FUTURE TALENT November - January 2019/2020 | Page 10

F
FRONT OF HOUSE
THE ‘SIDE-HUSTLE’ CULTURE: THE NEW NORM?
With one in four full-time workers in the UK working a ‘side-hustle’ to complement their day
jobs, insurance provider Hiscox surveyed ‘side hustlers’ from a variety of industries and
age-groups to find out what drives them to take on extra work beyond their primary gig.
6-15 43% 57%
The number of extra hours
people work on their
side hustle each week The proportion of people who like to
have a side hustle in a different industry
to their day job The percentage of side-hustlers who
have plans to turn their venture into a
full-time job or would like to in future
20% 33-44 50%
The proportion of those aged 55+
who have a side hustle to
learn new skills
unrelated to their career The age bracket most inclined
(out of any age group) to
work 16+ hours a week on
their side hustle The percentage of marketers and HR
professionals with a side hustle who
commit 11-15 hours to it each week (the
most overtime of any discipline)
INTRODUCING THE HYBRID AGENCY
We talked to Ben Little, founder and director at marketing and innovation agency
Fearlessly Frank, about how the traditional relationship between agencies
and clients is evolving.
Why has this hybrid model evolved?
There are more start-ups and entrepreneurs than
ever. These guys don’t want to spend large sums
on traditional consultancies or agencies. But they
need support to develop propositions, new brands,
digital sites and so on. The hybrid model can lead to
longer-term relationships. You hope that the business you
co-create will not be the client that fires you!
How has this worked in practice?
One that’s doing well is Jimmy’s Iced Coffee. Jim and
his sister Suse came to us with a vision to create an
10 // Future Talent
iced coffee. He had returned from Australia where
the iced-coffee market is advanced. He wanted to
do it himself back in the UK. We teamed up to help
and over the years it’s been a fantastic success.
Another is Sherpa. They had an ambition to create the
word’s most disruptive insurance tech company.
That excited us. Fast forward three years and a
few million pounds in investment and we have a
product in the market and are now a fully regulated
insurance company.
What’s good or bad about this approach?
Working this way keeps us agile and connected to
the cutting edge of culture. It keeps us focused on
practicalities such as managing budgets and ensuring
products are delivered on time. It also incentivises
our employees. It has disadvantages too. We pump
a lot of time and money into our start-ups. Not all of
them work. We had one that fell through last year after
a lot of effort. But for us, the advantages outweigh
the disadvantages.
How is the agency-client relationship changing?
When we founded Fearlessly Frank in 2005, we
saw a gap in the market between conventional
consultancies and communications agencies. We
created a hybrid model, co-creating, co-owning and
co-investing in projects. If we feel passionate about
an idea, we can help clients with a combination of part
fee, part equity. We’re not alone in this space now.
TREND
TO
WATCH