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Forbes
3 days ago
- Business
- Forbes
How Side Hustles Are Reshaping Work In 2025
By Rieva Lesonsky In today's economy, side hustles are no longer just a means to make ends meet; they represent a transformative shift in our working lives. Side gigs are evolving into substantial, often passion-driven businesses. What once began as weekend freelancing or after-hours crafting now stands as a path to personal freedom, creative fulfillment, and in many cases, long-term financial independence. This shift isn't just about money, but identity and agency as well. People are redefining success on their own terms, choosing gigs that align with their values and lifestyles. From selling handmade goods online to offering niche consulting services, individuals are creating microenterprises that reflect who they are and what they care about. Sites like Etsy, Substack, and Patreon aren't just tech platforms—they're entrepreneurial ecosystems where creativity meets commerce and side hustlers can take root and thrive. Starting and sustaining a side hustle isn't simple. You have to balance the demands of a primary job, personal life, and a growing side business. The dream of turning a side gig into a full-time business is real, but so are the challenges. Still, for many, the ability to build something of their own is worth all the late nights and early mornings. Side hustles aren't a trend. They're the new face of work. A survey from Intuit QuickBooks reveals that 54% of respondents plan to start a business in 2025. But for many, money is the biggest barrier to entrepreneurship—48% say they'd start a business if they had more money. Interestingly, while many side hustles start as passion projects, money seems to be a powerful motivator for those surveyed. Earning more money would make 61% of the respondents 'more satisfied.' And one way they plan to build personal wealth is by starting a side hustle. Even 43% of current business owners plan to start a side hustle to increase their income. To learn more about getting a side hustle off the ground, I talked to Joe Black, director of product management, commerce at Intuit QuickBooks. Rieva Lesonsky: Starting a side hustle has long been a great way to earn extra income, meet savings goals, or pay down debt. What's changed? Joe Black: The side business concept has evolved into a much bigger opportunity. Today, these jobs represent an alternative career path, offering a new outlook on how we work—and, more importantly, how we pursue our passions. According to recent data, rideshare drivers, bloggers, photographers, and virtual assistants are set to be popular side hustles, presenting an exciting opportunity for those with an entrepreneurial mindset to build something of their own while maintaining financial security. And as we navigate through the current economic uncertainty, building financial security through side hustles that can bring in extra income is something that is perhaps more top of mind than ever for many. Lesonsky: Often, entrepreneurs like to jump first and look later. What's the first step to getting started? Black: It can be tempting to jump right into a new side business when inspiration strikes, but you need a clear strategy with any new venture. Begin by defining your goals. Who are you trying to serve? How will you make money? What's your long-term vision? If you're not sure where to start, think about the skills you already have. Whether freelancing, selling a product, or offering a service, choose something that plays to your strengths. The best side gigs are the ones that feel more like a passion project than work. Lesonsky: Do you need a business plan for a side hustle? Black: Yes, it's essential to build a business plan. Outlining the details gives you a tangible road map to follow. Keep in mind that a business plan isn't set in stone—it can be as flexible as you need it to be. The key isn't sticking to a rigid plan but staying committed and adaptable as you grow. After all, it's the day-to-day work and adjustments that keep you moving forward. More from AllBusiness: Lesonsky: As I've already noted, juggling a full-time job and a side hustle is a serious time commitment. The survey shows that 33% of people planning to start a business this year also intend to keep their full-time jobs. How do they do that? Black: If that's your goal, you'll need to know how much time you realistically have and how to manage it effectively. This could mean working evenings, weekends, and the moments between your day job. Organize yourself with time blocking, using tools like Google Calendar or Trello when you need to schedule time for meetings, research, or content creation. But don't forget to pencil in breaks, too. Overworking is a surefire way to burn out. Building rest into your schedule is just as important as the hustle itself. Managing your time effectively means knowing when to step back and recharge so you can keep moving forward. Lesonsky: Once people start working a job and running a side hustle, are there any 'must-do' rules that help the business grow and keep them sane? Black: Yes, I have two. First, keep your business finances separate from your personal finances. Side hustles allow you to be your own boss and work at your own pace while simultaneously benefiting from earning a regular income from your full-time job. The survey shows that this is why 71% of side hustlers surveyed kept their day jobs. And now that you're running a business, you must track the money coming in and out of your business. If your personal and business finances are combined, it's much harder to gauge how your business performs. There are financial tools that automatically separate your business and personal transactions for easy review and organization. With clear financial separation, you'll have an easier time budgeting, preparing for taxes, and understanding where your business stands financially. Lesonsky: And the second? Black: Outsource support where you can. You don't have to do everything yourself, especially as your side hustle grows. Outsourcing is about knowing when to ask for help and identifying areas where you can delegate tasks to free up your time. Whether you need a graphic designer for your website or an accountant to help you maintain your books, platforms like Fiverr and Upwork offer affordable, skilled freelancers who can help with various aspects of your hustle. Lesonsky: Anything else you'd like to add? Black: The potential for a successful side hustle is limitless when fueled by passion and the skills you bring to the table. With the right mindset, now is a perfect time to turn your idea into something more. I'm thinking 2025 is "The Year of the Side Hustle.'
New York Post
23-05-2025
- Business
- New York Post
Simplify your bookkeeping with an Intuit QuickBooks lifetime license — now 64% off
Discover startups, services, products and more from our partner StackCommerce. New York Post edits this content, and may be compensated and/or receive an affiliate commission if you buy through our links. TL;DR: Handle business finances on your own with help from this lifetime license to Intuit QuickBooks Desktop Pro Plus 2024 for Windows, now just $249.99 (reg. $699). Want to take control of your business finances? You don't have to do it alone. Intuit QuickBooks Desktop Pro Plus 2024 gives you the tools to manage your books with confidence. And right now, you can save 64% on a lifetime license for Windows for just $249.99 (reg. $699). Bookkeeping isn't easy. But if you're trying to bring it in-house, Intuit QuickBooks Desktop Pro Plus makes it manageable. It was designed specifically for small business owners, freelancers, and accountants, so it's ready to ensure accuracy, efficiency, and seamless transaction tracking for users. Need help tracking how profitable certain jobs or projects are? Or the depreciation and value of fixed assets? Maybe you need assistance creating and managing sales orders from start to finish? Intuit QuickBooks can tackle that and more — like employee time tracking, enhanced bank feeds, and easy data import from Excel or older QuickBooks versions. There are no hidden costs with this lifetime license. It's easy to install on a Windows device and lets you bypass expensive monthly subscription fees. You'll also get access to all later updates and features with this license, so you don't need to worry about your version being outdated. Simplify your bookkeeping once and for all with this lifetime license to Intuit QuickBooks Desktop Pro Plus 2024 for Windows, now just $249.99 (reg. $699). StackSocial prices subject to change.
New York Post
08-05-2025
- Business
- New York Post
The money management tool real finance pros use just went on sale
Discover startups, services, products and more from our partner StackCommerce. New York Post edits this content, and may be compensated and/or receive an affiliate commission if you buy through our links. TL;DR: Replace your subscription with a QuickBooks Pro lifetime license on sale for $249.99 (reg. $699). Small business owners know that keeping the books in order can feel like juggling flaming torches. Between chasing late invoices and tracking every receipt, it takes time away from actually growing your company. That is why having a single platform to manage invoices, expenses, reports and more makes all the difference. Intuit QuickBooks gives you everything you need to streamline your business finances with one purchase and no recurring fees, and it's even on sale for $249.99 (reg. $699). Advertisement Intuit QuickBooks Desktop Pro Plus 2024 (1 User) for Windows: Lifetime License Installation is simple with step-by-step guidance, and you get direct official downloads and updates from Intuit, so you'll always have support. Once it's installed, you can use QuickBooks for everything from invoice creation to payment tracking. Expense tracking means every receipt is recorded automatically, so you avoid surprises at tax time. Enhanced reporting tools help you generate profit and loss statements, balance sheets and cash flow reports to guide smarter decisions. Need to know which projects are most profitable? The job costing feature breaks down income and costs by job or client. BUY NOW $699.00 $249.99 Fixed asset management lets you monitor equipment depreciation and book value without third-party software. Customer and vendor management keeps contact details, billing history and purchase orders organized in one place. If you carry inventory, improved inventory tracking calculates on-hand quantities and cost of goods sold. Bank feeds sync your accounts for faster reconciliation. You can even track employee time to allocate labor costs accurately. It's now only $249.99 to get a QuickBooks Pro Plus lifetime license, but it won't stay that way. StackSocial prices subject to change.
Politico
03-04-2025
- Business
- Politico
Small business stocks buckle under Trump tariffs
Corporate America is panicking over President Donald Trump's 'Liberation Day' tariffs. But while much of the attention has focused on major firms, small businesses are poised to bear the brunt of the pain. Even before Trump's announcement, the mere threat of massive new trade levies had sent a chill through the ranks of small business owners who are responsible for nearly half of all U.S. private sector jobs, more than 40 percent of the economy's annual output, and a third of American exports. The Russell 2000. which tracks shares of smaller businesses, on Thursday became the first major U.S. index to crater into bear market territory — meaning it has plunged more than 20 percent since peaking shortly after Trump's election — as investors braced for surging import costs on Main Street. Those losses have outpaced declines by larger firms included in the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average. Leaders of smaller firms are likely to be Republican , meaning Trump arguably has more to lose with them politically than with many other executives opposed to his tariffs. But even larger companies have had little success in convincing policymakers to help relieve the pressure. 'We've seen a parade of major corporations go to the White House urging restraint. It has had no effect,' said Gary Locke, who served as Commerce secretary and ambassador to China during the Obama administration. 'If these titans of industry don't have much influence, how could representatives of small businesses, mom-and-pops?' Trump's tariffs are coming at a critical point. A small business employment tracker published monthly by the accounting software firm Intuit QuickBooks found that employee headcount at the smallest firms — those with nine or fewer workers — plunged by nearly 100,000 in March, continuing declines that began last year . A quarterly confidence index produced by the Chamber of Commerce and MetLife dipped in the first three months of 2025 . A survey by regional Federal Reserve Banks found that, for the first time since 2021, a majority of small businesses reported a decline in revenue . And when it comes to small business hiring plans, 'I'm not hearing 'growth,'' Richmond Fed President Tom Barkin said in an interview prior to Trump's announcement. 'I'm hearing 'wait.'' Even among respondents to a National Federation of Independent Business survey — which has often been bullish on Trump's agenda — economic optimism faded last month . As the president pledged a series of tariffs, including sky-high levies on autos, steel and aluminum imports, he and top administration officials said the economy could withstand any disruptions or higher prices. 'When the president of the United States is saying that something is going to raise costs, that scares small business,' said Tom Sullivan, vice president of Small Business Policy at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Trump has insisted that his trade plans will yield big gains for U.S. businesses and the economy. 'For years, hard-working American citizens were forced to sit on the sidelines as other nations got rich and powerful, much of it at our expense,' the president said Wednesday. 'But now it's our turn to prosper, and in so doing, use trillions and trillions of dollars to reduce our taxes and pay down our national debt, and it'll all happen very quickly.' Prior to his announcement, House Republicans said they were unbothered by signs of weakness emanating from the small business sector amid looming tariffs, saying tax reform and deregulation should improve the outlook in the coming months. Rep. Roger Williams , the chair of the House Committee on Small Business and the owner of an auto dealership in Texas, told POLITICO Tuesday that Trump's tariffs can result in better deals for consumers if businesses cut prices to unload their existing inventories. 'I would be hit by tariffs [but I'm] not worried about tariffs, because people like me that have inventories, if we don't sell it, we discount it,' he said. 'The customer's going to get a discount.' Still, Wall Street economists are warning that Trump's tariff plans and any retaliation could lead to higher inflation, weaker consumer demand and an economic slowdown. If tariffs bring about both higher prices and slower growth, it could saddle the administration with a political problem over what's known as stagflation, a malady the U.S. hasn't seen in more than four decades. Small businesses 'are very sensitive to macroeconomic conditions,' said Ufuk Akcigit, an economics professor at the University of Chicago who led the development of the Intuit QuickBooks employment tracker. 'They are also typically like the canary in the coal mine. They are the first ones to be affected whenever things go badly.' Most economists aren't bullish on the ability of small businesses to handle the ensuing tumult. Analysts at Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase have boosted their odds for a recession in the next 12 months, and Wall Street is bracing for weaker first-quarter earnings to reflect the slowdown in investment and dealmaking. Bank of America economists say 'modest stagflation' is the most likely outcome this year, which could limit the Fed's ability to offer businesses relief in the form of lower interest rates. Bank lending standards were starting to tighten even before stagflation and recession fears started to mount. And small businesses are more reliant on loans than their larger counterparts, said Taylor Bowley, an economist at the Bank of America Institute who specializes in analyzing the institution's small business banking data. That spells trouble for smaller firms once they start feeling the pinch from higher input costs due to tariffs as well. 'They're not like large corporations,' Bowley said. It isn't as easy for them to navigate shifting supply chains or front-load their inventory orders to get ahead of new trade barriers. 'They operate on very thin profit margins,' Bowley said. 'Frankly, they just don't have the bandwidth or operating expenses to do that.' Katherine Hapgood contributed to this report.
Yahoo
31-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
How to Help Clients Prepare for April's Employer NI Increase
As UK's April's employer National Insurance (NI) hike approaches, accountants are in a unique position to help small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) manage the financial impact advises Pauline Green, Head of Product Programs and Compliance at Intuit QuickBooks Many businesses may struggle to navigate these regulatory changes—especially when those changes hit their bottom line and right now, business owners are facing a double hit: an increase in employer NI contributions alongside the rising national minimum and living wage. The reality is, many SMBs are feeling the pressure. We know that 88.3% of small business owners worry about making accounting mistakes, and 27.9% are very concerned about errors in financial reporting, payroll, and tax preparation and these fears aren't unfounded. Getting payroll and compliance wrong can lead to serious financial consequences. However, by engaging professional accounting support, SMBs can mitigate many of these risks and reduce the financial impact. So, how can accountants help clients navigate this shift? Understanding the potential impact of these changes and taking proactive steps to mitigate financial strain will be essential in ensuring businesses can manage increased costs without disrupting operations. Understanding the NI Increase and Its Impact The increase in employer NI contributions, alongside the reduction in the secondary threshold, means businesses will have to pay more per employee, raising payroll costs. Some industries and workforce structures will be impacted more than others. Businesses that employ apprentices will face an 18% wage increase, while those relying on workers aged between 18 and 20 will see their wage bill rise by 16.3%. Even businesses with an older workforce will experience a 6.7% increase in payroll costs. For industries such as retail and construction, where younger workers and apprentices make up a large portion of the workforce, the financial impact could be more severe. In retail alone, 13% of employees are aged 16 to 24, which means a significant number of businesses in this sector may need to find ways to offset rising costs while still remaining competitive. With increased payroll costs, businesses may reconsider their hiring plans. Some may panic and decide to freeze recruitment or scale back their hiring efforts altogether, placing additional pressure on existing employees. Salary structures may need to be reassessed, as some businesses have wage bands tied to the National Minimum Wage (NMW). If businesses choose to increase salaries across the board to maintain fairness, this will further increase costs. For businesses struggling to get a holistic view of these rising costs, they may resort to limiting pay raises and bonuses. However, this could have an adverse effect on employee morale and retention, making it harder to keep top talent engaged. Other business initiatives, such as sustainability programs and capital investment projects, may also be put on hold while business owners prioritise maintaining financial stability. Despite these challenges, there is relief available. The increase in Employment Allowance from £5,000 to £10,500, for example, will help offset some of the costs associated with the employer NI increase. Financial forecasting and payroll reviews: One of the most effective ways accountants can help businesses prepare for the NI increase is by conducting detailed financial forecasting and payroll reviews. Payroll is usually the biggest expense for any business, and predicting the financial impact of NI and NMW increases will allow business owners to make informed decisions. Financial modeling helps businesses understand how much they will need to set aside for payroll, while scenario planning can provide insights into different ways to manage costs without compromising operations. Understand the options: Another area where accountants can provide valuable guidance is in navigating salary sacrifice schemes and pensions. Salary sacrifice can be an effective way to reduce employer NI contributions, but not all pension schemes support this approach. Businesses will need expert guidance to understand whether this is an option for them and how they can implement it effectively. Pensions are another critical consideration, and accountants should help businesses explore the different tax treatments. Relief at source pension schemes, for example, may be beneficial for lower-paid employees earning between £10,000 and £12,570. Understanding auto-enrollment thresholds can also help businesses optimize pension contributions while remaining compliant. Support growth: Beyond payroll, accountants can help clients explore additional financial relief options, such as grants and tax incentives. Some businesses may qualify for government-backed funding or tax reliefs that could ease the burden of rising payroll costs. Identifying these opportunities and ensuring businesses apply for them in time could make a significant difference in their financial outlook. According to our recent Accounting for the SMB Economy report, 73.1% of businesses say that working with an accountant has strengthened their financial reporting, and has helped them secure business loans and government support. Hiring Strategies: Workforce planning will also be a key consideration for many businesses. With rising costs, some may need to reconsider their staffing strategies. For businesses that cannot afford to hire new employees, alternative staffing arrangements—such as part-time roles, flexible working hours, or outsourcing certain tasks—could be really beneficial. Part time staff in particular have a significantly lower tax dependency if they sit below certain thresholds. Perhaps open roles could be split into job shares to keep costs down. These sort of suggestions could help clients maintain efficiency while keeping costs under control. The employer NI, living and minimum wage increases present a significant financial challenge for SMBs, who may make kneejerk reactions without having all the information they need to hand. By leveraging payroll data and the right financial guidance, there is no doubt that businesses can navigate these changes more successfully. Now is the perfect time for accountants to step in and provide proactive, strategic advice. By helping with payroll forecasting, salary structuring, financial modelling, and hiring strategies, accountants can help businesses stay ahead of these changes and thrive despite rising costs. "How to Help Clients Prepare for April's Employer NI Increase" was originally created and published by International Accounting Bulletin, a GlobalData owned brand. The information on this site has been included in good faith for general informational purposes only. It is not intended to amount to advice on which you should rely, and we give no representation, warranty or guarantee, whether express or implied as to its accuracy or completeness. You must obtain professional or specialist advice before taking, or refraining from, any action on the basis of the content on our site. Sign in to access your portfolio
