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jeter4982

A lot of people including myself, make some extra money in various online activities, including websites, domains, eBay, etc...I've been thinking about this a lot lately, and have wondering at what point does a hobby turn into a job, and/or a job into a hobby? The internet makes this issue even more fuzzy. Lets use websites as an example. Someone can easily enjoy the process of developing websites, and selling them for a profit, or placing advertisements on them and earning a nice little amount of money. One could argue that this is a hobby, as you have another job, and you are simply doing this for fun. You could also argue its a job since you're making money. I think personally it can be a combination of both. You can enjoy what you are doing, and still be making money at the same time. Just look at professional athletes...They are getting paid to play sports, which is their hobby. What are your thoughts/opinions about this?

Tom

zariea · Posted: Wed May 24, 2006 2:13 pm Post subject:

Hi Tom

I think that if you focus on your strong points...as you mentioned, then there is a very high possiblity that you can make some serious many. It will mean that you are focused and you are determined to achieving maximum output.

I know a lot of people that invest time and money working on thier internet hobby. The personal satisfaction is great as you dont often see working online as a job, especially if you enjoy it.

Randy4HomeBiz · Newbie Joined: 26 Dec 2006 Posts: 1 Career Advice: +0/-0

Whether making money on the Internet is a job or a hobby depends on what you want to get out of it. Just because you have another job doesn't mean this isn't your "part-time job", or even a home business for you.

Most hobbyists don't care if they make a profit or not. They just enjoy doing what they do. They're often not interested in reselling their work. On the other hand, there are plenty of people out there who operate Internet based home businesses - some who are doing very well and some who are not. Some are part-time and some (like mine) are full-time real home businesses.

In the US, the IRS doesn't permit you to deduct expenses of your hobby. So, if you want to deduct expenses you need to classify your work as a business - part time or full time makes no difference. However, in order to qualify as a business and not a hobby, the IRS requires that you earn a profit in 3 out of 5 years if you operate a sole proprietorship (the simplest form of any business).

If you're working from home but someone else is paying you, then it's definitely a job, no matter how you look at it. So in short:

If someone else is paying you, it's a job. People can have as many jobs as they want to. What you do has no bearing on whether an activity is a job or a hobby.

If you're trying to make a profit it can be considered a business and you may be able to write off some or all of your expenses.

If you're making more than just a few dollars, the IRS will probably want to tax you anyway so you may as well grab the deductions.

Randy Duermyer
About Guide to Home Business
http://homebusiness.about.com
Search Engine Optimization Specialist

Ciprian13 · Expert Joined: 25 Oct 2006 Posts: 240 Career Advice: +0/-0

Professional athletes have a job not a hobby,that's why they are called professional,for people like me and you maybe practicing is a hobby,for them is a way of living and earning money.
I have a question for those who believe that making money from the internet is just a hobby:What happens if you earn money from the internet than from your regular job?It will still be a hobby or your primary job?

C_Vaughan · Posted: Tue Jan 02, 2007 3:40 pm Post subject:

I make money from my web sites, but I would not feel comfortable depending upon them as my only source of income. The internet is so fickle. The Search Engines are always changing/updating.

Some people DO depend upon the internet for their income and do very well. I'm just not comfortable with it myself.

~C. Vaughan

littlephoenix · Posted: Mon Apr 30, 2007 9:58 am Post subject:

if you love radio controlled cars, and at one point in your life you start selling them on ebay, that will be considered as a job lol
is that your question?

dorothea · Expert Joined: 01 Feb 2007 Posts: 123 Career Advice: +1/-0

You can make money ding such things, of course, but in order to maintain profit, and even to raise it, you need to WORK in a constant manner, never stop for a day, because this can be seen in the way your "business" goes along.
If you have a hobby which can be exploited in this way, even better, because you like doing it and you don't feel a certain pressure which can make some of us stop.
Bottomline, the internet will become the next vt, the nest advertiser, the next employer etc etc etc.

lexa10881 · Posted: Sun May 06, 2007 3:44 am Post subject:

If there's something you are good at and you can spend spare time doing it, then why not make money off of it? I think the hobby part leaves and the job part comes into play when it becomes work and not so enjoyable anymore. But people can and have made serious money off of things like ebay.

http://www.cvtips.com/turn_hobby_into_job.html

sweet_life · Expert Joined: 20 Sep 2006 Posts: 184 Career Advice: +0/-1

Actually, it's the other way around as well. One can easily turn job into a hobby if the other benefits (material, proffesional) are satisfactory. I know people who were practically forced by circumstances to take a job they didn't like, but after a while they became the best because they started to see things they didn't see in that specific job before.

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