Origami Lessons as a Side Hustle
If you are a very advanced and skillful Origamist (Origamian, Origamista?), why not think about teaching Origami to others?
This article is a part of the series: ‘Online Side Hustle Ideas (on a silver platter)’. Here’s a list of all past and upcoming ideas.
The art of paper folding, a.k.a. Origami has always fascinated me. I’ve been able to build paper planes and even roses, which worked well for impressing my peers.
However, going further than that was always a bit out of reach, at least for me.
The problem
The coronavirus outbreak revitalized a number of past-time hobbies that one can do on their own at home. While it requires a certain level of dexterity, Origami, like any other skill, is “learnable”.
Even with the numerous sources online, the art of paper folding is an acquired skill that could be facilitated greatly by an experienced teacher.
The number one reason why Origami is hard is that instructions are hard to follow. One can feel clumsy and dumb after failing to follow a 2D picture.
The solution
There are people that, for one reason or another, are quite skilled at folding paper in miraculous shapes. They know the craft – the type of paper that works best, the auxiliary objects that could help in the process, and all the bits that could go wrong.
Having someone on video, guiding you through the process could help you become an Origami Master much faster than if you were learning on your own.
Target customer
If you are looking for rookies, people with “crafty hands” are unlikely to pay for this service. You should think about something more mainstream. Therefore, everyday moms and dads who want to spend some quality time with their children may well be a good audience. They may want to learn how to do that on their own, so they can be “the hero” of their kids, or they may attend with the kid themselves.
If you are a very advanced and skillful Origamist (Origamian, Origamista?), you can think about teaching Origami design. This is where you can really shine and gain an edge. These clients will value your insight and will be willing to pay a higher price.
How to start this as a side hustle
This may not be the most lucrative of side hustles if you are teaching it 1-to-1.
But like any other “craft”, teaching Origami is a good fit for workshops. If you could find a group of people looking to make their life a bit more exciting, that could be it. In doing that, you could easily charge a lower price per person while cashing in some good profit for one hour of folding paper.
You’ll need a good video connection and a payment processor to kick that off. I am using a solution – 3veta.com that can help you get set-up in no time. Not only that, there is also a website builder that can allow you to showcase your Origami work and list the different services that you offer.
The Origami forum online is really active. Don’t hesitate to go on there, look for newbies, and offer them your help.
To become a true Master of Origami can take decades (as you should know, dear Origami-preneur).
Depending on your skill, there are a number of services you can offer:
Teaching the basics of folding techniques and common sequences (for rookies)
Teaching how to read diagrams and crease patterns (once they know the basics)
Teaching Origami design (that’s where it actually becomes cool)
Designing Origami as a service
Designing complex custom models as a service
Designing diagrams that others can follow
Extra thoughts
Tell your audience something more about Origami. Paper folding has been quite popular across Europe, China, and Japan. And while the Japanese word stuck, there’s a lot to be said about different styles.
How about “moneygami” – folding banknotes in the form of an Origami. I had a friend that loved folding $1 bills as t-shirts. He was handing out those as tips and I could see in the eyes of the receivers that this made their day better. I don’t think they would ever unfold them later – it was a very human gesture that was worth much more than the tip itself.
If you know Origami, why not spin it into Kirigami (the art of cutting paper)? This adds an extra layer of complexity that could make your services seem more desirable.
What about coloring an Origami? You can help people not only create an Origami but also color it. That could be done after the paper has been folded or even at the beginning. That would be impactful, wouldn’t it?
A custom Origami maybe? If you are really good at that, you can even take ‘orders’. Someone can ask you to create a technique for an Origami and then teach it to them, so they can create it. Here are some cool examples by artist Paul Jackson.
Need help starting with this idea? Feel free to reach out to me on LinkedIn or directly on my email: iliya@3veta.com.
Looking to start a side hustle but that’s not right for you? You can find a whole list of similar side hustle ideas here.
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