Number of UK side hustles up 32% since 2008, generating £14.4bn for economy

Side hustles – businesses run on a part-time basis alongside a day job – are a growing trend in the UK.

At Startups.co.uk, we recently covered the business opportunities of starting a side hustle and even launched Side Hustle of the Year as a category for the Startups Awards 2018.

And, this week, it was confirmed that side hustlers are here to stay in new research from GoDaddy and the Centre for Economics and Business Research (Cebr).

The rise of the side hustle

The research found that the number of UK side hustles has risen by 32% in the last decade, contributing a whopping £14.4bn to the economy with every 1,000 side hustles creating 876 jobs.

In 2016, 600,000 UK jobs were supported by the side hustling movement.

When split demographically, the study found that 44% of UK side hustles are run by parents, while 20% are run by individuals aged under 30.

Do side hustles pay?

Enabling individuals to gain greater fulfilment by building on their passions – the study found that 48% of employees started their side hustle to develop a hobby – side hustles also offer greater benefits outside of work/life balance.

Previous research from GoDaddy revealed that the majority of employees with a “side hustle” make anything from £500 to £5,000 in extra income per year.

Is it easier than ever to start a side hustle?

Irani Wasti and James Vincent-Jones think so.

Wasti, SVP and head of GoDaddy EMEA, believes it’s “easier than ever to get online and set up a website for a personal venture” –

“Side hustlers are here to stay – these people all have their own ideas, their own motivations and are pursuing the passions they love. People who pursue their business passions on top of their 9-5 often bring a unique perspective to the office and can challenge us to be more creative and entrepreneurial.”

“With GoDaddy Website Builder you can create a website in under an hour – you’re all done within a lunch break and still leave time to grab a sandwich.”

Side hustler and GoDaddy employee Vincent-Jones runs a super cars YouTube channel outside of his day job, he says the benefits of a side hustle are plenty:

“My side hustle helped me get my day job. I’ve been interested in supercars since I was a child, and filming was a hobby until I started gaining more followers and decided to turn it into a side business.

“I mentioned my side hustle when interviewing at GoDaddy and it set me apart from other candidates. Getting a website was a turning point for me, I can be more creative and push the boundaries of my passion.”