I am a firm believer in learning by examples. Today, I am starting a series called “Profiling 20-Somethings Who Pursue Wealth.” In this series, we will look at numerous real people in their 20s doing various things to get ahead in the road to riches. Hopefully, these examples will help provide some direction in your brainstorming and planning.

I know an aspiring artist named Ryan who is 28 years old. Art is not his income or job, but his hobby. Ryan has a great career in building construction, but he has an impressive passion for painting. For years, he has been giving away pieces of art to family and friends simply because he enjoys creating these amazing pieces of art. People have been complimenting his work and telling him he should sell his art for years. Without a clear and easy way to monetize his hobby, Ryan continued to simply give it away.

Today, Ryan has a plan to use his relationships in flooring and home furnishing to sell his art in retail stores. There is no income guarantee and none of his art may sell; however, he is working hard to pursue this as a potential second income stream in his life. Combining multiple income streams is a sure fire way to build extraordinary wealth.

With his focus on his career and his art, along with a side pursuit of acquiring real estate, Ryan is hard at work at three of the four prongs that I talk about in my financial strategy. How many prongs are in your financial strategy?

Advice For Ryan’s Progress

I would recommend Ryan to continue to build his brand through a web site and through art shows. Local art shows provide an easy medium to promote his work and to build his brand. People can meet Ryan and have him discuss his work which will help establish himself as a great local artist. Building the relationships with retail channels that can sell his work is also crucial and should be emphasized.

Another potential way for Ryan to get a few customers in the near term is to ask those who have his art to promote it to their friends. Maybe a friend who is hanging Ryan’s art in his office can hand out a business card for Ryan whenever somebody asks about the piece. Encourage his previous “customers” to continue the word-of-mouth advertising.

Lastly, I would recommend for Ryan to begin building an investment portfolio to complete the Four-Pronged strategy of financial prosperity. Even putting away money each year into a Roth IRA and building a diversified portfolio is a great step and will round out his financial picture.

Lessons To Learn From Ryan’s Story

What are your hobbies or things you are good at that you could potentially earn a second income through? Maybe you enjoy providing landscape designs or interior designs for your friends and you think others would maybe pay for similar services. Or maybe you have an expertise in a certain field and you can provide consulting services in this arena? They key is to take what you are good at and enjoy doing and finding a way to transform a hobby into an income.

Determining how to monetize a hobby can require some creative out-of-the-box thinking. Brainstorm about all the contacts in your network. Do know you anyone who can help you get your product or service to potential customers? Previously established channels to sell a product are great since they are already established and proven. Offer to give a percentage of everything sold to the owner of the channel. It will still be cheaper than investing in your own channel such as a retail presence.

Do you know a 20-something with an interesting story with regards to his or her pursuit of wealth? Share your story!

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