The Side Hustle Myth Why Aspiring Solopreneurs Need a Parallel Income Stream for Financial Independence

Side hustles aren’t enough for the aspiring solopreneur seeking financial independence (FI). Why? Taxes.

The US tax law is optimized for people who own real estate and equity in companies. You need to own assets. Still working your day job? Instead of a side hustle, think parallel income streams. Only entertain business ideas outside of your day job that have the potential to exceed what you currently make. Why? You want more post-tax cash. Take that new cash and zero out your debt (excluding your home if you own one). Once you’re debt free, use your cash to buy an ETF like $VTI to accumulate passive income assets. This is the unlock. The financially independent solopreneur has infinite runway. Assuming an 8% return on your passive investments and 4% inflation, you’re left with 4% per year on every dollar you invest. Truly passive. This maps to the standard 25x rule. That’s where you multiply your annual expenses by 25. The resulting number is your FI target. You won’t get there with a side hustle. You want a parallel income stream that leads to full-time solopreneurship. Don’t worry if your FI target sounds scary. You can reach it by selling your unique talent stack. I guarantee that your existing talent stack is worth more than you realize. We’ll talk about that more.