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Turn your hobby into money

Published by sam - 02/09/07 - 06:09:09 am

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Jay Aldeguer, founder of Islands Souvenirs, started his business just from collecting souvenirs abroad. He initially bought books and figurines, but those became too inconvenient to carry around. So he shifted to t-shirts as souvenirs, which also served as a good change of clothes, he funnily recalls.

Not long after, an idea popped up. Why not make a business out of souvenirs? So from buying and collecting souvenir shirts, he put up Island Souvenirs in 1992, packaging usable souvenirs with a tropical motif. Not only did he make money, he bagged numerous awards, including the 2005 Ernst and Young Small Business Entrepreneur award.

“Turning a hobby into a business would be a perfect foundation for any enterprise,” Jay says. If you are now thinking to turn your hobby or interest into a moneymaking endeavor, here are some tips:

Find your niche. Sure, selling souvenir shirts are old news. But in Jay’s case, he found a market of local and foreign tourists who wanted souvenir items that really captured the spirit of the place they are visiting, not just some generic stuff.

Act like a business. It’s no longer a hobby, so treat it like a real business. From the start, Jay set up all the necessary systems in place to allow him to survive in the cutthroat retail market.

Stay fresh. Even when you hit the right formula, you need to keep updating it. Jay knew that innovation spells out the difference between continuing success and a has-been, so his design team regularly goes abroad to scout for concepts that will click with customers.

Start on eBay. Selling to friends and relatives or putting a shop or joining a bazaar are immediate possibilities for anyone starting a business, but Jay notes the potential of Internet as the new marketplace. “eBay, for instance, is a great marketplace for a hobby turned into a business. The startup cost is negligible and overhead is minimal. I’ve used it and made decent profit,” Jay shares.

Be open-minded. Listening to customers’ feedback as well as getting suggestions from his employees keep Islands Souvenirs on its toes. But Jay admits, “In the end, I still rely on my gut feel.”

Keep it fun. As Jay says, hobbies evolve from passions, but a business requires work and responsibility. But that doesn’t mean it should no longer be fun for you. Keep the passion burning.
 

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