by Katherine Huether

Created on: September 02, 2007

Have you been dreaming of starting your own business? You can easily turn your hobby into a thriving business. It will take hard work and dedication to make it work, but if you stick with it and don't give up, you'll find success.

The following is a guide that is designed to get you started.

WHAT ARE YOUR HOBBIES?

Think about all the hobbies that you have. Make a list. Don't think about if you want to pursue them as a business just yet. Make your list first and then you'll go through it. The reason why you don't want to filter just yet is that you may accidentally discount what will turn out to be a great idea.

After you make the list, you're ready to think about whether or not you want to do it for a business. Some hobbies are meant to stay as a hobby. Others can be taken to the next level. Think really hard about if you truly want to get paid for your hobby. If not, find something else. For example, I love making chocolates - it's a hobby. I could easily set up a chocolate shop, but I won't. For me, chocolate making is stress relief. Taking it to the next level will be stressful.

WRITE YOUR BUSINESS PLAN

Once you figure out what you want to do, your next step is to figure out how you'll make it a success. This is formerly termed as your "business plan". People have this idea that the business plan needs to be complicated, long, and flashy. Unless you want to get a loan or find investors, the plan is just for your eyes. For information on what to do visit www.sba.gov.

My business plan is a rough, one page word document. On the top, I listed my goals. In the rest of my space, I listed how I would achieve those goals. I also spent a sentence or two talking about how I would promote my business. You can make it as simple or as complex as you want. I chose the simple route and it's been working out well for me.

START A WEBSITE

If you have a presence on the internet, you'll get more customers in the long run. If you sell crafts, for example, you can put them up for sale on your website, start an ebay store, etc. Even if you have a brick and mortar business or you sell things at craft fairs you can still benefit from having a website.

There are plenty of free sites such as blogger.com or you can sign up for your own domain and use a hosting service. You can easily find inexpensive hosting and domain registration services by searching online or asking around.

PROMOTE YOUR BUSINESS

Besides having a website, there are several other ways you can promote your business. Here are some ideas:

* Hand out business cards

* Print up a brochure and hand it to potential customers

* Tell people about your business

* Promote your website online

* Set up a booth at crafts fairs - hold a drawing, choose a winner, and keep in touch with those who didn't win

* Start an online newsletter in a subject related to your business.

The possibilities are almost endless. You can search online or ask other business owners for more ideas.

SET UP YOUR BOOKKEEPING

This is often the last thing new business owners think of, but it's the most important. If you aren't organized, you'll have a hard time getting things together at tax time. Besides, how are you going to keep track of your progress? At the very least you should keep track of:

* Earnings

* Expenses

* Mileage

* Charitable donations

For a more detailed list of what you need to do, you may want to contact your accountant and have them give you advice.

If you follow these steps, you'll be able to turn your part time hobby into a successful full time home business in no time.

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