EPISODE 191
LEVEL B1/B2

READING COMPREHENSION

 

Making Money on Hobbies

We’ve all got our hobbies—pastimes that we dedicate some of our spare hours to because we find them fun or fulfilling. But some of these activities, if we’re willing to take them seriously, can be turned into a stream of income. Depending on how you direct your talents and interests, you can get anything from free stuff to extra spending money to a full-fledged business or platform for marketing your own or others’ products—all by doing something
you might’ve done anyway. Here are 4 common hobbies that you can potentially monetize, whether it’s through freelancing, becoming an affiliate, building an audience, or simply starting a business.
1. Writing
Writing and publishing online has the potential to offer you a lot of practical value outside of being a mere hobby. You can use it to further your career and establish yourself as an expert on a topic. You can build a platform for sharing your ideas. Or you can rent out your skills. The most obvious way to make money writing is to sell it as a service—freelancing on sites like Upwork or Fiverr, or reaching out directly to blogs for paid gigs.
2. Illustration/Design
Like writing, illustration and design are skills that you can offer as a freelancer. Fiverr in particular is where a lot of newer artists with a variety of illustration styles find clients in need of their skills, whether it’s for marketing projects or custom portraits. But if you’d like to maintain control, you can put your own art on things, from t-shirts to posters to canvases and sell those instead. It’s important to understand that in order to turn your art into a product, you’ll need to cater to a specific market or build a unique brand. The former is usually easier. Hate Copy is a good example of a business that was started by an artist putting their art onto things that people can buy.
3. Comedy
Are you good at making people laugh? Do you know what the hottest memes are right now? Why not take that sense of humour and use it to build an audience on the internet? You can probably think of several Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, or Twitter accounts that have amassed large audiences simply by offering memes and viral videos, or tapping into a niche of humour that no one else is serving. Once you have an audience, you can partner
with brands to do sponsored posts or turn your best running jokes into t-shirts and other
products.
4. Cooking
Food has become an art form worthy of taking elaborate pictures and the time to perfect as a craft. It’s not only amateur chefs who are involved, but people with adventurous palettes looking to explore new tastes. It’s a hobby you can share with the world in a variety of different ways, from starting a blog, YouTube channel, or Instagram account dedicated to recipes, to diving head-first into a business by creating your own food or cooking products. Some even hit the road with a food truck business.
Adapted from www.shopify.com

 

 

Ex. 1 Find the words or expressions in the text which mean the following:

1) sth you do after work: __________
2) to make money on sth: __________
3) a business partner: __________
4) not being more than: __________
5) to work independently: __________
6) for the purpose of sth: __________
7) to provide a service a particular clientele wants: __________
8) a video that many people share online: __________
9) to become business associates: ___________
10)complicated, in good taste: __________
11)to find out about new things: __________
12)directions how to cook sth: _________

 

 

Ex. 2 Match the expressions from the two columns into logical collocations:

1. our spare                                    of income
2. to take                                         to do sth
3. a stream                                      your career
4. a full-fledged                             your skills
5. to build                                       hours
6. to have potential                      as an expert
7. to establish yourself                to sb
8. to further                                   sth seriously
9. to rent out                                 an audience
10. to reach out                            business

 

Ex. 3 Provide English equivalents of these expressions:

1) przynoszący spełnienie
2) oczywisty
3) różnorodność
4) robiony na zamówienie
5) płótno
6) unikatowy
7) mem
8) zgromadzić
9) zagospodarować niszę
10)wpis
11)wpisy sponsorowane
12)podniebienie

Grammar corner…

If I had known about the risk it, I wouldn’t have invested in these stocks … may have said somebody who’s just made a bad financial decision. In other words he regrets having invested in sth. Or he wishes he hadn’t done it. Or if only he hadn’t done it, he wouldn’t have had to go to face the consequences. All the phrases in bold are used to speculate about the past. Well, there’s only so much you can do about it now…

 

 

Ex. 4 Write sentences expressing your regret or speculation about a past event.

1) you bought a canoe and you’re sorry now: I wish …
2) you invested in the wrong stocks: if only …
3) your train was late and you were late for a meeting: if my train …
4) you missed an investment opportunity: we should …
5) you have second thoughts about leaving your job: I regret …
6) you’re sure your strategy was set to fail in the first place: it couldn’t …
7) you’re 100% sure that Jake talked to the rivals: it was Jake who must …

 

GLOSSARY

a pastime  – hobby
to monetize on sth  – zarabiać na czymś
an affiliate  – wspólnik, podmiot zależny
mere –  ledwie
to freelance –  pracować na własny rachunek
in order to do sth  – aby coś zrobić
to cater to a specific market –  dostarczać coś dla konkretnego rynku
a viral  – video viral
to partner with sb  – nawiązać z kimś współpracę
elaborate  – wysmakowany
to explore sth  – odkrywać coś
a recipe   – przepis
our spare hours – nasz wolny czas
to take sth seriously –  traktować coś serio
a stream of income  – źródło dochodu
a full-fledged business –  w pełni rozwinięty biznes
to build an audience –  zebrać publiczność
to have potential to do sth  – mieć potencjał na coś
to establish yourself as an expert – wyrobić sobie opinię eksperta
to further your career  – sprawnie zarządzać rozwojem kariery
to rent out your skills  – wykonywać zlecenia
to reach out to sb –  kontaktować się z kimś
fulfilling  – przynoszący spełnienie
obvious –  oczywisty
variety  – różnorodność
custom –  robiony na zamówienie
canvas  – płótno
unique  – unikatowy
a meme  – mem
to amass –  zgromadzić
to tap into a niche  – zagospodarować niszę
a post –  wpis
sponsored posts  – wpisy sponsorowane
palette –   podniebienie

 

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>>Answers

 

ANSWER KEY:

Ex. 1
1) a pastime
2) to monetize on sth
3) an affiliate
4) mere
5) to freelance
6) in order to do sth
7) to cater to a specific market
8) a viral video
9) to partner with sb
10)elaborate
11)to explore sth
12)a recipe

Ex. 2
1) our spare hours
2) to take sth seriously
3) a stream of income
4) a full-fledged business
5) to build an audience
6) to have potential to do sth
7) to establish yourself as an expert
8) to further your career
9) to rent out your skills
10)to reach out to sb

Ex. 3
1) fulfilling
2) obvious
3) variety
4) custom
5) canvas
6) unique
7) a meme
8) to amass
9) to tap into a niche
10)a post
11)sponsored posts
12) palette

Ex. 4
1. … I hadn’t bought it
2. … I hadn’t invested in it
3. … hadn’t been late, I wouldn’t have been late for the meeting
4. … have invested in it
5. … quitting my job
6. … have worked in the first place
7. … have talked to the rivals

 

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