Do the hustle

Side hustle entrepreneurs earn more than £22,000 a year on top of main salary

·       Data from GoDaddy reveals that side hustles generate £22,900 a year on average

·       Three in five (58%) side hustlers set up their business for less than £500

·       Less than half (48%) took just a few days to set up their ventures

·       More than a third (35%) are now using AI tools to help build their businesses

·       70% hope to turn their side hustles into full time ventures

The average UK side hustle generates a whopping £22,900 a year in supplemental income for entrepreneurs*, new data from GoDaddy reveals.

While side hustles that provide services or manual jobs continue to thrive, e-commerce has been at the heart of this success, with online side hustles generating £21,400 a year on average.

Research** conducted by GoDaddy among online entrepreneurs shows that three in five (58%) side hustlers said their new venture cost them as little as £500 to start. Meanwhile nearly one in six (15%) had set-up costs of less than £1000, suggesting that the majority can generate significant profits.

It also showed that starting an online side hustle is also time-effective. Online tools and services mean that almost half (48%) of business owners had their website built and up and running in a couple of days. Just over one in nine (13%) took one day, and a similar number, remarkably, took under four hours to build their website.

Increasing numbers of entrepreneurs are also using artificial intelligence (AI) to help build and grow their businesses. More than a third (35%) have used AI tools to contribute to their business in some way, with generating social media copy (47%), conducting market research (41%), devising social media strategy (39%) and researching competitors (30%) the most common uses for the technology.

The ease and speed of setting up an online side hustle and potential financial rewards mean 70% of entrepreneurs reported that they now hope to turn it into their primary business. Of these, four in five (81%) ages 18-34, showing that Britain’s entrepreneurial community could be getting younger. The average age of side hustlers in the UK is 32, while one in nine (12%) started their first side hustle when aged under 18.

The future looks bright for the UK’s online side hustlers too. Almost two thirds (60%) expect their venture to grow by the end of 2023, while just 3% think they will decline.

One side hustler who has found setting up their e-commerce business easy, quick and profitable is GoDaddy customer Katie Anderson, owner of vintage and slow-fashion business Pine & Treasure:

“I started Pine & Treasure to make a bit of extra money whilst I travelled around New Zealand, selling second-hand items through Instagram. When I returned to the UK, I wanted to continue the business and expand online. Setting up a website was incredibly simple and stress-free, costing me just £230.”

“Since going online, Pine & Treasure has grown significantly. I’ve also created a slow-fashion clothing line, and the business is generating enough profit for me to manage it full-time, matching my previous salary as a marketing director for a creative agency.”

Andrew Gradon, head of GoDaddy UK & Ireland, adds:

“It has never been easier, or quicker to set up an online side hustle, and GoDaddy’s data shows the financial rewards can be significant. Technology has dramatically reduced the barriers to entry, giving entrepreneurs the tools to start and grow their businesses in no time at all.”

“At GoDaddy, we are committed to helping everyday entrepreneurs feel confident in their business decisions, and have seen first-hand the success that many of our customers have had in starting their online side hustles.”

*Venture Forward is a multi-year research initiative that quantifies the impact 23+ million online microbusinesses have on their local economies across the UK and US, and provides a unique view into the attitudes, demographics and needs of these entrepreneurs. The analysis includes data from 2.3 million British microbusinesses and is complemented by an annual survey of 2,683 GB microbusinesses owners (those with a unique domain and an active website) most recently conducted in January 2023. A microbusiness is a business with 10 or fewer employees.

**Antenna, an independent consumer research agency on behalf of GoDaddy, conducted an online survey of 521 side hustlers in United Kingdom. The survey was conducted between 14/04/23 – 26/04/23. 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.