Turning a hobby in to a career

If your daily grind is grinding you down, maybe it's time to consider a change for the better. If you have a hobby you love to do... why not work at turning it into your next job?
Hobbies That Can Be Turned Into Careers
What do you love to do? And, what would spend more time doing, if you only had the time? Photography, sewing, jewelry making, woodworking, furniture refinishing, dog training or grooming, gift baskets, baking or decorating cakes... the list goes on and on.
When you think about it, these are services that we all need and use every day. So, why aren't you out there doing something you love to do?
How You Can Get Started
Lots of people who have these types of dream jobs started small.
Consider Debbi Fields of "Mrs. Fields Cookie" fame. She is proof that you can take something you love to do and turn it into an international business with hundreds of stores worldwide.
Of course, success like that doesn't happen overnight. It started by her baking chocolate chip cookies for family and friends as a young girl.
She continued experimenting with recipes until she finally got brave enough to take that "big" step and opened up her first store in Palo Alto, California.
That's how it happens. And when you think about it, world-class photographers started out as hobbyists; clothing designers started out as budding seamstresses... but they all had a vision.
Have Plan, Will Succeed
Unless you're financially able, your hobby might need to be a part-time job at first. Let's say that you are a cake decorator, with wedding cakes being your forte, for example. How do you expand your part-time business into a full-time career?
Have some inexpensive business cards made up for your cake decorating business.
Decorate cakes for friends and family. Donate your decorated cakes to local bake sale events. Make it known that you decorate cakes as a business, and include a business card in with each cake you donate.
In that way, you're beginning word-of-mouth marketing.
Create a portfolio by taking pictures of your decorated cakes. If you can, gather some testimonials from people on the quality and taste of your cakes. Offer your services to wedding planners, caterers, and bakeries.
Of course, when you start selling your cakes for profit, you'll need to treat your cake-decorating hobby as a business.
So you'll need to learn the finer points of running a small business, tax laws and such.