Website Building Made Simple

Side-passions and start-up businesses often proceed down totally unbeaten paths, with no precedents to follow. It's one thing to choose a job that you want to do out of the available field; it's another to totally invent a job from scratch and figure out how to make it pay the rent. Here are 3 people who did just that: they beat their own path, and figured out how to make money doing it.

1. The Great Zucchini - $100k

Eric Knaus makes over $100,000 a year for working only 2 days per week. After working at a childrens' play place and as a clown for dozens of birthdays parties, Eric discovered that he had a unique ability to make children laugh. He soon struck out on his own, performing private parties, and is now booked solid (weekends only) for nearly a year in advance. In his working life, Eric goes by the stage name "The Great Zucchini," children's entertainer extraordinaire.

Website: thegreatzucchini.com

2. Ask a Ninja - $300k

You may have seen a few Ask a Ninja videos on Youtube. Basically, Kent Nichols and Douglas Sarine dress up in a Ninja costume and answer reader questions in hilarious fashion. Thanks to their extremely high traffic figures, they struck a deal with Federation Media (the company that runs the ads on their site) is rumored to be worth about $300k a year, making them the highest paid YouTube team in the world.

Website: askaninja.com

3. Galco’s Soda Pop Stop - $100k+

When John Nese was a child, his all-time favorite place to play and visit was the soda pop bottling plant that his father's friend owned. When he grew up, his love for soda pop turned into an obsession. Fortunately for his mental health and for the rest of us, he channeled that obsession into his start-up business: Galco's Soda Pop Stop, where you can buy every imaginable brand and flavor of soda pop.

Website: sodapopstop.com