When I become a parent, my focus shifted to what I deemed a priority. No longer was it my job or social life my main focus, but instead, it became my family. It makes sense that as a parent, you will want a career that allows you to not only pay the bills but be around as much as you need to be to see your child grow up and have a better work-home life balance. Many people look for different careers to help them be at home more and put their family first. For some, this is a career change. For others, it is starting a completely new venture. Becoming your own boss is something many people dream of, especially if it allows you to work flexibly around family and choose your own hours. One such way is to look at turning your hobby into a new career. After all, if you already love doing it and you have a talent for it, then why not? But before you take the plunge, ask yourself the following question: Can your hobby become a viable business idea?
Is there a market for it?
Ask your family and friends if they would buy what you offer to get a feel for demand. Next, have a quick search online to see if many other businesses are offering the same or similar. This will help you gauge what demand there will be in the wider market or if it is currently saturated and your new venture would potentially get lost in the mix.
Do you have a USP?
What is your unique selling point or USP? What makes what you do or what you offer different from everyone else offering the same. If the answer is nothing, how can you fill a gap in the market that no one else is and give your customers something they can’t get anywhere else. Give yourself a fighting chance of success by researching the options available to consumers and seeing how you can fit in.
How will you deliver your products or services?
For many people, if they offer a service, this can be done face to face or online. Virtual meetings are just as popular as face to face and allow you and customers a level of flexibility that can fit into your day on the basis that works for all parties.
Suppose you are offering a physical product, you need to take into consideration your delivery options. If you are offering local delivery, how will you factor this not the time you have available and the cost to do the deliveries. If you plan on shipping nationwide, you need to look at the best options available that help you keep costs at a reasonable level and allow for the product to reach the customer in a short timescale. Less-than-load options for shipping can give you more options when it comes to different ways to shop your products.
