You already have a hobby. Your hobby began in 2014 and has never reached the level of a business. While other factors come into play, they are not sufficient to overcome a 7 year time span of losses.
There's no way to tell a legitimate business from a hobby except by using a general rule of thumb: If a business reports a net profit in at least three out of five years, the IRS presumes that it's a for-profit business. If a business reports a net loss in more than two out of five years, it's presumed to be a not-for-profit hobby.
This rule places a huge burden of proof on young businesses. On the one hand, the IRS expects new businesses to incur a loss. It's normal for a business to have a year or two of losses before becoming profitable. On the other hand, it can potentially disqualify you from claiming a business expense deduction.
If you buy an asset, it is a personal asset until it is placed in service in your, at this point, profitable business. You will be able to take depreciation on your assets. Anything else you have purchased or rent you have paid, is a personal expense. These can't be postponed to take an expense when your business starts to show a profit.
