Almost half of UK adults (47%) are thinking about starting a business or side hustle in 2025, a 12 per cent increase on this time last year.
The latest research from small business support platform and membership community Enterprise Nation which has been tracking the nation’s appetite to start a business for the last three years, found earning extra cash to keep up with rising costs as well as monetising a skill or hobby (both 33%) were the main drivers for the trend.
The annual Start Up Ambition Report, has seen incremental rises in the nation’s appetite to start a business, but this year’s rise is the highest yet. In 2023, it was 30 per cent moving up to 35 per cent in 2024.
The trend is driven by Gen Z and millennials with 62 per cent amongst the 18 to 30 age group with 51 per cent of those aged 31 to 40 saying they are thinking about starting up in the next 12 months.
Another 25 per cent said 2025 was too soon – but still hoped to start a business at some point in their career.
London finance associate Daniella Conway, is set to launch group travel solution platform TRVLR, Docklands, later this month as a side hustle.
It’s the culmination of 12 months’ work including raising angel investment and going through an intensive six month-long accelerator programme – all while holding down a full-time job for a city investment company.
The 29-year-old travel enthusiast came up with the idea for TRVLR, a travel platform for people who plan and book group trips with their mates, because she needed the service herself and couldn’t find anything close.
Daniella said: “I like travelling and this is a product I needed myself. I was looking for something that could suggest destinations, itineraries and allow group members to vote so the onus doesn’t fall on one or two people to take all the responsibility, all the decisions – and all the backlash!”
TRVLR started to take shape after Daniella visited the Enterprise Nation Start Up Show in January 2024.
Daniella said: “It was my first step to entrepreneurship. I learned from entrepreneurs, and was connected to some helpful advisers. I made loads of notes and registered the company straight away.
“Not long after that I pitched my idea to an Angel investor and was successful, I found a mentor and joined an accelerator. I’ve worked on the business at weekends, evenings and any spare time I can find. It has been a whirlwind!”
The investment has allowed Daniella to work with a development agency and incorporate artificial intelligence into the build, as well as fund a part time social media freelancer to build momentum for launch.
And it’s working, TRVLR already has 1,000 people on its wait list. The plan is that travelers will be able to plan and book everything from the hotel to beach club activities through the app while keeping everything transparent and in one place.
Emma Jones, CBE, founder of Enterprise Nation, said: “What we’re witnessing is nothing short of a cultural shift. The number of people like Daniella who want to start a business just keeps on expanding every year, it’s incredible.
“It demonstrates that new generations now entering the world of work see starting a business as a mainstream career option and it’s something that the majority of working age people expect to do at some point in their life.
“What’s also behind this s a decade of wage stagnation – people want to increase their income while doing something they love or are good at. But it’s also about the accessibility of technology and good quality business support that helps people to get started and grow.”
Constant Contact UK General Manager Erika Robinson, who founded her own business in 2019 – children’s play centre, Picnic, said: “There is a world of enterprise opportunity out there and it’s so wonderful to see so many people who want to become their own boss. What matters now is that we have the support infrastructure in place to ensure we can help them turn their start-up dreams into reality.
“At Constant Contact, we support businesses of all shapes and sizes to reach their potential with our marketing automation tools, and partner with communities like Enterprise Nation to make sure we can reach them with the support they need at the right time.”
Jordan Shwide, General Manager, Monzo Business, said: “It’s great to see that the appetite for people across the UK to start a business is higher than ever. Small businesses are the backbone of the UK economy, so it’s essential they get the right support to grow and thrive. We’re determined to help by working with our over 500,000 business customers to build features that do the heavy lifting, so they can focus on what really matters.”
Sarah Atkins, CMO and membership manager at supply chain data standards not-for-profit GS1 UK, said: “The nation’s entrepreneurial spirit is truly alive and kicking – and that makes it more crucial than ever to make sure start-ups have access to simple and affordable tools that will help grow through a variety of sales channels at home and across the globe.
“In today’s hyper-connected world, customers want to have access to product information instantly. That’s hard to achieve unless you can tap into digital tools like QR codes powered by GS1. This next generation of barcodes will deliver a frictionless, customer experience in an affordable way. This will be a great sales tool for those start-ups with a mission and a story to tell. Supporting them is why we exist and we can’t wait to enable more of these brilliant new businesses to thrive in 2025.”
Interestingly, when faced with a list of ‘well-known’ UK entrepreneurs including Sir Richard Branson and Stormzy, a fifth (17%) said they were mostly inspired by a family member, with more than a third saying there were no relatable role models.
While an economic slowdown often does correlate with more people starting a business because of job insecurity or unemployment, the research found that only six per cent said it was because they were worried about losing their job in the next 12 months. In fact, the number saying they wanted to start up their own business in order to supplement part time work or wages from a zero hours contract fell by 19 per cent from 33 per cent in 2024 to nine per cent in 2025.
Just under a third overall (27%) said they were starting a business to follow their dreams or make money out of a skill or hobby (33%). An impressive 36 per cent of the 18 – 24s were motived by doing something they enjoy to boost their income.
The most popular sector to start up in was food and drink (14%) and arts and crafts (15%), with beauty the most likely amongst 18 to 24-year-olds (16%).
The research found women were more likely than men to start-up as a side hustle alongside a current job or caring responsibilities (59%) compared to 49 per cent of men. The age group most likely to start as a side hustle was amongst those aged 31 – 40 – the peak child-rearing age (57%).
The most likely cities to be home to a new tech start-up was London and Newcastle-upon-Tyne (both 10%) and Liverpool was the most likely place to see a new manufacturing start-up (8%).
Almost of those living in Liverpool with entrepreneurial ambition said they were motivated to start-up because they were worried about paying the bills (43%), followed by Glasgow (41%) and Cardiff (38%).
The state of the economy was a common worry, but least likely to bother the 18 to 24-year-olds (31%) who were most worried by finding funding. They were also the most eager to seek business support. The 51- 64-year-olds were the most concerned about the impact of the economy on starting-up – but also the age group most likely to say they didn’t know what sort of support was available to help.
Average earning expectations in the first year of running a full-time business in the first 12 months was £34,000. For the second year running, women’s earning expectations are almost £10,000 lower than men (£28,658 v £37,865) compared to £25,213 v £35,106 in 2024.
Side hustlers were expecting to earn an average of £5,765 over the first 12 months in business, paying tax on profits above £1,000, around £200 more than in 2024.
Enterprise Nation’s epic annual StartUp Show sees more than 1,000 people learn the basics of starting a business in London on January 25, 2025.
Sponsored by Constant Contact, Monzo, GS1 UK, Tik Tok Shop and Vodafone Business, the event is the highlight of the start-up calendar and will see epic BBC broadcaster Emma Barnett and her husband Jeremy Weil headline on stage to inspire thousands of entrepreneurs to launch their own business in 2025.
The Today Programme host co-founded children’s activity pack company Colour Your Streets, with Jeremy, head of product at the Economist’s Editorial Intelligence Unit, not long after the birth of their daughter last year.
