The Side Hustle Economy: A Symptom of a System Under Pressure

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Side hustles used to be a bonus. A way to earn a little extra, pay off a bill, or save for something special.

Not anymore.

According to the Daily Mail, one in four people now has a side hustle, yet the average income works out to just £6.60 per hour barely half of the national average wage of £12.21.

And that statistic tells us everything we need to know about the state of the economy.

People aren’t juggling two or three jobs because they want to.  They’re doing it because the cost of living has climbed faster than wages, inflation has eaten into savings, and financial stability feels further away than ever.

But here’s the uncomfortable truth:

The problem isn’t the side hustle.

It’s the way the side hustle is built.

Most people choose side hustles that:

  • rely on trading time for money

  • offer very little scalability

  • depend entirely on personal output

  • create more stress, not freedom

Selling second-hand clothing, freelancing, content creation, basic gig work — these are common starting points but they often hit a wall quickly.

Time becomes the limit.
Energy becomes the limit.
And eventually income becomes the limit too.

Which is why so many people end up earning less than minimum wage despite working more hours than ever.

The Shift: From Hustling Harder to Building Systems

This is what I teach in the ZTM Wealth Strategy and inside the Online Entrepreneur Membership:

A side hustle should never become another job. It should evolve into a system and continuous cash flow

And with AI, that shift is easier and faster than it has ever been.

AI allows you to:

  • automate repetitive tasks

  • repurpose content across multiple platforms

  • build digital products that sell repeatedly

  • research pricing, markets, and opportunities instantly

  • turn one skill into multiple income streams

  • scale without burnout

This is where income transforms. This is where hours multiply. This is where you stop trading effort for pennies and start building an actual asset.

Side Hustles Should Create Freedom — Not Exhaustion

The rise in side hustles is a symptom of an economy under strain, not a celebration of ambition. But there is a positive side:

  • More people are realising they can’t rely on a single employer or one income stream.
  • More people are learning new skills.
  • More people are looking for ways to take back control.

And with AI, automation, and strategic thinking, a simple side hustle can become:

  • a scalable business

  • a long-term income source

  • a bridge to financial independence

  • the first stepping stone to building wealth

This is the philosophy behind everything I teach:

Start where you are.

Build the income.
Grow the wealth.
Multiply the legacy.

Side hustles aren’t going away, in fact, they’ll become even more essential as the economy continues to shift.

But the key isn’t working harder.

It’s working smarter, building systems, and using tools that create income even when you’re not sitting at the desk.

Because financial independence doesn’t come from hustling. It comes from understanding how to be your own economy. 


Learn More About Side Hustle Economy and why most side hustles fail







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