If you just want a hobby, then do art as a hobby have fun. For the most part, ascension in the "art world" starts at a young age with going to art school and following what is a traditional and boring path.
My advice, admittedly cynical and maybe unpopular, is that you either ”have it or you don’t”*. The asterisk being that you might have an underdeveloped “it” and not even know it. There’s no substitute for practice.
If we looked at reading the way we treat creativity, we would all be illiterate.
I agree with what you're saying though, most people who want to "make it in art" have to find their own path which is ultimately entrepreneurship, but there's not really an answer to "what works", is there?