6 hobbies that can make you money
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Schwarz charges $1.25 for plain and $1.50 for theme-decorated cupcakes. There is a six-cake minimum and a $5 delivery charge. Her typical order is two dozen to five dozen.

"It was hard at first to figure out how to make a profit, especially because I offer delivery with my cupcakes," she says. "It was hard to figure out how to charge for that with gas prices increasing."

Schwarz, who still teaches every other day, estimates she spends 10 hours baking and delivering to three or four events a week. So far, her marketing consists of word of mouth and her Web site.

"I would say the money is not significant yet, but I haven't had to advertise at all yet," she says. "I just have a Web site. I'm looking at advertising because I hope to eventually expand and have a storefront."

Custom baking business

• Skills: baking, cake decorating, on-site catering. • Market: retail, special events, office parties. • Opportunities for growth: custom wedding cakes (growing and lucrative market).

Professional organizer
Seven years ago, M. Colleen Klimczak was a Chicago-area health care recruiter when she stumbled upon the National Association of Professional Organizers, or NAPO, Web site.

"I was looking for an organizer to help with a giant garage sale," says the mother of three. "When I found that Web site, I said, 'I don't want to hire one, I want to be one.'"

Through NAPO, Klimczak found a mentor who helped her set a fee. She charges $50 per hour, average for her suburban Chicago location, although she admits professional organizers command three times that in San Francisco. She recently earned the "Certified Professional Organizer" designation and may raise her fee slightly.

Set-up costs were minimal.

"Out the door, if you have a computer and the know-how, it's not hard to just start up," she says.

She deals mostly with residential and home offices. To supplement her professional organizer business, she also works as a virtual assistant and occasional project manager. Her events-planning background and sense for organization and work flow serve her well.

Do you have to be organized to become a professional organizer?

"Yes, but it doesn't work the other way though -- just because you're an organized person does not mean you can be a professional organizer," she explains. "I can be as organized as I want, but I can't impose what works in my house onto somebody else's house. Just because my closets are really, really tidy doesn't mean I can do this as a business and translate that to other people. It doesn't work that way."

Klimczak says she stresses education, a bit of a double-edged sword because once her clients are organized, she knows she'll lose them. Still, there are plenty more where they came from.

"I have a client who says she would rather pay me than a therapist because at least her house looks better when I leave," she says.

Professional organizer business

• Skills: organization, work flow, creative problem solving. • Market: home businesses, busy executives, harried stay-at-home moms. • Opportunities for growth: business consulting, virtual assistant.