Jameson CampAdvising on AI and GTM | 2x Exits

Not everyone should buy or build a business #entrepreneur #sidehustle

11 Sept 2025 · 1 min

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In this monologue, the speaker argues that buying an existing business is rarely a sensible route to financial freedom for most people. He emphasizes that a stable 9‑to‑5 job is valuable and often a better fit for many, especially those who struggle with traditional employment. The speaker warns against using large amounts of debt to acquire a business in an unfamiliar industry, labeling such moves as dangerous and unwise. Instead, he advocates a more prudent approach: using modest capital (e.g., $5k‑$20k) and limited leverage to purchase a low‑cost side‑hustle or small business that generates a few thousand dollars a month, then scaling it over time. He positions himself as a mentor who helps people follow this incremental, lower‑risk path to entrepreneurship.

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But the truth is that most people should not go buy a business. Most people should keep their job. This is not like a knock on 9-to-5s. 9-to-5s are amazing. Most of my family is involved with them. I just could never keep it up in a 9-to-5. I had to sort of get involved in entrepreneurship because I was bad at having a job. But some people think that buying a business is sort of like their way to financial freedom and like absolutely can be. But if your goal right now is like to pay your rent or pay your bills, you know, spending a lot of money up front to get something and you need debt, very dangerous. I'm not an advocate of that in any regard. I'd say is like either you have a lot of money and look to really finally leave your job or you you buy a side hustle, and that's much more common. I help people do that all the time. It's like, I don't spend $5,000, I spend $20,000, maybe use a little bit of debt, use a little bit of leverage, buy something that makes a few thousand bucks a month and grow into something more. But like, the idea that you're gonna like take your $500 and borrow $100,000 or borrow a million dollars and get something that like replaces your job tomorrow in an industry you've never worked in, it's just dangerous and stupid.