3 Tips to Turn a Profit with Your Outdoor Passions

The 2014 State of the American Workplace survey by Gallup found that nearly 70 percent of U.S. workers are disengaged in their jobs. Stated more bluntly, a vast majority of Americans hate the places they’re forced to be for 40-plus hours per week to keep a roof over their heads and food on the table.

Few people are privileged enough to wake up every day and do a job they also consider a hobby. Avid outdoorsmen have many opportunities to turn their favorite activities into money-making endeavors. Granted, it’s likely to take several years and a lot of commitment to turn those passions into careers lucrative enough to support the family. That being said, here are three tips to start earning part-time cash from your hobbies.

Gun Cleaning & Assembly

A 2014 General Social Survey by the University of Chicago found that American gun ownership reached lows not seen since 2010. Despite the downward trend, Pew Research Center data found that more Americans think protecting gun rights is more important than controlling gun ownership. First-time gun owners are aplenty and continue increasing in numbers as Democrats have made gun control their capstone issue since Obama took the White House in 2008.

Gun maintenance is important to ensure reliable firing when that emergency moment arises. Disassembling, oiling and reassembling your personal firearms is a simple process when you’ve done it several times before. But new gun owners, who have a 9mm in their nightstand drawers to protect their homes, are likely not as diligent with maintenance. In fact, many first-timers let their firearms sit around and gather dust for years without ever moving them.

Offer your gun cleaning and assembly expertise to newbies. Use Craigslist, Facebook and other social media platforms to inform friends and locals of your services. A great way to make continuous, residual income is by setting up a simple WordPress website. Make instructional videos about cleaning guns, and post supplemental written instructions. Add royalty-free music backgrounds to make the videos more professional. Free WordPress plugins like Wishlist allow you to charge members for this premium content.

The amount of money you make is determined by how much you charge and how frequently you update content on your website.

Fishing Clubs

Let’s face it: pride sometimes interferes with a man’s ability to ask for help when needed. But there’s a lot more to gain from joining a fishing club than advice from other fishermen.

Join a local B.A.S.S. club by contacting the president of your state’s Federation Nation chapter directly. Members are allowed to participate in tournaments with cash prizes. Some have buy-in fees, but it takes money to make money no matter the type of business.

Club members have the opportunity to make and sell their own lures, jigs and weights, too. Anglers are always looking for the newest, most-effective bait. Fishing clubs give you an instant customer base to sell high-demand items.

Coaching

USA Archery, the Olympic governing body for the sport, experienced a 77 percent increase in membership from May 2013-14. Though the organization credits the efforts of several archery associations for the surge, movies like “The Hunger Games” and “The Avengers” have also contributed.

The same techniques used to advertise gun cleaning services can be used to promote your coaching availability. Make certain to highlight your years of experience and even show off photos of all the trophies you’ve accumulated. The more you can demonstrate your competency and proficiency in the sport, the easier it is to secure clients.

You’re unlikely to get rich by turning your hobbies into part-time jobs, but it sure feels good to make extra money doing something you love.

1 Comment

  1. Geoff on September 4, 2015 at 7:33 pm

    There they go again, using PERCENTAGE to mislead people that gun ownership is down.
    “A 2014 General Social Survey by the University of Chicago found that American gun ownership reached lows not seen since 2010”
    WRONG!
    Gallup poll. http://www.gallup.com/poll/179213/six-americans-say-guns-homes-safer.aspx
    Forty-two percent of Americans report having a gun in their home, similar to the average reported to Gallup over the past decade.

    Number of households. http://www.statista.com/statistics/183635/number-of-households-in-the-us/

    1960 52,799,000 49% with gun 25,871,510
    1970 63,401,000 47% 29,798,470
    1974 69,859,000 44% 30,737,960
    1980 80,776,000 45% 36,349,200
    1984 85,407,000 42% 35,870,940
    1989 92,830,000 47% 43,630,100
    1994 97,107,000 51% 49,524.570 1994 “Assault Weapon Ban” enacted
    1999 103,874,000 34% 35,317,160 Looks like people do not want to answer during the ban
    2004 112,000,000 43% 48,160,000 “Assault Weapon Ban” sunsets
    2009 117,181,000 42% 49,216,020 obama takes office
    2012 121,084,000 45% 54,487,800 obama takes office again
    2014 124,000,000* 42% 52,080,000

    *estimated – I can’t find the actual number

    So the number of households saying they own a gun has DOUBLED since 1960.
    WHY?
    Because the TOTAL number of households is increasing faster the the number of household reporting they own a gun.
    And remember, those are the households that answered the poll with a YES, others may have refused to answer.

    The NRA estimates the number of households with a gun may be as high as 50%.
    That would make the number 62,000,000 households with a gun.