Hobby Turned Side Job

It's official, CommunityTee is now a registered trademark. To celebrate, we are offering a 10% discount code: "party." The code is valid until June 2, 2024.

This blog post is fittingly about pursuing your hobby and potentially turning it into an additional income stream. This was precisely my motivation for creating CommunityTee. In this blog, I will summarize my thoughts on this topic and briefly describe a few tips for getting started. Don't expect a comprehensive guide, as that would exceed the scope of a blog post. I hope to inspire you with this blog.

Often, we find fulfillment not in our main job but in our hobbies. We pursue hobbies to varying degrees, depending on how much free time we have. However, the fact is that we (hopefully) engage in them, so why not take the next step to turn them into a source of side income? Of course, I am aware that not every hobby can be turned into a side job. But as mentioned in the "Dream Job" blog post, you can find areas related to your hobby where you have expertise and which could be considered as potential projects. It is essential to stay realistic. You are doing this for yourself, not to prove anything to anyone else. Additionally, you must be aware that there will be costs you didn't have before. This is about engaging in an activity that fulfills you and gives you a sense of doing something meaningful, plus a possible additional income.

The first step is to create a concept. Consider what goals you are pursuing and how you want to achieve them. Don’t try to reinvent the wheel; look to existing brands and think about what could make this brand even more successful. Experience shows that the most successful concepts emerge from various sources of inspiration. Here’s an example of how you can proceed: As a coffee lover, you want to sell awesome coffee online. You already know which coffee you will source from which roastery, or maybe you roast the coffee yourself. Additionally, you have a favorite brand and find that it has good marketing. Look at what the brand does in the marketing area. Next, think of a product that has nothing to do with coffee but has a phenomenal concept, and consider how this concept could be transferred to coffee.

Implementation:

Brand: The first thing on the list is a brand name. It is important to check if this name is already taken. A simple search on the patent and trademark office website is sufficient. Once you have found a suitable brand name, you can register your brand on the same site. The key points to keep in mind are: you can protect your brand in three product categories (e.g., food, toys, cosmetics). These categories are more precisely described as the "Nice Classification." The processing takes approximately four months, and after approval, there is still a three-month opposition period before the trademark is finally registered.

Company and Taxes:

Starting a business today is also a simple process and often possible online. Just visit your state’s website for more information. Generally, a simple business registration will suffice. Of course, besides the registration costs, there are additional expenses like business tax, IHK (Chamber of Commerce) fees, etc. The amount varies in each locality.

Here are my thoughts on this, without any guarantee of completeness and accuracy, as I am not a business or tax advisor: Self-employment can be done as a side job. You will have obligations but also rights. Obligations include maintaining accurate bookkeeping, ideally and most simply done with a tax advisor, and, of course, paying all fees and taxes on time. Your rights include being able to deduct all expenses directly or indirectly related to your business from your taxes. For example: You need a new computer for your project – deduct it from your taxes. In the end, your income tax rate applies, meaning profits from the business are added to your income from employment, and losses that reduce your total income are also considered.

When registering a business, it is interesting to register as a small business. This has the advantage that you do not have to pay VAT to the tax office and therefore do not have to show VAT on your invoices. However, note that as a small business owner, you cannot reclaim VAT on your purchases, whereas with a "regular" business, you can. A small business is defined as one with less than €22,000 in revenue in the first year and less than €50,000 in subsequent years.

Homepage or Social Media:

Deciding between creating your own homepage or using social media depends on your goals and resources. A homepage gives you full control over content and design, strengthens your brand, and improves search engine visibility. However, it requires time and possibly financial investment. Social media platforms allow for quick, cost-effective, and direct interaction with your target audience. A combination of both approaches can be sensible, or you can tackle everything step by step. If you want to know more about creating a homepage, send me a DM.

In my opinion, these are the most important considerations and first steps if you want to turn your hobby into a side job. I could write much more about this topic, but it would exceed the scope of a blog. Therefore, I'll move on to Matze's practical tips: I am very glad that I founded CommunityTee and receive positive feedback from you. I still remember the first order and how I felt like a child excited about gifts. The idea behind CommunityTee was and still is not only to realize my passion but also to provide you with a platform and support you, whether with my blogs to inspire you, with the designs to bring you joy, or with tips and tricks to help you with your own projects. If you have any questions, just let me know... Stay tuned...

Disclaimer

Please note that the information has been carefully researched; however, I do not assume any liability for its accuracy and completeness. For individual advice or specific questions, please contact a business or tax advisor.