UK creative entrepreneurs turn art into income
Once seen as hard to monetise, Britain’s creative industries are now powering a new generation of entrepreneurs – with GoDaddy data showing that a rising number of creative entrepreneurs are turning their talent into sustainable income.
The findings come from the GoDaddy Small Business Research Lab, an international research initiative that studies the economic impact of more than 600,000 online small businesses in the United Kingdom and the attitudes of the owners who start and run them.
With nearly half operating as solo ventures (47%), entrepreneurs are leaning on GoDaddy domains and Airo to reduce barriers and scale faster.
Arts and design: a financially rewarding sector
For 1 in 5 owners (22%), their creative business is already their main source of income, compared to around 3 in 10 small-business owners nationally.
Two in five (41%) expect their business to grow this year, and nearly 4 in 10 (38%) are confident their income will rise over the next 12 months – both slightly higher than the national average.
Encouragingly, 3 in 10 (30%) are now fully employed by their business, reflecting strong demand for creative products and services in the UK.
This blend of artistic identity and commercial success shows that arts and design entrepreneurs are as ambitious – and often more optimistic – than the wider small-business community.
Lower barriers to entry
The research highlights just how accessible starting a creative business can be, with financial barriers to entry being lower than ever.
25% of arts and design microbusiness owners reported launching with less than £500 in startup costs.
Another 15% required between £1,000 and £5,000 to get their venture off the ground.
Entrepreneurs turning to tools like GoDaddy Airo to scale
Creative entrepreneurs are using AI tools like GoDaddy Airo to scale their businesses, with 27% of arts and design entrepreneurs having used AI for their business in recent months, and nearly 1 in 2 people (48%) reporting a positive impact in terms of time management, brand-building and lowering cost-barriers. Of those using AI, nearly three-quarters (73%) use it to create first drafts of content, highlighting its role in saving time and improving efficiency.
GoDaddy Airo enables entrepreneurs to quickly launch domains, build websites, and market their businesses – crucial for one-person ventures that make up 47% of the UK’s creative sector. To explore tools and inspiration for creative entrepreneurs, visit getstarted.godaddy/ag. By combining digital innovation with creative identity, GoDaddy is helping artists and designers turn ideas into opportunity.
According to further research from GoDaddy and Frontier Economics, the growth of digital microbusinesses delivers measurable benefits to the wider economy. A 10% increase in digital microbusiness density is linked to an average rise of £360 in median annual pay, 5.1 additional jobs per thousand residents, and over £26m in additional GDP for a typical local authority of 200,000 people.
Alexandra Rosen, head economist and GoDaddy Small Business Research Lab Lead, said: “Art and design entrepreneurs are showing that artistic ventures can be financially rewarding and already contribute to the British microbusiness landscape. It’s become less resource-intensive to turn creativity into income. Supporting creative entrepreneurs supports the greater UK economy in terms of pay, jobs and productivity, as our latest national research shows. We’re seeing an exponential impact from AI and digital tools through entrepreneurship.”