Making Money

When a Side Project Actually Makes Sense

📅 Last Updated: June 2026 ⏱ 4 min read ✦ Get Rich Slow By Michael Azzolina · CPA · MBA
Quick Answer

A side project is worth the time in 2 cases. First, when it's your intended future main hustle and your day job is honestly subsidizing it while it isn't ready to support you yet. Second, when it compounds the career you already have instead of competing with it. Anything else usually competes with the higher-ROI move of getting better at your main job.

Most side projects are a distraction from the higher-ROI move, which is usually getting better at your main job. That's not the whole story. There are 2 real cases where a side project is worth the time, and they look different from the version most people picture.

Case 1: it's your intended main hustle

If the actual goal is to eventually replace your day job with the thing you're building, a side project isn't a distraction from your career. It is your career, in its early, unfunded stage. Your day job is subsidizing it while it isn't ready to support you yet.

The test here is intent. Are you building something you plan to go all in on once it can support you, or are you doing something on the side indefinitely because it's fun and pays a little? Both are fine. Only the first one is really a main hustle in disguise.

Case 2: it compounds your primary career

The other case is when the side project isn't separate from your career at all. It's an extension of it. This site is an example. Writing about personal finance in public builds a public track record in the same field I already work in. It's not competing with my day job for attention. It's reinforcing it.

The same logic is why I've also kept a hand in the family business over the years, doing some light FP&A work using the same background I bring to my day job. Earlier in my career, when I had more time, I used to work a shift managing one of the stores on Sundays, and I kept doing that for years. It wasn't about the money. Being on a retail sales floor a day every week or two, talking to customers, seeing the business in person instead of through a computer screen, kept me connected to the industry I'd chosen to build my career in, in a way a spreadsheet never could.

The question worth asking isn't whether this project is good. It's whether it makes the rest of your career better, or just takes hours away from it.

What doesn't clear the bar

A project that's unrelated to your career, that you don't intend to go all in on, and that pays modestly for the hours it takes, is probably a distraction dressed up as ambition. It feels productive. The math usually says otherwise.

The takeaway

A side project is worth the time when it's genuinely your future main hustle, subsidized honestly by your day job, or when it compounds the career you already have. Everything else competes with the higher-ROI move of getting better at your main job. Be honest about which category yours is in.

Frequently Asked Questions

When is starting a side project actually worth it?

A side project is worth the time in 2 real cases. The first is when it's your intended main hustle, meaning you plan to go all in on it once it can support you, and your day job is subsidizing it in the meantime. The second is when it compounds your primary career instead of competing with it.

What does it mean for a side project to compound your career instead of distract from it?

It means the project reinforces the career you already have instead of pulling attention from it. Writing in public about the field you work in, or staying connected to your industry through hands-on work, builds a track record in the same direction as your day job rather than a separate one.

How do I know if my side project is just a distraction?

Ask whether the project makes the rest of your career better, or just takes hours away from it. A project that's unrelated to your career, that you don't intend to go all in on, and that pays modestly for the hours it takes, is probably a distraction dressed up as ambition.