Claim 8 of 22
Side hustle: start a side business
Is a side business a reliable route to wealth?
Verdict
Not established
The survival figures show that 48.5 per cent of the US employer establishments opened in the year to March 2019 no longer had employees in March 2024, and that 61.6 per cent of the UK businesses born in 2019 were no longer active in 2024 (calculated by this audit as 100 minus 51.5 and 100 minus 38.4). The BLS is read as counting an establishment as not surviving when its employment reaches zero (inference by this audit). The Australian median for 2023–24 shows that the typical business income is far below the average, so outcomes vary widely. No source tests the claim as stated, which concerns the wealth of people who start a business alongside a job.
The cost, from the book's own figures. Taken as stated, the claim points to the average when the typical result is far lower: the median Australian business income was A$13,354 in 2023–24 against an average of A$31,909, and 60.4 per cent of US nonemployer establishments took in less than $25,000 in receipts in 2024, before any costs.
Made by: Kagan, Guillebeau, Sabatier, Ferriss, DeMarco, Sanchez, Moran, and Campbell and Thompson.
Test it on your own numbers
- United States: IRS, Self-Employed Individuals Tax Center (irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employed/self-employed-individuals-tax-center), to check the filing and self-employment tax rules from $400 of net earnings.
- United Kingdom: GOV.UK, trading allowance (gov.uk/guidance/tax-free-allowances-on-property-and-trading-income) and GOV.UK, register for Self Assessment (gov.uk/register-for-self-assessment), to check the £1,000 allowance and the current registration deadline.
- Australia: Australian Business Register, applying for an ABN (abr.gov.au/business-super-funds-charities/applying-abn), to check whether you are entitled to an Australian Business Number (ABN) before applying.
The full test, with every figure dated and sourced, is in chapter 8 of the book.