You can turn your hobby into a side hustle

For this week’s Reality Cheque, we’re looking at how easy it is to turn a hobby into a moneymaker.

By Elio Iannacci

Nearly 9 million of us have side hustles—that’s 28% of adult Canadians, according to a recent survey by H&R Block Canada. And that includes Etsy retailers, TaskRabbit workers and more.

Need examples? Actor Simu Liu, Marvel superhero by day, added to his Hollywood résumé by moonlighting as chief content officer for MìLà, a buzzy frozen dumpling and noodle brand. Juno-winning R&B star Keshia Chanté developed KHAIR, a hair-care line rooted in her deep love of coiffure treatments for BIPOC fans. Even David Foster, one of the most powerful music producers of our time (Whitney Houston’s cover of “I Will Always Love You,” anyone?), pops up on Cameo for coin, delivering personalized messages for a fee.
While most Canadians won’t be cashing in on their fame, the impulse behind these celebrity side jobs is widely shared. So many of us without a Billboard hit or a blockbuster flick, have spent time thinking of creative ways to secure a second income, especially in an era of rising costs. With coffee and grocery prices soaring while the cost of living is climbing (even fast food isn’t even cheap anymore), some of the most stability-minded Canadians are finding that their job just doesn’t earn them enough.

Beyond the dual dividends, many of success stories from our multi-job era are about people turning their heart-warming pastimes into hard cash. Hobbies with real earning potential run far and wide—from crafting, like candle-making and jewelry design, to creative skills such as photography and painting, to teaching or coaching in studios or gyms, as well as service-based work like bookkeeping during tax season, proofreading, and digital content creation.

For those of us who aren’t those superstars with the name recognition to leverage for our side hustles, choosing which passion project to monetize requires serious focus and diligence.

Here are a few pointers on how to bank on your pastime.

Get ready for questions and paperwork

Nigerian-British fashion designer Priscillia Okpan offers a primer on business planning through her YouTube channel, named after her brand Kim Dave. One of her most-watched videos, How To Turn Your Hobby into a Profitable Side Hustle, breaks down the stages of “gigifying” a hobby, starting with identifying your “unique selling point,” also known as USP.

Are you riding a trend? Does your hobby have legs? “Find out what makes that passion, that skill unique from everyone else’s. Is it the fact that you handcraft things or use a particular type of material?” she says to ask. Okpan emphasizes that expertise is a selling point, urging creators, crafters and service workers to examine what differentiates their skills and influences. “Your journey is your USP,” she adds.

Okpan stresses the importance of identifying who your audience is and creating and adhering to a clear playbook. That means building a business plan that visualizes your new company’s growth and future income streams.

You can start off consulting with the Government of Canada’s business plan guide, which is free. It covers the different ownership structures, how you can do risk reviews, as well as sales forecasting. There’s also a friendly reminder to loop in an accountant before pitching your services to a friend or your big idea to Dragon’s Den.

Making money from a hobby takes time

At age six, Irish-Canadian entrepreneur Nicola Masterson was acutely aware her mother was battling cancer and depression. And she noticed that the one thing that lifted both their spirits was a clean, organized home. After admiring Martha Stewart from afar and cycling through more than four career paths at office jobs, retail posts, as well as a serious stint as a makeup artist—adult Masterson stumbled into the idea of professional closet organizing after a conversation with the landlord of one of the boutiques she worked at. “My eyes nearly fell out of my head,” Masterson says. “I thought, ‘you got paid to do that? That’s a real thing?’ From then on I had a spark.”

The chance conversation ignited something she knew deep down: consolidating and classifying items for people could mean the world to her but she’d need to dip into grind culture to see her idea through.

Turning a hobby into something that makes money doesn’t happen overnight. But the idea can feel like a moment of clarity. For Masterson, her idea eventually evolved into Space in the City. She started slowly, taking on a single elderly client, found through a modest Kijiji post, who needed help organizing her home.

If you want to turn your hobby-slash-passion into profit, start by studying those who’ve done it well—and those who haven’t. Seek mentors you admire. Analyze the success stories and the flops with equal intention. Education matters, too. You will need to swap some of your hobby time with reading up on taxes, marketing, social media, website creation, and more. Use your out-of-office hours to truly understand the business side of your interest.

That said, “There’s no training out there that’s quite as good as just having lived experience,” Masterson shares. When Masterson arrived for her first client meeting, she learned devastating news: the elderly woman’s brother just died.

“From that first small job I had, I understood what kind of transformation takes place when you help someone de-clutter… many come to me disheveled and overwhelmed and disorganized and when I’m finished with them they’re feeling so relieved, relaxed and at peace,” she says, noting there’s also a two-way catharsis at work.

Today, Masterson is a professional organizer who works with celebrities and CEOs, leads a team of six, and has built a business rooted as much in empathy as efficiency. While it took several years to move out of having multiple jobs, Masterson soon found that her side hustle became the only true focus for her bread and butter.

Get ready to pay tax

Turning a hobby into income also means playing by the rules. That includes:

Registering your business.
Claiming only legitimate expenses.
Declaring all profits to the Canadian Revenue Agency (CRA).

Tax regulations evolve often, and staying informed is essential. One way is to regularly visit the CRA’s new business requirements, if your hustle is connected to online dealings, and its Gig Economy web page, which translates what is at stake when doing things like micro-tasking to consulting.

Those tempted to hide extra income should know this: failing to declare earnings is illegal, full stop. As of the 2025 tax season, digital platforms such as Uber, Crowd Source, Clickworker and TaskRabbit are all required to report participant income directly to the CRA.

While some tax deductions and credits may apply—depending on the nature of your hobby/work—when in doubt, consult a tax expert. Compliance isn’t just about avoiding penalties; it’s about building something sustainable.

Should you turn your hobby into a small business?

Many hobbies have the opportunity to create income. Whether your passion is organizing closets, designing clothes or crafting content, the path forward is clear: learn, plan and cross all Ts early. The most successful hobbies-turned-jobs align skill with purpose in a way that opens up opportunities for both financial and personal growth.

Elio Iannacci is an award-winning writer, scholar and journalist whose work has appeared in more than 80 publications, including The Globe and Mail, Vogue Italia, The Hollywood Reporter and Maclean’s. His writing also appears in a number of literary anthologies, including the newly released The Nuances of Love, published by Guernica.