I’ve been saying for awhile now that we live in an age where anyone can literally make money doing anything. Between having anyone in the world at your fingertips through social media, to utilizing marketplaces like Etsy or Amazon to bring your craft hobby to life, to building a platform and brand of your own for the minuscule cost of creating a website, there is no excuse not to be able to start making money doing what you love. Even if it’s just pocket change and a fun little side-gig.

If you find yourself getting a little antsy in your day job, or just feeling like a massive part of you isn’t being tapped into the way it should (believe me, I’ve been there), then listen up. I’m here to help.

Here are my top recommendations for you to help you get started.

First, Do Your Homework

What is it that you truly love? What excites you or energizes you? Food? Travel? Jewelry? Interior design? Books? Football? Heck, gambling? Are there certain people you follow on social media that currently make money doing the same thing? Go find their backstories and read all about their journey. They started from somewhere just like you so it will very informative and inspiring for you to learn from them. Just remember, they went through a journey, not overnight success.

The next question to ask yourself related to what you love is, what’s missing? With the homework you’ve done, and the expertise you might already have in that area, are there things you wish existed that currently don’t? Do you see an opportunity for you to come into the playing field with a better option for people? Research, research, research, and spend a lot of time thinking through things.

Just like your favorite football team does with their competition, like in the case of these Chargers Super Bowl odds, time spent researching other players beforehand puts you at an advantage to know how you can come in, stand out, and one-up with your talents and skills.

Make Your Passion Known

You don’t need to have a full business model put together to get started. You need to start building yourself a platform, showing off to people how passionate you are about xyz, so that you can catch people’s attentions who just might relate to you. So get on social media and start posting about what it is you love. Show pictures of yourself doing whatever it is, or share pictures of whatever it is, so then people who realize they share the same joy will want to follow you. You need to do this over and over so you can start to establish a platform and brand identity for yourself.

Start Making Connections

Going off my comments above, start connecting with like-minded people or those in the niche/industry you love. Finding the right connections isn’t easy, and this part can be uncomfortable for many, but let me assure you, most people inherently love to help others, not screw them over. So don’t shy away from reaching out to people you think might be beneficial to your cause.

Connecting to people via LinkedIn, joining relevant Facebook groups, or attending local meetups or online events are all simple, wonderful ways to do this.

Consider Starting a Blog/Vlog

Again, going off the above, when turning certain passions into an income, you could find that starting a blog or a vlog is a beneficial way of showing people that you’re passionate and knowledgeable about something. If you want to work for a book PR company, having your own blog or vlog in which you review books is a GREAT way of showing just how much you love and know about books. Setting up a blog or vlog costs nothing, making it an option for anyone to explore.

A blog or a vlog could even become a money-making platform in itself.  If you get enough readers/viewers, it may be possible to monetize your blog or vlog through ad revenue. Some people are also able to make money via sponsored content. You can read these guides on how to make money from blogging and how to make money from vlogging for more information.

Find Your Niche

At this point, do ask yourself who would most benefit from your passion project that you’d like to turn into an income stream. Get pretty clear on this and start seeking out those types of people directly. It’s also a great way to understand your market and get an idea of what the demand might be like for your passion/skillset and where those people who might be seeking you are hanging out.

Lastly, Get Moving!

There’s a lot of people in this world and a lot of access for anyone to tap into anything. So you can’t sit back and just dream. Start pushing yourself to take steps forward. Be realistic with yourself. Expect that these things take time and there is a growth process to everything. Nothing happens overnight or at the snap of a finger. So make sure you love this particular passion so much that you will be in love with the process and the journey. That’s what living life is all about anyways. Now get moving!

-Kristin