This is one of my favorite stories.
Who would have thought that a random event of playing with a hula hoop in a party would turn into a business a few years later. It happened to Nina Stricker, who was able to leave her job after she fell in love with hula hoops, and is now self-employed.
Nina Stricker in her hula hoop workshop
Except for plastic manufacturers and toy stores, I didn't think anyone could make money with that ring one jiggles around their tummy. Well, I was wrong. Nina's experience has proven to me that anyone can make money out of anything if they are passionate about it.
She was not an entrepreneur. She wasn't looking to be self-employed. All she did was go to a party where someone introduced her to dancing to music with a hula hoop. It became her passion. She eventually became an expert hula hoop dancer, found ways to make a better hoop with better materials. She even added LED lights on some of them. People noticed her hula hoops performed better and looked nicer. They asked her to make some for them. It became a side-business.
“But did I think I would make money with hula hoops? No way—I would never have imagined it. Sometimes things just fall into place.”
Nina with her hula hoop at a festival
Eventually, she was earning by performing at festivals and events. She gave workshops. She started a website and online store. At some point she wanted more time to spend on what she loved to do. So she made that leap, quit her job and became a happy self-employed hula hoop performer, hula hoop events organizer, and seller of high-end hula hoops. Her dreams became a reality.
She sells hula hoops from 35-140 euros
So think about some of your hobbies and the other things you love to do. Can you make money with those? Imagine, if Nina could transform her love for hula hoops into a business, so can you.
How do you create an online business:
- Be passionate in a niche and become an expert in it
- Find ways to monetize your expertise with unique services and/or products
- Create a website
- Create content (videos/blog posts)
- Grow your audience and email list
- Use social media to engage with your community and market your online business
- Sell, sell, sell
Here's a video of her glowing hula hoops in action.
Check her Facebook Page and her Website.