When it comes to economic decline sometimes one person’s trash is another’s treasure. Economists use the term ‘creative destruction’ to refer to the change process, where a new industry emerges from the ashes of another. Old firms, which are no longer profitable, close down enabling resources to move into more productive and profitable ventures.
Henry Ford’s automobile assembly line, digital photography, Kindles and Netflix are prime examples.
Creative innovation tends to happen when people have the time to dedicate to it, as was seen in the UK in the 1970s and 80s when unemployment was high, but so was creative output across both music and film.
The 2020 global pandemic has once again provided an opportunity for business creativity. Many couldn’t do their jobs due to lockdown rules or furlough. The UK government stepped up and paid 80% of workers’ wages as a temporary assurance that their position would remain open for them further down the line. The creative juices across the UK got flowing at kitchen tables, thanks to the workers suddenly being time rich and having a reliable source of income.
Industries that employ a high percentage of Millennial and Gen Z workers were hit hard by the pandemic – especially hospitality, travel, leisure and culture sectors and many have turned their hand to ‘side hustles’.
A side hustle is a sideline project that’s boosts income, indulges an interest, and this group were always going to be best placed to adapt, with 37 per cent of Brits aged 25-34 involved in a side hustle before the pandemic.
Many people, locked out of their regular jobs, discovered they could make money doing something else, which was often more enjoyable than their normal salaried jobs.
Chefs are now hard to recruit partly because many of those workers innovated away from hot kitchens, often with unsociable working hours, to become self-employed and sell food products from their homes.
Crafting also saw a boom in popularity with the likes of jewellery making and candle making becoming lucrative handmade pursuits. Sewing skills were also put to good use by many, making everything from face masks to pet clothing. More often than not, these were hobbies and passions that Covid-19 turned into revenue lifelines.
A survey by entrepreneurial hub, Virgin Start-up, found that two million British people had set up a side hustle during lockdown. It cited figures of UK company formation last year. From May 2020 onwards the average weekly number was up almost 30 per cent, from 12,446 to 16,157.
Research from Strathclyde Business School indicates that more people in Scotland than ever before are starting up their own businesses. Results show that nearly 250,000 Scots recently became active in starting up a business. That is one in 14 of us. A further 194,000 were entrepreneurs running more established businesses.
For young Scots the results are even stronger, with 60,000 or 13 per cent of people aged 18-34 in Scotland being early-stage entrepreneurs. At one in eight, that was the highest rate of the four UK home nations. Just 13 years ago this figure was just 3.5 per cent.
Side hustle and work diversification wasn’t evenly spread across the population however and the research tells us that there is still a persistent gender gap, with men more likely to be risk-taking with business ideas.
Non-white ethnic groups were markedly more engaged, with 13 per cent showing signs of early stage start-up activity, compared with 7 per cent for the white majority. The Highlands and Islands came top within Scotland, while the north-east fell behind its neighbours.
Encouragingly though, the findings show start-ups emerging evenly across the income spectrum, with early stage start-ups as likely in the wealthiest 20 per cent as the least wealthy 20 per cent in Scotland.
All this looks like good news. While the pandemic has certainly provided the spark which has seen side hustles boom, and often flourish, into viable alternative income sources – there have been other factors at play.
Efforts to turn around Scotland’s deep-seated problem with low levels of entrepreneurialism have been in the works long before the pandemic hit in early 2020. University courses have added entrepreneurialism programmes into courses, with tailored support from organisations such as the Prince’s Trust.
Now that in-person social interaction is returning, I want to see business incubators and networking events support and guide Scotland’s new entrepreneurs to ensure they continue the hustle long after the pandemic.
Construction leads the charge on green skills
With sustainability currently a hot topic as Glasgow gets set to host COP26, numerous businesses and industries are making their very own green pledges and committing to going carbon neutral.
The construction industry has come under the spotlight recently as it accounts for approximately 60 per cent of UK materials used and generates 47 per cent of the UK’s carbon emissions alone – with 80 per cent of that made up from buildings in use.
We have seen numerous businesses within the sector announce that they are tackling their impact on the environment head on, whilst both the Scottish and UK government have set ambitious targets to ensure the industry is in a full Net Zero Carbon position by 2045 and 2050 respectively.
How homes are built and run will need to completely change, and with that, the army of construction workers who are employed within Scotland will need to be retrained or upskilled.
It was great to see then that this process is already underway with a £3 million investment into a series of energy training centres around Scotland, set to improve the industry’s skills shortage.
Businessman Mark Glasgow, who owns the Edinburgh Boiler Company and Glasgow Boiler Company, has begun construction on the first Energy Training Academy in Edinburgh, with further sites earmarked for Glasgow and the north-east.
Citing the speed at which the construction industry is changing towards more sustainable technologies such as heating, Mr Glasgow believes that the skills shortage facing the industry is concerning. However, by providing a modern training centre with a focus on renewables, it will give both his own team and those keen to retrain or upskill a sure footing in the technologies of the future.
It’s a great concept and one that I’m sure we will see more of as we approach the government’s targets on net zero for the industry.
It Made Me Laugh
Art is subjective, however it seems that the majority of social media users are in agreement regarding Brechin City FC’s newest transfer.
The football club, which plays out of Glebe Park in the town, unveiled a 13ft Mel Gibson Braveheart statue, as the artwork takes up residence at the stadium.
The 12-tonne stone creation, created by local artist Tommy Church, received a mixed reaction, with many on social media comparing it to the infamous bronze bust of Portuguese footballer Ronaldo, located at Madeira airport.
It was the fourth unveiling for the Braveheart statue, which has enjoyed more homes around Scotland than some of the footballers plying their trade at the Angus club.
Let’s just hope this is the final stop for the statue in its career so far.
It Made Me Weep
While ‘side hustles’ for many may be on the up, it was sad to see that the number of new businesses in coastal and rural areas in Scotland have seen a significant decline in trading companies over the first 12 months of the pandemic.
New data from AXA UK showed that the average monthly number of new businesses starting up has declined across the UK during the coronavirus crisis, but the decline in Scotland has been particularly steep.
What’s more, the insurer, along with the Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR), revealed that the decline is most noticeable in the areas just outside major cities in Scotland.
As we navigate out of lockdown, I hope that the numbers of new businesses begin to pick up once again.
