Make Money Doing What You Love

That is what I was thinking when I started this discussion. There are too many things that I used to do that went sour when I tried to turn them into a business instead of just having fun. I used to really enjoy working with photography until I ended up doing several major dvd/photography projects over the past year. It seems like I have spent most of the past year working on them, and I'm so burned out on them that I won't be disappointed if I don't have to look at them for another year, although I know that I will be doing more again soon. The same thing happened several years ago with some craft and jewelry making projects that I was working on. I made quite a bit of money from them, but I also worked very hard to get them done. I didn't get my usual enjoyment out of these projects because I had to have them done on a schedule. It seemed more like production work than making crafts! I just don't want that to happen with my writing or my karaoke because I really love doing both, and would hate to lose the enjoyment for the sake of money.

It's funny that you mention jewelry - that is actually what I am starting into now. It was actually my ex-husband's idea, he's looking for a business he can be involved in when he retires in the next few years - he is still working but next month will start collecting retirement so will actually have an extra income which he's putting into 'business'. I however am the 'artist' so we are partnering up. I've never done this process before so it's a lot of learning but look forward to being creative and making money off it. A secret I learned the last few months though is NOT doing special order stuff. I know there is good money in it such as for the afghans but I'm limiting myself to only for my special customers so in the future I won't have this horrid mad rush to complete things - just happened my best customer needed 2 - she always pays in advance and includes a bonus so I couldn't say no to her and won't in the future but other than that it's for sale if it's in stock.

That is the best way to do it. I don't like to be rushed because then I feel like I'm being pushed into doing something. I like to be able to have fun with it, and not feel like I'm under a lot of pressure to get it done in a big hurry. That just causes too much stress and stress kills creativity, or at least it does for me. My life is stressful enough without added pressure.

I agree, it's great when we can do something we love and get paid for it, but sometimes we need to find something to make it more interesting or take a break so that we don't start to resent being stuck doing it. I know that one of my friends is always telling me how tired he is of doing it, but it is something that he has always enjoyed. I know that he still enjoys doing it, he just doesn't enjoy having to do it.

I am sure that it would remain enjoyable for a while, but I just wonder if after a while you might find that you were doing it because you had to rather than you wanted to. Sometimes when I feel that way, I don't get nearly the enjoyment out of things because I feel pressured into getting them done. Perhaps if you could sell your crocheting one piece at a time at whatever pace you finished them it wouldn't be so bad, but if you had to have them finished on a regular schedule, I wondered if it might get a bit repetitive to the point where you might not enjoy it as much.

I agree, and I also enjoy writing so it is great when I get paid for it. I don't think that I would want to make it a steady job though. I think that I would get to the point where I was no longer having fun with it, and only writing because I had to do it.

I know what you mean. I love karaoke and get a great amount of enjoyment from it, but even entering a minor contest puts on pressure because you have to practice your song again and again to try to get it perfect. One of the things we are judged for at the contest is our ability to sing the songs without looking at the screen which many karaoke singers aren't used to doing. If you were to become a performer where you were expected to do this on stage every night, you would be expected to do it well with no prompts. With karaoke, you are allowed to mess up. As a live performer, they expect much more of you. I think that I will stick with the karaoke.

I love to sing karaoke and so do many of my friends. I have a few friends though who run karaoke for a living. Most of them don't go out to sing karaoke when they aren't working. They also don't have near the fun that they used to have at karaoke. Singing karaoke is one of my favorite things to do, and I don't want to spoil my fun by turning it into a job that takes the fun out of it. I will fill in for one of my friends when he needs a little help or whatever, but one of my friends told me that taking on a full time job took the fun out of it for him.

Three are so many great hobbies out there that people could make money from. Personally, I do some photography work. At first it was fun, and even though I still enjoy doing it, I enjoy it less and less as I continue working one one of the really lengthy projects for the picture dvds I make. It has turned into a job, and wasn't nearly as much fun anymore.

I think that it would be great to make money doing what you love for a while, but don't you think that you would get tired of it after a while? So many things aren't fun any more if you do them because you have to, rather than because you want to.