Men are more likely to already have a side venture on the go, but more women are considering one for the future, research by notonthehighstreet revealed.

The poll of 2,000 people found budding entrepreneurs had an average of two side projects on the go.

Of the women who actively run their own side business, a third said they did so to make more money.

Skilled crafts, food and drinks, and education came top of the list of side hustles that women are likely to enter – while technology and gaming emerged as male-dominated ones.

The study found side hustlers spend on average of four hours a week on their venture outside of their full-time work.

Most have been maintaining their side hustle for an impressive 17 years – while one in five has been going strong for more than three decades.

The research was commissioned to mark International Women’s Day on Friday 8 March

Ella d’Amato, chief commercial and marketing officer for notonthehighstreet, said: “Of the six million businesses in Britain, only one fifth are run by women.

“So it’s fantastic to see this community taking matters such as flexible working, creative fulfilment and self-confidence into their own hands.”

Susan Fellows, 27, from Bedfordshire sells embroidered artwork on Notonthehighstreet under her brand House O’Fellows. By day, she is a tour operator.

Here, she shares three top tips for a successful side hustle.

Prioritise – you’ll want to say yes to everything and grab any opportunity that comes your way, which can be really exciting but also dangerous. If you say yes to too much, you’ll burn yourself out and your side hustle and day job will start to suffer.

Delegate – my small business is my baby so I feel very protective over it and want things done in a certain way. But when I have accepted help and delegated certain tasks to family like packing up orders, it’s been a massive help.

Get organised – this may seem obvious, but it’s something that I still find difficult, especially when juggling a busy workload. I tend to set some time aside at the beginning of the week and schedule when I’ll be working on my business, keeping in mind any other social or work commitments.