Side Hustles for Freedom

Shaan describes his approach to earning side income during his early entrepreneurial days by calculating the minimum amount he needed to earn to maintain maximum freedom, rather than trying to stack dollars in the bank account.

Key Points:

• Calculate Minimum Income Needed:

  • Determine the bare minimum amount of money required to sustain yourself
  • Optimize for freedom, learning, adventure, and fun rather than maximum earnings
  • This approach allows you to focus energy on building skills and exploring opportunities

• Side Income Activities:

  • Coached basketball at a school for autistic children
  • Tutored college students in statistics
  • Earned $25-30/hour from these activities

• Strategic Philosophy:

  • When you're young, optimize for freedom and learning over money accumulation
  • Money is a tool for freedom, not the end goal itself
  • This same principle can be applied to companies: calculate minimum funding needed to reach the next milestone (e.g., getting to 1,000 customers who love your product)

• Living Minimally:

  • Slept on air mattresses
  • Used a garbage bag nailed to the wall instead of proper trash setup
  • Drank from a free Gatorade cooler from a gym
  • Learned how little you actually need to live on