Feature
VIVIENNE AYERS
PhotograPhs
ALUN CALLENDER
Vickychownandkimwalker
startedHandmadeApothecarysix
yearsagoalongsidetheirdayjobs– and
they’renotaloneinthiswayofworking.
‘Itoncewasreferredtoasa 5-9,butis
nowcommonlycalleda sidehustle,’says
EmmaJones,founderofEnterprise
Nation,a networkofsmallbusinesses
andbusinessadviserswitha community
ofmorethan75,000people.Henley
BusinessSchoolrecentlyreportedthat
asmanyasoneinfourUKemployees
hasa sidehustle,generatinganextra
£72bnfortheUK.A sidehustlecan
beanythingthatearnsyoua second
income,butthemostcommonare
crafts,writing,stockmarketinvestments,
sellingonlineandblogging/vlogging.
‘It’sa greatwaytostarta business,’
saysEmma.‘Itgivesyoutimetobuild
confidenceaswellasraisingcash.’Here
areEmma’stipsforstartingyourown:PreParewell‘Youshoulddothesame
preparationforstartinga sidehustleas
forstartinga full-timebusiness.Writea
businessplanandincludeyourbusiness
idea,themarketyou’relookingtoserve
and operations required to get started,aswellasa cash-flowforecastthatcan
bewrittenupasa basicsummaryof
saleslesscosts.Thiswillactasyour
routemapandgiveyouandthe
businessa senseofdirection.’makethemostoFtechnology
‘Oneofthereasonstherehasbeensuch
a riseinsidehustlesis thatadvancesin
technologyandsocialmediameanit
is perfectlypossibletoscheduleposts
andtweetssothebusinessescanbe
workingwhileyou’rebusydoingyour
dayjob.Useonlinetoolssuchas
HootsuiteandBuffertoscheduleyour
socialmediaposts,andconsidersetting
upyourownwebsitewithSquarespace,
WixorWeebly,whereyouuploadyour
productsandservicesandthesite
providerstakecareofthetechnology.’gooutandmakesales‘Ifyou’re
sellinga productonAmazonorusing
FacebookorInstagram,youcouldbe
pickinguporderswhileyou’rebusywith
yourmainjob.If yousellfromyourown
website,youcanuseane-commerce
fulfilmentcompany(Amazonprovides
this service, too) to organise deliveries.’Focusonwhatyoudowell
‘Timeis yourmostpreciouscommodity
sooutsourceelementsofthebusiness
thatwouldbebetterdonebysomeone
else– suchasaccountingorsocialmedia,’
saysEmma.Makeuseofservicessuch
astheICAEWBusinessAdviceService,
whichallowsyoutoaccessfreecallswith
accountants.Becomepartofa network
toconnectwithpeersandexperts,such
asEnterpriseNation,whichwillhelp
youfindexpertsinareasrangingfrom
salesandmarketingtoITandweb
design.AccordingtoEmma,aroundhalf
ofpeoplewhostarta sidehustledecide
tocontinueit alongsidetheirdayjob,
whiletheotherhalfgoontorunit asa
full-timebusiness.‘Yourgutwilltellyou
whenit’stimetoleaveworkandturn
yoursidehustleintoyourprimaryjob,’
saysEmma.ForVickyandKim,being
organisedis crucialtorunning
HandmadeApothecaryasa sidehustle.
‘I useplannerstohelpassignmytime,’
saysKim.‘I worklonghoursbutalso
makesureI putasidetimetorelax.’
Learnmoreatenterprisenation.com
orfromEmma’sbook,Working 5 to 9
(£12.99, Harriman House).How to run a businessalongside your day job❝❞The one lesson we’ve learnt...my country business