The rise of the part-time startup

Here are three of the week's top pieces of financial insight, gathered from around the web:

It's tough to get an EV tax credit

Electric cars are still unaffordable for most Americans, and new benefits offered in the Inflation Reduction Act may not really help, said Jack Ewing in The New York Times. "Soaring prices of commodities like lithium, an essential ingredient in batteries, helped raise the average sticker price of an electric vehicle 14 percent last year to $66,000." To convert more gas-powered car owners, the Inflation Reduction Act includes a $7,500 tax credit for new EV purchases. Unfortunately, most EVs on the market today don't meet the standard for "how much of the car's battery must be made in North America with raw materials from trade allies" to qualify. Another tax credit of $4,000 for used EVs only "applies to those sold for $25,000 or less." Good luck finding one.

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The rise of the part-time startup

Remote work has facilitated a rise in "side startups" for entrepreneurs with a day job, said Rani Molla in Vox. In surveys, the number of founders who say they currently work for someone else has ticked up only a little. But many side-startup founders may just be keeping quiet about juggling two jobs. One investor said the "majority of funding requests he's getting these days are from startup founders with full-time jobs," who are using "the freedom, flexibility, and time saved by working remotely" to scratch their entrepreneurial itch in secret. "I give my full-time job eight or nine or sometimes more hours of work a day," said a software engineer who's building his own subscription financial website. "There's no guilt there."

Professional LinkedIn head shots

Nailing the perfect head shot for your Linked-In profile can boost your career, said Callum Borchers in The Wall Street Journal. "An applicant's odds of receiving an offer can be diminished by a head shot that doesn't match the picture in the boss's mind," says one executive recruiter. LinkedIn has found that "bios with headshots get 21 times more views than those without, and users receive nine times more connection requests when they include pictures of themselves." For those chasing that "just-so photo" for the right onscreen first impression, there is now "a cottage industry of head-shot photographers who offer facial-expression coaching." One such consultant, Peter Hurley, charges $1,500 for a session. "I consider myself a facial conveyance strategist," Hurley said.

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