Talent is one of those terms that we’ve heard a lot either in reference to us or those around us.

Talent comes in all shapes and sizes. Perhaps you can memorize pages upon pages of poetry. Maybe you’re particularly skilled at wood carving.

We use talents in our daily lives, turn them into hobbies, utilize them at work, or use them to perform. Whatever your talent is or however you use it, it’s something you should continually work at to maintain and improve.

But what if you’re good enough at something that you can turn it into a business or side hustle? Millions of people channel their talent into their own businesses. Whether it’s freelancing, consulting, or selling a physical product you made, there are tons of ways to turn your talent into a moneymaker.

In this article, we’ll discuss how to find your talents and ways you can turn them into a side business or full-time job.

What Is Talent?

By standard definition, talent is a skill that comes easily to someone. You can think of it as a combination of genetics, practice, and even early adoption of something that advances you towards mastery of that skill faster than others might advance towards it.

Many people think that talent is something that you’re born with; that it’s innate. While having the right genetics for specific skills like sports or memory tricks can be helpful, you can in a lot of cases teach yourself certain talents.

There’s also a societal belief that even if you don’t innately have a particular talent, those who have certain abilities developed them at a young age. Yes, there are some cases whereby nurture you’re more inclined to have a specific talent that was fostered in you at a young age.

These days, people are starting to recognize that even without an early start or genetic advantage, you can develop certain talents. No, you won’t have these inherent benefits, so you will need to put in more work that someone who does have those advantages.

How Do You Find Your Talent?

Chances are you’ve been asked what your talent is by a new acquaintance or even an interviewer. There’s also a reasonably good chance you’ve said “I don’t know” to that question. It’s okay if you did! Plenty of people have a hard time identifying their own talents. And that’s not to say they don’t have any. Plenty of us just hasn’t recognized those one or two things we just happen to be good at.

Whether you’re searching for talents in your work or to have something to do in your free time, there are a few questions you should ask yourself:

If you’re thinking about work specifically, you can ask yourself what do you like specifically about your job. Those tasks that you like because they’re easy or you feel you’re just good at them can be useful indicators that they’re budding talents.

You should also ask yourself what kinds of activities am you’re where you completely lose track of time. That’s an indication that those activities come to you effortlessly.

When you fail to come up with an answer to these questions, ask your friends and family. Those who are closest to you will be able to pinpoint what your strengths are and what you do really well.

Using Your Talents

Maybe you already have a talent that you’ve developed pretty well, and you want to turn it into a business. That’s great news for you! If you can find something that you love doing and that doesn’t feel like work, you’ve got it made.

No matter what type of business you decide to start, the first step you’ll need to take is to get your name out there.

As an example, let’s say you’re incredibly talented at doing makeup. Your friends have asked you to do their makeup for parties or weddings and have encouraged you to start doing makeup as a business. To start, you’ll need to establish an online presence to get your name out there. Build a website and get active on relevant social media channels (Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram are all great for highly visual material).

But you can’t just put your name online and hope customers come to you. You need to market yourself on and offline. Online, ask your friends to share content that you’ve created like video tutorials or images of your past work. Offline, go to trade shows or relevant meetups to hand out your makeup artist business cards.

Don’t stop once you’ve got a solid base of customers! Keep marketing your business to keep bringing in new business but maintain excellent customer relationships. Eventually, you’ll grow your business to a point where you need to hire one or two more people to help you run your venture. Before long, through hard work and a bit of raw talent, you’ll have a thriving business and significant income.