate certification programs. “That might help you more easily profit from your hobbies,” she says. “You can find low-cost courses offered through community colleges, adult education programs and industry associations.”

From social activity to startup business

Sometimes, your friends, family and others in your networks can help you turn your hobbies and interests into a business opportunity. One example is Lisa Zeitel, 65, founder of Epicurean Pantry, which specializes in sales of black garlic, a specialty food with antioxidant properties. After retiring in January 2022 from a 40-year corporate career, Zeitel was looking for a second act but had no idea what it might be.

The answer came while sailing with friends off the coast of Greece. The party’s host, who happened to be a producer of black garlic as well as a skillful chef, introduced them to the savory spice.

Zeitel, who also has a background in nutrition, was inspired. “I always loved food, particularly the healthy and very flavorful … I immediately fell in love.”  She decided to export his products to the U.S., despite having no experience in the export industry.

Zeitel immersed herself in research about getting started as friends rallied behind her. One of her sailing companions introduced her to a consultant who agreed to help her create a business plan. That relationship led to a meeting with an attorney who helped her negotiate with the supplier and later to incorporate the business. By July 2023, she received her first shipment. 

Her online business went live in December offering an array of delicacies — from cloves and pastes to garlic infused honey — to health-conscious and discerning home chefs. The pantry’s products can even be found at several specialty markets in Connecticut, where Zeitel resides.

Your business can be a way to support your hobby

In some cases, earning money off your hobby is the best way to make your interests more affordable. Betsy Lehndorff has been a working silversmith for 15 years, but making jewelry has been a hobby since she was a full-time homicide reporter for a major daily newspaper in Denver. The 2007 recession and her mother’s death led to an unanticipated life change at age 55. 

“I was interested in design and was hoping I could create jewelry nobody else was making. I settled on creating pieces with three-dimensional figures in them that told a little story,” Lehndorff says.

“I started by taking beginning silversmithing classes, which were very expensive. Then I practiced in my apartment kitchen, using the stove hood to vent soldering fumes.”

To cut costs, she acted as a teaching assistant at a local recreation center in exchange for free classes.

“This is an expensive hobby. I set myself up as a business so I could buy materials wholesale and deduct expenses against earnings.”

After seeking the advice of a professional career counselor, Lehndorff began selling her wares at art fairs and cooperative galleries and set up a website for her new venture, Hubbard Lakes Silversmiths. She has taught classes in her craft and has written for industry publications.

It hasn’t been big money for her, Lehndorff says, “but having a purpose is great.”