If you’re here visiting this site, there’s no question that you love Halloween. And that you probably spend a lot of money on it. But what if your love of Halloween could actually EARN MONEY?
For several years, I’ve been coaching people who need help to change careers or better yet, start their own businesses based on interests they’re passionate about. So if you’re a Halloween fanatic, why not start your own business – a side hustle or maybe even eventually a full-time gig – based on Halloween? The same goes if your area of interest is more specifically Horror, Steampunk, or something similar.
Making the decision to monetize your interest could lead you to a lucrative seasonal or maybe even a year-round income stream. So check out the list… whether you have a talent for cooking, crafting, decorating, or if you’re just good at selling stuff, I think you’ll find something here that you’ll like.
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1. Write a Halloween cookbook
This one is pretty easy and can be turned around in no time. Collect your favorite ghoulish recipes, format them attractively, and sell your Ebook on EBay or Craigslist. Or if you format it for Kindle, you can sell it on Amazon. Or even go totally Old School, get it printed, and sell it at a flea market.
2. Apply Halloween makeup
If you’re handy with makeup or paint, you can make a nice chunk of change applying Halloween makeup or temporary tattoos. If you want to get serious about it, create your “repertoire” and photograph it, then create a simple website to display your work in order to recruit customers. Or you could set up a kiosk at a fall festival or Halloween event and do basic face painting for kids. You can even buy the makeup, brushes, and supplies at a discount when they go on clearance after October 31st.
3. Plan Halloween parties
You can offer a Done-For-You party, or you can sell a “Party in a Box.” If you want a hands-on party planning business, you provide the decorations, Halloween-y snacks, scary entertainment, and the spooky sounds and music. If you want to do a Party in a Box, you can sell a package including paper goods, recipes, decorations, a CD of scary music and sounds, and anything else needed to throw an awesome Halloween party.
4. Decorator for hire
If you have a flair for holiday décor, you can get busy people to hire you to decorate their homes or businesses. Again, you can pick up a lot of the decorating stuff on clearance after Halloween and resell it at full price. This is a business that you can extend into the Winter Holiday season as well.
5. Resell Halloween costumes
This one requires a little investment and patience because it won’t pay off until next fall, but you can make some decent cash this way.
Seasonal stores like Spirit Halloween and Halloween Express typically set up shop in a vacant storefront around the first of September and sell a ton of Halloween merchandise between then and October 31st. But the day after Halloween, they slash their prices 50% or more to clear out the merchandise. A few days later, they close up and ship out all the costumes, décor, and accessories to a warehouse to await the next Halloween season… but you can show up there on November 1st and buy cheap merchandise at rock bottom prices, then wait till next fall to sell it on Amazon, EBay, or Craigslist. One word of advice: Stick with the classics – vampires, ghosts, and devils, for example, are evergreen sellers.
If you have sewing skills, you could also sell or rent used costumes that you make or refurbish yourself, or offer to do costume alterations. Obviously, there are a lot of possibilities here!
6. Design your own Halloween T-shirts
It doesn’t take a lot of design skills to create a funny or catchy slogan or graphic for a T shirt, hat, hoodie, or baby romper. Use Paint or Photoshop software to create your design and sell it online at Café Press. Your designs can also go on mugs, tote bags, and other accessories.
7. Pumpkin carving or painting
Are you good with a knife? If you have some artistic talent and a set of pumpkin carving tools, this is a fun way to make some extra cash. Come up with some unique jack-o-lantern designs, carve them, and photograph them to create your “catalog.” You can also buy space at a flea market and display your wares. And if you’re feeling really ambitious, you can roast and season the pumpkin seeds and sell those, too!
There’s also a great market for painted pumpkins, if you’re more comfortable wielding a paintbrush instead of a knife!
8. Create Halloween treat bags
You can create goodie bags for people to give to trick-or-treaters on Halloween night or at Halloween parties. Simply collect small toys, pencils, stickers, temporary tattoos, etc., from online sites like www.orientaltrading.com and package them in cute Halloween-themed bags. Again, you can also get super deals on these items on clearance at grocery stores, dollar stores, and department stores after the holiday and save them for next year. If you want to include candy, you can buy it in large bags (Amazon and Costco are good sources), though you can offer the option of candy-free bags for those who would prefer not to distribute sugary treats. Needless to say, candy is not one of those things you should buy now to save for next year.
9. Bake seasonal treats
If you like to cook or bake, you can make Halloween-themed baked goods or candy and sell them in your neighborhood or at local venues. Make sure to check on what permits would be required in your area to sell homemade foods.
10. DIY Halloween props
If you love doing crafts, you can find a ton of plans on the internet for DIY Halloween projects. You can make your own creations and put them up for sale on Craigslist, EBay, or at local events.
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If you’re serious about starting a Halloween/Horror type business, there are many more ideas in my book, If You’ve Got It, Haunt It: 50+ Ways to Profit from Your Own Halloween Business. Available for Kindle and in paperback.
So what are you waiting for? Halloween is just around the corner! If you try any of these ideas or have any other suggestions, I would love to hear about them. Send them to maledicta@halloween-lifestyle.com!