More than two-fifths of adults in Ireland are thinking about starting a business or embarking on a side hustle project in 2025.
For a variety of reasons, more and more Irish adults are catching the entrepreneurial bug.
New research as part of Enterprise Nation’ s Start Up Ambition report indicates that 42% of Irish adults are thinking about starting a business or pursuing a side hustle.
“Starting a business is more and more being seen as a mainstream career option and it’s something that the majority of working age people expect to do at some point in their life”
Taking control of work life balance (36%), monetising a skill or hobby (32%) or keeping on top of rising costs (30%) were cited as main motivators.
The annual Start Up Ambition Report found the trend applies almost equally across the generations, with those aged between 41 and 50 leading the movement (51%) followed by 31 to 40-year-olds (47%) and 45 per cent of the 18 to 30 age group saying they are thinking about starting up in the next 12 months.
Another third (33%) said 2025 was too soon – but still hoped to start a business at some point in their career.
Entrepreneurial inspiration
“The number of people who want to start a business is an emerging trend that is set to climb,” said Joanne Mangan, Ireland country manager for Enterprise Nation (pictured), a business support platform that counts more than 850,000 small businesses in Ireland and the UK as members.
“Starting a business is more and more being seen as a mainstream career option and it’s something that the majority of working age people expect to do at some point in their life.
“What’s also behind this the accessibility of technology that’s enabling people to increase their income while doing something they love or are good at. It’s also about good quality business support that helps people to get started and grow.”
Interestingly, when faced with a list of ‘well-known’ Irish entrepreneurs including Michael O’Leary and Orla Kiely a fifth (18%) said they were mostly inspired by a family member, with more than a third (37%) saying there were no relatable role models.
The research found that only two per cent said it was because they were worried about losing their job in the next 12 months, despite 35 per cent saying they were worried about the current state of the economy.
An impressive 51 per cent of the 25 – 30-year-olds were motived by doing something they enjoy to boost their income while the over 50s lead the trend to start a business to improve their work/life balance.
The most popular sector to start up in was food and drink (17%) and arts and crafts and creative and media (both 11%), with tech and artificial intelligence the most popular sector amongst men.
Connaught has the highest proportion of people considering starting a new business (29%) with Galway the most likely city in Ireland to see growth in new small businesses this year (58%).
The research found women were more likely than men to start-up as a side hustle alongside a current job or caring responsibilities (57%) compared to 49 per cent of men. The age group most likely to start as a side hustle was Generation Z – those aged 18 – 24.
Average earning expectations in the first year of running a full-time business in the first 12 months was €37,254. Women’s earning expectations are almost €15,000 lower than men (€29,513 v €45,314).
Side hustlers were expecting to earn an average of €7,450 over the first 12 months in business.
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