Young workers profiting from a bit on the side
YOUNG NORTH Londoner Evie Miller is the founder of Garmie, a fashion app enabling users to share clothes.
But she is also a website designer, social media content creator, GenZ consultant, a seller of upcycled bottle vases and an English tutor for secondary and university students.
If that sounds like quite a workload, employment support charity Work Avenue reports that “side hustles” and portfolio careers are increasingly common among its younger clients.
Work Avenue business adviser Kim Davidson suggests the trend partly reflects young people seeking more variety in their working lives.
“Thanks to the internet and social media, it is very easy to run a small business on the side of a day job that can be operated during evenings and weekends.” But the loss of some of the more traditional jobs and graduate opportunities as a result of the pandemic had accelerated the need for people to become more flexible and creative.
“There is almost no risk if there are low overheads, although there is a chance of burnout if the person ends up with more work than time to do it. On the plus side, there is always the chance that the ‘side hustle’ could take off and become the main income earner.”
Ms Miller, 25 — whose main business is geared to making fashion social, sustainable and accessible for young creatives — agrees that “a portfolio career has become really popular among younger generations.
“People are realising that having multiple sources of income and passive income can, in the long run, be much more lucrative than one nineto-five job,” although there might be “struggles” in the shorter term.
“Because younger generations are digitally native and heavily involved with social media, we’re exposed to all the world’s possibilities and want a slice of many different pies.
“So getting involved with a variety of projects and career paths allows us to tap into our different faculties and make a range of connections which the generations before us may not have had access to.”
She credits Work Avenue for connecting her with industry leaders and providing “valuable resources to help with all the confusing things you have to wrap your head around as an entrepreneur”.
Another Work Avenue client forging a more diverse career path is Dan Kraines, a 26-year-old DJ living in Mill Hill.
His DJ-ing had just taken off when the pandemic hit, the lockdowns and venue closures coming as he had committed to it full-time.
Having to find income elsewhere, he turned to Work Avenue, which helped him establish a portfolio career to run alongside his music. Drawing on a background in marketing, he now runs a marketing company which has six clients on monthly retainers and more in the pipeline.
“I think being able to diversify has never been more important — but also has never been easier to do,” he suggests.
“The world is ever changing so it’s essential to always be prepared.
“Having multiple sources of income is definitely a good idea and the internet has made it even easier for people to find a new hobby or ‘side hustle’ that they love and turn that into something successful.”
Work Avenue’s Ms Davidson adds that the charity “can help grow businesses of any size and budding entrepreneurs can book a one-to-one advice appointment”.
Being able to diversify has never been more important’