The average side hustler in the UK makes £18,200 in revenue a year, new research from GoDaddy has revealed.
A lucky 7% make more than £50,000 and 5% bring home more than £100,000.
Yet, the money isn’t the primary driver for UK entrepreneurs.
Instead, our research reveals, one in three set up their side hustles as passion projects — to follow a dream or pursue something they love.
“The UK is a nation of passionate people,” Andrew Gradon, UK Market Lead & Direct Channel Lead from GoDaddy said. “They’re putting their whole hearts into their side hustles along with the extra hours.
“Yet something we hear from our customers time and again is that it doesn’t feel like work when you’re doing something you love.”
Other drivers for setting up a business on the side included:
- Spotting a gap in the market (22%)
- Wanting more flexibility from life (14%)
While the UK economy is on Bambi legs at the moment, side hustlers remain positive about the future of their businesses.
Almost two thirds reported to GoDaddy that they expected their side hustle to grow by the end of 2023 with:
- 18% reporting that they were optimistic about expanding their range of products and services
- 5% telling us that they hoped to add a bricks and mortar arm to their business
70%, meanwhile said they hoped to turn their part-time ventures into their primary business one day.
“There’s a lot of positive feeling amongst the UK’s side hustlers,” said GoDaddy’s Gradon. “We’re seeing ambition, drive and a go-getter attitude almost entirely across the board.”
Related: 25 side hustle ideas to make extra money
How easy is it to get a side hustle off the ground?
Launching a side hustle is easier and less expensive than you might think.
GoDaddy’s research revealed that 58% of UK side hustlers spent less than £500 on setting up their side hustles. The average side hustler spent £2,509.10 to launch their venture.
So, money is not as much of a barrier as you might think.
Neither is the technical side of things.
Our research revealed that 48% of UK side hustlers were able to launch a website in a couple of days or less, with 12% setting up a site in less than four hours.
Builders like GoDaddy’s easy online store tool make starting a business easier than it’s ever been.
It gives you a range of pre-designed templates to choose from — all you have to do is follow prompts to add your own words and pictures.
Plus, you can edit it on the go — adding images or uploading new products, for example — using the app.
Once your website is published, you can check in on how it’s performing by viewing stats like site visitor numbers in the Online Store dashboard.
The dashboard also gives you advice on how to attract more visitors to your site, suggesting, for example, that you start posting on social media or add an email sign up page to your site.
Who are the UK’s side hustlers?
GoDaddy’s research found that the UK’s side hustlers come from all walks of life. Side hustlers are active all over the country and represent all genders.
Yet there are a few patterns.
Our poll found that the average age for setting up a side hustle is 32 years old.
This is a little older than in countries such as Australia, Canada and America, where the average age for setting up a part time venture is 28, 26 and 24 respectively.
We also discovered that 27% of UK side hustlers had based their business on self-made goods, such as art, crafts, food, beverages and health and beauty products.
A further 26% were involved in offering goods and services made by others, and 19% told us they offered professional services, such as marketing, sales, legal and financial services.
The average time most side hustlers have had their business for, meanwhile, was revealed to be 3.1 years.
17% of side hustlers said that they had two part-time ventures on the go.
Another 42% of those polled told us they were thinking about setting up a second side gig.
“We’re seeing that the UK’s side hustlers have a lot of plates spinning,” Gradon said.
“But looking at the research findings on how much the average side hustler is making and how optimistic they are about the future, it seems like they’re pretty good at it.”
Got a passion you’d like to pursue? Now’s the time to start earning from your own side hustle.
Antenna, an independent consumer research agency, conducted an online AntennaPoll survey of n=2114 side hustlers across Australia, United Kingdom, United States and Canada on behalf of GoDaddy. The survey was conducted between 14th April and 26th April 2023.
The survey data collection was national and respondents were sourced using an accredited online research access panel. Data was weighted for representation against country census data.
