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Over half of Australians are considering starting a small business or side hustle in the next five years to bolster their income, a new report has revealed.
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Cost-of-living pressures spark side hustle motivation: SBLA
15 October 2024
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New research from Small Business Loans Australia (SBLA) revealed that 55 per cent of Australians considered establishing a small business or secondary job to help relieve cost-of-living pressures.
The survey found that 38 per cent of respondents would start a side hustle, 17 per cent would start a small business to use as their sole income, and 68 per cent would be motivated to increase their income.
Results were derived from a panel of 1,005 independent, nationally representative respondents.
SBLA said the survey was commissioned due to Australian living cost indexes having risen 3.7 to 6.2 per cent over the last 12 months.
This resulted in 51 per cent of Australians receiving income support to skip meals due to increased prices, according to SBLA.
SBLA founder and managing director Alon Rajic said increased prices have motivated Australians to work harder.
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“Overwhelmingly, Australia’s high cost of living is driving the motivation behind the desire for an additional income,” he said.
“With financial pressures mounting and no sign of easing, people realise they need to find ways to meet their living expenses.”
The results reflected that the younger the age group, the more likely they would be to start a small business as their main income or side hustle to supplement their main income.
Fifty-one per cent of under-25s would start a side hustle, closely followed by 49 per cent of 35 to 44-year-olds.
SBLA said Australians as young as 15 are impacted by financial stress and economic anxiety – triple the rate it was a few years ago.
It was noted the Australian workforce now spends an additional 24 million hours a month working compared to 12 months ago.
Sixty-eight per cent of respondents were motivated to improve their income, followed by 56 per cent looking to enjoy their work.
A desire for better income was driven by 25 to 44-year-olds, who are more likely to have mortgages and families.
Forty-eight per cent said they want to achieve work/life balance and 37 per cent said they want career control and creativity.
SBLA said 44 per cent of Australians new to the workforce were more likely to want independence and control over their career, followed by 24 per cent of people aged 55 to 64.
Rajic said starting a business or side hustle facilitated the freedom and control people sought.
“Small businesses enable them to earn more in the hours available around their main job,” he said.
“There is a certain amount of freedom and flexibility in small business, and that’s essential when you are starting something new and working around other employment.”
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