With all the looting Kenyans have faced from our politicians to our churches and even our parents, making legitimate money here is harder than ever with people resorting to frivolous means of making money.
There is some hope though for some of us youngins. There is no reason why you cannot turn what you love doing into your side hustle and make extra shillings. All you need to do is spend time creating the right angle of how to make a profit from it and trying it out until you eventually you start making money from it. Before you start, research on what others are doing. This will guide you on how to outline what idea will work best for you and then from that you will be able to tailor make it to your surroundings.
Below are three common hobbies that you probably already do but should be earning from it too, and they are:
1. Cooking/Baking
Majority of us will have grown up knowing how to cook and you might find it a very easy and natural thing to do. You probably enjoy catering to guests or even baking for family occasions, birthdays to Christmas too. You get a lot of compliments when you do, so how about you turn it into something you do on the side.
Did you know that for a 2kg cake you could charge about Kshs 2,500? So if you made one a day for five days you will make Kshs 12,500 in a week and times that by four that’s Kshs 50,000, simply made from doing something you love and comes naturally too.
2. Handmade products
This can range from facial products, hair products, food products, jewellery to greeting cards. You could be passionate about it and also have a natural talent. Natural and organic products can vary from you wanting something that suits your face, your hair type or simply what gets your taste buds buzzing. You’d want to make something that is uniquely yours or greeting cards concept can come from your love for art and you simply enjoy experimenting with paper. The great thing about turning these kinds of hobbies into a business is the various markets in which you can test out selling the products. Just to see whether there is viability and from it and learn the best pricing points.
If you choose to experiment with this idea, keep your costs as low as possible, and in the initial stages before signing up to a market check it out first to see if it will be a viable option for what your selling. Also try to spend less than Ksh 2,000 a day for a market space because the idea is to spend on what is easy to recover back, even on a bad selling market day.
3. Makeup
If you spend a lot of time in the mirror getting those eyebrows on fleek, can get that winged eyeliner spot on even with your eyes closed. Or you’re able to easily advise others on ideal shades or even occasionally do make up for friends and family. Perhaps being a part-time makeup artist might be your thing.
On average for just a simple occasion you could charge Kshs 5,000 and the prices do increase for bridal or even commercial work. The better you get at it, not only will you be sought after but it can lead to an array of opportunities, for instance, Muthoni Njoba was one of the makeup artists for New York Fashion Week.
The key thing about makeup is to find your niche, your flare and your style. There is no limit to how creative you choose to get and in fact the more you explore with your ability the better. Also, invest in networking and collaborating with photographers, hair professionals and stylists because when one gets a job they will often think of also getting you the same gig too. Keep time and be professional in all your gigs, this is what will definitely lead you to have an impressive portfolio and a growing fanbase too. Lastly, take nice pictures of your work and share them in every realm possible, so people can begin to start building the association with you as a makeup artist.
The ways in which to earn money are limitless but how to identify what can be a money-making opportunity for you is basically what you would do without earning a dime. What you do naturally as well as what you constantly get complimented for doing. Whatever that maybe try your hand at turning into an income opportunity and if you don’t know how to research on what can be done then identify which one works best and do that.