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The Hustle Economy

How can you predict whether your side hustle business idea is worth pursuing?

An individual holding their smartphone displaying a bar chart of social media statistics.

Creative Artifact

Students bring their side hustle ideas to life by developing a business plan for something they’re excited to launch or grow. They’ll craft a mission, pitch their product, define their audience, and sharpen their value proposition. Then, using linear equations and systems, they’ll crunch the numbers to forecast costs, revenue, and profit across real-world scenarios.

Written Commentary

When developing their financial model, students will be asked to analyze and contextualize the implications of what they are seeing. For instance, after graphing and algebraically solving a system to find the break-even point, students will explain what the ordered pair means in terms of their projected revenue and the larger implications this has for their side hustle idea.

Exhibition

Students present their business to local business owners, entrepreneurs, and/or funders and receive feedback on their projections, advice on the viability of their plan, etc. In instances in which students are interested in actualizing their plan, this is also an opportunity for them to ask questions and/or seek out mentorship opportunities.

Implementation Notes

Credit Eligibility

  • Dollar sign

    Financial Literacy

  • nth root symbol

    Math

Prerequisites Needed

This TLE assumes baseline understanding of linear equations.

Modular Suggestions

 A unit within an Algebra 1 course – could be used as an application-based unit alongside a more traditional unit on linear systems or as a full linear systems replacement unit.

TLE-Based Semester/Full-Year Course Suggestions

Algebra 1:
X Marks the Spot,
The Hustle Economy,
College Cents,
The Cost of Debt

Personal Finance/Financial Literacy:
The Hustle Economy,
College Cents,
The Cost of Debt

Standards Addressed

  • HSA-CED.1: Create equations and inequalities in one variable and use them to solve problems. Include equations arising from linear and quadratic functions, and simple rational and exponential functions.
  • HSA-CED.2: Create equations in two or more variables to represent relationships between quantities; graph equations on coordinate axes with labels and scales.
  • HSA-CED.3: Represent constraints by equations or inequalities, and by systems of equations and/or inequalities, and interpret solutions as viable or nonviable options in a modeling context. 
  • HSA-REI.A.1: Explain each step in solving a simple equation as following from the equality of numbers asserted at the previous step, starting from the assumption that the original equation has a solution. Construct a viable argument to justify a solution method.
  • HSA-REI.A.2: Solve equations and inequalities in one variable
  • HSA-REI.B.3: Solve linear equations and inequalities in one variable, including equations with coefficients represented by letters.
  • HSA-REI.C.5: Prove that, given a system of two equations in two variables, replacing one equation by the sum of that equation and a multiple of the other produces a system with the same solutions.
  • HSA-REI.C.6: Solve systems of linear equations exactly and approximately (e.g., with graphs), focusing on pairs of linear equations in two variables.
  • HSA-REI.D.12: Graph the solutions to a linear inequality in two variables as a half-plane (excluding the boundary in the case of a strict inequality), and graph the solution set to a system of linear inequalities in two variables as the intersection of the corresponding half-planes.
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