Have you ever found yourself mesmerized by those Instagram reels or TikTok videos where someone proudly declares they’re juggling 15 side hustles, from Uber driving to Etsy crafting, all while sipping a latte? It’s the modern-day equivalent of a peacock’s display—impressive, but is it actually productive? Personally, I think this obsession with stream counting is one of the most overhyped myths in the gig economy. And Cody Berman, a guy who once bragged about running 19 income streams, now calls it ‘so dumb.’ Ouch. But here’s the kicker: his story isn’t just a cautionary tale; it’s a masterclass in what really matters when building a sustainable side hustle.
The Myth of More: Why 19 Streams Might Be 18 Too Many
Let’s start with the math, because it’s brutal. Imagine spending hours on a side hustle that pays $2 an hour—like online surveys—while your day job could earn you $37.41 an hour. What many people don’t realize is that every hour spent on the low-paying gig is an hour not spent maximizing your earning potential. Multiply that by 19 streams, and you’re not just underpaid—you’re self-sabotaging. Attention is a finite resource, and context-switching between 19 different tasks is the mental equivalent of running on a treadmill with no end in sight. From my perspective, this isn’t entrepreneurship; it’s glorified busywork.
The Real Asset: Skills, Not Streams
Here’s where Berman’s story gets fascinating. After trying 30 businesses in two years, he realized the real value wasn’t in the streams themselves—it was in the skills he picked up along the way. Copywriting, email marketing, podcast editing—these are the compoundable assets that actually move the needle. One thing that immediately stands out is how transferable skills become the currency of long-term success. A $50-a-month gig teaching you email marketing is worth infinitely more than a $200-a-month gig that teaches you nothing. If you take a step back and think about it, this reframes the entire side hustle narrative. It’s not about how many streams you have; it’s about what those streams are teaching you.
The Skill Transfer Test: The Only Metric That Matters
This raises a deeper question: how do you evaluate a side hustle? Berman’s advice is blunt but brilliant—ask yourself, ‘Does this teach me a skill I can resell or leverage later?’ For example, editing a podcast for $2 an hour might seem like a rip-off, but if it teaches you audio production, scripting, and client management, you’ve just unlocked a skill set that could bill at $75 an hour down the line. In contrast, 100 hours of filling out surveys leaves you with $200 and zero transferable skills. What this really suggests is that not all losses are created equal. Some are investments in disguise.
The Macro Backdrop: Why This Matters Now More Than Ever
What makes this particularly fascinating is the timing. Consumer sentiment is in recessionary territory, savings rates are plummeting, and people are desperate for second incomes. But here’s the catch: in a time when margins are thin, choosing the wrong hustle isn’t just a financial mistake—it’s a missed opportunity. The year you spend on a low-value gig could have been spent building a skill that pays dividends for a decade. From my perspective, this isn’t just about side hustles; it’s about strategic survival in an uncertain economy.
How to Hustle Smarter, Not Harder
So, how do you avoid the 19-stream trap? Here’s my take:
- Set a learning budget, not an income target. Decide upfront how much time and money you’re willing to invest in a hustle, and track the skills you’re gaining, not just the revenue.
- Audit your streams against your wage floor. If a hustle pays less than your hourly rate and doesn’t teach a transferable skill, cut it loose.
- Cap your ventures at three. Berman consolidated to three categories after trying 30. Treat that as your ceiling, not your starting point.
- Prune ruthlessly every 90 days. Drop the lowest-performing hustle by a combined dollars-plus-skill score and reinvest those hours into your top performer.
The Bottom Line: Stop Counting Streams, Start Counting Skills
In my opinion, the side hustle game is overdue for a reality check. The allure of ‘more’—more streams, more income, more bragging rights—is a siren song that leads to burnout and underemployment. What many people don’t realize is that the real win isn’t in diversification; it’s in focus. Personally, I think Berman’s story is a wake-up call to stop chasing vanity metrics and start building assets that actually matter. Skills compound. Streams? Not so much. So, the next time you’re tempted to add another hustle to your roster, ask yourself: ‘Is this teaching me something I can carry forward?’ If not, it’s probably not worth your time. Let the income follow the skills, not the other way around.
