401k early withdrawal vs Withdraw later at higher tax rate

[Jeff Goff]

I have a 401k from an old job that I am trying to gain access to for investing. The amount is roughly 24k. If I stay in the W2 workforce I will retire in 30+ years. Since I no longer work for that job, I am no longer contributing to that 401k. Based on the analysis from Vanguard (they have my 401k) it will get me about $500 per month in cash flow when I retire. I feel like I can better that number. I have looked into self directed IRAs or solo 401ks, but am seriously leaning towards just cashing it out. My reasoning is that right now I am in the 25% tax bracket. Assuming all goes well with my future endeavors (I know that is a big assumption) I am hoping to move up to the 35% tax bracket by the time I retire. The way I see it, I take the 25% tax rate now plus the 10% early withdrawal penalty now, or pay 35% later. Based on that math I pat 35% of 24k now, or 35% of 100+k when I hit retirement age. Wouldn't it just make sense to pull it out now? What else am I missing? Thanks in advance for the help.