Doing what you love and helping people in the process can be it’s own reward—but it’s even nicer when you’re getting paid for it. So, what are you waiting for?
“Live your passion. Do what you love. Help people. The money will follow.”
—Anonymous
Do you know what the most important ingredient was in all the case studies profiled for the Generation YouTube episode of 20/20?
Was it experience, fame, or education? No. The most important ingredient was that these people were incredibly passionate about what they were broadcasting. The world is drawn to people who share their passion.
There are so many ways to make money doing what you love. You just have to pick one and go for it. You can immediately start making money from what excites you—I’m talking by tomorrow. Whether it’s a single dollar or a thousand, you are capable of helping people through your passions, and they’re willing to pay you for it. Here are a few ways to make some form of money from your talents and interests:
- Charge for an hour of work as a consultant. Find the people or businesses who desperately need advice on the subject of your passion. People often start businesses about things they don’t actually know about!
- Charge for an hour as a coach. If your passion has to do with personal or life topics, go help someone de-clutter their home, maximize their schedule, get on a few more dates, lose 10 pounds—anything is fair game. Send an email to a group of friends to ask if they know someone who needs your help, put up an ad on Craigslist, or mention it on your blog. You don’t need to mount a massive marketing effort, you only need one client to get started.
- Host a seminar or workshop. Pick a topic that excites you, outline the key points, and make a simple PowerPoint out of it. I once did this for one of my favorite strategy books, How to Win Friends and Influence People. Worried about not getting enough participants? If you only get a few, then make it intimate. If you only get one? Looks like you’ve got your first coaching client. Nice work.
- Create a video-interview series. Start interviewing inspiring people. Not only is it something others want to watch, but you getting to interview and connect with rock stars is the best part. David Siteman Garland has done an exceptional job with this at The Rise to the Top.
- Create an online course. Have some fun with it like Jules Clancy’s Virtual Cookery School over at Stone Soup. Or maybe make it simple and creative like Mondo Beyond’s dreaming big classes. Or go really deep like Jonathan Mead has done with Trailblazer or Corbett Barr with TrafficSchool, Adam Baker with You vs Debt and Lewis Howes with Video Traffic Academy. Develop these once, and they make money for a long time to come.
- Teach someone one on one. Tutor someone on the topic you know inside and out. Parents are always looking for the person who can provide a breakthrough for their child. Check out eduFire, TeachStreet, or Mindflash.
- Write a guide. Maybe it’s a PDF report or eBook. It doesn’t have to be that long, as long as it’s helpful. You might already have the content from what you’ve written on your blog, journal, or elsewhere. Package it up and sell it. That’s exactly what I’m doing with How to Live Off Your Passion (although mine does happen to be a bit more in-depth).
- Create a podcast. Put together a talk or interview and put it up with a price on it. Then promote it a bit. Either do this with new content or take your existing work and turn it into audio and upload it to iTunes. Pat Flynn has done a great job with this at Smart Passive Income.
- Outsource yourself. Showcase your talents.Get a seller’s account on sites like Elance, Odesk, and Fiverr.com. Fill out your bio and get your services on the market! Fiverr is a fun and easy place to start—everyone sells their services for five bucks. Even if someone doesn’t hire you right away, being on these sites is a huge credibility builder. When you market your services, provide a link to your profiles on these sites (and any other work you have online).
- Make a video. These are best for visual tutorials like fitness or computer instruction. Amber Zuckswert has knocked it out of the park with her virtual pilates classes at Epic Self, and Laura Roeder built a seven-figure business inside of two years by teaching Web novices how to use Twitter and Facebook.
