Capital Cluster A — Strategic Capital
Solopreneur Health Check
Can the side-hustle carry the salary yet? Run the four numbers that decide.
Four deterministic calculators check whether a solo business can replace a salary without breaking. The Leap Date tells you when side-income safely covers the W-2 cost. Minimum Viable Rate sets the per-hour floor that keeps the lights on. Hire vs Automate decides when labor should be bought instead of rented. Runway Zero anchors the whole thing to an exact bankruptcy date if growth stalls.
Start here
- Leap Date — The month side-income safely replaces your salary.
- Minimum Viable Rate — The hourly floor that covers overhead and taxes.
- Hire vs Automate — Labor cost vs SaaS cost — where the line sits today.
- Runway Zero — The exact date cash hits zero at current burn.
Tools in this cluster
The Leap
The exact date a side-hustle can sustainably replace a primary salary, factoring self-employment tax and benefits loss.
Minimum Viable Rate
The absolute minimum hourly rate to match a corporate salary after self-employment tax, benefits, and non-billable time.
Hire vs Automate
Should you hire a human at $X/hr or pay $Y/mo for a SaaS/automation stack? Efficiency bar comparison.
Runway Zero
Calculate the exact month your cash runs out. Crisis toggle models a worst-case scenario with revenue zeroed.
Curated guides
- Side-Hustle to Full-TimeNet salary + benefits vs hustle revenue minus expenses and a 25% self-employment tax reserve.
- Minimum Viable RateFreelance hourly must cover salary + benefits + overhead ÷ effective billable hours.
- Hire vs AutomateHourly wage times hours vs tool stack plus amortized setup — with a manager overhead tax.
- Cash Runway BasicsBurn rate, net burn, and the exact month the bank account hits zero.
Other capital clusters
- Cluster B — Scarcity TriagePoverty Trap Exit-MapFour calculators for the week when cash is shorter than the month.
- Cluster C — Operational ScalingDeveloper Efficiency AuditFour calculators that separate infrastructure cost from infrastructure theatre.
- Cluster D — Biological MaintenanceExistential Maintenance LogFour calculators for the costs that don't show up on the bank statement.
Frequently asked questions
› Why these four tools together? Troubleshooting
Leap Date tells you if you can start. Minimum Viable Rate tells you what to charge. Hire vs Automate tells you when to stop doing the work yourself. Runway Zero tells you how long you have if the plan breaks. Together they cover the full go/no-go for a solo business.
› Do these assume US tax brackets?
Minimum Viable Rate asks for an effective tax rate as an input — plug in whatever reflects your jurisdiction. The other three are currency-agnostic.