If you want to earn extra income or turn your passion into a profitable venture, side hustling could be for you. A side hustle is a business you operate while holding down your day job, so you can keep the safety of a salary while giving yourself time to build your confidence and company.
According to current stats, 46% of people in Britain are making a second income. The surge is in no small part due to the pandemic and the current economic downturn, with the report estimating that the side hustle economy is now worth around £346 bn. This trend is likely to continue as more people embrace the flexibility and financial independence that part-time entrepreneurship offers.
1. Reselling clothes
With Gen Z shoppers leading the sustainable fashion and vintage shopping charge, reselling clothes is a great way to target younger audiences and make some extra cash. Apps like Depop and Vinted make the process of setting up a vintage online store painless meaning there’s a low barrier to entry. All you’ll really need is a smartphone, popping pics of your items, and some social media marketing savviness. Predictions estimate that the resale market will grow 127% by 2026, so hopping on the clothes resale bandwagon could be a smart side hustle bet with plenty of hacks to keep you on the right side of HMRC.
🎓Qualifications needed: None
📜Rules and regulations: None
💵 Cost: Start from £0
2. Voiceover artist
Could your smooth and sultry tones be your side hustle? You could offer your voice for a range of media, including TV, film, and video games. According to data from industry body AudioUK, the UK audio sector grew by 11% in 2019, with voiceover work making up a significant portion of this growth. It’s super easy to get started – all you need is a portfolio and your dulcet tones.
🎓Qualifications needed: None
📜Rules and regulations: None
💵 Cost: Start from £0
3. Dogwalker
Post-pandemic pooches need walking now their owners are back in the office! It’s a real shame for man’s best friend, but the perfect business opportunity for canine-loving cash seekers. The entry requirements for this business venture are minimal; it mainly requires a love of dogs, experience handling them and some good walking boots, as you’ll be doing a lot of walking! Your main costs are going to be insurance and either some printed flyers or social media advertising. This won’t cost you more than a few hundred quid. Considering you can charge up to £20 an hour, there’s good money to be made.
🎓Qualifications needed: None
📜Rules and regulations: You’ll need to be aware of a few rules and regulations, including the legal requirement for dogs to wear leads at all times and your obligation to pick up their mess
💵 Cost: £80-150 per year for liability insurance
4. Upcycling
Turning trash into treasure can be a viable side hustle business venture if you’re creative and great at DIY. Take any unwanted object and transform it into something that someone else needs, wants or likes the look of. The key is knowing where to sell handmade items locally or online. It’s great if you’re looking for a sustainable business that has a low barrier to entry – after all, there is no wait for products to get made or sampled. Have a look on sites such as Etsy for inspiration.
🎓Qualifications needed: None
📜Rules and regulations: None
💵 Cost: Start from £0
5. Babysitting
With parents busy in the office or couples that simply want a night away from their kids, babysitting will always be a viable business idea if you don’t mind working with young ones. The start-up costs are pretty low – the largest investment you’ll probably make is a website or some flyers to advertise your services. You’ll also need to have a rough understanding of what the hourly rates for babysitting are so that you can be competitive in the market.
🎓Qualifications needed: None
📜Rules and regulations: None
💵 Cost: Start from £0
📝Good to know: In 2021, 69% of families in England with children aged 0 to 14 had used some form of childcare during their most recent term-time week.
6. Language tutoring
As the job market gets more competitive, people are looking to diversify and strengthen their language skills. Plus, parents are always looking to improve their kids’ GCSE and A-level grades. So if you are fluent in French or a native Nigerian speaker, tutoring languages can be a strong side hustle – you can charge from. £24–£28 per hour. Craigslist and similar websites are excellent places to market your tutoring business, often signing up and posting an ad is free. Don’t forget there may also be people (and businesses) out there looking for English language tuition too.
🎓Qualifications needed: None but bilingual proficiency or written and oral fluency in the language being taught is preferable
📜Rules and regulations: None
💵 Cost: Start from £0
7. Videographer
Freelance videography can be a great avenue to make some extra money if you’re good with cameras and editing, but you will need some equipment which can be costly. However, you’ll have a broad market since clients can range from individuals – think events such as weddings and parties – to businesses that want to use videos for marketing. Do specialise so you can perfect your style and your showreel – essential if you want people to know about your side hustle.
🎓Qualifications needed: None
📜Rules and regulations: None
💵 Cost: Start from £0
86% of marketing professionals reported that they used video as a marketing tool so there’s huge scope for regular work.
8. Urban beekeeping
Nurture bees in the city and harvest honey, beeswax, and other bee-related products to sell yourself or to local stores and businesses. In the UK, the number of beekeepers has increased by 25% in the last five years, according to the British Beekeepers Association. And the good news? You don’t necessarily need a garden or green space. Many successful side hustlers who live in apartment blocks are able to keep bees on their buildings’ flat roofs.
🎓Qualifications needed: It is recommended that new beekeepers attend a training course to learn the skills and knowledge needed to keep bees safely and effectively
📜Rules and regulations: All beekeepers in the UK must register with the National Bee Unit (NBU) to comply with the law. Registration is free and can be done online. Hives should be clearly marked with the beekeeper’s contact information, so they can be identified in case of any issues or emergencies, and placed at a safe distance from public areas
💵 Cost: You will need to purchase beekeeping equipment such as hives, frames, smokers, and protective clothing, as well as bees to populate your hives. To get started, you will likely need around £750-2000
9. Tarot card consultancy
Whether you believe in it or not, there are customers out there who are looking for solace in what Tarot cards reveal. Although traditionally tarot card readings happen face-to-face, there’s been a rising demand for readings on Zoom, WhatsApp or FaceTime. Whilst no qualifications or accreditation is strictly necessary if you are offering the service professionally (as opposed to just for friends and family) you may find a course gives you everything you need to know from the history of Tarot to tips on how to respond to individual concerns.
🎓Qualifications needed: None
📜Rules and regulations: None
💵 Cost: A pack of tarot cards can cost as little as £2.98
10. House-sitting
People need to leave their houses (and pets and plants) unattended for short or longer periods of time whether for business or pleasure. House-sitters allay the anxiety of an unattended home. There are no real operational costs apart from maybe a bit of marketing to ensure homeowners know about your services. That said, you do need a responsible attitude and organised nature to make sure the property is kept secure and be sure to deal with any emergencies such as break-ins or floods.
🎓Qualifications needed: None
📜Rules and regulations: None
💵 Cost: Start from £0
11. Market stallholder
Market stalls are an excellent, low-budget way if you have a product to test or a brand to launch. Whether you want to set up a permanent stand or focus on ad hoc, open-air markets, stalls are a quick and mobile way of giving your brand and products exposure and seeing if people actually want them! The main thing to be wary of is your profit margin, as you’ll need to source your products and research your market to make sure that you can do more than just break even. In this way, having a market stall is also really helpful in determining your pricing strategy.
🎓Qualifications needed: None
📜Rules and regulations: Dependent on the specific market
💵 Cost: Start from £0
12. Jewellery maker
Whether it’s fine or fashion, jewellery making is a side hustle that fits those part-time entrepreneurs who are adept with stones, silver and soldering. You can choose to sell your items online (make sure your photos are dazzling!) or at weekend markets or local retail stores. There’s lots of flexibility (and courses for beginners), but you’ll just need to be careful to balance out the cost of your materials and equipment with the profit made from sales.
🎓Qualifications needed: None
📜Rules and regulations: Check health and safety considerations for making and selling jewellery, for example EU REACH chemical standards still apply post-Brexit
💵 Cost: Start from £0 to thousands depending on supplies and equipment
13. Online paid surveys
Businesses are always looking for customer feedback to improve their services. However, the average Joe isn’t exactly keen to answer multiple-choice questions just out of goodwill. Therefore, companies will pay money to survey takers to get the feedback they need. You can choose how many surveys you want to take and when, making this side hustle extremely flexible. Individual payouts, however, can be low. But when you complete multiple surveys across several sites, you can earn up to £800 a year. In general, surveys will pay around £6-9 per hour and your best bet is to sign up with several agencies as they will shout out for specific demographics and interests.
🎓Qualifications needed: None
📜Rules and regulations: None
💵 Cost: Laptop or personal computer (£500-£1000)
14. Repair person
If you are handy with a hammer, swish with a spanner and fond of fixing things? Then offering up your DIY skills to people with household problems or small projects might be the side hustle for you. Start off with friends and family and you’ll soon find you’ll have referrals galore. You could charge an hourly rate of £20 or a daily rate of £120, and offer your repair expertise and bookings online via local community forums or your own website.
🎓Qualifications needed: None
📜Rules and regulations: None for basic fixes but be mindful of qualifications necessary for any electrical or heating repairs
💵 Cost: Start from £0
15. Car washing
Car washing can be a lucrative side hustle. It’s estimated that there are over 20,000 car washes operating in the UK. Key factors to consider will be how specialised you want the service to be (deep cleans, waxing etc), where you’re going to be based, and the quality and cost of your equipment. There can be heavy upfront costs when setting the business up, alongside electricity and water. However, considering around 25.6 million people in the country own a car, you have a pretty large market to cater to.
🎓Qualifications needed: None
📜Rules and regulations: None
💵 Cost: Start from £20 for basic cleaning equipment
16. Selling prints
If you’ve got a knack for graphic design, a quick and easy small business idea is to sell your prints. Whether they appear on a tote bag or on a mug, you can easily set up an ecommerce store or page on Etsy to sell your designs. Although there are some significant upfront costs like buying high-quality paper (if you’re selling posters) and an at-home office printer, the rest of the production is relatively cheap and straightforward. If you want a business that showcases your creative talents, this might be the one for you.
🎓Qualifications needed: None
📜Rules and regulations: None
💵 Cost: Start from £30 for a basic printer and £20 for paper
17. Quiz runner
Who doesn’t love a pub quiz? According to YouGov data, 62% of Brits do! So this time-honoured trivia tradition can now be monetised and turned into a business. All you’ll need is some quiz questions (these could be on pop culture, sport, music or anything!), a bit of banter and of course a venue looking for a host.
🎓Qualifications needed: None
📜Rules and regulations: None
💵 Cost: Start from £0
18. DJ
Are you a party animal that can keep the floor filled with your banging beats? Maybe you could use your magic at mixing to start a DJ business. To take off, you’ll need to invest in a DJ set, promote yourself on social media, and create a website so people can book you for events. As you put on a good show – whether at parties, weddings, bar mitzvahs or work dos – and recommendations travel through word of mouth, you’ll get more bookings and potentially make a stable income.
🎓Qualifications needed: None
📜Rules and regulations: None
💵 Cost: Start from £0
