looking for a hobby that can be turned into a career (1 Viewer)

[moleculo]

so here's my deal: my youngest daughter is about to go into kindergarten next year. By the time she graduates from HS, I will be in a financial position where I won't need a FBG-sized salary any more and can afford a severe pay cut. By then, my house should be paid off, kids college funds will be paid, will no longer need life insurance, will have enough in my 401(k)/IRA/Roth that I wouldn't need to contribute any more, student loans will be gone, etc. I won't be able to retire, but my income needs would be such that all I would require are basic necessities - groceries, utilities, etc. I will be 52 years old at that point.

By that point, I don't really want to be doing what I'm doing now. I don't really care for the office job and I'd like to do something more fun. Any job that is "fun" usually doesn't pay well because there are people doing the same thing right now as a hobby for free - if they aren't actually paying to do it.

I'm thinking that if I spent the next 10 years honing my skills at a particular "hobby", I should be good enough at it to charge for my services at some point. I'd like this hobby/job to be able to support me for about 15 years when I will be able to retire completely.

Here are some examples:

* fishing guide - this is tough because while I do love to fish, I don't necessarily plan to stay in this area forever. Also, i'm not very good at it.

* beermaster - my leading contender. i am a home-brewer and love the idea of going pro. I'd imagine that 15 years of home-brewing experience, a couple of (future) medals at competitions, a lifetime of corporate experience and some basic formal education should get me in the door pretty easily.

* beekeeper - seems to me like it should be pretty easy, but I don't have available land to do this - not sure how the HOA would feel about keeping hives in my residential neighborhood.

* small engine / appliance repair - I'm pretty good mechanically, love to tinker and troubleshoot. give me a few classes and 10 years worth of tinkering, I'd bet I could make a living doing this.

* martial arts- I have 4 years of jiu-jitsu already. Give me another 10 years, I should be well qualified to instruct. Downside: not sure my body will be able to take it.

What else is out there?

 

[Leroy Hoard]

Collecting wheat pennies.

 

[Timmay]

VCR repair, in 15 years you should have a monopoly on the industry.

 

[Rayderr]

Photographer - Could be lucrative depending on what you specialize in.

 

[Scoresman]

woodworking

 

[General Malaise]

Photographer - Could be lucrative depending on what you specialize in.

lol....

 

[moleculo]

Collecting wheat pennies.

obviously.

 

[SacramentoBob]

I've never heard of an out of work prostitute.

 

[Rayderr]

Photographer - Could be lucrative depending on what you specialize in.

lol....

I'm not kidding. Know a guy who makes a decent amount of the money on the side as a butterfly/bird photographer. I'm not talking a speck in a lanscape shot. I'm talking extreme closeup in it's natural habitat. The type of shots you wait all day for.

 

[SacramentoBob]

In all seriousness, why not just be an adjunct professor at some online university. You're a degreed engineer, I'm sure you could find enough part time work to keep the bills paid.

 

[General Malaise]

I've never heard of an out of work prostitute.

WRONG!

 

[moleculo]

In all seriousness, why not just be an adjunct professor at some online university. You're a degreed engineer, I'm sure you could find enough part time work to keep the bills paid.

that's an option, but it still sounds like work to me. I've never heard of anyone teaching as a hobby.

 

[Jaysus]

I was going to say homebrewing... looks like you are good to go there. Maybe add distilling to round it out and create a but of a niche?

 

[moleculo]

I was going to say homebrewing... looks like you are good to go there. Maybe add distilling to round it out and create a but of a niche?

Honestly, I think the whole craft beer thing is a bit of a bubble and it will be tough to find gainful employment in the beer business in 10-15 years. Distilling, now there's some fertile ground.

 

[SacramentoBob]

In all seriousness, why not just be an adjunct professor at some online university. You're a degreed engineer, I'm sure you could find enough part time work to keep the bills paid.

that's an option, but it still sounds like work to me. I've never heard of anyone teaching as a hobby.

I've never done it, but I've seen several people on FBGs who have. They've said it's pretty easy after the first class and you get all your training material together. What could be easier than grading papers in your underwear? It's not really a hobby, but it seems like it'd be a reliable source of income without having to take up a hobby you may not have a knack for making money with.

What exactly does a self-employed pro beermaster do?

 

[moleculo]

In all seriousness, why not just be an adjunct professor at some online university. You're a degreed engineer, I'm sure you could find enough part time work to keep the bills paid.

that's an option, but it still sounds like work to me. I've never heard of anyone teaching as a hobby.

I've never done it, but I've seen several people on FBGs who have. They've said it's pretty easy after the first class and you get all your training material together. What could be easier than grading papers in your underwear? It's not really a hobby, but it seems like it'd be a reliable source of income without having to take up a hobby you may not have a knack for making money with.

What exactly does a self-employed pro beermaster do?

own a commercial brewery/taproom

 

[General Malaise]

Photographer - Could be lucrative depending on what you specialize in.

lol....

I'm not kidding. Know a guy who makes a decent amount of the money on the side as a butterfly/bird photographer. I'm not talking a speck in a lanscape shot. I'm talking extreme closeup in it's natural habitat. The type of shots you wait all day for.

My wife is a photographer. It's not an easy business to get into and very very VERY few people can make a good living doing it on their own. I'm not saying it's impossible, but I will share this with my wife later. She'll get a laugh out of it.

 

[Worm]

Another vote for photography. You can hone your skills over the next 10 years pretty easily. You have easy subjects to practice on of you want to be a people photographer. You can specialize in any kind of photography you want, and if nature is your thing it's a great excuse to go on different trips to cool places.

 

[Worm]

Photographer - Could be lucrative depending on what you specialize in.

lol....

I'm not kidding. Know a guy who makes a decent amount of the money on the side as a butterfly/bird photographer. I'm not talking a speck in a lanscape shot. I'm talking extreme closeup in it's natural habitat. The type of shots you wait all day for.

My wife is a photographer. It's not an easy business to get into and very very VERY few people can make a good living doing it on their own. I'm not saying it's impossible, but I will share this with my wife later. She'll get a laugh out of it.

I don't think he's looking to make a "good living". He doesn't expect to make $100k a year taking pictures of waterfalls.

 

[Rayderr]

Photographer - Could be lucrative depending on what you specialize in.

lol....

I'm not kidding. Know a guy who makes a decent amount of the money on the side as a butterfly/bird photographer. I'm not talking a speck in a lanscape shot. I'm talking extreme closeup in it's natural habitat. The type of shots you wait all day for.

My wife is a photographer. It's not an easy business to get into and very very VERY few people can make a good living doing it on their own. I'm not saying it's impossible, but I will share this with my wife later. She'll get a laugh out of it.

What does she do photos of?

 

[Apple Jack]

In all seriousness, why not just be an adjunct professor at some online university. You're a degreed engineer, I'm sure you could find enough part time work to keep the bills paid.

that's an option, but it still sounds like work to me. I've never heard of anyone teaching as a hobby.

I've never done it, but I've seen several people on FBGs who have. They've said it's pretty easy after the first class and you get all your training material together. What could be easier than grading papers in your underwear? It's not really a hobby, but it seems like it'd be a reliable source of income without having to take up a hobby you may not have a knack for making money with.

What exactly does a self-employed pro beermaster do?

Having somebody else grade your papers in their underwear while you're playing golf? My buddy's dad retired from big pharma a few years ago and went right into a teaching job. He has assistants for much of the work. He plays a ton of golf and he and his wife occasionally take groups of students overseas for semesters abroad, where all his expenses are covered. He loves it.

 

[Mr. Ected]

In all seriousness, why not just be an adjunct professor at some online university. You're a degreed engineer, I'm sure you could find enough part time work to keep the bills paid.

that's an option, but it still sounds like work to me. I've never heard of anyone teaching as a hobby.

I've never done it, but I've seen several people on FBGs who have. They've said it's pretty easy after the first class and you get all your training material together. What could be easier than grading papers in your underwear? It's not really a hobby, but it seems like it'd be a reliable source of income without having to take up a hobby you may not have a knack for making money with.

What exactly does a self-employed pro beermaster do?

own a commercial brewery/taproom

With the Brewery, I have heard of places that people like where you open a shop that provides people with the equipment/space to do the brewing instead of their house. Tie that to a bar and bingo!

 

[Sarnoff]

Technical writer. They send you some new gadget and engineering docs, you interpret them into an instruction manual that a layman can understand.

 

[Mr. Ected]

Another thing to do is to get a teaching certificate (may not be using the right terminology) for your state, so that you can do substitute teaching. My father was a teacher when he graduated from school a loooong time ago, and when he went into early retirement he started to do substituting. He goes with a couple of towns in his area and he can do it whenever he wants/needs to. If he wants a vacation, he just doesn't accept jobs. He has fun with the kids in school, too. This can be a way to keep yourself occupied while other things aren't happening or are slow.

 

[NutterButter]

I'm going to be in the same boat. I'm a programmer so doing some freelance work is certainly an option. I've flip-flopped on this a lot. If you stay working at your primary career, you can either a) work until retirement and have a lot of disposable income year after year to do a lot of fun things, b) work for a few more years saving up most of that income and then just retire for good using that money you saved up over the previous few years as your income until you can start withdrawing from 401k or c) jump back and forth between working and not working. Not sure if c) is an option for you, but in the programming world, i could certainly work for a year or two, take a year off, etc. This is certainly the case if I'm willing to take a lesser salary thus undercutting the competition.

 

[LinusMarr]

so here's my deal: my youngest daughter is about to go into kindergarten next year. By the time she graduates from HS, I will be in a financial position where I won't need a FBG-sized salary any more and can afford a severe pay cut. By then, my house should be paid off, kids college funds will be paid, will no longer need life insurance, will have enough in my 401(k)/IRA/Roth that I wouldn't need to contribute any more, student loans will be gone, etc. I won't be able to retire, but my income needs would be such that all I would require are basic necessities - groceries, utilities, etc. I will be 52 years old at that point.

By that point, I don't really want to be doing what I'm doing now. I don't really care for the office job and I'd like to do something more fun. Any job that is "fun" usually doesn't pay well because there are people doing the same thing right now as a hobby for free - if they aren't actually paying to do it.

I'm thinking that if I spent the next 10 years honing my skills at a particular "hobby", I should be good enough at it to charge for my services at some point. I'd like this hobby/job to be able to support me for about 15 years when I will be able to retire completely.

Here are some examples:

* fishing guide - this is tough because while I do love to fish, I don't necessarily plan to stay in this area forever. Also, i'm not very good at it.

* beermaster - my leading contender. i am a home-brewer and love the idea of going pro. I'd imagine that 15 years of home-brewing experience, a couple of (future) medals at competitions, a lifetime of corporate experience and some basic formal education should get me in the door pretty easily.

* beekeeper - seems to me like it should be pretty easy, but I don't have available land to do this - not sure how the HOA would feel about keeping hives in my residential neighborhood.

* small engine / appliance repair - I'm pretty good mechanically, love to tinker and troubleshoot. give me a few classes and 10 years worth of tinkering, I'd bet I could make a living doing this.

* martial arts- I have 4 years of jiu-jitsu already. Give me another 10 years, I should be well qualified to instruct. Downside: not sure my body will be able to take it.

What else is out there?

Just do like the rest of the lazy, entitled kids and play texas hold em?

 

[moleculo]

I'm going to be in the same boat. I'm a programmer so doing some freelance work is certainly an option. I've flip-flopped on this a lot. If you stay working at your primary career, you can either a) work until retirement and have a lot of disposable income year after year to do a lot of fun things, b) work for a few more years saving up most of that income and then just retire for good using that money you saved up over the previous few years as your income until you can start withdrawing from 401k or c) jump back and forth between working and not working. Not sure if c) is an option for you, but in the programming world, i could certainly work for a year or two, take a year off, etc. This is certainly the case if I'm willing to take a lesser salary thus undercutting the competition.

Continuing to work, even on a contract basis, is certainly an option. It would be great to have that choice.

 

[moleculo]

Another thing to do is to get a teaching certificate (may not be using the right terminology) for your state, so that you can do substitute teaching. My father was a teacher when he graduated from school a loooong time ago, and when he went into early retirement he started to do substituting. He goes with a couple of towns in his area and he can do it whenever he wants/needs to. If he wants a vacation, he just doesn't accept jobs. He has fun with the kids in school, too. This can be a way to keep yourself occupied while other things aren't happening or are slow.

My parents were both teachers. My mom took an early retirement from her district with a partial pension, and moved to Florida and started teaching there. After 5 years in FL, she qualified for a partial pension there too so now that she is done, she pulls the equivalent of 1.25 pensions. Worked out well for her.I do like (most) kids, this is a good option.

 

[NutterButter]

I'm going to be in the same boat. I'm a programmer so doing some freelance work is certainly an option. I've flip-flopped on this a lot. If you stay working at your primary career, you can either a) work until retirement and have a lot of disposable income year after year to do a lot of fun things, b) work for a few more years saving up most of that income and then just retire for good using that money you saved up over the previous few years as your income until you can start withdrawing from 401k or c) jump back and forth between working and not working. Not sure if c) is an option for you, but in the programming world, i could certainly work for a year or two, take a year off, etc. This is certainly the case if I'm willing to take a lesser salary thus undercutting the competition.

Continuing to work, even on a contract basis, is certainly an option. It would be great to have that choice.

Yeah, if you're in a line of work where you have that option, it gives you enormous flexibility. Even fulltime work, if you're in a line of work where there's a lot of demand, your stress is going to be so low b/c you really don't care if you lose your job. You can afford to be on the bench for awhile b/c your expenses are so low and you know you'll get something else in the near future. Heck, at any time, if you're just fed up with working, you can quit, take a few months off and pick up another gig.

 

[matttyl]

My personal choice if I were in your shoes - bicycle repair.

Oh, and I'm not sure about your line "I won't need life insurance". You're need for it doesn't change, but the reason you need it might. If you're in that good of a financial position, what about estate taxes? We don't know what those will be in 5 years, much less 15-20.

 

[Godsbrother]

Every homebrewer, including myself, dreams of owning/running a microbrewery. The problem is there are TONs of microbreweries now and while there is always room for another, you better be damn good at it and have something that differentiates you from the rest, especially if you are just brewing beer (i.e not running a brewpub).

 

[seahawk 17]

If you can afford it and have room, you can collect antiques and then open up your own spot some day.

 

[Johnny Rock]

Technical writer. They send you some new gadget and engineering docs, you interpret them into an instruction manual that a layman can understand.

I believe I would be good at this. How would I get started?

 

[bushdocda]

Have we ever had an ask a beekeeper thread???

 

[Mookie]

I'm still about 10 years out, but have already begun thinking about semi-retirement. Most of all, I want regular hours (i.e. something that gets me out of bed in the morning) and somewhere where I can interact with people without any pressure. Most of all, I don't want to think about work when I'm not working.

Usher at sporting events.

Working at a golf course as a starter, mower, range guy, bartender.

Ticket checker at a ski area.

 

[General Malaise]

Photographer - Could be lucrative depending on what you specialize in.

lol....

I'm not kidding. Know a guy who makes a decent amount of the money on the side as a butterfly/bird photographer. I'm not talking a speck in a lanscape shot. I'm talking extreme closeup in it's natural habitat. The type of shots you wait all day for.

My wife is a photographer. It's not an easy business to get into and very very VERY few people can make a good living doing it on their own. I'm not saying it's impossible, but I will share this with my wife later. She'll get a laugh out of it.

What does she do photos of?

She works for a company that does school portraits. She does sales/photography of day cares and pre-schools. She also owns her own business where she has done everything from wedding photography to newborns and has also done some side projects for real estate and websites looking for shots of the city skyline. She's won awards for some photos she took in Vietnam that were of city life (not portraits) and can really do just about anything. But her job job is portrait photography and sales, which isn't the royal road to riches, but it's nice income.

I don't mean to pooh-pooh the whole industry, but freelance work is not easy to come buy and even if you specialize, you have to find buyers. Plus, with the move to digital, everybody with a camera strapped around their neck thinks they are Matthew Brady. You certainly CAN make a living doing it, but I'd recommend a reading a few books by photographers who talk about their journey from picking up a camera to making a living with it. Not everybody can do it. If it's a passion and you love it and you're GOOD AT IT (this is a very underrated quality - every cheesedick can take a photo, but not everybody can capture GREAT shots again and again). The patience required is very high and there's still a component of artistic ability that you either have or do not have.

 

[General Malaise]

Photographer - Could be lucrative depending on what you specialize in.

lol....

I'm not kidding. Know a guy who makes a decent amount of the money on the side as a butterfly/bird photographer. I'm not talking a speck in a lanscape shot. I'm talking extreme closeup in it's natural habitat. The type of shots you wait all day for.

My wife is a photographer. It's not an easy business to get into and very very VERY few people can make a good living doing it on their own. I'm not saying it's impossible, but I will share this with my wife later. She'll get a laugh out of it.

I don't think he's looking to make a "good living". He doesn't expect to make $100k a year taking pictures of waterfalls.

You buy a lot of those pictures/photos that hang on the walls of restaurants with price-tags of $200 and higher? Yeah, me neither.

 

[Apple Jack]

I'm still about 10 years out, but have already begun thinking about semi-retirement. Most of all, I want regular hours (i.e. something that gets me out of bed in the morning) and somewhere where I can interact with people without any pressure. Most of all, I don't want to think about work when I'm not working.

Usher at sporting events.

Working at a golf course as a starter, mower, range guy, bartender.

Ticket checker at a ski area.

I loved golf course maintenance. Did it for a couple years in college in Colorado. Just got high and striped greens, tees, and fairways all day for the most part. Worked with two guys who were retired. One worked on the computers for the moon shots (he was the mechanic) and another was a brain surgeon. If you find a killer natural setting and a high end course, it can be a great place to go to work. The good ones are ultimately living, breathing art projects. And obviously, if you do it a mountain area, you have being a lifty as an option in the winter. That is always there as my #### it, I'm out of here escape plan if I decide the real world isn't worth it anymore.

 

[Mr. Ected]

Every homebrewer, including myself, dreams of owning/running a microbrewery. The problem is there are TONs of microbreweries now and while there is always room for another, you better be damn good at it and have something that differentiates you from the rest, especially if you are just brewing beer (i.e not running a brewpub).

He knows somebody that knows a bit about smoking food! Care to spend some time in New Orleans?

 

[moleculo]

Every homebrewer, including myself, dreams of owning/running a microbrewery. The problem is there are TONs of microbreweries now and while there is always room for another, you better be damn good at it and have something that differentiates you from the rest, especially if you are just brewing beer (i.e not running a brewpub).

At this point, I think the market for craft breweries is pretty saturated, unless people can figure out how to compete with B/M/C on price and distribution. I'd be really scared to pour a lot of money in to opening up a new label right now.That being said, I wouldn't be opposed to working for an existing brewpub for a salary - I think that's more the direction I'd be comfortable going.

 

[SacramentoBob]

Technical writer. They send you some new gadget and engineering docs, you interpret them into an instruction manual that a layman can understand.

Cool idea.

 

[E Street Brat]

Did you give up on the UFC career already?

That was you, wasn't it?

 

[Jayrod]

Sports officiating.

I do football & basketball and love it. Can make decent money, work when you want, get good exercise, and can do it into your 60s.

Even gigs like track, volleyball, baseball, softball, soccer, etc. are available. Easy entry, on the job training and you can write off part of cell phone bill each year.

 

[moleculo]

Did you give up on the UFC career already?

That was you, wasn't it?

Yup. Not gonna be much of a career: one amateur fight max, if I get that far before falling apart. I suppose coaching and/or refereeing could be an option.

 

[Terpman22]

Grow some weed. 15 years from now, it will be legal everywhere. Just your stuff will be better than everyone else's.

 

[Godsbrother]

Sports officiating.

I do football & basketball and love it. Can make decent money, work when you want, get good exercise, and can do it into your 60s.

Even gigs like track, volleyball, baseball, softball, soccer, etc. are available. Easy entry, on the job training and you can write off part of cell phone bill each year.

I was an officer of our youth baseball & softball organizations and so got roped into umpiring tournaments every now and again. While I enjoyed the actual umpiring it was the behavior of some of the coaches, parents and grandparents that left a bad taste in my mouth.

It can definitely be enjoyable but you have to be able to put up with crap from time to time.

 

[Bourbon Cowboy]

Pimpin'. If you start now you should have a fine stable of ho's in 10 to 15 years.

 

[Quez]

How about MMA/self defense training for seniors? You can spend years creating this system so when you enter the demographic you will be an expert. I'm not talking about your typical MMA, but a version specifically for old people. Not only will they benefit from the exercise, but they will also learn valuable defense methods customized for the elderly body. Like how to do a takedown without breaking a hip. How to use a cane as a weapon, etc.

 

[ChiefD]

If you are a mechanical type person, be a handyman. It's an under filled niche because most contractors don't want to do small jobs. And I'm talking simple jobs like:

recaulking bathtubs

replacing electrical sockets

cleaning out garages

changing faucets

--Stuff like that---

You want to do jobs where you are in and out in a couple of hours, because EVERYONE can afford to pay a guy for a couple of hours. Set your rates at $40-$50/hour, and you will be busy as much as you want to be. If you don't feel comfortable with a particular request, just pass on it.

You can also get liability insurance for pretty cheap, so you can cover yourself there. You really only need to bill about 4 hours a day to make a decent living.

20 hours/week x $50/hour = $1000/week. Take out your expenses and you are in the neighborhood of $600/week take home. Decent amount for a part time job.

I had a business plan for this a few years ago. Thought about doing this myself, except I based it on billing at least 6 hours a day.

 

[ShaHBucks]

Fantasy football