"A side business or two that are low risk with a minimal capital investment and some elbow grease that you can nurture over a lifetime would have been a great idea to have implanted in my younger self..."

The minimal capital investment is the tough part. And how do you run side businesses without it distracting from your primary job? Sure, some jobs only require 8-5 and the rest of the day is yours. But most of work in jobs that can require a lot of hours outside the standard work day.