‘My Google job was just for the money’: the professionals funding their dream careers
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"My job just pays the bills", so goes the hackneyed phrase. But for those with passion projects or businesses on the side , a career does more than put food on the table: it provides the financial firepower to pursue their true passion.
When Judit Kollo took a job at Google, people presumed it was her dream – but it was just a means to an end. It enabled her to dedicate time to her real calling: ceramics.
Kollo fell into a tech career after art school. "My plan was only to work in tech for a few years and get into a secure financial position, then go back to ceramics," she says.
In the beginning, Kollo worked round the clock to pursue her passion. "In 2014, I remember working 9am to 6pm for an agency, going to the studio at 2am before the office, then working until midnight on pieces for a show," she says.
Balancing her day job and her art became unsustainable when her son, David, was born in 2016.
"I decided that I needed to focus on my day job and my family," she says. "My husband and I agreed that I would stay in tech for seven more years and then I could go back to art."
She applied for a job at Google because it was the best way to maximise her earnings while working on her artwork.
"The days were very long and the work was hard," she says.
Kollo's salary as a user experience (UX) interaction designer rose to almost six figures. By contrast, according to jobs website Glassdoor, the average earnings of a professional ceramics artist stand at just £30,000.
"I taught a drawing class for Google staff," Kollo says. "I loved giving other people a creative outlet, but it made me miss ceramics even more."
According to polling company Gallup, just 10pc of British employees are engaged at work; the other 90pc have no passion for their employment. The study found that more than a quarter felt sad every day at work.
Judit used to work in her studio from 2am before going to her day job at Google - Matt Writtle for The Telegraph
The turning point for Kollo came in 2021. She and her husband saved up enough to move to a house with space for a ceramics studio.
In 2023, Kollo was coming to the end of her seven-year plan. She'd had her daughter Eva two years previously and job security at Google was at a low following mass lay-offs . She felt euphoric on a flight home from New York, where she had spent the weekend installing her artwork.
"I knew this was how I wanted to feel for the rest of my life," she says.
Kollo stepped away from her full-time job in 2024 to start Judit Kollo Ceramics.
"It was the hardest thing I have ever done," she says. "I didn't know whether I could turn my passion into a real business. I was so consumed by my decision to leave that I didn't plan for what happened next."
It's an expensive passion: paying to exhibit at major shows can cost upwards of £5,000 and Kollo works with parian porcelain, which costs £20 a kilogram.
She had £70,000 in savings when she left her job and she budgeted to spend a maximum of £30,000 in the first year. She has previously paid into a pension but is no longer making contributions as she never plans to retire.
Becoming a full-time artist has only been possible because of Kollo's husband, Daniel, she stresses.
"Without the stability of Daniel's job, there's no way I could devote myself to ceramics," she says. "I teach a drawing class and that's my only income right now."
Kollo is aiming for a turnover of £100,000 next year, which would make Judit Kollo Ceramics viable.
"The tiniest success, when you work for yourself, feels better than the biggest promotion," she says.
She hopes that her decision to follow her dreams will inspire her children to look beyond the nine-to-five.
"We only live for so long. We need to do things we believe in, that make us happy," she says.
"If I need to, I can always go back to contracting. I don't want to wake up in 10 years and regret that I never took the chance to turn my passion into my career."
'It started as a side hustle but it's taken on a life of its own'
By day, Alison Burton works as a pharmaceutical recruiter. In the evenings and on weekends, she is the founder of March Muses, selling gifts and decorations that represent black, Latino and Asian communities.
This passion project began after a conversation with her friend, now business partner, Natalie Duvall.
Burton explains: "One Christmas, when her seven-year-old daughter was decorating the tree, she asked, 'Can angels have brown skin?'
"Natalie said, of course they can. But when we went to find some, there were no black angels anywhere in the UK. We decided to do something about it."
Alison Burton was recognised at the Black British Business Awards in 2025
In October 2019, the pair launched their business on Instagram with six Christmas products: angels with black and brown skin. They sold out in 10 days.
"It was amazing to see the response," says Burton. "It started as a side hustle but it's taken on a life of its own."
Since then, the business has grown substantially. In 2023, they signed a nationwide licensing deal with Tesco. It means that the supermarket giant will sell their Christmas decorations and their lifestyle range, which includes mugs, water bottles and pyjamas.
Some of the UK's most successful entrepreneurs had passion projects that became financial juggernauts.
Lord Sugar was working on a market stall, aged 21, when he started selling aerials and electronics on the side. He went on to make millions with Amstrad.
The young Vivienne Westwood worked as a primary school teacher, creating handmade jewellery and clothing in her spare time. Her designs went on to define the punk rock movement in the 1970s and she was worth an estimated £50m when she died.
In 2022, March Muses secured a £50,000 investment on the BBC programme Dragons' Den from Deborah Meaden and Peter Jones. The money will help them meet demand. Turnover is set to hit £120,000 following the Tesco deal.
However, for now, both women need to keep their day jobs.
"We both earn good money in senior positions," says Burton. "But we are both single mothers, so we have to keep the lights on at home, which means we need stability.
"We have paid ourselves on occasion but never taken a full salary. In our second year, we both bought a new car."
The pair are in talks to secure listings in other major high street retailers, which could move them closer to their goal. Burton was recognised at the Black British Business Awards last year.
"We would need the business to pay both Natalie and I at least £70,000 a year to allow us to go full-time," says Burton.
Turning March Muses into a fully formed brand has been hugely rewarding, says Burton: "I'll never forget shopping in Tesco last Christmas and seeing my wrapping paper in other people's trolleys. It was such a moment."
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