Many of us have at least one hobby. It's something we like to do to pass the time because we find it fun or it's a way for us to escape the pressures of every day life. Having one or more hobbies is all part of being a well-balanced person.

Most of us may never have thought that doing what we love to do and actually making a living out of it might even be possible. Wow, doesn't that sound like fun? Can you imagine making a livelihood from your hobby? It would be a lot more interesting than dreading getting up Monday morning and reporting to a boring old job making someone else rich, wouldn't it?

Well, chances are you can do just that. Many hobbies could actually be operated as a business. All it takes is some business savvy and finding out if there is a market for what you like to do. If there is, you just need to know the best places and techniques to tap that market.

You wouldn't need to quit your day job - if you have one. By starting out part-time you can figure things out as you go along. What works and what doesn't work, for example. And, you can learn what people are really looking for -what their needs are and how you can best meet those needs.

We only get one shot at a life, so why not make the most of it?

5 Top Hobbies as Home Businesses
Browse Arts & Crafts Business Ideas

About.com's Guide to Arts / Crafts Businesses provides a step-by-step guide to registering a copyright. While it focuses on arts and crafts businesses, the information applies to any type of copyright you want to register.

The U.S. Copyright Office defines a copyright as protection for the authors of “original works of authorship,” including literary, dramatic, musical, artistic, and certain other intellectual works. Protection can be applied to both published and unpublished works.

Several categories of material are generally not eligible for federal copyright protection, including titles, names, short phrases, and slogans, familiar symbols or designs (these are protected by trademarks), as well as ideas, procedures, methods, systems, processes, concepts, principles, discoveries, or devices (which are protected by patents).

Although you're not required to register a copyright, doing so has its advantages, including:

• Registration establishes a public record of the copyright claim.
• Before an infringement suit may be filed in court, registration is required anyway.
• Registration allows the owner of the copyright to record the registration with the U. S. Customs Service for protection against infringing copies being imported from other countries.

Read:

Eight Steps to Register a Copyright - About: Arts / Crafts Business
Copyright Basics (U.S. Copyright Office - PDF)
Browse Arts and Crafts Home Business Ideas

This week's work at home opportunities have been posted. Enjoy, and good luck in your work at home job search.

A Few Work at Home Job Search Tips

• US government jobs that are eligible for at least some telecommuting typically use the term "telework" in their job postings. An easy way to find them is to go to the job search tool on About.com and use the term telework for your search (a link is provided for you below). The federal government is committed to expanding telecommuting, so more and more opportunities should become available over time.
• Use caution and do your homework when searching for any work at home jobs - as most of you already know, it's a huge target for scam operators. However, if you use reliable sources like About Home Business you'll definitely have a leg up on the competition. I've found that searching with the term telecommute yields far more legitimate work at home job opportunities than the term work at home, but you might want to try both (additional links are provided below).
• Some telecommuting employers will require that you purchase equipment or special software to perform the duties of the job. If that's the case, you should either expect them to make the purchase and then provide you with what you need or insist that you have these items before you can work for them and that you will agree to purchase them from whomever you like and you will either be reimbursed or you won't. Any arrangement where they send you a check you have to cash and then require you to buy from specific sources - usually within a set time frame (before you find out that the check was bogus) - should be avoided at all costs.

Check out this week's Work at Home Jobs (Don't Overlook Page 2)

Search for Jobs Using "Telework"
Search for Jobs Using "Telecommute"
Search for Jobs Using "Work at Home"
Discuss Finding Home Work in the Forum
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Many of you want to be your own boss. You're tired of working for the man - or working for the woman, but you're afraid. If you have a job, maybe you're wondering, "Should I throw away this comfortable old security blanket?" Does it mean that much to me to be independent?

If you're currently one of the multitudes who has just lost a job and have been looking for work and not finding what you want - or not getting any nibbles at all - you may be thinking, "Should I just give up and go out on my own?"

Going out on your own as an entrepreneur or as a freelancer can be scary if it's your first time.

If you believe you really want to be your own boss and that you really want the opportunity to work from home, you don't have to give up whatever level of security you have (or think you have) all at once. Taking baby steps - starting your self employment endeavors part time, makes perfect sense. You get to test the waters and find out what being independent is really like as you start building up your base of clients or customers. By starting on a part-time basis you may also not need to invest as much money in getting started.

Take the time to enjoy the ride and remember that "Beginning is half done." Decide what you really want to do and try it on for size!

9 Part-Time Home Businesses
Guide to Freelancing