Not Far From It Now

One of the things that many soon-to-be retirees have in common is the desire to spend more time pursuing their hobbies. Some have even dreamed of earning some much needed part time cash from their hobby - even if its just enough to keep them in supplies.

When people are passionate about their interests and hobbies, there is little to hold them back when it comes to investment of their time, especially if they are time-rich. However, sometimes it is the cost of supporting their hobby that is their stumbling block.

Nowadays however, if you are particularly good at a your hobby, you should be able to earn enough at worst to keep you in the materials you need, and at best turn a profit. Some really dedicated hobbyists actually turn their hobbies into substantial money making businesses. It matters little whether you are a quilter, painter, philatelist or woodworker. If you are good at it - there is money to be made.

More and more retirees are finding out just that. Because they now have quality time to devote to their hobby, new opportunities are opening up for them. We are not talking about just selling items they have produced. As the retirement-aged population have become more computer literate and internet aware, they have realized the enormity of their potential market - the world.

While craft items still sell well on the internet, the biggest selling item these days is information. People want to know what you know. They want to know how to do what you can do. Not only is it possible for a novice to now write and sell an e-book on the skills they have in their hobby, but they can also make short 'how-to' videos, post them on sites like You Tube, with a link to their sales site.

Knowing short-cuts for better results, quick fixes to common problems, better methods for good outcomes, new stitches, unique patterns - it is all information that other enthusiasts are more than happy to pay for. As long as you maintain a high standard of quality, and collect the details of your customers, you will be able to sell to them time and time again.

The important thing to remember is to stick to your specialty, and work within it. You can expand to include sales of tools, ingredients, materials etc, but limit yourself to your area of expertise.

It might start out as pin-money, but the limits to which you can grow your retirement business is dependent only on how much time you want to devote to it.

Kerry Anne Finch is an accomplished marketer, with proven successes in corporate and NFP PR, event management and hugely successful product launch programs.

Kerry has founded a new website Over55s specifically for the Baby Boomer/55+ age group, with features that include Travel, Hobbies, Health and Sport (http://www.over55s.com). Contributions from members are not only welcome, but are encouraged.

Currently Kerry divides her time between launching and managing her new website, her internet writing business, and gathering material through her role as an international tour director.

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posted by treehkczc  # 8:43 AM 0 comments