According to the IPSE, the UK had 4.4 million solo self-employed people, meaning they worked alone for themselves and did not employ people. We may know them as freelancers who offer a particular set of skills (at the risk of channeling Liam Neeson here) such as a graphic designer.
In addition to this, in January 2021 Micro Biz Magazine offered the below statistics about the number of people with a side hustle as well as their main job:
- There are 1.1 million people in the UK with a second job or who are self-employed in addition to a primary job.
- That’s 3% of the working population.
- Despite this, 25% of people in the UK claim to have a side hustle.
- 37% of people in the UK say that their salary alone does not allow them to have a comfortable lifestyle.
Whilst the exact number of people is difficult to quantify (what counts as a side hustle and does everyone reveal it?) the trend is that more people are willing to have a primary job and then try to earn money on the side. This can be through anything from consulting to proof reading and becoming a seller/promoter of beauty brands on social media (the modern take on the Avon lady).
Of course there are discussions to be had here, what does it say about our societies that people have to have multiple jobs to live a life they are comfortable in? Are peoples’ expectations of what they should have too high? Or is the average salary and the average person’s spending power too low? I do not explore these in the resources, but it is something that we as adults can think about as we prepare young people to go into work.
Needless to say, our students will enter a world where it will be commonplace to have more than one source of income from a 9-5 job.
The accompanying slide decks cover different side hustles and what people can do to develop them as well as some famous side hustles that became big businesses.
What may seem to us as teachers as a hobby, is being monetised by many young people. However not every hobby should be monetised as some may feel that by expecting to earn from it can take away from its joy.
It’s also important to note that companies are increasingly turning to freelancers to complete tasks they choose to outsource, so the demand for people who want to complete these tasks whether they be graphic design or proof reading for example continues to grow.