Parlaying Hobbies into Money

I recently wrote about my experience at the WPT Boot Camp. That is a good example of people who take hobbies (like Poker) - and try to parlay them into a FULL-TIME income.

For this post, I wanted to highlight a bit lighter fare when it comes to parlaying a hobby into revenue generation. (Not full-time money - or consistent income to count on -- more discretionary-style).

It's middle of August, which means if you try talking to me about anything outside of Fantasy Football, chances are that I'm only half listening to you. Please don't take offense to this -- I'm a Fantasy Football true fanatic.

I started The BigTime fantasy league 11 years ago. As many of my loyal readers know - I take great pride in being the Commissioner. The league is still going strong - and has kept many of the first owners. Being a more "mature" league - it's actually become more about luck than skill. Once you understand the basic math and general philosophy -- I'm not certain there is much of an advantage that one Fantasy Football owner can have over another.... This said - last year I entered 4 Fantasy leagues. 2 "mature" ones and 2 Novice ones... I won the Championship in both of the novice ones... Example of parlaying a hobby into $$.
The truth is - that if the money was more important to me than the entertainment value - you would find me in over 30 "office leagues" or novice leagues. I know I could win money from that "investment"... HOWEVER ... the entertainment value is like no other - and I chose not to do that. In fact - I think I'm only doing 2 leagues this year...

For anti Fantasy Football readers - I have another example...

Most people I know are huge fans of American Idol. Amy is THE BIGGEST fan of the Fox Show, "So you Think You Can Dance." She literally could probably enter a trivia show of random facts about the show - and clean up ... Unfortunately, that particular quiz show doesn't exist, but, she did get a chance to make money based on her expertise... There is a GREAT website that runs "office pools" of sorts for both AI and SYTYCD. Amy and I entered... As did our friends, The Remers... The show just ended last week - and I'm happy to report that both the Remers and Amy parlayed their hobbies into money.... The Remers came in first - netting over $1K and Amy tied for third gaining ~$150 on her $20 "investment." (We goin' to Sizzler!). (I am very proud of my wife for doing this - It was so much fun talking "strategy" with her... hopefully she got a little glimpse into my Fantasy Football experiences)....

So - that's it ... If you're good at something - chances are that there are ways to make some money through it... And ... If something doesn't exist today -- Start it! That's what the information superhighway is all about. :)