Having a side hustle or starting your own business can be a great way to earn some extra income, but it also gives you the opportunity to turn your hobby and passion into a career. Side Hustles have always been around but over the past few years they have certainly been spoken about a lot more, especially amongst the Gen Z generation!. According to Side Hustle Nation’s statistics, ‘In the UK, 42% of Gen Z and 39% of millennials report having a side hustle’. But what is it that has seen so many young people take an interest in running a side hustle?
The pandemic is certainly a factor to take into account, this has seen a ‘new way of working’ introduced which has benefited entrepreneurs and side hustlers. Sumup recently published a blog, stating that ‘53% of all UK side businesses started within the last two years’. Being able to work from home during your working week gives you that extra freedom and time to get other things done, therefore instead of travelling to the office, you can spend it working on your other projects. Another reason more side hustles have started over the past two years is due to the cost of living crisis, as lots more people need that additional income to pay their bills. CV Library discovered that ‘60% of UK workers look to take on a side hustle in 2023’, the two reasons being job security and earning more money.
Additionally, the help of technology has aided in the rise, having a side hustle or setting up a business is easier now than ever before! You can create free websites and even set up social media pages that are relevant to your target audience with just a few clicks of buttons. The use of AI has also become increasingly popular and a lot of people are using it to help improve and grow their businesses. In a recent article from TechRound, ‘More than a third (35%) of side hustlers have used AI tools to contribute to their business in some way, whether that be for generating social media copy (47%), conducting market research (41%), devising a social media strategy (39%) or researching competitors (30%)’.
Another hot topic… How should you feel as an employer if your employees have side hustles they work on after hours? Employers can benefit from their employees engaging in other projects they are passionate about, it can improve mental wellbeing and employees can implement new skills learnt from their side hustles into their full time role. As long as it is manageable and your employees are not at risk of burnout, it’s definitely something that should be an open conversation.
From working with young people and employers on a daily basis, we noticed there isn't enough support around side hustles and entrepreneurism, which is why we have launched the ‘Side Hustle Network’ with Gen Z Talks. Our goal is to provide that missing guidance, education and inspiration that is very much needed in today's world for anyone invested in the side hustle and entrepreneur world. To launch this new brand, we have two upcoming events that you can be a part of to help us raise awareness of and be a part of this new project!
Date: Thursday 14th September
Time: 10am - 11:30am
Location: Virtual
Join us as we hear from 2 successful side hustlers about their journeys so far; as well as, 2 employers from the corporate world on how they are supporting young people with side hustles in the workplace. There will be plenty of networking opportunities available throughout the event.
Date: Thursday 28th September
Time: 6pm - 8:30pm
Location: LinkedIn HQ, Farringdon, London
Come along to an inspiring evening with 4 talented entrepreneurs. Discover their journeys and how they have set up their businesses for success. You will then have the chance to work in teams to take part in our 'Battle of the Business Basics' challenge before finishing the evening with some networking drinks!
Having a full-time job and a side hustle can be challenging, however most people find it increases their life satisfaction and it can be extremely rewarding! Whatever the reason, we encourage employers to be supportive of any employees undertaking side hustles!
Comments