Why bother with UK side hustles? You live in the UK and have a good job. Work is steady and life is good. You don’t need more responsibility as your time is precious, right?
Hmm… personally I’m not so sure.
I’m going to explain why UK side hustles are absolutely vital to protect you against a sudden and unexpected loss of earnings or simply to make life more comfortable for you.
UK Uncertainty & the Need For Side Hustles
Right now we live in very uncertain times. Nobody really knows what Brexit is going to mean for the UK economy over the long term.
Some economists are predicting a huge impact to UK businesses, and if these predictions come true there will be a lot of uncertainty around jobs.
Even if we take Brexit out of the picture, no employment is ever guaranteed to last you a lifetime. Your employment is never a certainty.
Wherever there is uncertainty there is risk. To my mind it’s a very high risk strategy to rely on employment as a single source of income. This would be true in any economic scenario, so right now it’s doubly so.
At any time, losing your job with little warning is hugely stressful. I speak from experience here and it’s a position I never want to be in again.
It’s even worse if you lose your job in times when competition for job roles becomes more competitive. It’s quite possible that Brexit will increase both unemployment rates and competition for job roles.
For anyone living in the UK, side hustles can provide secondary earnings to help move you away from your reliance on single source of income employment. This can at least give you more of stability.
Looking for UK side hustle ideas?
I’ve put together a detailed list of dozens of the best UK side hustle ideas to help give you some inspiration to make money out of the 9 to 5.
Part-Time Employment as a Side Hustle?
There are many ways to start side hustling in the UK. We might consider part-time work (alongside a full-time role) to be a side hustle.
The bad thing about part-time work though is that the commodity you sell is your time.
Time is finite. We only have 24 hours we might sell each day. This reduces substantially when we have a full-time job, family and non-family related responsibilities… oh, we also need sleep!
When you look at how much actual time you actually have available after subtracting the hours that are spoken for, what remains is often not easy to sell.
There aren’t many part-time jobs that offer you the flexibility to work the hours you have available at the time of day that work for you.
With most part-time jobs, you’ll be contractually obliged to work a certain number of hours per week at specific times… much like full-time jobs.
Within your part-time work contract your hourly rate will be explicitly stated. Outside of perhaps an annual review, it’s unlikely that your hourly rate will change.
Selling Your Hours Part-Time
For the most part we all sell our time at a bargain price, because that’s what the market wants. It’s a generalisation, but most UK part-time work (especially unskilled) is not high-paying.
Now… I’m not saying don’t take part-time work because for some people it works well.
Some part-time work pays better than others (particularly if it requires specialised skills) and sometimes it can simply be right for you. For others, the “guaranteed” additional earnings from part-time work with little responsibility or stress is sufficient.
For me though, it’s not a good option. I’m a parent short on time and I want the chance to grow what I earn from additional work more than I want a known and fixed rate of pay for my hours.
So, if you’re like me and working part-time doesn’t work for you, then perhaps the best way to earn a little (or a lot!) extra is to start a UK side hustle online.
The Benefits of Online Side Hustles
The main advantage of online side hustles are that you can pretty much work at the times that suit you.
If you already have full-time work, online side hustles an give you flexibility. You can pick and choose when you start work and when you stop.
If you find you’re stretched on one particular day, you might chose to carry work over to another day. You simply can’t do this in most part-time jobs because they require a contracted number of hours at specific times.
Some side hustles give you the chance to earn more than you might if you worked to an agreed hourly rate.
Hustling Examples
For example, let’s say you have web development skills. Websites like Fiverr, Upwork or Fivesquids are a great place to bid on pieces of work for a fixed price. If your bid on a work request is accepted, you might earn well above an hourly rate doing the same thing part-time.
Other side hustles such as affiliate marketing can offer unlimited potential to add to your earnings… IF your marketing efforts are successful.
To start an affiliate marketing side hustle, all you need is a website and some time. You could start off by creating a blog and writing about your passion.
In time as your followers grow, there may be opportunities to monetise your side hustle blog and earn from it. My guide on how to start a blog can give you some guidance.
Ever fancied your hand at selling things online? How about setting up a website to do so. You could start small and grow as your orders start increasing.
It’s not even necessary to have your own website to sell stuff. Sites like eBay and Etsy give you a platform to sell. They also provide tools to set you up and a ready-made market of people in who are in buying mode.
I began online side hustles over 15 years ago. As a result have always been able to add to any full-time pay I’ve ever received. I’ve done this mostly through affiliate marketing.
Summary
Regardless of what you choose to do as a side hustle, you should do something. Even in times of economic stability a side hustle is a great idea. Who doesn’t need a little extra cash to put away for a rainy day?
Side hustles are a fantastic way to supplement any earnings you make and give you the chance to do so in hours that suit you.
Successful side hustles have grown to become a full-time occupation for many people, putting them more in control of their futures.
Can you afford not to to be a hustler?
Thanks for reading.
Paul
If you have any experience of side hustling and want to add to this discussion or you want to ask me a question, please do so in the comments section below.
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