Think You Need a Startup to Get Rich? Think Again.
Building Wealth Your Way
When people think about increasing their income, the default assumption is often: I need to start my own business. While entrepreneurship can be an incredible path for some, it's not the only way to achieve financial freedom; and for many, it's not even the best way.
In reality, there are multiple paths to building wealth and creating a more fulfilling professional life:
A side hustle that brings in extra income and diversifies your skill set.
Entrepreneurship: starting your own business or startup.
Building passive income streams through investments, content, or digital products.
Skilling up within your current job to earn promotions, raises, or higher-paying roles elsewhere.
All of these are valid - and potentially lucrative - options. The "right" path depends on your unique situation: your current job, lifestyle, goals, risk tolerance, and interests.
You Don't Necessarily Have to Quit Your Day Job
One persistent myth? That financial freedom requires abandoning the 9-to-5 world. You can find opportunity, autonomy, and serious earning potential right where you are - especially if you're in a company that supports growth and advancement.
Doug McMillon began his career at Walmart in 1984 as a teenager, working part-time unloading trucks at a distribution center for $6.50 an hour. Over the years, he took on roles such as assistant store manager, buyer in merchandising, and CEO of Sam's Club. In 2014, after decades of climbing the corporate ladder, he became the CEO of Walmart. McMillon credits his rise to taking on diverse roles within the company and continuously learning from each position - Doug McMillon: Walmart's CEO, Decades in the Making
If you're stuck in a toxic workplace, significantly underpaid, or no longer developing professionally, it might be time to move on. But if you genuinely enjoy your work and see clear paths for growth, you don't need to escape corporate life to start thriving financially.
Sometimes the smartest move isn't a dramatic leap into entrepreneurship; it's a strategic pivot within your current role, or a calculated side project that lets you experiment without risking financial stability.
One Size Doesn't Fit All
What works brilliantly for one person might be disastrous for another; and what's right for you today might not serve you well in the future.
A parent with young children might prioritize stability and predictable hours, focusing on passive income strategies or targeted skill development. A person with substantial savings and fewer responsibilities might be perfectly positioned to take a calculated risk on a startup venture.
This isn't about following someone else's blueprint; it's about designing a path that aligns with your circumstances and aspirations.
Side Hustles: Finding Your Perfect Second Income Stream
Side hustles have become more than just a trendy term – they're a practical strategy for diversifying your income while testing new skills and interests. What makes them particularly powerful is their flexibility; you can scale them up or down based on your available time and changing circumstances.
The most lucrative side hustles typically align with your existing expertise or develop valuable new skills that compound over time. Consider these categories: Service-based hustles, Product-based ventures: Sell physical or digital goods, Content creation: Build blogs, YouTube channels, or podcasts and Rental and optimization plays.
Digital products and software-as-a-service (SaaS) stand out for their scalability and potentially passive nature. SaaS works best when you've identified a specific, persistent problem in an industry you truly understand. Technical skills help, though no-code tools have democratized software creation to an extent. Remember that SaaS requires ongoing maintenance and traditionally takes 12-24 months to gain meaningful traction. However, recent advances in AI have significantly lowered the barrier to entry. From faster prototyping to automated support and content generation, AI tools are helping solo founders build, launch, and iterate SaaS products far more efficiently than ever before; sometimes reducing timelines from years to just a few months.
Consider Pieter Levels' story with Nomad List. It began as a simple spreadsheet ranking cities for remote workers; something he created to solve his own problem while traveling. That spreadsheet evolved into a SaaS platform with thousands of paying members who access cost-of-living data and connect with other nomads.
His approach is instructive: he started with the absolute minimum viable product, added features gradually based on user feedback, and built in public. Today, his portfolio generates over $1.5 million annually; all grown from side projects built by a single founder.
Full-Time Entrepreneurship: The All-In Approach
While side hustles offer lower risk, sometimes a business idea requires your complete focus and commitment. Some ventures simply can't be built on nights and weekends. If you're developing something with complex operations or that needs to scale quickly, you might need to go all-in. However, the best time to make this leap isn't at the idea stage; it's after you've proven that people will actually pay for what you're building.
Before taking the plunge, ensure you have a financial cushion of at least 12 months of living expenses. Your life circumstances matter tremendously here; those with fewer financial obligations or specialized fallback skills can better absorb the risk.
Entrepreneurship is often the most glorified path to wealth, and startup success stories are everywhere. We constantly hear about founders who turned an idea into a billion-dollar business; like Brian Chesky with Airbnb, Melanie Perkins with Canva, or Patrick and John Collison with Stripe. These stories inspire for good reason, but they also set a high bar and often gloss over the years of uncertainty, risk, and grind that happen behind the scenes. While this path can lead to incredible outcomes, it’s not the only way to achieve financial freedom; and it’s definitely not the easiest.
The Hybrid Approach: Mix and Match Your Way to Wealth
The most effective path to financial freedom isn’t always choosing one strategy; it’s often about combining elements from multiple approaches. Think of it as a personal portfolio of income-building moves: side hustles, skill development, passive income streams, and entrepreneurial ventures working together.
This hybrid approach lets you test entrepreneurial waters with minimal risk while still enjoying the stability of a regular paycheck. You can skill up within your day job while testing a side hustle, use your salary to fund a digital product, or turn a small project into a passive income stream that eventually becomes a business.
Nathan Barry, founder of Kit(formerly ConvertKit), is a great example of this in action. He started building his email marketing SaaS while working as a designer, limiting himself to 20 hours a week. This constraint kept things sustainable and focused. As the business gained traction, he scaled his time investment. Today, Kit earns over $43+ million in annual recurring revenue; all rooted in a phased, hybrid approach.
The takeaway? You don’t have to choose one path. You can design your own blend based on your current capacity, risk tolerance, and goals—and evolve it over time.
Know Your Situation, Then Choose Your Strategy
Here's what matters most: there's no universal "best" path to financial success. By honestly assessing your situation, strengths, and goals, you can select the approach that makes the most sense for your current reality.
People are finding smart, creative ways to build passive income outside of traditional jobs. From renting out assets like backyard pools to turning digital products and handmade goods into online revenue streams, these side ventures prove you don’t need to quit your job to generate meaningful cash flow. Whether it's house hacking, e-commerce, or a niche product idea, the common thread is resourcefulness, consistency, and a willingness to experiment.
In upcoming posts, we'll explore how to maximize your chances of success with each strategy; whether you're climbing the corporate ladder, launching a product, or building automated revenue streams alongside your main job.
Whatever path you choose, make sure it's a deliberate choice that reflects your priorities and circumstances; not just what worked for someone else.
What's Working For You?
I’d love to hear which wealth-building path you’re currently exploring or most curious about. Have a question about advancing in your career, building side income, or making the leap into entrepreneurship? Leave a comment below; your input might shape one of the next deep dives!