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Mail Online / Thisismoney article on side hustles

ended 26. April 2022

A journalist at the Mail Online / Thisismoney is writing an article on new research showing that a growing number of Brits are now running 'side hustles'. If that's you, she is keen to get your top tips for juggling a side hustle with a full-time job or other work you may be doing. No need for an essay, just a few punchy tips and pointers will do.

18 responses from the Newspage community

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Zena West
Kiln formed Glass artist at West Art And Glass
"I've had my side hustle for nearly 20 years now, and the main thing I'd recommend is to keep at least part of your day job. If your side hustle picks up, go part-time with the day job if you can. You need the security to be able to pay your rent/mortgage and bills, first and foremost. And don't ever let anybody tell you you're not a real artist/writer/whatever because you have another job too. You are, but you're also sensible and living in an expensive and volatile world. Try to invest any profit from your business back into your business and always save for a rainy day. And ensuring you're properly set up with regards to insurance and tax liabilities is a must."
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Jane Galloway
Founder & Director at Quiet the Hive
"My best advice for balancing a side hustle with a day job and other life admin is to make each minute count. Keep a list of jobs or tasks according to how long they will take, so if you find yourself with a spare 5, 15 or 30 minutes you know exactly how to use it to its best advantage. Get painfully organised, and don’t forget that if it’s the right side hustle, the joy and energy you get from it will give you the momentum to move forward. The juggle is tough, so you have to love what you do. If you love your side hustle, it won't feel like a grind and that is key given that is where you are choosing to focus your spare time."
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Jessica Ross
Founder & CEO at Smashtag Social
"I worked a full-time job while freelancing on the side until I had enough clients to make the leap and leave my job. Here are my top tips: "Don't use all available time to try and do more, make sure you balance your day job and your side hustle so you don't burn out. "Keep a list of priorities going for your side hustle, so that you have a running list to work from. "Decide if it really is a side hustle that you want or whether you actually want to do that job full-time. "If your side hustle is something you're actually working towards doing forever, just make sure it's not a hobby as otherwise you may find yourself hating it when you have to do it under pressure."
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Holly Hinton
Founder at Web Goddess
"After I finish my day building websites in my web design business, I design and create bespoke cross stitch charts that I have been selling for almost 16 years. The extra cash it brings in helps pay for family extras and holidays, which we definitely need right now. My tips are: not every 'side hustle' has to become your main business, always do something you love as it's easier to fit into your life, and always do it legally. I declare my business on my self-assessment and pay the appropriate taxes."
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Rob Peters
Principal at Simple Fast Mortgage
"I've run a number of side hustles in the past, from craft and knitting supplies to remainder book sales; and a hobby business is a great way for people to earn some extra money. It's in tougher times, when the cost of everything is rising, that innovative business ideas are born, and those ideas can often turn into successful full time businesses or vocations."
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Michael Oszmann
Founder & CEO at Buy Britain
"It's simple but I would say always do something that you are confident you will be able to make a success of. I once made the mistake of trying to launch a side business that required so much new development I simply ran out of steam before launching it. Once you have lots of money and resources behind you, then maybe you can change the world, but if you're starting out, start small."
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Carol Vickers
Owner at Created by Carol
"Running a small business as a sole trader requires a huge number of skills in addition to your main offer. As a silversmith, I make upcycled jewellery from antique cutlery but I'm also the marketing, admin, accounts, purchasing, sales, advertising and design departments. It can take a few years to build a customer base and break even. You can learn a lot of these skills as you develop your business but you need the confidence to sell and network from Day 1 and having a unique product is key: so many markets are saturated. The cost of living crisis is squeezing people's ability to afford luxuries, so I think the coming year will be a tough one for many side hustles."
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Anna Hamill
Founder at And Hope Designs
"I run And Hope Designs around caring for my four children. It's still a side hustle but one that brings me so much joy. Top tips include starting with a selection of products or a service at a low price point. Once you’ve gathered some custom and reviews, you can always up your prices. You also need to spend money to make money. Finding a great mentor or mentoring group has been business-changing and mindset-changing for me. Make sure you get all the legal bits and bobs fully sorted - registering the business with HMRC, insurance if you need it, and your tax return and accounting requirements in order. If you do those from the start, it’ll be much easier further down the line."
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Rachel Hayward
MD at Ask the Chameleon
"This is exactly how I started my small business, working part time at a University whilst building up my track record. The "portfolio" approach has been a successful way of working for a long time, and is not solely a result of Covid. Offering flexibility, security and variety, having a range of different jobs - employed and freelance - is a preference for more and more people. 'Hustling' of any kind requires myriad skills. You need to be organised, able to switch from one job to another, and most importantly know when to say No, so that you aren't overwhelmed. It's not always the most advantageous financially (second job taxation and all that) but it certainly offers the opportunities to build a range of transferable skills and gain a broader level of experience than the single solo job offers. And as for building your business? It often means you can pay your pay your bills whilst you build, which in this climate, is more important than ever. Long live the side hustles."
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Amy Baker
Owner at Halo Beauty and Holistic Therapy
"My advice is to choose a side hustle that is not too saturated in your local area and is ethical, which is so important to consumers and businesses alike in this day and age. Most of all, don't get so drawn in by your side hustle that you lose track of your main business or employment. It's a side hustle, so don't over-expect anything or put too much pressure on yourself. It will probably only buy you a steak dinner each month, not the thousands per month enough to quit your main job, but you can but dream."
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Mariona Bolohan
Co-Founder at Lotuly
Apart from running our 2 businesses (a web design agency & translation company) we are converting a minibus into a camper and we are documenting our journey to help others save money whilst doing it without compromising on quality when sourcing items and materials. For this we are not only creating a social media presence showing them how we do it but we are also putting a guide together for aspiring/first-time campervan converters and enthusiasts. The best thing is to research a lot for the best offers and compare sites when you buy stock so that you always get the best discounts and offers. Don't be afraid to ask for them especially if you buy in bulk. You'd be surprised how much you can save by just asking. Another thing you can do is organise yourself very well so as to not miss deadlines. If you have a deadline in mind for a specific stage that you need to finish you have to stick by it. Always under promise and over deliver not the other way around. That's how you keep your customers happy. Document your journey. Keep track of costs. Always stick to your budget and don't over spend. Ask suppliers to recommend you others they might know in case they can't help. If there's something you can do yourself, in our case we DYI'd our way into the first steps of the conversion then do it, not only to save money and time but also because you need to know your project inside out.
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Ian Hewett
Founder at The Bearded Mortgage Broker
"While my main role is a mortgage broker, I have added other products to my portfolio that will ensure I can give a better service to my clients, like estate planning and insurance. However, for fun I am also involved in networking and celebrity event managing. This gets my name out to between 100 and 400 people in attendance and the celebrity themselves. This week I am with Lord Ian Botham and have other events booked in, like charity football matches and an evening with style events. It does make for an interesting piece of diary management but gives me some great stories and connections."
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Felicity Pryke
Satisfaction Expert, Yoga Teacher at Finding Felicity
"If you work for a company that is open to flexible working hours, see if you can reduce you "day job" to 4 or even 3 days. I dropped half a day a week and added an extra hour to each of my working days to take me to a 4-day week. My salary only dropped by 10% - your income drops by even less due to income tax. Unless you're on a very high salary, you can probably make that back by having a full day extra to focus on your business."
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Maddy Alexander-Grout
CEO at My VIP Rewards
"I started My VIP Rewards as a side hustle totally accidentally. I needed to save money myself and it started out as a hobby to save myself and my mum's friends a bit of cash when we were out getting coffee and cake. It only became a main job when I got made redundant but it was the best thing that ever happened to me. I now run another side hustle, Parenthood App. I have recently started dedicating one hour a day to Parenthood so I make sure it gets some attention. Time blocking is my friend."
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Katherine Steiner-Dicks
Founder at BuzzVestor Media
More than 1.1 million people, that's 25% of the UK population, "have a bit on the side" whether that's pursuing a passion or just trying to pay the bills. Pretty much every great business story emerged through a side hustle. Just think of a world without Colonel Sanders' fried chicken, Sara Blakely's Spanx figure shrinking undergarments, or Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger's Instagram. So, if you are on the fence about whether to start a hustle, ask yourself, why not?
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Marcus Wright
Managing Director at Bolton Business Finance
"I have had more than my fair share of side hustles in the past, starting with selling on eBay over 16 years ago. My number one tip would be to JUST DO IT. It's very easy to get caught in the procrastination trap of learning, planning and watching videos on YouTube as "research". Want to start a store on ETSY or Shopify? Register now today and start learning along the way. The best way to learn is by doing."
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Natalie Fletcher
Director at Mancmade Ltd
"I've been a bit of a hustler myself over the years, so turning my side hustle into my main focus was a no brainer. Like I've said before, don't be a busy fool. It's so easy to let your side hustle take over your life. My advice would be to build the side hustles around what you already do, as this creates a passion that can then be applied and implemented into a business, or your existing business. Having worked as a full-time employee and having my side hustle, which has always been sewing, especially altering & repairing clothes, I was close to burn out. So I turned it around and made my side hustle my employer. I set up my business and provided several other services around the business, turning my side hustles into multiple income streams. As a creative, my mind constantly finds solutions, one being how to survive in this current climate, STARVE or CARVE(a side hustle)."
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Seena Gosrani
Owner / Goldsmith at Bottlebee
"For the past 20 years, my day job has been in television production, but about 6/7 years ago I started making jewellery and slowly built up a small business making unique handmade silver and gold jewellery under the trading name, Bottlebee. I would work a full day in TV and then make jewellery in the evenings and weekends, effectively working 7 days a week. TV hours are long and involve filming on location and being away from home, so I'd have to organise my time meticulously so I could hit deadlines for both jobs. I absolutely love working in TV, but my passion was always working with gold and silver, so last year I decided to concentrate on being a goldsmith full time. I will still do short-term or part-time contracts in the TV industry, but my main priority will be making jewellery."