HEAAADERLOGORIGHT

BUSINESS ENGLISH · BUSINESS ISSUES · INTERMEDIATE (B1-B2)

SIDE
JOBS
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1 Warm-up

Why do you think someone might start their own business while still working full-time?

2 Key vocabulary

Match the words on the left to their definitions on the right.

1. focus a. a company that gives advice about a particular subject

2. an entrepreneur b. a company that recently began business

3. a start-up c. a person who starts a business after seeing a way to make money

4. a consultancy d. helpful and encouraging

5. retain e. to concentrate your attention on something

6. tackle f. to keep or continue to have something

7. supportive g. to make a big effort to deal with something

8. expectations h. what someone believes you should be able to do

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INTERMEDIATE (B1-B2)

SIDE JOBS

3 Before you read

You are going to read an article about the trend in the UK to have your own business and still work
full-time at another job. Before you read, with a partner, rank the reasons to do this from the most
important (1), to the least important (6). Compare your answers with other pairs. Then read the text
to find out which reasons are mentioned in the article.

1. More income.
2. It could eventually become a career.
3. You develop skills which can be useful in your full-time job.
4. You can make a lot of business connections.
5. You get to do something you really want to do.
6. You can learn a lot about running a business.

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INTERMEDIATE (B1-B2)
SIDE JOBS
Side hustle: spare cash or extra stress?
2017 was a big year for the ‘side hustle’
1.
When Mike Ruffles launched his own business in
September 2017, he didn’t quit his job.
2.
"I could have spent a long time saving and then quit
my job and focused full-time on making Beardpoo
a success," Ruffles, 28, said about the set of beard
shampoo and moisturiser products he created with
two friends, with the idea of giving 25% of the profits
to charity.
3.
He said that he didn’t want to completely change his
lifestyle to start the company because it would have
been less fun and more stressful to run the business.
4.
Ruffles still works full-time at a not-for-profit
company that gives out loans from the Government
to start-ups, and helps entrepreneurs get support for
their businesses. Almost half of the entrepreneurs
that have received loans since March 2014 from the
company kept their full time job - 48% of 2,131
people.
5.
This way of working now has a name: the side hustle
- a business on the side of your main job to bring
in extra cash. Some companies, including Adaptive
Lab, a digital consultancy in London, try to create an
environment suitable for staff who have a side hustle,
so that they attract and retain the best employees.
Policies are developed in response to employees
needs, but also to make sure that employees are
available at important times, for example when a big
project is in its final stages.
6.
It’s perhaps not a coincidence that the side hustle
now has a name, as it has come at a time when the
need for extra income has increased. In the UK, the
rising cost of living means that the value of UK wages
has shrunk by 0.4 %. In this environment, side hustles
aren’t just nice to have, but are also a way to pay the
bills.
7.
Kayleigh Smart, talent leader at Adaptive Lab, says
that flexible working presents many challenges for
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HEAAADERLOGORIGHT
companies that were once part of something larger,
or were bought by other companies. She adds:
"When you have people in jobs for 20 years, their
attitude to work and how things should be done is
stuck in a certain time."
8.
The greatest challenge is for the employee, who must
balance two different jobs. Smart says she asks
people if they have a weekend, and the reply she gets
is that people have to be very strict with themselves
to take time off.
9.
An employee of Adaptive Lab, Fiona Hannah, who
also runs a street food company, says this is the main
challenge for her, to strike a balance between her full-
time job and her side hustle. She also says that you
need supportive teams around you, plus you need to
be good at managing your diary and your employer’s
expectations.
10.
Ruffles agrees that it’s important to have supportive
employers. "It really helps if your employer knows
about it," he says. He states that customers don’t care
if you have a full-time job, and if there’s a problem
they want you to deal with it asap, so sometimes you
have to dip in and out of your side hustle during the
day.
11.
Ruffles says he often brings packages of Beardpoo to
work to take to the post office: "If I had to try and
do all of that in secret it would be super stressful and
probably wouldn’t happen."
12.
So, thinking about these challenges, why does
anyone bother? "You get to run a business without
having the risk of running out of money and not being
able to pay your bills," Ruffles says. "Secondly I’m
learning so much tackling all the challenges that come
with running your own business and it’s really helping
with my day job."
Adapted from the Independent, by Hazel Sheffield, 4th
of January, 2018
3/5
 HEAAADERLOGORIGHT
INTERMEDIATE (B1-B2)

SIDE JOBS

4 Checking understanding

Read the text again and put ‘T’ (True) or ‘F’ (False) next to each statement below. Say why the false
answers are not true.

1. Mike Ruffles saved money for a long time before he started his own business.
2. After business costs, a quarter of the earnings from Beardpoo go to good causes.
3. The amount of money that people earn in the UK has gone down by 0.4%.
4. People with side hustles don’t find the time to go on holiday.
5. Giving equal attention to more than one job is the most challenging thing for people with a side
hustle.
6. You shouldn’t tell you employer if you have a side hustle.

5 Find the words

Find a word or phrase in the text which means ...

1. during the whole working week (adverb, P.2):

2. after thinking about (phrase, P.5):
3. a situation where two or more things happen at the same time by chance but have a connection
(noun, P.6):
4. the increase in the amount of money a person needs for an average lifestyle (phrase, P.6):

5. got smaller ((verb - past participle form, P.6):

6. unable to move from a specific period in the past (phrase, P.7):
7. keep coming back to something for short periods of time (phrase (informal), P.10):
8. without anyone knowing (phrase, P.11):

6 Work collocations

Match the verb on the left to the words on the right to make collocations from the text.

1. run a. a balance

2. receive b. a business

3. take c. a loan

4. give d. (the profits) to charity

5. strike e. time off

6. quit f. your job

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INTERMEDIATE (B1-B2)

SIDE JOBS

7 Talking point

Discuss any of the questions below in pairs or groups.

1. Is there a trend in your country to have a side hustle?

2. Do you think a side hustle has more advantages or disadvantages?
3. What kind of business would you start if you had the time and money?

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TEACHER MATERIALS · INTERMEDIATE (B1-B2)

SIDE JOBS

Key

1. Warm-up

Encourage a short discussion.

2. Key vocabulary

Students can work in pairs and check with the teacher.

1. e 2. c 3. b 4. a 5. f 6. g 7. d 8. h

3. Before you read

Students can work alone and check answers in pairs.

Reasons to have a side hustle which are mentioned in the article: 1. More income (paragraph 6), 3. You develop
skills which can be useful in your full-time job (paragraph 12), and 6. You can learn a lot about running a business
(paragraph 12).

4. Checking understanding

1. F - He says he could have spent a long time saving money before he set up his business - but he didn’t.
2. T - 25% of the profits go to charity.
3. F - The value of wages has decreased by 0.4%.
4. T
5. T
6. F - It helps if they know about your side hustle.

5. Find the words

1. full-time 2. in response to
3. a coincidence 4. the rising cost of living
5. shrunk 6. stuck in a certain time
7. dip in and out of (your side hustle) 8. in secret

6. Work collocations

Students can work in pairs and check with the teacher.

1. b 2. c 3. e
4. d 5. a 6. f

7. Talking point

Monitor the activity. Make a note of any typical errors and write useful words on the board.

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