Dear Mary: Tom Hodgkinson asks how to earn more money

From Tom Hodgkinson, Idler Academy

Q. I have started my own academy where adults can learn skills such as ukulele, philosophy and calligraphy. This venture has every appearance of success: it will doubtless make money one day. I am completely free. The mother of my children is beautiful and interesting, and so are her issue. Best of all, I have not had a job since 1997. So what is my problem? Put simply, I am skint. I have been reduced to hoping to be invited to Sunday lunch with the in-laws so I can stuff my face with lamb and potatoes and thereby avoid the expense of supper. Any advice on how I can earn more money, Mary, and ‘monetise my content’?

A. You are well positioned to monetise your huge data bank of contacts instead. There is a gap in the market for a ‘nonline’ literary match-making agency. The academy would make a perfect venue for singleton evenings involving two-handed teams of strangers, recruited and paired by you, tackling jigsaws and quizzes at tiny desks.