A little bit of extra money on the side is something everyone wants, and in some case in recent months and years it’s a necessity just to deal with the growing cost-of-living crisis in Scotland and throughout the rest of the UK and world.

Recent research showed that 30 percent of Scots either have a second job or are looking for one. Even more (47%) have said they are actively looking for new ways to supplement their monthly income, with many turning to ‘side hustles’ to bring in more cash.

The survey also found a significant proportion of Scots have considered selling items online to make money over the past 12 months, with 46% saying they have either sold or would consider selling clothes to make a bit more cash.

Other ‘side hustles’ considered by Scots includes stocks and shares trading, house or pet setting and setting up an online shop. When it comes to benefits, 30% of Scots said it creates greater financial breathing room with 28% believing it is a chance to earn money from a hobby, and more than a third (35% said it provides extra money for ‘treats’.

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It wasn’t all positive, though, with 20% saying they didn’t have time to take on a side hustle, while 16% feared the risk of losing money was too great.

Over recent years there have been some businesses which have started from side hustles and are now making waves in Scotland. One of those is Candle Shack, with co-founder and CEO Duncan Maclean saying the figures are ‘unsurprising’ and says they have noticed a significant rise in people turning to candle making as a primary and secondary source of income.

He said: “The situation may be improving, but factors such as high inflation and the increased cost of living are still causing people to feel the pinch, and many are looking to new ways to bring in additional income.  

“Since the end of the pandemic we’ve seen significant growth in the number of people taking up candle making as a business for multiple reasons – either monetising their hobby, or coming into it from something else completely. 

“Some see it as a ‘second job’, with the ease of setting up an ecommerce business removing previously held barriers. We’ve even seen people give up primary jobs because of how successful their candle making business is going. 

“It’s not just in this country too, we operate in countries across Europe, particularly in The Netherlands and Germany, and we’re seeing the same trends there.” 

Candle Shack was founded in 2010 and was Duncan and Cheryl MacLean’s own side hustle and has since become of the UK’s candle making giants. They are a one-stop shop for aspiring candle makers and support them with education, technology and materials. The firm, whose European operation is based in the Netherlands, already work with close to 10,000 customers include side hustlers, regional operators and major international brands.

Duncan added: “Cheryl’s experience as a Beauty Therapist helped us as we had already run a business before starting Candle Shack.  So, we had rented a premises, done book-keeping, handled customer support etc.  Cheryl was also brilliant at talking to customers, as beauty therapy is a very intimate 1-2-1 profession.

“My experience in the military helped with planning, and importantly, I was very comfortable with change and operating in an uncertain environment.  In fact, I think that ability to function when everything feels outside your control, was the single most important factor in dealing with the pressures of early-stage business.

“Originally we made no money in the first year from the business. We effectively paid for everything up front just because we knew that if we didn't do that, if you had one bad month, you would pack it in because you just panic." 

Cheryl continued: “You want to give up all the time but it’s definitely rewarding. We go through all these things when starting a business or a side hustle that turns into a business.

"It’s also having the belief in yourself as well, that’s the biggest thing, to just keep going."

Another side-hustle turned business is Vault City Brewery, which started in the kitchen of co-founder Steven Smith-Hay in 2018. Since then, they have developed into one of the top breweries in Scotland and recently introduced the London-living wage to their staff to ensure they can cope with the cost-of-living in Edinburgh better.

Steven Smith-Hay is the co-founder of Vault City BrewerySteven Smith-Hay is the co-founder of Vault City Brewery (Image: Gavin Hill)

They make sour beers and produced flavours such as Iron Brew, Cloudy Lemonade and Rhubarb and Custard with Deep Fried Mars Bar another option that has been developed by them.

He believes that having the passion for brewing is what made his side-hustle become a success having previously worked as an IT consultant. They have recently brought on board two industry heavyweights to increase their brand even more in the shape of Luca Lorenzoni and Martin Monro, who have been behind the growth of brands such as Anheuser-Busch InBev, Camden Town Brewery, Northern Monk and Rekorderlig.

Steven said: “It certainly hasn’t been the most conventional route into making sour beer. I enjoyed my previous career, but I didn’t love it – not many have a passion for IT consultancy. I always knew mine was brewing. It took time to build up the confidence to go all in, but when you see the sprouts of something special, it spurs you on to take the leap. 

“We’ve come a long way from our humble beginnings in the kitchen, and a spare room that doubled up as a customers and excise warehouse. When we started, sour beer was a very niche product, but it’s grown massively since then, although it still feels like we’re making it up as we go along!

“The origins of sour beer techniques go back centuries, and our focus is on making a traditional style more modern and accessible, and to get people talking about sour beers through our ‘you can’t do that’ ideas – from Rhubarb and custard to Iron Brew, Buckfast, and of course Deep Fried Mars Bar. 

“We’ve bootstrapped it from the kitchen to now, which means we don’t have a board breathing down our neck and can let our creative juices truly flow while taking probably too much care and attention into every single beer, often tweaking at the 11th hour. But it shows.

“To now be selling sour beer to the nations that created it – and to be gaining a real cult following there is massive for us, but also says a lot for the strength of Scottish brewing. We’re doing things differently, and people are standing up and taking notice.”