From high-rise offices to garden huts, young London professionals are redefining what it means to work and follow your passion, otherwise known as side hustles.
In the heart of London, a new hustle is brewing among the city’s spirited youth.
This is where ambition meets creativity, and careers are no longer single-track.
Olivia Jones, 21, from Bexley, left college and went into a full-time office job in London but began a small business on the side.
Olivia went to the London School of Fashion, where she started her balloon side hustle as she was struggling to pay for her travel to college.
She said: “I’ve always had that mindset that I want to be my own boss.
“I’ve always been quite creative and liked making things, so I started up a balloon business.”
Following college, she began a job at ASOS as a fashion buyer.
She said: “It was my first proper job, the experience was great.
“It gave me loads of ideas that I could put into my side hustle, which I continued throughout my journey.
“The good part of my nine-to-five was that I was learning so much about businesses behind closed doors.”
Olivia decided that she wanted to travel, particularly around Australia.
She said: “With time management you’ve got to be committed.
“I had a goal of needing to save up a certain amount of money to be able to go and travel and do what I wanted to do.
“It is so important to enjoy what you’re doing because you are working a nine-to-five and then working weekends too.
“So you need to have a passion for your work, then it doesn’t feel like you’re working just to live.”
Olivia expressed her distaste for the live to work cliché, saying she doesn’t want to ever get to that point in her life.
She said: “I want to live my life and work on the side and I feel if you enjoy what you’re doing it isn’t really work.
“This is something that I have always taken much pride in.
“The world is such a big place and if you are not happy with something then why are you doing it?
“You get one life and I genuinely think there are so many opportunities out there, you’ve got to take the risk and go and find them.”
Olivia saved, packed her bag, and went to Australia in September 2022 and travelled for a year.
She believes that doing different things and going down different paths will get her somewhere, and she always has her side hustle ready to get back to when she’s ready.
She said: “What’s better in life than loving what you do every day?”
Another very popular industry to start a side hustle is beauty.
Alisha Turner-Dolby, 20, from Sidcup, works in a secondary school five days a week.
As well as this, she is a beautician specialising in eyelash extensions, which she carries out from home in a cabin.
She explained: “I was inspired to start my side hustle from a very young age.
“My mum’s friend ran her own beauty business and I used to go and sit with her at her appointments.
“Seeing her perform treatments amazed me at the skills she was able to demonstrate in each appointment.
“This then made me want to start my own beauty side hustle.”
Alisha found balancing her time between her job and her side hustle hard, especially towards the beginning when she was still learning a lot about the beauty business.
She said: “I found that making a schedule I could share with my clients made it useful so they knew when I was available and it was easier to communicate.
“My full-time job has had a massive impact on my side hustle.
I started my full-time job as a Business Administration Apprentice.
“This meant as well as working, I was also being trained on the ins and outs of running a business which allowed me to take my skills into my side hustle as well.”
The main challenge both women faced was how to manage their full-time jobs and the side hustles during busy periods.
Alisha said: “The competition in the local area for beauty treatments has had a massive influx since the pandemic ended.”
However, having a side hustle has its rewards.
Alisha said: “The best part of having a side hustle is 100% meeting new people.
“Some of my clients have turned out to be some of my best friends that I will forever cherish.
“My lash cabin is a safe space for all and I enjoy gossiping and learning so much about my clients.”
