Turn a hobby into a career and make a living from it: From a DIY enthusiast to a craftsman in 4 steps

Anyone who wants to work for money should generally remain in a secure employment relationship or take another risk-free route. Self-employment as a craftsman is also associated with dry spells. There are many difficulties to overcome, especially in the beginning. Anyone who just wants to do it for money will quickly lose motivation. Only someone who pursues the craft with absolute dedication and passion will be mentally able to overcome the initial financial challenges.

Once business is going well, the money comes naturally – and not too little of it. In comparison to a career in the medical-technical field with classical training without an academic background (i.e. without a degree) Successful craftsmen in Germany are among the top earners. An example shows the dimensions: The average Salary in the profession of dental assistant is according to Medi-Career Collective agreement for dental assistants from the Association of Medical Professionals eV around 2100 to 2700 euros in the first 3 years of work. After 15 years of professional experience, the salary increases to around 3,000 to 3,200 euros.

A self-employed craftsman with 15 years of professional experience would not even travel to a customer for such sums. A significantly higher salary in the five-figure range would be possible here. Important: We always assume that the craftsman is a competent and professional craftsman.

Of course, an employee can also try to slowly build up their independence alongside their job. But there are some hurdles here:

If the main employer allows a part-time (self-employed) activity, there is usually one Competitive exclusion, but a ban is rarely issued. If the employee is officially allowed to turn his hobby into a career outside of his regular work, he can thus identify himself as small founder understand – and he has a lot to do if the vision is to turn the sideline into the main job.

In practice, the long-term order situation usually decides about when the point has been reached where the hobby becomes viable as a career and the main job is reduced in terms of working hours or can even be terminated completely.

For the time of “construction”, it is recommended to stay on a sustainable basis Customer search to go and to bind them to you as long as possible or for them good recommendations to care.

Tip: Just do a search online Blogs, if you want to turn your hobby into a career but are still just starting out. You will definitely not just stumble upon things helpful tipsbut also those committed by others Mistakes you can avoid.

Anyone who landed their first order today is certainly very happy about it – and confirms the order in an emailwhich only has this content: Thanks for the order.

Often this email was sent from a free email provider in order to sound completely like a beginner.

Although this may sound authentic at the beginning, but professionally things are different.

From hobby to career – with our 4 tips you can avoid leaving an unprofessional first impression on potential customers.

1.1. Company name

The company name or branding must be there – and can be included do not violate the rights of others. One is always recommended in the craft category Combination of the profession and the name to choose. This prevents confusion.

Tip: Who his Desired company name If you type in the search engine and don’t find a website, you have a good chance.

1.2. E-mail address

One professional email address does not have a 0-8-15 ending, but was purchased and is closely related to the industry or the name of the company or owner.

1.3. Homepage

A homepage makes sense under two conditions: If there is something to show and if the site is maintained regularly becomes. Anyone who, as a stonemason or tiler, has equipped entire outdoor garden areas or even interior spaces with their craftsmanship has something to show and report.

If over time several Best practice examples are added, the homepage becomes a small Hall of Fame.

1.4. Company logo

A small set of business stationery is part of the basic equipment. Say: The company logo must be found on the offer and invoice.

Ideally, it was a one-off Graphic artist creating a set of business stationery which, in addition to the offer and invoice, also includes business cards.

In addition to the basic equipment with business stationery, email address and homepage, many forget to get into the minds of their customers and take a permanent place there.

In this context, the motto “small gifts maintain friendship” applies. It is important that the gifts also suit the target group.

Whoever is undecided about the number, let him be this one helpful comparison given to you: With 200 ballpoint pens with advertising print, craftsmen can delight 200 customers Ballpoint pen received with the invoice.

On a Fair However, 200 promotionally printed ballpoint pens can easily be distributed at once over a weekend. Therefore: The The number of advertising materials must be tailored to the advertising campaign.

By the way, a manageable number of advertising materials have one decisive advantage: The response can be tested at your leisure, new products can always be given away to customers and the storage costs are not significant.

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