If you are considering to transform your hobby into a money-making enterprise, the small-business mentors of SCORE Staten Island are sharing this sound advice: Don’t rush into things.

Running a successful business centered on doing something you love is the dream of many entrepreneurs. What could be more gratifying than making a living sharing your talents and skills with others?

It’s not difficult to surf the Internet and find success stories about everyday people — from photographers to interior designers to carpenters and others — who have turned hobbies and interests they were passionate about into viable businesses.

That’s encouraging if you’re contemplating making the transition from hobbyist to small business owner. It’s important to know, however, that not all hobbies, or the people participating in them, may be well suited for entrepreneurship.

SCORE Staten Island mentors advise you to take the following nine steps as you explore the feasibility of your hobby becoming a sustainable business:

1. Consider whether you will still enjoy doing the work if you must do it – as opposed to doing it only when you’re inspired to.
2. Decide if you are willing for your products or services to be judged. It’s one thing to work on your hobby for your own satisfaction and another to put what you produce out there to be scrutinized by others.
3. Identify who your prospective customer really is. Not everyone is going to be interested in your product or service.
4. Determine if enough people will be willing to pay for what you create.
5. Evaluate your skills. Do you have the knowledge and capacity to both create your product or service AND take care of the other administrative and operational responsibilities that come with starting and running a business?
6. Determine the benefit you’ll be selling. What need or want will your product or service
   satisfy?
7. Consider how you’ll communicate your value proposition and why your product or
   service is better than those of your competitors.
8. Establish what your prospective customers would be willing to pay for your product or service.
9. Do the math. Can you be profitable at that price point? Make sure you consider overhead costs in addition to cost of goods sold.

About SCORE Staten Island

SCORE Staten Island is dedicated to fostering a vibrant small-business community within its borough by providing cost-free mentoring and education to both aspiring and established entrepreneurs. Headquartered at 950 West Fingerboard Road., Grasmere, in the iconic Staten Island Advance Building, the organization is Chapter 476 of the nationwide SCORE, a nonprofit association and resource partner with the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA). For additional information, or to schedule an appointment, SCORE Staten Island may be visited at https://statenisland.score.org; telephoned at 718-727-1221; emailed at info@SCORESI.org, and visited on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/SCOREofStatenIsland.

Media Contact: Barton Horowitz
Relevant Public Relations, LLC
Headquarters: 718‑682‑1509
Mobile: 917‑715‑8761
Email: Bhorowitz@RelevantPR.com