Feeling unfulfilled at work or wish you could start a business but not ready to take the leap – could a side hustle be your next career move? 

Starting a side hustle could be the first step to future business success, or at the very least, a happier you as your next career move. Whether you’re feeling unfulfilled and searching for an outlet to exercise your true passions outside of your day-job, looking for an additional income stream or seeking a more permanent escape from your current career, side hustles are an increasingly popular way to switch things up.   

From little acorns to big oak trees… 

Side hustles aren’t a new thing, but with 60% of young adults aiming to be their own boss by the age of 30, and 68% of the UK’s generation Z actively earning additional income through them, it’s a growing trend that can’t be ignored.  

It’s not just the younger ones among us though, with a perhaps surprising 43% of Brits having a side hustle in 2024, generating an average income of £207 per week – with millennials earning around £300 more per month than the average, according to insight from financial website Finder.    

Many of us will have garnered some extra experience in the past through some type of side hustle –babysitting, car washing or baking wedding cakes for friends perhaps. But for many, a side hustle isn’t just a temporary measure to boost their bank balance, but more an entry-point into setting up a serious business or a portfolio career.  

A recent survey by AXA revealed that one-in-five British people would like to start their own business, with 16% already working on a side hustle that could facilitate this. Maybe you’re ready to join them? Maybe it’s the idea of being your own boss, valuing independence or maybe the better flexibility and work-life blend that attracts you or it could be you’ve spotted a gap in the market or simply want to turn something you love doing, are passionate about into an income stream.   

Balancing a side hustle with your official job 

We’ve all seen the sensational success stories where side hustles become investable propositions thanks to TV shows such as Dragon’s Den and success stories like the three university students who founded Innocent,  Ben Francis who started making fitness apparel for Gymshark from his parents’ garage at 19 and even Etsy, the home of side hustles for creatives, which started out from humble beginnings as a small marketplace for creatives to sell their produce and has grown rapidly into a hugely popular ecommerce site. But any budding entrepreneur will tell you that it takes hard work and a lot of juggling to manage a ‘real’ job alongside a blossoming business idea.  

Even if you’re taking a less ambitious viewpoint, this additional commitment means you’ll need to be savvy with your schedule to avoid burnout, but if you have the grit and determination you can succeed. 

Tips to help you start a side hustle 

Maybe you have a hidden talent in teaching or have offered so much family tech support you’re ready to take it to the next level. Or you may be ready to start a side hustle, but you’re not sure exactly what skills you have to offer.  

Whatever your personal circumstances, here are some ideas to help you think about what could be a successful side hustle for you: 

• Research – find out how other people are creating additional income streams and see if you can do something similar, or even come up with a new ‘take’ on an existing idea. Take for example D.Louise set up by founder Olivia Jenkins in 2021 when she identified a gap in the jewellery market and came up with a new idea, or the Scottish duo who founded BrewDog who were inspired to brew their own beer after being bored of the same old beers dominating the UK beer market.

• Start with a hobby – hone an existing skill or take up a new hobby that you could eventually monetise. This could be a physical skill that allows you to create saleable products, or you could be your own product by selling a service. You might not know that Yankee Candle started from a 16-year-old making a simple candle from household materials to make a gift for his mother for Christmas. And Pokemon came from the founders’ childhood love of bug collecting. 

• Get digital – we have seen a huge growth in digital side hustles, from monetising a YouTube channel, hosting a podcast, through to starting up a unique blog/vlog site. Whether it’s a channel talking about gaming, sport or life, a blog about your passion or creating a new app, these can be a good way to create a new income stream. Just look at Ladbaby whose content focuses on his life experiences as a father and has grown since 2016 leading to Christmas number ones and a commercial deal with Greggs and sausage rolls!  

• Push for your passion – unsure of what your side hustle could be? Explore what you love and enjoy most. A store local to me, The Dressing Room, started as a side hustle for two local women who began buying wholesale clothes and selling them from her home. Now they have a shop and staff, with one of them leaving their full-time job to work on the business. If want to help others, work with animals or look for volunteering opportunities in your area to gain experience and refine your skills. Trying things out might help you hone in on ‘the thing’ you could turn into your side hustle/future business. 

• Get creative – any art, craft, writing, presenting, cooking, design or other creative skills have the potential to be developed into paid work – try making some cool t-shirts, making clothes alterations, baking cupcakes or making products. You can find inspiration from Etsy for all different types of businesses. A couple of examples are Brown and Blond making THE most amazing brownies, Wood Paper Scissors creating beautiful wood carved products on the Cornwall coast, or Witch Please Designs making all sorts of stickers, cards and pins.

• Don’t overlook basic life skills – even something as simple as driving, home IT Support, DIY, gardening or being a dab hand at flat-pack furniture building like Flat Pack Yorkshire can be monetised into a side hustle. Utilise your best assets, whatever they may be.

• Explore ecommerce – if you’re digitally-minded and know (or can learn) how to market effectively online, drop-shipping, reselling or other ecommerce-type opportunities could be a good fit that will work around your day job. We’ve seen this growth on sites like Ebay and Vinted.  

• Find funding – sometimes not having the money to start can deter us, but there are ways to find funding. From asking family and friends, to crowd funding or applying for angel investment opportunities like this, getting loans or grants, entering competitions for funding or setting up a Community Interest Company (CIC) if your business has a social, charitable or community-based objective getting a helping hand could make all the difference to your side hustle success. 

If you’re thinking about starting a side hustle ahead of your next career move or want to explore your ideas with an experienced career coach, drop me a line at meg@megburtoncoach.co.uk.