The Salary Calculator

For Seetal Jutla, a wedding and floral preservation artist, lockdown signified a new beginning — and it all started with a flower delivery.

In the UK, the side hustle scene is hotting up. Between 2023 and 2024, the number of side hustles increased by 20 per cent, with entrepreneurs now earning an average of £5,420 per year. This week, The Salary Calculator speaks to Seetal Jutla, the owner of Playing with Flowers, a wedding and floral preservation business, about her side hustle success and the joys of flower pressing.

When a colleague’s thank-you bouquet arrived at Seetal’s doorstep nearly five years ago, against the backdrop of Covid-quarantines and stay-at-home orders, it was a gift that let the light in. 

“[The flowers] were so lovely and I really appreciated the sentiment behind them,” said Seetal. “My manager suggested I press them.” 

Feeling inspired, Seetal placed the flowers in a book, and it wasn’t until five months later that she came across them again while tidying up.

“I decided to make something for a friend of mine — just a little keepsake in a frame — and that sparked the whole journey,” Seetal explained. 

Image credit: Seetal Jutla

From there, through trial and error, she began to experiment with different flowers (courtesy of her neighbour’s garden) and pressing techniques, making gifts for friends and family. 

“At the time, I wasn’t thinking I could make this into a business,” said Seetal, noting that the idea to press wedding flowers came from a friend. 

So, when a colleague announced that they were tying the knot, it seemed like a natural next step. “It grew organically from there.”

For Seetal, who had never felt artistic before, flower pressing became a process that brought her both a great sense of fulfilment and a method through which to practice mindfulness — especially when her mother passed away. 

“It was a kind of coping mechanism,” said Seetal, who added that flower pressing has continued to help her through her healing journey. “I think having something outside of my day job really helped as a distraction, but also as a creative outlet,” she said.

Establishing the building blocks

Seetal explained that along the way, she’s learned new ways to structure her work, expanded her skill set, and discovered tools that have helped her shape and streamline her business.

Having started from scratch, every day is a learning experience, she said, whether she’s using spreadsheets to track enquiries, frames and orders or building out her branding, social media and customer communications. 

Working out a pricing strategy in particular has been challenging, Seetal explained: “I think it’s really difficult when you’re doing something creative because people say, ‘How can you put a value on art?’” For Seetal, this means balancing affordability with valuing her time and skill.

According to Seetal, the wider flower pressing community has been a vital source of support, too, whether that’s helping to draft terms of service or connecting with local framers and florists.

“AI has also been an absolute godsend for streamlining and helping with the strategy side of things,” said Seetal, who juggles her side hustle alongside a full-time job. 

A business balancing act

Seetal is not alone here. Research from Sage shows that almost half of Brits now manage a side hustle alongside their job. 

“It’s challenging balancing a full-time job and the side hustle, especially because [the business] has grown quite significantly.”

Beyond flower pressing, which Seetal said requires both time and patience, a lot of work goes on behind the scenes, from business management to packaging and deliveries.

“Every challenge has made me more confident”

While compressing her full-time hours has freed up one day a fortnight to focus on order admin, Seetal noted that time scarcity is not the only challenge that comes with running a business. 

“It’s easy to compare yourself to others online — I fell into that early on, and it can be damaging,” she explained. 

Seetal noted that as someone who has often struggled with self-doubt, she finds it important to remember that everyone’s journey is unique, adding that social media “shows the highlight reel, not the process.”

“Every challenge has made me more confident,” said Seetal. “Now I feel ready to take on opportunities like wedding fayres and put myself out there more.”

Start small, be authentic

Indeed, for those thinking of launching their own side hustle, Seetal advised to start small, learn as you go and be authentic. 

“You don’t need a grand plan, just curiosity,” she shared, encouraging budding entrepreneurs to take mistakes as lessons, rather than failures.

“Keep the joy alive — it should bring you peace and fulfilment”

When building out your business, Seetal said that it’s also important to set boundaries to ensure your side hustle remains enjoyable: “Keep the joy alive — it should bring you peace and fulfilment, not pressure.”

One such boundary Seetal has put in place is containing the business to social media platforms like Instagram and Facebook, rather than launching a website.

“It helps me to manage not just my time, but also my commitment in terms of how much of myself I’m willing to put into the side hustle,” explained Seetal, adding that this decision also minimises business costs.

Likewise, the flower preservation artist said that it’s essential to keep both feet on the ground when making business decisions. 

“People ask me all the time, ‘Are you going to go full-time?’ ‘Are you going to leave work?’ It would be amazing if I did, but it’s just not realistic,” she said, adding that her side hustle is largely seasonal.

Image credit: Seetal Jutla

“Growth takes time, and stability matters,” said Seetal, noting that while one day she’d love to expand the business into full-time, for now, alongside providing an avenue for creativity, the business contributes an extra source of income each month.

Indeed, supplementing full-time income is one of the key drivers behind the rise in side hustles, recent Royal Mail research shows.

But, while side hustles may initially start as a means to boost monthly income, that doesn’t stop them from flourishing into more. According to a Small Business Britain and eBay survey, 39% of small businesses began as side hustles, with 46% growing into full-time businesses. 

And this year, Seetal’s business has continued to grow, with order intake doubling, something which she attributes to word of mouth.

“I love that what I do now brings happiness to couples, preserving something deeply emotional from their day,” Seetal said.