Turning a Hobby into Cash

About two years ago, I decided to turn my crocheting and writing hobbies into some extra cash for my family.  I was just getting my feet wet, when my daughter was born with some special needs and I needed to take a complete sabbatical from my seedling of a business. Now, 18 months later, I am ready to continue restart my at-home business.

"Business" whoa, that sounds overwhelming.  I am  not looking to create a huge income or anything.  Honestly, I would be beyond thrilled with an extra $200 a month.   However I was quickly confronted by the same obstacles I faced before and am determined to work my way around them, as so many other homemakers have done before me.  

What are these obstacles? 

• My fears of rejection, and failure:  "Will friends and family think I am being ridiculous for even attempting this?" "What if people do not buy my products?" "What if my products are not good enough to sell?" "What if I spend all of this time and energy for nothing?"  

• Guilt: for spending so much time crochet and writing, hobbies that are not yet making me money, but take time away from my children and other responsibilities. 

• Carving out time from my already full days to work my business and balancing my home and business life:  I find that I go between two extremes: days where all I want to do is work my business and I struggle to pull myself away and days where I can get motivated to do anything with my business.  When I am "working," I have constant interruptions from my preschooler and toddler. 

• Actually selling the items I make, which of course requires advertising, pricing, packaging, etc: How do I get my name out there?  Will people really pay that much?  How will I ship my products so that they look "professional"?

•  Distractions and interruptions from my little darlings when I am working on my business: A preschooler and toddler at home--need I say more?

• Creating a business plan I can live with. 

I imagine that many of you face these same obstacles.  So, over the next several posts, I am going to share my business plan and work through these obstacles with you.  I hope these posts inspire or encourage you to take the plunge and turn your hobby into an at-home business too!

God Bless and happy crafting!  

Sarah