In a turbulent jobs market, relying on a single income source is, for many, risky and impractical – so an increasing number of us are trying to earn a little extra on the fly. The phenomenon even has a name: the side hustle. But how easy is it to start up a second gig? MH clocked in to find out.
Ross Taylor’s side hustle began by accident. Five years ago, he treated himself to a butterfly taxidermy course in Hackney, east London, just because it looked fun. “I found it very relaxing,” he says. “I’m an impatient person, and it forced me to slow right down. It’s intricate, delicate and demands a lot of concentration. Then I thought: you know what? No one does butterfly taxidermy in a creative way. It’s all quite standard. So I decided to mount them on limited-edition gold prints.”
The 33-year-old Taylor is now one of the pre-eminent mounters of lepidoptera in Britain. At first, he made pieces of butterfly art for friends. Then he raised a few thousand pounds on Kickstarter to make some for strangers, after which he went into business with his partner, Chris McShane. They branched into home ware, and their company, the Curious Department, now sells plates and pillows online and in 20 shops across Europe.
Taylor manages this in about 15-20 hours a week. For his “day job”, he is the creative director at Iris Worldwide, an ad agency that counts Adidas as a client. “It’s an amazing job,” he says. “But with advertising, you’re only creative within the constraints of a brand that already exists. The reason I started my side hustle was for creativity that is led only by what I want to do.” It supplements his already healthy income by about 20%.
This story is from the September 2018 edition of Men's Health UK.
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This story is from the September 2018 edition of Men's Health UK.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
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