The dark side of monetizing your hobby

https://themakingofamillionaire.com/the-dark-side-of-monetizing-your-hobbies-3a1fa50a901f

 what is a hobby ? it’s doing something you would do for free. Playing video games, traveling, or baking fall into the category of “I love it so much, I’d do it for free.”

when you make money with your hobby, here is the dark side

• Financial Pressure: When money comes into play, there is often pressure to succeed financially. This can turn a relaxing activity into a source of stress.
  
• Loss of Creative Freedom: To please an audience or customers, one may have to compromise on one's own tastes and preferences, which can diminish the enjoyment of the activity.
  
• Repetitiveness: What was once a casual and pleasant activity can become a daily routine, which can make it boring
  
• Work-Life Balance: By turning a hobby into a job, it can become difficult to separate relaxing time from work time, which can lead to burnout.
  

So here is my advice:practice your hobbies for free and don’t bother about making money with it.

I found the article about monetizing one' s hobby interesting but debatable as each case or each s ituation is different. Make a living in the artistic sector is tough, no doubt about that and I agree with some of  the arguments listed in the article. However, I personally think that these arguments cannot be generalised as people's circumstances are different. I am lucky to know people who sell what they make ( painting, fused glass, embroidery, ceramic etc...) and their common factor is passion.By talking to them, you can really feel that they enjoy experimenting and being creative and creation doesn' t have to be repetitive. I have attended workshops with brilliant artists who are keen to transmit their knowledge and their skills .Yes it is demanding but  they are so enthusiastic , happy to teach something new to a public who is motivated and happy to learn. These workshops have always been a wonderful experience and as a tutor, isn' t it a great way to make money teaching people who share the same interest in a relaxed environment? Make a living out of art as a full time job is also a complete different scenario from just selling your stuff locally to earn a few pennies. It requires commitment and work ( marketing,  exhibitions, travelling,  websites etc) . Selling your stuff in your garden for instance is a complete different matter . I am in fact going to open my house in England to the locals in November for the first time. I have decided to sell my concoctions that I have been accumulating over the years ( mainly embroidery, mixed media, clay and fused glass). I certainly don' t consider myself as a ' proper artist" , I just enjoy being creative  . I am not going to sell my items either to earn a salary and there is no way I am going to charge for the time I have spent creating my pieces. So why am I going to do it? : to meet people, share my passion, earn a few pennies to cover the cost and  to buy more materials, hopefully  make people happy to see what I do and the cherry on the cake : motivate them to be creative.
I don' t think that selling what you create or teaching your skills can only be regarded only has negative,  repetitive and stopping creativity but it can on the contrary, create fantastic opportunities to earn a few pennies,  bring happiness, meet new people ,even make new friends and who knows, make people eager to learn something new.
Dorothée

Thank you very much Dorothée for clarifying this post. It's true that "every work deserves a wage" and it's fair to pay artists who need to make a living like everyone else. What's disturbing is when  people take advantage of their talent to make as much money as possible. The result would of course be a reduction in the quality of their works. You're right to point out that each case is different : the artists who are Keen to transmit their Knowledge, those like you who open their house to sell their stuff in order to cover the cost and also to buy more materials
However giving for free remains marvelous. I had asked our painter friend (who is currently exhibiting at the Musée des Beaux-Arts in Calais) to make me a medallion representing the aim of the polyglot cafés: better communication in the world.
he offered it to me free of charge

Yes Muriel, I agree too with your thought of giving for free and I should have mentionned it. Actually I feel bad not to have mentionned as it is primarily my ethos. Giving for free is a great way to show kindness and generousity. I know that when friends give me something they have made themselves regardless the size or the time spent , it means a lot to me and their gifts are extra special, your friend is a perfect example and I congratulate him.

Dorothée a écrit: Actually I feel bad not to have mentionned as it is primarily my ethos

Dorothée I can see perfectly that generosity is your ethos ( TX for teaching me a new word)
Here is my friend’s painting

Do you like it ?