Do you have a hobby or a business?

Written by Amanda Rose

Many small business women started out with a hobby that they turned (or tried to turn) into a small business.

It is important however to be very clear on whether it is a hobby OR a business. It can’t be both. A hobby is something you invest time and money into for enjoyment and you don’t expect a financial return. A business however is where you invest time and money and you most definitely expect a return!

If you are making the plunge into the small business world you need to start considering these things:

1. What business structure will you be using? Sole trader? Company?
2. Do you have a business account and a system to track expenses and sales?
3. Do you know how much your products/services cost to create and deliver?

How you talk about your business is important.

• Stop saying it is a hobby if you want people to see it as a business.
• Remove the terms “I think” and “I hope” when talking about your business. People prefer to buy from confident people not those who are unsure on what they are creating/delivering.
• Don’t be random with your social media and communications – aka don’t be half arsed about it
• Stop saying to people things like “oh it’s just my little business” or “it’s just a hobby that I have turned into a mini side hustle”
• Instead, speak confidently about what you have to offer. Start referring to yourself a small business owner

Start charging.

This is the hardest part when turning a hobby into a business. If you want to build your networks then use your products as birthday gifts (and make sure it is branded) or offer your services to a hand full of people to build up your experience if necessary but don’t live in a perpetual state of “freebies”.

If you don’t take what you do seriously then no-one else will.

It’s really that simple.