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One in five Brits have a ‘side hustle’ to make extra cash on top of their salary, according to a study.
Researchers who polled 2,000 adults found those budding entrepreneurs have an average of two side projects.
According to the report, one in 10 even juggles four extra enterprises. And another four in 10 would like to start one.
While men are more likely to already have a side venture on the go, more women are considering one for the future.
Commissioned by notonthehighstreet, in celebration of International Women’s Day on Friday 8 March, the research also found of the women who actively run their own side business, a third said they did so to make more money.
And 82 per cent generate profit from their business ventures.
So perhaps it’s no wonder two thirds of women revealed they are happier doing their side projects than their main job.
Further to this half wish they had started their venture sooner.
Ella d’Amato, chief commercial and marketing officer for notonthehighstreet, said: “Of the six million businesses in Britain, only one fifth are run by women.
"So it’s fantastic to see this community taking matters such as flexible working, creative fulfilment and self-confidence into their own hands."
The study also found side hustlers spend on average of four hours a week on their venture outside of their full-time work.
Most have been maintaining their side hustle for an impressive 17 years – while one in five has been going strong for more than three decades.
It also emerged a third of women believe they have entrepreneurial spirit – one in seven even spends more than 10 extra hours a week investing time in their side hustle.
More than 60 per cent said they felt happier with their extra project than their full-time job, and half regretted not starting their side hustle sooner.
Skilled crafts, food and drinks, and education came top of the list of side hustles that women are likely to enter – while technology and gaming emerged as male-dominated ones.
Art and prints, jewellery making, and personalised goods were among some of the more creative endeavours Brits are pursuing with some even devoting time to including home grown food produce, beer brewing, homemade candle making and book writing.
One in five said they set one up to keep busy – while one fifth said they wanted to utilise their other skill sets.
However, several barriers were blamed for preventing that from happening, including not having the necessary funds and lacking self-confidence as major roadblocks.
Carried out by OnePoll, the research also found four in 10 women were worried they didn’t have enough money to set up their own business – and a quarter were too fearful of the unknown to start one.
Ella d’Amato added: "The increasing number of women in business is a trend we have seen, supported and encouraged since the business was founded as 82 per cent of our Partners (sellers) are female with some now running million pound businesses.”
*Notonthehighstreet is home to over 5,000 small creative businesses - with many of them beginning as a creative idea or side-project before working closely with the online platform to develop and grow their business.
ENDS
