4 Tips for Monetizing Your Creativity

We live in the era of working the side hustle. Outside the realm of our standard nine-to-six (or nine-to-seven), many of us try to tap into a creative outlet we can pursue in our downtime. Naturally, we’d also love it if our potential side gig could make us some extra cash to boost our bank accounts, fund our travel plans, or finance our avocado toast habit!

While it might seem impossible to find something you not only genuinely enjoy doing, but which you can also profit from, the truth is that monetizing the things you're already passionate about is easier than you think. With a little ingenuity and the right equipment, the world is your theoretical piggy bank.

To learn how you can make some extra cash doing the things you already love, we’ve partnered with Microsoft Surface Laptop Microsoft to bring you four ways to harness (and cash in on!) your creativity.

Leverage Your Skillset

Do you write for a living? Build websites? Design apps? Think of fun and unique ways to expand on what you already get paid to do day-to-day. If your friend group constantly asks you for help writing social media posts, consider expanding (and charging for) your services by creating custom hashtags and captions for bachelorette parties, weddings, or birthday bashes. If your parents' friends turn to you to help edit their kids' college essays, consider advertising that service wider via social media or listings websites. Know a thing or two about design? Try your hand at creating personalized social filters for your network. If you already spend enough time cultivating an A+ social media presence, you might as well earn money for it.

And as you're getting your mini-business off the ground, consider investing in the right devices, since your project will likely involve digital transactions, not brick-and-mortar stores. The Microsoft Surface Laptop can power your business from anywhere, so no matter what you’re into — music, drawing, writing, etc. — you’re able to work on the go without draining your battery life.

Profit Off Your Hobbies

If you’re gifted at knitting, pottery, photography (or really anything that requires artistic skill), consider opening up an online crafts shop and stock it with products you’re already gifting to your friends and family on special occasions, and make sure to post plenty of photos of your creations.

Not so good with your hands? Think about the things that bring you joy. If you spend a lot of time petting random dogs on the sidewalk or cooing over the dozens of corgi accounts you follow, consider becoming a dog walker. Dog walking service apps can make it easy for you to get paid to surround yourself with nonstop cuteness.

Get Certified

Are you a hardcore runner, or do you always rank first in the pack at spin class? Consider getting certified as a spin instructor or run coach, and get paid to do what you do best: breaking a sweat.

Maybe you’re more of a financial whiz than a fitness guru. Look into what it would take (and cost you up front) to become a certified financial planner and build up a small client base by helping them balance their budgets. If you already have the qualifications to teach a dance class or tutor someone in a foreign language, put out some feelers and gauge the market for your expertise.

Tune In

If you’ve mastered the art of putting together the ultimate party playlist or are always tasked with unofficially DJing social events, see if you can turn that musical inclination into a side business. Try to link up with any videographer friends or contacts and create a stellar soundtrack to their latest production, or offer to DJ small gigs until you can work your way up to bigger and better venues.

This article is brought to you with the help of Microsoft Surface.

The brand new Surface LaptopMicrosoft Surface Laptop was released this June, and features the following:

• Ultra-thin and light, so it fits easily in your bag.
• Four tone-on-tone color combinations and sleek, elegant design complement your personal style.
• Enjoy a natural typing and trackpad experience, enhanced by a luxurious Alcantara® fabric-covered keyboard.
• The power to do what you want with all-day battery life.
• Experience beautiful images in true-to-life color on the vibrant 13.5” PixelSense™ Display with touchscreen.
• Invisible immersive Dolby® Audio™ Premium sound that comes directly from the keyboard, with no added bulk or grills.