Marketable Hobbies??

[akcire]

I am trying to take a forward look from an economic perspective. My daughter is 1 1/2 and I am trying to think of activities for her that could at some time in the distant future provide a little extra income. Also things that are fun to learn to create a well-rounded little person.

For example, as a child I took many swimming lessons and did use those skills as a young adult to teach swim lessons and life guard. These are skills I could still use today as an adult if life ever threw me a bowl of lemons.

In contrast my parents had me learn both the clarinet (I wanted piano) and French. Neither of these skills is particularly valuable. [In contrast my college roommate still plays piano at a church a couple weeks a year and at a department store 6 hours a week]. Not many people lining up to learn French or clarient as adults, but my parents had people that taught me these things for free or nearly free.

So my question to you is what skills/hobbies to you think will have a part-time hobby market in the future? or skills that will be invaluable to learn?

Her current activies are swimming, and a general music class, visiting every park in a 20 mile radius, and testing the life span of childrens products, imitating captain destructo--ie playing. In future (when she gets older) she will learn piano, and ice skating (skill level will be based on talent and interest).

She is also learning ASL along with English (we don't speak English at home).

(I would love her to learn Chinese, but I have had a hard time trying to even begin to make that happen).

Im sure I sound crazy, I am just trying to make certain she always has at least a couple of non traditional job skills--even if they are just for the extras in life. So give me your thoughts on skills/hobbies, please don't suggest gun smithing or VCR repair . What are the "oh, I wish I could do that feelings you have has as an adult"?

 

[corgi_monster]

Art and design classes would be useful. There are a lot of jobs/hobbies where you should have knowledge of color theory, understanding proportion, etc. For example, graphic design, makeup artist, selling art or jewelry at a craft fair. Most people can learn the technical aspects of these jobs (like what brushes are used for blending), but it's much harder to develop an "eye." And while art and design are subjective, someone with training in the field will be able to make something that pleases a wide range of tastes.

 

[Acklander]

I never really thought about tailoring my kids activities to what would make them money, but more about what interested them and what they enjoyed. If they aren't passionate about it, they probably won't be good enough at it to earn an income from it. With little kids I try to expose them to all, and see where their heart leads them.

 

[akcire]

I never really thought about tailoring my kids activities to what would make them money, but more about what interested them and what they enjoyed. If they aren't passionate about it, they probably won't be good enough at it to earn an income from it. With little kids I try to expose them to all, and see where their heart leads them.

I agree, but I am trying to expose her to things that will be more marketable. Also she is 16 months old, everything is new and exciting to her, but choices still have to be made (she can't take 40 classes a week). If she decides that learning a "dead" language, practicing the accoridan, and break dancing are her passions in life I will support them. I am just trying to think outside of the box (and get help in case I am missing any ideas) as I see so many in my community struggle and others who are surving because of skill they learned as children.

Right now everything (with the right teacher) is fun. Once she is older I may have a harder time introducing her to things.

 

[npmommie]

I am trying to take a forward look from an economic perspective. My daughter is 1 1/2 and I am trying to think of activities for her that could at some time in the distant future provide a little extra income. Also things that are fun to learn to create a well-rounded little person.

For example, as a child I took many swimming lessons and did use those skills as a young adult to teach swim lessons and life guard. These are skills I could still use today as an adult if life ever threw me a bowl of lemons.

In contrast my parents had me learn both the clarinet (I wanted piano) and French. Neither of these skills is particularly valuable. [In contrast my college roommate still plays piano at a church a couple weeks a year and at a department store 6 hours a week]. Not many people lining up to learn French or clarient as adults, but my parents had people that taught me these things for free or nearly free.

So my question to you is what skills/hobbies to you think will have a part-time hobby market in the future? or skills that will be invaluable to learn?

Her current activies are swimming, and a general music class, visiting every park in a 20 mile radius, and testing the life span of childrens products, imitating captain destructo--ie playing. In future (when she gets older) she will learn piano, and ice skating (skill level will be based on talent and interest).

She is also learning ASL along with English (we don't speak English at home).

(I would love her to learn Chinese, but I have had a hard time trying to even begin to make that happen).

Im sure I sound crazy, I am just trying to make certain she always has at least a couple of non traditional job skills--even if they are just for the extras in life. So give me your thoughts on skills/hobbies, please don't suggest gun smithing or VCR repair . What are the "oh, I wish I could do that feelings you have has as an adult"?

well when she is old enough I would do swimming lessons for sure.
what language do you speak at home? maybe that is marketable in the future in some way?
art classes if her passion is artsy.
any sport if she show talent and loves it. ( I dream of a gymnastics scholarship here, LOL)

she is young. expose her to lots of different stuff and at some point you will see what she loves.
my dd's gymnastics love and skill became very apparent early on.

I never really thought about tailoring my kids activities to what would make them money, but more about what interested them and what they enjoyed. If they aren't passionate about it, they probably won't be good enough at it to earn an income from it. With little kids I try to expose them to all, and see where their heart leads them.

this

 

[FINFAN]

I think just "real life" experiences in general will allow your DD to find a path that suits her creativity. The larger the variety of exposure to things, the more opportunity you give her to find her passion for something. I guess what I am trying to say is while organized/structured classes are good, they are also somewhat limiting only to what is offered in those 4 walls at the time. Go to all that Chicago has to offer, hit the air show (I know she is young, but she will certainly hear/see/feel all that excitement) hands on things, seek out the less typical outings and just go with things you gravitate toward. Any sensory opportunity will be of value...music, touch, visual,food...can all influence her toward a successful choice of hobbies/outlets in her future. Without real life experiences, she will not have the full emotion from which to draw/pull from in whatever area she leans toward.

 

[Northstar]

I think any hobby or activity (except maybe shopping!) can lead to something marketable. You learn, you develop skills, maybe you follow a path that leads to selling your skills or your product. Or maybe not. Maybe it stays a hobby.

One thing I've noticed in my daughter's friends; the ones with parents who run their own businesses are the ones who seem to know how to go about turning a hobby into an enterprise. They know about Etsy. They know about advertising, price setting, networking, seeking out sales opportunities...
I feel pretty clueless about this stuff. All I know how to do is find a job and work for an employer.

So maybe your thread title should be "How can a kid turn a hobby into a part-time business?"

 

[akcire]

I think any hobby or activity (except maybe shopping!) can lead to something marketable. You learn, you develop skills, maybe you follow a path that leads to selling your skills or your product. Or maybe not. Maybe it stays a hobby.

One thing I've noticed in my daughter's friends; the ones with parents who run their own businesses are the ones who seem to know how to go about turning a hobby into an enterprise. They know about Etsy. They know about advertising, price setting, networking, seeking out sales opportunities...
I feel pretty clueless about this stuff. All I know how to do is find a job and work for an employer.

So maybe your thread title should be "How can a kid turn a hobby into a part-time business?"

I own a business. So I am certain this is what I am thinking. Not that it is a necessity for her to ever derive any economic return from any of the hobbies she is learning now. I just want her to have EVERY option. Hopefully, she will have a primary career which will be fulfilling and provide economically. However if she decides her career passion is something that will not meet her economic needs, then possibly a hobby can become a secondary source of income.

 

[akcire]

well when she is old enough I would do swimming lessons for sure.
what language do you speak at home? maybe that is marketable in the future in some way?
art classes if her passion is artsy.
any sport if she show talent and loves it. ( I dream of a gymnastics scholarship here, LOL)

she is young. expose her to lots of different stuff and at some point you will see what she loves.
my dd's gymnastics love and skill became very apparent early on.
this

She has been in a swim class since she was 6 months old. She now takes swimming 2 times a week at our Y. Of course I am in the water with her, and it is mostly songs, but she can jump in a swim 4-5 feet on her own. She also takes a general gym tumbling type class--I forgot since to me it is Swim/gym.

We speak Swedish at home. Not marketable at all. Many people are leaving Sweden for jobs. Every Swede I know including my 98 year old great Aunt speaks additional languages. So while anything is possible. It is unlikely. My husband and I even debated teaching her Swedish, but ultimately figured it could never hurt.

Part of the reason for my question. Is she likes repetition in kids/teachers. In my area there are nearly no organized activities for her age. So if I want her to learn a new skill (that I can't teacher her), other than swimming, I am going to have to find someone to teach her. I have even considered hiring someone to teach a class for her and a few friends, I just am not sure what would be a good next skill (can't find someone to teach Chinese). I was really just looking for ideas of skills/hobbies that people wished they could have learned early. We also don't watch TV, so we have a bit more time than others. She does not attend daycare, I keep her home with me.

 

[N&B'smom]

How about dance?

 

[yoopermom]

Not to stand up for gunsmithing (but I'm going to anyways )....

DH does all of his own gunsmithing, and DS has been watching/helping ever since he could walk. I think that it may have influenced his interest in engineering, because of the precision/mechanics that go into it. Yes, it's an EXTREMELY specialized field, but my point is that IMHO children learn much from watching their parents participate in THEIR hobbies.

What goes around, comes around, and, while I don't think that VCRs will be need repair anytime soon, I see a large market for many of the more "traditional" skills that might include: sewing (especially mending and alterations), shoe repair, canning and preserving, auto repair, etc, etc. With a poor economy, many people are trying to make things last rather than buy new. I was in 4-H for years, and learned many of the above skills there through their various projects. I also helped my extended family members do many of the above things.

Terri

 

[Lucille1963]

I think any hobby or activity (except maybe shopping!) can lead to something marketable. You learn, you develop skills, maybe you follow a path that leads to selling your skills or your product. Or maybe not. Maybe it stays a hobby.

One thing I've noticed in my daughter's friends; the ones with parents who run their own businesses are the ones who seem to know how to go about turning a hobby into an enterprise. They know about Etsy. They know about advertising, price setting, networking, seeking out sales opportunities...
I feel pretty clueless about this stuff. All I know how to do is find a job and work for an employer.

So maybe your thread title should be "How can a kid turn a hobby into a part-time business?"

Shopping worked for me!

My 2nd hand shopping hobby turned into a job when I lost my job 8 years ago. I sell on etsy and at pop ups and fleas. It works well for me!

 

[luvmy3]

When I first glanced at your OP I thought you said she was 11 1/2, but I see she is only 1 1/2.
I think you should just continue to expose her to different things and as she gets older she will find what she is interested in and then you can focus on that turning into a marketable skill. She is so young and while you may want her to do XYZ there will come a time when she isn't going to want to, so even if its a marketable skill, she may not want to market it, KWIM.

 

[ksjayhawks]

When I first glanced at your OP I thought you said she was 11 1/2, but I see she is only 1 1/2.
I think you should just continue to expose her to different things and as she gets older she will find what she is interested in and then you can focus on that turning into a marketable skill. She is so young and while you may want her to do XYZ there will come a time when she isn't going to want to, so even if its a marketable skill, she may not want to market it, KWIM.

This! She is only 1 1/2! Give her time to be a child and not worry about the future so much yet. You may make all these plans and find in 6-10 years that this "hobby/skill" is no longer viable!

Expose her to a lot of different things, let her play, do not "over-structure" her, let her pick her interests and go with that.

 

[Ginny Favers]

Well, a lot of this is dependent on what she's GOOD at.

My parents exposed me to softball, which I hated, but I ended being the best girl on my office's team 20 years later. Not really marketable, but in an indirect way, it helped my career.

I took clarinet, too, and I suppose if I was good at it, I could have played gigs on the weekends. My father in law does that-- plays clarinet on weekends. Makes a killing.

My biggest passion is writing. Started as a hobby but translated into a fairly good salary.

You never know what might end up helping you in the future. Have her explore a lot of things and stick with what she's good at, and what she enjoys. I believe you can find a way to make money at anything, if you're good enough at it and passionate enough about it.

 

[BuzznBelle'smom]

Well, I appreciate what you're trying to accomplish, but I think you're over-thinking it at this stage of the game. I agree with PP's who said expose her to everything, help her find her passion, and then see how that could possibly be marketable down the line.

My DD17 loves kids and wants to be a teacher. She has a summer job teach at her dance studio, and a winter job as a ski instructor. In between, she makes $10/hour babysitting.

I like to sew, and although it's volunteer, I make a bunch of costumes for my kids' dance studio. I could probably earn a few bucks doing mending and alterations, or at least sewing ribbons and elastics on pointe shoes.

I would continue with the swim lessons, but mostly because I believe it's a necessary skill--should you be in a position to need it, it's nto the time to learn.

While there might not be a huge market for Swedish-speaking clarinet players, I think most activities could translate to some kind of business venture. If she loves math, she could tutor. If she loves music, she could be in a band or give private lessons. If she loves art, she could go in several directions. When she's old enough, you might want to consider Scouting--earning the badges exposes you to a number of skills (cooking, camping, swimming, sewing) that might lead to a passion for your child.

 

[disykat]

I know people who make money with both clarinet and with french. I'm not sure why you don't consider those "marketable."

 

[monkeybug]

I think as far as hobbies go, you have to just let her try many things and she'll decide which ones match her natural talents and likes, whether they are marketable or not. (but I imagine most would be in some way given enough effort on her part)
I do think that there are certain life skills often over looked these days that every child should be exposed to and taught. Things like sewing, cooking from scratch, working on vehicles, simple plumbing and household maintenance, woodworking...that sort of thing. They may not be turned into lucrative careers, but they are financially beneficial! If you know how to do those things yourself you don't have to pay someone else to do them for you.

 

[Gumbo4x4]

I'd maybe worry less about marketable skills than useful skills. As you've said, not many clarinet players still play as adults, while the same is not true so much of piano (or guitar). Knowing how to sew, knit, or quilt could all come in handy, as would being able to fix & repair things around the house.

 

[akcire]

I know people who make money with both clarinet and with french. I'm not sure why you don't consider those "marketable."

You are correct. They are both marketable, in the right situation. That said, my college roommates piano skills will always be more marketable than my clarinet skills--despite me having college level instruction and her not taking a lesson since 8th grade.

Also French can be useful. It is however and "old-school" language to learn and I am trying to consider what may be more beneficial. I almost never use French, but I frequently use Spanish for example in my work as a professional. At the same time knowing Chinese or Japanese would be even more benefical to me from a business perspective.

I also spent countless hours as a kid learning Ballroom Dancing, not for the enjoyment but for "grown-up" life/events. My husband would not know a foxtrot from a waltz, and outside of military balls I know next to no one who uses these dance skills with the exception of a wedding. My husband and I attend 3-6 black tied charity balls every year, and very few people use the dance floor. Not saying it is right, just what I observe. I will still enroll my daughter in some elementary dance classes for posture, just not the endless years of ballroom dancing I endured.