Latest news with #RievaLesonsky
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.'
Forbes
23-04-2025
- Business
- Forbes
The State Of Women Entrepreneurs: Reports Show Optimism And Growth
By Rieva Lesonsky Recently we celebrated Women's History Month, and women business owners continue to make history. The inaugural 2024 Impact of Women-Owned Businesses from Wells Fargo shows that women own 39.1% (about 14 million) of all U.S. businesses, a 13.6% increase from 2019 to 2023. A new report Women and Wealth: Growing the pie, creating opportunities from the Bank of America Institute shows women are positioned to be 'key drivers of economic growth' due to 'increased wage gains, coupled with the 'Great Wealth Transfer.'' The report stresses these gains are not at the expense of men but likely driven by the fact that the gap between male and female labor force participation rate (LFPR) and the employment ratio is narrowing in the United States. According to the report, 'This suggests the emergence of a job market that is providing more employment opportunities for working women." According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), women now make up nearly 47% of the total workforce. This means 'women's prosperity will help 'grow the pie' of total affluence, expanding opportunities across the board. And Bank of America's internal data shows, 'the difference in median annual income growth between men and women has fallen to around 4% at the end of 2024 from 6.5% in 2022. The Women and Wealth report shows there's still a significant gender/wage gap in America. But the younger the women, the smaller the gap. Women aged 16 to 24 earned 90.6% as much as men in the same age group. However, as women reach their peak earning potential (ages 35 to 54), the gap widens to about 81%. And the gap becomes a gorge when women aged 55 to 64 earn 76% of what men in that age group make. The Women to Wealth report says, 'Wealth is tilting female even without pay parity.' This 'Great Wealth Transfer' refers to 'an estimated $124 trillion that's expected to be transferred to women through 2048' via inheritance. This means American women will 'soon control more money than ever before.' Combine this with the fact that women today are more educated, enter the workforce at higher levels, have greater career aspirations with the expectations of higher pay, have fewer children, and stay in the workforce longer. The result is that 'women are in control of their finances earlier in their lives.' Plus, they're more financially literate and know how to grow their wealth from an earlier stage in their lives. Not all women in America face the same level of challenges. Research by Printful, reveals that some states offer women better access to funding, mentorship, and business-friendly policies. For details, check out Printful's post. The top 10 states for women business owners: Women small business owners are reaping the rewards as well. The 2024 Women and Minority Business Owner Spotlight, released by Bank of America last fall, shows that 57% of women business owners said they planned to expand their businesses in 2025 by: However, raising money has been an issue for these business owners. While 60% said they think women entrepreneurs currently have equal access to capital as men entrepreneurs, 22% believe they'll gain equal access sometime in the future, and 18% don't think women will ever get it. In addition, 25% of the women entrepreneurs say they've already experienced 'challenges' accessing capital for their companies. The financial struggle was underscored in the 2024 State of Women's Small Business Report from Block Advisors, which revealed that 42% of the women small business owners surveyed who had applied for a bank loan had never been approved. And 15% were never told why they were rejected. This resulted in 89% of the women self-funding using personal savings and credit cards. Like the women surveyed by Bank of America, these women were 'somewhat or very positive' (94%) about their businesses this year, and 75% felt 'very positive' about the financial resilience of their companies. Perhaps the most difficult challenge for the women surveyed in the Women and Minority Business Owner Spotlight was that most (63%) said they needed to work harder to achieve the same level of success as men business owners. But 45% are motivated by the desire to build generational wealth for their families. More from AllBusiness: While the small business outlook for women in the United States is mostly positive, the environment is not as bright for women entrepreneurs around the globe. A recent report from the Cherie Blair Foundation for Women, in partnership with Intuit and the World Bank's 'Women, Business and the Law' project, Empowered or Undermined? Women Entrepreneurs and the Digital Economy studied women running businesses in nearly 100 low- and middle-income countries. Women own businesses in many of these nations, including 47% of companies in Latin America and the Caribbean, 44% in East Asia and the Pacific, and 30% in Sub-Saharan Africa. However, the report states, 'The full economic potential of women's entrepreneurial spirit remains unrealized. Despite modest improvements in recent years, the World Economic Forum estimates it would take the world's women 152 years to reach economic parity.' The report is quite detailed, and I encourage you to read it. Here are some key findings. Of the global women entrepreneurs surveyed: For global women entrepreneurs, according to the report from the Cherie Blair Foundation, more access to digital tools is essential, and 'countries prioritizing digital and financial inclusion today will benefit from more equitable economies tomorrow.' The report concludes, 'The challenge now is not just expanding access to technology, but ensuring that women have the skills, security, and support to use it to its fullest potential so that they can thrive as business owners and achieve their economic ambitions.' American women entrepreneurs need much of the same. We all need to realize that when women prosper, everyone prospers. According to Bank of America Global Research, if women had the same labor force participation rate as men, it would increase U.S. Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by 3.9% or $1.1 trillion. Closing the gender wage gap would add another $866 billion to the GDP. And closing both the gender employment and wage gaps could boost the GDP by about 7.5% or $2.1 trillion. If this shift toward equality were to extend to the EU and the UK, the global economy could expand by $3.5 trillion.
Forbes
15-04-2025
- Business
- Forbes
How DOGE Will Impact The SBA And Small Business Owners
By Rieva Lesonsky As well as getting staffing cuts, the SBA will also be overseeing certain aspects of federal student ... More loan programs. The Small Business Administration (SBA) has long been pivotal in helping entrepreneurs and small business owners start and grow businesses. I have seen its accomplishments up close, having worked with them, on and off, since the end of the first Bush Administration. The agency has undergone significant transformations in recent months as part of broader federal restructuring initiatives. Notably, it was announced that the SBA would reduce its workforce by 43%, equating to around 2,700 positions. Additionally, the agency is set to assume new responsibilities, including overseeing certain aspects of federal student loan programs. These changes reflect a shift in the agency's role and priorities. We don't know if this shift will adversely affect the long-standing small business contracting goals (the percentage of federal contracts mandated to go to small businesses). Small businesses are also worried about the unknowns, such as loan processing times, the decline rates, assisting those (not just businesses) impacted by natural disasters, and what this implies for the agency itself and the millions of small businesses it supports. I talked to Ben Johnston, the COO of Kapitus, a small business lender and loan marketplace, for insight from the perspective of a small business lender. As the SBA likely reduces its lending activity, small business lenders are better positioned to serve small business owners as their need for capital becomes more acute. Rieva Lesonsky: How do you think these changes will impact the SBA? Ben Johnston: While the recently announced cuts to the SBA are considerable, the SBA has seen significant fluctuations in overall staffing nearly every year since the beginning of the pandemic. As the SBA's mandate grew to include management of the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) in 2020 and 2021, its staff grew as well, from 4,432 in 2019 to a peak of 9,806 in 2021. As the PPP program ended and the loans issued were either forgiven, repaid, or charged off, SBA headcount dropped, reaching 6,279 in 2024. While a 43% reduction in 2024 staff is significant, it is only 19% below pre-pandemic staffing levels, indicating that disruption to core SBA 7(a) and 504 lending programs may not be as severe as the headline number suggests. It is also important to note that the Biden Administration expanded the SBA's mandate to include new programs such as the 2024 Green Lender Initiative, which promoted the inclusion of mission-driven climate lenders, and the 2021 Community Navigator Pilot Program designed to help 'disadvantaged business owners' such as veterans, women, rural community businesses, and business owners of color, gain access to small business loans. This helped broaden the reach of the SBA as the share of loans disbursed to African American business owners grew from 4.9% in 2021 to 7.2% in 2024, and the share of loans disbursed to Hispanics rose from 8.4% to 12.5%. The new administration has taken aim at these programs, citing them specifically in their press release announcing staffing cuts. It is safe to say that many aspects of these programs will be eliminated, disproportionately impacting disadvantaged businesses. Lesonsky: How do you think the reorganization of the SBA will impact small businesses? Johnston: During the Biden Administration, certain origination fees were reduced to make SBA loans more affordable, and certain underwriting guidelines were relaxed to expand access. Over the past several years, losses on the SBA portfolio have risen, and in 2024, the SBA, which is normally a self-funding agency, experienced negative cash flow for the first time in years. In its announcement of staff reductions in March 2025, the new leadership of the SBA explicitly identified changes made to the 7(a) program under the Biden Administration as responsible for rising delinquency rates and the resulting shortfall. As a result, we expect to see higher fees and restricted underwriting guidelines on the 7(a)-product going forward. This will ultimately restrict access to capital for many small businesses and make it harder for numerous entrepreneurs to obtain capital for growth. Lesonsky: Do these cutbacks underscore how the SBA is underappreciated? Is it too late for the SBA to tout its accomplishments? Johnston: Traditionally, the SBA has enjoyed bipartisan support as, according to SBA data, small businesses generate approximately 44% of U.S. GDP and employ 46% of the U.S. workforce. However, since the pandemic, there has been some recognition that there was considerable fraud in the PPP program the SBA administered. While this is not necessarily the fault of the SBA as partner lending institutions were in charge of underwriting most of these loans, there is a sense by many in Washington that the SBA's mandate may have stretched too far and should be reined in. Now, with DOGE pursuing aggressive cuts across most government agencies, the SBA is a natural target. Lesonsky: The SBA collaborates with many entities, including banks, the Small Business Development Centers, Women's Centers, SCORE, and more. Do you anticipate any repercussions for those organizations? Johnston: The SBA has several partners who help it fulfill its mission, but the most numerous and arguably the most important are the 1,450 banks, credit unions, and non-bank lending institutions that underwrote and funded loans through the SBA 7(a) program in 2024. These banks receive a government guarantee from the SBA of between 50% and 90% on each loan they issue, depending on loan size and type, and are responsible for funding and servicing the loans they make on behalf of the SBA. Given the tighter guarantee restrictions we expect going forward, these institutions will likely see origination volume drop in 2025 and beyond. In addition, partner institutions such as Small Business Development Centers, Women's Centers, and SCORE are crucial for helping educate business owners about their financing options and helping them navigate the SBA application process. It is likely that new SBA restrictions will make their jobs harder and will mean that fewer of their constituents will be able to access financing in 2025. More from AllBusiness: Lesonsky: What organizations do you anticipate stepping up to the plate to fill in the gaps the SBA may not be tending to? Johnston: We expect traditional bank lenders to fill some of the void left as the SBA retrenches, but few will be willing to offer growing small businesses as favorable terms as the SBA, which often includes ten-year repayment terms and highly competitive interest rates. In addition, many non-bank small business lenders do not require collateral and use alternative credit data in their decisioning process, which will help fill the void. But once again, these lenders will offer shorter terms and higher rates than the SBA. Lesonsky: What's the future for women and minority-owned businesses given that DEI is 'dead'? The SBA offered specific help to these typically underserved groups. Now what? How do we ensure these folks get the help they need? Johnston: The current administration has made it quite clear that promoting diversity and offering any special assistance to traditionally underserved business communities will not be a priority for the SBA in the future. While that creates real hardships for these businesses, it also creates an opportunity for other lenders to better serve those communities and build lasting brand equity as a trusted provider of capital to these valuable businesses. Lesonsky: As a lender, how do you think these layoffs will impact SBA loans? Johnston: It is safe to assume that fewer SBA loans will be originated this year, given the announced staff reductions, expected credit tightening, and with the SBA taking on the additional responsibilities of managing approximately $100 billion in annual U.S. student loan originations. Note that the SBA in 2024 oversaw only $31 billion in total loan originations and did not perform the function of underwriting or servicing most of these loans. Merging the lending apparatus of the Department of Education with the existing infrastructure of the SBA is a huge undertaking and will inevitably impact the performance of both departments. About the Author Rieva Lesonsky creates content focusing on small business and entrepreneurship. Email Rieva at rieva@ follow her on Twitter @Rieva, and visit her website to get the scoop on business trends and sign up for Rieva's free Currents newsletter. RELATED: Microloans for Small Business: Learn What's Available and Whether to Apply
