Would You Ever Start a Side Business?

Vocabulary

Aspiring – hoping to achieve something in the future; not yet successful at it.

Example – Aspiring entrepreneurs often overestimate how much money they need to start a business.

Startup costs – the money needed to begin a new business.

Example – Many people overestimate the true startup costs of opening a small business.

Freelance – working for different clients on individual projects, rather than being employed by one company.

Example – She does freelance graphic design work on weekends alongside her full-time job.

Confidence – a feeling of trust in your own abilities or judgment.

Example – A lack of confidence in managing money stops many people from starting a business.

Leap – a big, often risky, step or decision.

Example – Fear of failure stops many aspiring entrepreneurs from ever taking the leap.

Article

Would you start a business on the side of your main job? According to recent research from business software company Intuit, a growing number of people are answering yes. About one-third of U.S. adults now say they plan to start a business or side hustle this year, a huge jump compared to the year before. Interest is especially high among younger workers: more than four in ten Gen Z adults say they are considering starting something of their own, compared to roughly one in five from older generations.

Much of this activity is already happening quietly, without ever becoming an official “business.” Close to half of adults say they earned money from a side hustle in the past year, through freelance work, reselling, tutoring, content creation, or small-scale crafts, but only about one in five of them ever registered it formally. Researchers sometimes call this the “invisible entrepreneur” economy: real income, real effort, but no official paperwork, business license, or tax registration behind it.

So what is stopping more people from making it official, or starting in the first place? Money is consistently the biggest barrier. Nearly half of aspiring entrepreneurs name startup costs as their top concern, and many wildly overestimate what they will actually need. On average, people who have not yet started a business believe they need around $28,000 to get going. Business owners who have already launched something, however, report a median startup cost closer to $12,000, less than half of what aspiring founders assume. That gap alone may be enough to talk some people out of trying at all.

Confidence is another factor. Roughly half of people considering starting a business say they do not feel confident managing basic financial tasks like cash flow or taxes, and about a third cite fear of failure directly as a reason they have not taken the leap. Access to credit or start-up funding is a further obstacle for many, particularly for those without savings to fall back on if things do not go as planned.

Artificial intelligence is starting to change part of this equation. Roughly two-thirds of aspiring entrepreneurs say they are likely to use AI tools somewhere in the process of launching a business, for tasks like writing a business plan, designing a logo, researching competitors, or drafting marketing copy. Millennials report the highest adoption, with about three-quarters planning to lean on AI tools for branding and early-stage development. Supporters argue this lowers the cost of tasks that used to require hiring outside help, effectively shrinking that startup-cost gap. Critics counter that AI-generated branding and content can make new businesses look generic, and that judgment, relationships, and hands-on experience still matter more than any tool.

Outside the United States, similar patterns are visible. Across much of Asia, freelance platforms, livestream selling, and social-media-based small businesses have grown quickly, particularly among younger workers balancing a side project with a full-time job or studies. Lower barriers to reaching customers online, through short-form video, messaging apps, and marketplace platforms, mean someone can effectively test a product or service with almost no upfront investment beyond their own time.

Not everyone who starts a side hustle wants it to become a full-time business, and that may be part of its appeal. A side project can be a way to test an idea with limited risk, build a skill outside the structure of a regular job, or simply earn some extra income without betting everything on it succeeding. For some, that is the whole point: a creative outlet or safety net, rather than a plan to quit their job entirely.

Whether the barrier is money, confidence, time, or simply not knowing where to start, the underlying appeal does not seem to be fading. If anything, the combination of lower-cost tools, more flexible work arrangements, and a generation that grew up watching side hustles turn into real careers suggests this is a trend worth watching rather than a passing moment.

For anyone thinking about starting something small on the side, the research suggests the biggest first step may simply be closing the confidence gap: recognizing that most successful side businesses started smaller, cheaper, and less polished than the founder originally imagined, and grew from there through trial, error, and a willingness to keep going after an early mistake.

Discussion

Have you ever thought about starting a side business? What would it be?

What do you think is the biggest thing stopping people from starting a business: money, time, or confidence?

Would you trust AI tools to help you write a business plan or design a logo? Why or why not?

Do you think it is better to start small and test an idea, or to plan everything carefully before launching?

What skills or hobbies do you have that could become a source of side income?

Is failure in business something to be afraid of, or something to learn from?

Sources

Intuit QuickBooks: 2026 Entrepreneurship Trends – Business Intent, Money Barriers & AI Tools