I stay at home more and don’t go out drinking all the time saving me TONS of money and gas, etc etc, etc. When we devote ourselves to something and don’t spend that time on worthless activities that cost a lot, we are, in a sense, getting paid for our passions. I say, Who cares about directly making money? If it truely is your passion, maybe that shouldn’t be your concern.

Great post, Trent.

I think the best advice here– other than farmers’ markets, just ’cause I like ‘em– is arranging sales with an established business. Or even taking it further, working with them to increase their sales. A good way to make money now is to piggyback an already-running business. You can use that to supplement your passion, b/c the passions often don’t pay well.

I actually just wrote a similar post on how to create extra income by using a highly sophisticated “Craigslist-as-Dartboard” method. :D I was feeling financially stuck last year and one of my passions is web design. I turned my passion into a tutoring job by browsing the ’services’ section of Craigslist until I found posts that looked similar to what I wanted to do. I noted the prices people were charging and tried posting in a few different places. People replied, and I’m still doing web tutoring (and making extra income) a year later!

For those of us in engineering type work situations, it is sometimes fun and financially rewarding to write up a patent application on something we have done through our work. It’s good for your resume, you feel cool about officially being an ‘inventor’ and most companies have a premium that they reward inventors with. Of course in this situation, the company typically owns the patent. If you have a truly non-work-related idea and can patent it, even better!

This summer I’m going to try making a little bit of money off my other passion – gardening. I’m planning a much bigger garden and I hope to sell both vegetables and flowers. We’ll see how it works out.

Obviously, I won’t be making a living off these very small amounts. But it’s a start.

Great post by Trent. Perhaps we should also add web design and blog development studios to the list. Chris at pearsonified.com has shown how we can take off with web design if we love it.

Cheers,
FIRE Finance

I don’t believe there are any restrictions on raw goods such as fruits and veggies but that might be something to look out for if you want to sell cooked items.

I’ve made money in the past serving content online and providing personal financial services. A great supplement to a traditional job. I’m also creating a simple worksheet for teachers to use when setting up their retirement plans.

Ben @ Trees Full of Money

Thanks!

I sometimes worry that if everyone follows this advice, there won’t be enough people to do tasks that no one is passionate about. Then I remember that that’s what we have robots and computer programs for, and there are certainly people who are passionate about creating those.

Can you buy equipment used instead of new? Do you even need to buy equipment at first, or can you make due until your side business earns some capital that you can reinvest?

There are lots of resources for used items for your businesses. You can buy used video and camera equipment on ebay or Craigslist. Our town even has three or four places that RENT high quality video and camera equipment at reasonable prices.

For retail ventures, I have seen several places that sell used store fixtures if you need something to display your product. You can also find places that discard cardboard or pallet board and, if you are crafty, you can transform it into unique displays.

It is very easy to lose money on a side business if you decide you just HAVE TO have the newest flashiest gizmo/business space/display/advertising.

Another idea that kind of goes along with this is bartering. You don’t specifically make money through the bartering of services and products but you do get something that you need without having to pay for it. Saving money in that way is kind of a way of making money with your time – or with products that you already have. I know that major cities have some great barter options through sites like Craigslist. I imagine smaller communities could use a word-of-mouth system effectively.