Yahoo Finance Side hustles: How Aussies are earning an extra $21,400 per year
Aussies are picking up one or more side hustles.
Emma McLeavy is one of many Aussies to pick up a side hustle outside of their regular 9-5 job.
The former commercial banker started a hamper and floral design business, Jo + Co, in February last year after noticing a gap in the market.
“We were trying to order a hamper for a friend and we couldn’t find anywhere locally that could send a hamper on our behalf,” McLeavy told Yahoo Finance.
“Instead of just sending flowers, I wanted to send something different and I couldn’t find a business that did it so I decided that my community would benefit from something like that.”
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McLeavy, who lives in Berrima in the Southern Highlands, said her side hustle was more of a passion project at the moment, rather than an additional source of income.
“It wasn’t really about the money or anything like that. With the death of my mum, you get this different perspective on life and I wanted to do something for myself and something I am passionate about,” she said.
McLeavy said the business was now starting to earn a profit, but she was reinvesting the money back into the business.
Serial side hustlers
New research from GoDaddy found many Aussies had more than one side hustle, with more than half of the 516 side hustlers surveyed saying they had multiple businesses on the go.
Some of the most common side hustles on the platform included selling self-made goods (such as arts and crafts, food, clothes, and health and beauty products), followed by offering professional services (such as marketing, legal, accounting or financial expertise) and selling third-party goods or services.
The average person earned an extra $21,400 per year from their side hustle, the research found.
GoDaddy vice-president Tamara Oppen said the surge in side hustles coincided with the cost-of-living crisis, with many Aussies looking for ways to deal with rising interest rates and inflation.
“Our data shows that the number of people starting a business alongside a day job has continued to grow,” Oppen said.
“Starting a side hustle is a great way to start, giving entrepreneurs the time to develop the business while not giving up their day job.
“The costs of getting started can be relatively low, and many people hope the side hustle becomes their primary business.”
More than half (57 per cent) of the online entrepreneurs surveyed said they had start-up costs of less than $1,000. Of those, 44 per cent said their costs were less than $500, while 16 per cent had no costs at all.
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