I am a figurative artist. I paint and draw people and animals, often in dramatic poses, but with a strong sense of realism.

I’ve sold paintings, drawings and prints to private collectors, some as far away as Australia, Hong Kong and Singapore. I’ve also worked for publishers, illustrating children’s books and magazines.

The rest of my time is spent writing this blog about starting a side business and making it full-time.

I’ve been working on this blog since 2006. It started out covering topics like copywriting and direct mail, but over the years it has grown into a source of information on starting a blog or small business, making it full-time, marketing it and selling products online.

Starting a side business is tough. It’s tough on the entrepreneur and it’s tough on their family. But if you have enough desire and luck, you can make it happen.

What do you need to do? Well, first of all, you need to find a way to make it full-time. Today I’m going to tell you my story of how I made this blog my full time job and some of the mistakes I made along the way.

I’m also going to give you a list of tools that helped me build traffic and increase sales for my business.

I’m going to show you how to take your side-hobby, the thing you love to do in your spare time and make it into a fully-fledged business. Specifically, I’m going to show you how I did this with my blog.

I’m going to take you through the whole process: setting up the website, turning it into a business, building your traffic and making money from ads, and finally selling it for a massive profit.

This is not a theory post. I’m going to give you examples of all my strategies so that you can copy them and start making money right away. This post has actually made me more money than my main job (I’ll talk about that later) so I know it works!

In this post I will show you how:

If you’re like I was a few years ago, you have a side business. It’s something that you very much enjoy and is, on occasion, even profitable. But it’s not what pays your bills or allows you to quit your day job. And that’s OK.

But what if you want to turn that side hobby into your main gig? How do you go from “I love this thing” to “This thing pays the bills”?

I have been making figurative art for as long as I can remember. I love to draw and paint, but it wasn’t until recently that I’ve started sharing my work with others. Over the last few years, my Etsy store has grown quickly and I’ve even had a few items sell in local boutiques.

Here are some things that have helped me to grow my side hobby into a full time business:

1. Start sharing your art on social media

This is a no-brainer! 

I started sharing my Etsy shop updates on Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, and Pinterest. 

2. Traffic from social media leads to sales!

It’s all about quality traffic. The more eyes on your work, the better!  

3. Be consistent with your marketing efforts

     My customers let me know that they like consistency in their marketing efforts from their favorite shops. 

  4. Have a good product description

     A good description helps customers learn more about your products before they buy! 

  5. Be passionate about what you do

     Your customers will notice the difference between someone who is passionate about their work and those who don’t care as much.  

  6. Don’t be afraid to

I’m going to start by saying that I am a product of the internet, and this blog is my attempt to give back. I got my first “real” job after working for a year and a half on my own making websites. Having gone through the process myself, I wanted to share what I’ve learned with those who are looking to do the same thing.

I’ll try not to get too far in the weeds, but if you’re interested in how to make websites or market them, or if you have even just a passing interest in how someone gets from where they are now to a full-time job doing something they love, then keep reading.

I’m trying to keep things varied on this site. Some posts will be about technology, some will be about marketing, sometimes there will be personal stories. If there’s something you’d like me to cover please let me know!

Also be sure to check out our webdev blog at www.sidehustlenation.com .  If you’re interested in learning more about how we started our side business from nothing into an agency that services dozens of clients and generates hundreds of thousands of dollars per year, it might be worth your time!

There are many blogs about how to make money blogging, but here I’m going to focus on the business side of things. For example, how do you get a full-time job blogging?

The first step is to choose a niche and write content for that niche. It’s best if you’re already an expert on this topic because it’s much easier to promote something you know well. And while it might seem like anyone can be an expert, people tend to read blogs by people who have already established themselves as experts in their field.

And finally, if you have a product or service that is relevant to your blog’s audience, consider offering affiliate commissions or selling advertising space on your website. If you don’t have any products or services that are relevant, consider selling your own e-book or creating a course.**

I hope this article was helpful to you and gave you some ideas for what type of blog could help you achieve your goals and start making money online today!**