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And now, back to our regularly scheduled programming…
Today we’re highlighting 3 totally unexpected “Main Street” businesses that’ve come across our desks.
Maybe they’ll inspire you. Maybe you’ll think they’re flat-out stupid. But hey, at the very least, they’ll make you think.
Today in 5 minutes or less, you’ll learn:
First up, Lynsey’s flower farm (with 15+ revenue streams…)
Read the next line and tell us if it sounds familiar.
”Can we start breaking the unspoken rule we inherited from our grandparents and start talking about making money?”
If you’ve been here for a while, it should sound very familiar.
But it comes from a lady we learned about recently.
Lynsey Taulbee — a business owner who says her life’s purpose is “helping women (growers) build a profitable business (flower farm).”
A few months back, she posted this clip:
$240k in revenue for one month’s work? Pretty incredible, if it’s actually possible.
Unsurprisingly, the doubters and skeptics came out in full force.
“What about maintenance? Irrigation? Soil amendments? Disease control? This seems oversimplified,” one wrote.
“[That’s] $240K gross. But that net looks a lot different. Let’s not forget income and business taxes, payroll and labor costs, operational and production expenses, insurances, etc.,” another yapped.
And they’re not wrong.
It is overly simplified… “Because I keep it overly simplified,” Lynsey explained.
“I didn’t amend our soil. I don’t plan to add amendments. I don’t fertilize. They aren’t near a water access so they are watered via rain and the majority of the stems will be harvested by our U-pick customers. The best part of entrepreneurship (including farming) is that we all get to choose how we run our own business.”
She actually broke down her 2022 business model in a blog post titled, “How My Flower Farm Generated Over $250,000 in One Year” (and with just one part-time employee).
Let’s take a look:
- Tulip Bulbs and Ranunculus Corms: $84k
- Dahlia Tubers: $65k
- Flower Subscriptions: $20k
- Merchandise: $16k
- Flower Stand: $15k
- VIP Muddy Farm Club: $9k
- Ticketed U-picks: $8k
- Private U-picks: $3.5k
- Everything Else: $30k across DIY buckets, custom orders, photography sessions, gift cards, flower bouquet coupons, shipping, or affiliate income, etc.
The profit and salary she took home after all of that? “Over $100k.”
“You don’t need a lot of property, a multitude of hoops, or a full staff to make a comfortable living. I have one hoop, one part-time employee, and grow on less than an acre,” she explained.
“You don’t need MORE customers,” either. “You need more products and services to sell to the same customers.”
Sure, most of us aren’t suited to… own, operate, and toil a damn flower farm.
But the bottom line is there are LOTS of ways to make a business out of one.
And that’s awesome.
Hold up — we just dropped a new course…
Biz-buyers, buckle your seatbelts.
We’ve been teasing this for a few weeks… Now, it’s finally here:
Inside: 4 hours of video lessons and a 12-step playbook on buying small, profitable, Main Street businesses with less out-of-pocket, and better terms for you (and the seller). Check it out.
Up next: Chris’s idea for an RV park… for dogs
Remember when we wrote about the most unconventional retirement plan you’ve ever seen?
Or at least that we’ve ever seen.
That story was about the Lemoines.
Mark was burning out making $200k as a Michigan government employee, and another 20 years felt like a life sentence to him.
So he and his wife decided to leave their stable lifestyle to purchase a campground.
HUGE risk, but they were strategic about it, and it’s worked out for them.
Now, imagine if they were to do that again — but design it exclusively for dog owners.
That’s essentially what one of RV investor Chris Koerner’s latest ideas is…
So, how does he think you should do it?
Here’s the breakdown, in brief:
- First, find a region with tons of RV park competition. Do your research. He offers some ideas.
- Second, get yourself an RV park. Obviously, way easier said than done. You’ll have to learn how to buy one (we have a community of people who might be able to help with that…).
- Third, dog it up.
Not sure what “dog it up” means?
How about adding things like agility courses, fence rentals, doggy daycare, dog branding and marketing, says Chris.
The move will certainly cost you more upfront, but it could also let you charge more down the road, since you’re offering additional value. Chris thinks this niche can command a 30-50% premium in rent, but he admits it’s just an idea, not a proven concept…
Is anyone doing this? Let us know — we’d love to follow your story.
Last up: Wooden pallets. Who knew?
We’ve all seen pallets. You might not remember where. Or even what they were called. Let alone what they do. And you probably haven’t thought about them since.
But you’ve seen ‘em.
And get a load of this: the National Wooden Pallet & Container Association says the industry has a $31B billion economic impact in the U.S. and generates more than 173,000 jobs… and yet, again, almost no one ever thinks about… pallets.
So a while back we came across this great post from the honorable SMB Attorney himself:
Apparently the pallet guy was not happy about the industry-wide publicity — but like many, this post got us thinking two things:
- One, what are we doing with our lives and why does it not involve 50-pound, 48-by-40-inch wooden pallets?
- Two, there’s probably a reason more people aren’t in the pallet biz.
Turns out we were right, though it’s still a fascinating industry.
It didn’t take long for us to find a whole bunch of people online looking to make a quick buck in this space — a clear sign of a saturated market where you’ll need an edge.
There are folks who’ve built up lucrative pallet businesses, but in general, it’s only gotten tougher over time, especially as multi-billion dollar pallet conglomerates have grown around the globe (yes, seriously).
In our research, we came across a great breakdown of the market by America’s leading pallet and sawmill magazine, Pallet Enterprise.
(You know a niche pallet magazine is legit when they’ve been in business for 40 years and say something like, “Our staff lives and breathes pallets.”)
Anyway, they’ve got an article titled, “So Being in the Pallet Business Is Tougher than You Think…” which explains it well:
- “Starting a pallet company from scratch is possible. But it is much easier to buy a company that has been around a while, and you think that you can improve upon it… The areas where they need to improve may be where the hidden profit lies.”
- “Keep in mind that profits in the U.S. pallet industry are normally 10% or less. And in some cases, the profit margin is less than 5%.”
Far from a walk in the park.
Even so, all that’s to say — pay extra attention to the next mundane business or object you pass by on Main Street.
Until now, you’ve likely been underestimating just how big the opportunity around it really is.
SO not boring…
🍫 Hold on to that cocoa mix. No seriously, cocoa prices are exploding
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