Side hustles: 5 hobbies that can make you some serious cash

Hobbies are the things we do for fun when we can find the time between work, family, and all our other commitments.

Because our hobbies are a way of letting off steam and enjoying ourselves, we tend to psychologically separate them from making money. These days, however, people are beginning to discover their hobbies might help them make some cash on the side.

Below are five side hustles; hobbies that might allow you to make money from the activities you love most.

Writing

If you have a certain way with words, there are lots of opportunities out there for writers to monetise their talents. For a start, anyone with a little bit of tech know-how can set up their own blog, attach it to a social media account, and share their writing with the world.

You’ll need to be careful to write about a topic that helps you build a following, but there are thousands of examples of successful blogs out there, and the larger your following, the more opportunities you’ll have to make money through things like guest posting.

If you already have a writing portfolio, another option is freelance writing. Businesses need good quality copy (a LOT of it) but not every business has their own in-house content team, so some of them have to outsource it.

That means there are plenty of businesses out there who will be willing to pay you on a freelance basis for helping them out with one-off content projects, or even offer you more regular writing work if you build up a strong relationship. Check out freelance platforms like Copify for opportunities.

Baking

If you haven’t heard of the Great British Bake Off by now, you’ve been living under a rock cake. The show has put baking on the map, and given rise (accidental) to a new generation of bakers in the UK.

If you’re a keen baker with some time on your hands, there’s never been a better time for you to make some money from your passion. Social media gives you a platform to show off your wares, build up a following locally, and offer made-to-order cakes with a personal touch.

There’s also the opportunity to partner with local cafes and independent shops. Since lockdown, the support for shopping locally has increased, and every time you get your baking in a new shop window, you’re opening yourself up to a new customer base.

Dog walking and dog-sitting

There are loads of dog lovers out there who spend their free time taking care of their own dogs, looking after their family’s dogs, and generally looking for any opportunity to make some new furry friends.

If this is how you spend your time anyway, why not make some cash while you’re at it? As you’ll know if you’re a dog owner and you’ve ever tried to go away on holiday, people are happy to part with good money to make sure their pets are being well cared for while they’re away.

And if taking a dog for a long walk is your idea of relaxation, good quality dog-walkers can also command a high hourly rate. The best part is you don’t even need to find someone to take care of your dog while you work – just bring them along.

All you have to do to get going is set up a Facebook page, advertise in local newsletters and noticeboards, or drop an ad on gumtree. The more clients you build, the more reliable you’ll become in clients’ eyes, so you can raise your rate as you go.

Shopping

Some people may find themselves questioning whether shopping is a hobby, but true shopaholics would disagree.

If your idea of a great day out involves flipping through sales racks or clicking through clothing sites, and you have a great nose for a bargain, then you have a skill that could be really valuable.

In the age of online shopping, reselling has become a huge business. As you will have guessed, it’s about identifying items of clothing that have the potential to be valuable, buying them cheaply, and selling them on at a profit.

There’s various levels to reselling. You might want to start a depop and earn a few extra pounds a month by selling your unwanted items. For people who take it really seriously, there are resellers out there who pull in six figures a year.

Arts and crafts

Arts and crafts is a pretty broad category, which could mean anything from having a passion for painting, to being world-class at crochet. What connects the various different hobbies within arts and crafts is that people love bespoke artwork, and are happy to pay for it.

There are so many ways to profit from an interest in arts and crafts that we can’t name them all here, so let’s look at platforms instead. Sites like Etsy and Redbubble enable you to add all kinds of creations to the site, connect with customers, and decide how much you want to charge.

And if you’re not as interested in selling your wares, what about selling your time? Whatever kind of art or craft you’re passionate about, there’s guaranteed to be someone out there just as passionate about it who may need a helping hand.

Art tutoring allows you to hone your own skills while helping to build those same skills in other people. Whether you want to run one-to-one sessions or even take a class at your local community centre, tutoring gives you the option to feed your passion while boosting your bank balance.