As wages fail to keep up with household bills, research by Aviva found that 44% of part time business owners are driven by the need for extra income and 7 out of 10 juggle their business with a full time job.

However, nearly half of those surveyed (48%) plan to make their businesses full time with more than one in ten (15%) aiming to be a fully-fledged business within the next two years.

Of the part time business owners surveyed, 42% had turned hobbies such as photography, arts and crafts and cake-baking into part time businesses with the others surveyed providing website design, consultancy, retail and trade skills like decorating.

The research revealed that women are far more ambitious with more than a third (35%) of women planning to eventually make their hobby full time compared to a quarter of men (25%).

According to the survey, a part time entrepreneur has an average turnover of £3,800 per year. Those in the East Midlands have the highest turnover out of any region in the UK at £6,400 per year. The lowest turnover figures were in Northern Ireland and the South West, where part time business owners see an average annual turnover of £1,680 and £2,780, respectively.

For those planning to go full time, more than a quarter (27%) said they will only do so once demand exceeds their expectations. Gaining funding was the second most important consideration (16%).

Robert Ledger, head of small business at Aviva, said: “Nearly a third of part time ventures began as a chance to turn a hobby into a business, but it is understandable in the current climate that for most the need to supplement their income was the key driver.

“If you are thinking of setting up a business it is really important to carry out research before you start to make sure there is a market for your idea or product. Setting up on a part time basis can be a good way to test the water to see if those business ideas can work on a bigger scale.”