talent

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Why every South African should turn their talent into extra income

(Partner content) Having a hobby or talent is special and valuable. It isn’t a commodity you can purchase in a shop. There are lots of people who would love to create what you so effortlessly do, but they can’t.

talent

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Does your talent take your hobby to another level? Can you make something extraordinary with ease? Talent is in short supply and this fact makes it valuable. Someone is willing to want your creation more than the money in their pockets. This is what trade is all about, and it is there for the taking.

South African talent

There’s an abundance of creativity and beauty within South Africa. Taking this online for the whole world to see and marvel at allows your talent the chance to be appreciated by so many more people than you ever imagined. It’s a win-win situation between creators and admirers; admirers can turn into buyers, which in turn allows creators the opportunity to keep sharing their passions.

It’s a step towards sharing the abundance of South African creativity out there. There’s now a uniquely South African platform that’s taken its lead from the e-commerce giants to create a specialized space for South African crafters, sellers and buyers called TheMarketPlace•SHOP.

What is TheMarketPlace•SHOP?

TheMarketPlace•SHOP was created to give everyone access to top-quality, unique, affordable, bespoke products- the products that you so lovingly create. Whether your craft is knitting, upcycling, ceramics or cooking, there’s someone out there who wants what you make, and this is the place for them to find you.

It’s easy to join the huge variety of sellers already there and become a part of theMarketplace.SHOP community – simply apply through the site and get ready to go. There’s no hard and fast rule on what can be sold there, but if it’s beautiful, handmade, homemade, ship-able, non-mass produced goods (or even services and bookable events), theMarketplace.SHOP has a space for you.

TheMarketPlace•SHOP also has a secret… you don’t need to be a talented creator in order to reap rewards. If you know where to look and have the marketing mindset of ‘what will people want’ then this is the place to hone your skills. You can easily benefit from the value created by others. 

Do you have the talent?

Do you pride yourself on having the cunning ability to spot nice-looking, quality products you know others will love to have? Or is your craft being a social media superstar? If you can do either of those then you can earn alongside the makers. This is called ‘affiliate promotion’ or ‘affiliate marketing’, and theMarketPlace•SHOP is probably the only South African site to facilitate this service for rafters and small home factories.

You can get involved and help promote crafters and hobbyists and get paid for simply sharing the incredibly special products you discover on the site. Talent can’t be bought, but it can be spotted. So whether you can literally craft a diamond from the rough or you can spot which diamond shines the brightest, here is another kind of opportunity to transform a hobby into a side-hustle.

Sure you can walk into any Superstore any time, pick a gift among a thousand lookalikes and be done with it, but there sure is something special about standing out from crowd. TheMarketPlace•SHOP is the place to do so in more ways than one, because their emphasis on quality over quantity, whilst maintaining affordable pricing means that anything purchased, and everything sold is something unique.

Customer reviews

A 5* review that encapsulates theMarketplace•SHOP ethos:

“If you are a proudly South African like I am and prefer to support local talent theMarketplace.shop offers an excellent opportunity to shop for unique gifts made by artisans, crafters, designers and home industries across South Africa. There is a wide selection of categories to choose from and the gifts and products are very well priced, a big factor for me as I want to send my overseas family unique gifts from South Africa this Christmas time.”

Whether you’re an established artisan, part-time crafter, budding entrepreneur, or somewhere in that mix, you can now buy, sell, and promote at any opportunity. Whatever your hobby or talent may be, you can now make it something special by becoming a partner with theMarketPlace•SHOP.