There are many occasions to celebrate in January. January 1st is the beginning of the New Year. We celebrate Martin Luther King, Jr. Day in January. Every four years, we celebrate the inauguration of a new or returning president. January also happens to be National Hobby Month. Therefore small business owners may look at this time of year as a time to turn their hobby into a side or fulltime hustle.
The quote, “Find a job that you love and you will never work a day in your life,” has encouraged many small business owners to hang out their shingle.
It is hard to estimate the number of businesses that began as a hobby, but the number has to be impressive. Many small business owners begin their enterprises based on an interest or hobby because they believe it is a legitimate way of moving from the drudge of their daily grind to something exciting that they love.
And while working on activities that you love is more enjoyable than doing work that you hate, you should be mindful of a few pitfalls.
Small business owners who are hobby hustlers often work from home. If you work from home, whether it is your hobby or a generic vocation, it is important to set parameters about your virtual office space.
If you have enough space, it is important to designate an area that is exclusively for work. Make it a hard fast rule that when you work, that is the area that you use. And when you are not working, you simply do not use that space.
If you don't have the space, you may be able to create parameters by designating a certain time of day or day of the week as the time when you work on your hustle hobby.
Another trick that often helps small business owners who work from home is to actually leave their home and reenter it. When they reenter, they are reentering with the mindset that they are going to work.
These measures may not work for you. But it is important to find a strategy that does separate work from your leisure life. When your work is also your hobby, it can be more challenging than you realize to put the closed sign on the door.
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