Make Money Teaching What You Love

Almost everyone would welcome the opportunity to supplement their incomes. Whether you have additional bills, unexpected expenses, or if you would just like to treat yourself to a vacation, you could probably use an extra way to earn money on the side. One way to make money and do what you enjoy at the same time is to teach your favorite hobby or skill to others. 


Choosing a Hobby or Skill to Teach Your hobby or skill doesn't have to be unusual or difficult to be marketable. For example, even hobbies that many people know, like sewing or cooking, can be transformed into profitable classes. Think of a unique spin on your hobby or skill that will capture the interest of potential students. For example, if you like to cook, start a Mediterranean cooking class.


Alternatively, teach basic cooking skills for young adults who are just starting out. Once you have a hook, you can create a curriculum to teach over the course of several lessons.


Creating Lessons Do not start teaching without first planning the number of lessons and the content for each lesson. Lesson plans not only keep you on track, but they provide a concrete plan that you can give students who would like to learn more about the content of your courses. 


Brainstorm a list of topics for lessons and write them all down. Then, decide on the number of lessons you will teach. Arrange the best topics into lessons. Some related topics can be combined into one lesson, whereas other topics may be more complicated and may need to span more than one session. Make a list of the specific concepts that you will teach during each session. As you plan the sessions, keep the amount of time each topic will take into consideration. Yo need to cover just enough information to engage the students without rushing them through a concept.


Determining a Price The next step in creating a class is to determine how much to charge the students. First, find out how much instructors for similar topics are charging in your area. If cooking lessons cost approximately $20 per lesson, you will not want to go much above that price unless you are providing more value for the student per lesson. Consider the cost of materials as well. Some instructors roll the cost of materials into the cost of the course, whereas others charge a materials fee when the student first signs up for the course. Alternatively, the students can provide their own materials.


Advertising Once you have planned your lessons and know how much to charge, you need to advertise your course. There are several options for advertising. One option is to place an ad in the local classifieds. 



Alternatively, you can create fliers and hang them up at a local community center or bulletin board at a grocery store. Another option is to offer your services to a community center or local community college and let them handles the advertising and finances for you. Whatever you decide, when you make money doing what you love, it isn't work. You will earn the extra cash you need while connecting with people with similar interests. In addition, you will be passing along your passion for a hobby to a new group of people, which is rewarding all by itself.