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SOUTHERN COLORADO -- Do people rave about your cupcakes?  Maybe it’s your crafty ways or incredible sewing that always has people talking.

 

Most of us have a hobby, but few realize we can actually make money doing it.  Several women in the Pikes Peak Region have developed a talent and turned it in to a moneymaking business.

 

Many of them have full time jobs, some of them are stay-at-home moms and others hope to turn their hobby into a more viable income.  But all of them are finding that simply doing the things they enjoy and selling their goods or services can be a very profitable venture. 

 

For Karen Alexander, it was her love of animals that changed her life.  A few years ago she quit her full time job and started her own professional pet-sitting business, Paws and Claws.

 

“I was really afraid at first and thought if I could at least get ten clients who travelled regularly I’d be okay,” Alexander said.

 

Alexander soon discovered that her service was in high demand. One day she has about two hundred clients. Starting at $15 a visit she will feed, walk and play with your pet, and for a little extra she will even spend the night.

 

“Every home is different,” Alexander said. “No two dogs are a like and no two cats are alike.” 

 

And it’s not just cats and dogs, Paws and Claws will pet sit all kinds of pets from hamsters to reptiles to horses. 

 

Alexander says her service also includes getting the mail and taking out the trash. But what her clients really like is that their pets can stay in their own home while they are away.  For more information about Paws and Claws Professional Pet-Sitting contact Karen Alexander at (719) 651-9459.

 

For artist Amy Sullivan, her creativity is her moneymaker. She has always enjoyed creating stencils and interesting fabrics, but her handmade tea towels really launched her home business.

 

“I decided to make a stencil, use a foam roller and plain old house paint with some fabric additive, then rolled it on,” Sullivan said.  “The technique produces a real handmade look.”

 

Sullivan began making her product at home and selling them on the e-commerce website, Etsy. She says her highest volume of sales comes from Australia and South America, but online consumers from all over the world buy her tea towels.

 

“When it first started to sell I thought, this is pretty cool!” Sullivan said.

 

Her product is extremely profitable.  Each tea towel costs only $2 to create and takes fewer than five minutes of her time, but she sells them for eighteen dollars a piece. Sullivan is now taking her business to the next level by selling her creations in retail stores.

 

Linda Cloutier has a full-time job, but has always loved to bake in her spare time.  After taking a cake decorating class, she realized she had talent and began making friends and family cakes for special occasions.

 

“I liked it and got hooked on it,” Cloutier said. “My inspiration for cake design comes from everywhere from fabric and houses to gardens and colors.”

 

Cloutier eventually created a website and Facebook page to promote her cakes and soon business started booming. Her specialty is wedding cakes, however Cloutier will make cakes for all occasions. Many cakes take up to twenty hours to make due to the detailed flowers and design elements and start at sixty dollars a cake.

 

“I love everything about it, from meeting the brides to planning the cake to baking and decorating it," Cloutier said.

 

Cloutier said one day she hopes her specialty cake business will be a good supplement income after retirement, but right now she is just enjoying the fun of it.