How'd you like a business where you can spend $1,600 once and make $1,600 in profit every month?

Last week I spent the day at one of these businesses and learned all I could from the owner.

Here's what's good: Bounce house rental is an awesome biz:

✔️ Low overhead + high margins
✔️ Built in referral marketing
✔️ Scale fast with low capital risk
✔️ Plenty of cheap labor
✔️ Side hustle that can scale

Start by using a Carrd $9 site w/ these plugins:

If you get the Sunday scaries or want to start a business, read this.

Many of my calls are with people that say,

"I want to quit my job and start a business. How? Should I?"

This is my answer, written from a hotel bathroom at midnight.

Burn the boats.

You’ve heard the phrase, yeah? 

Apparently it’s the title of a book I’ve never read. The synopsis goes as such,

In this gripping rags-to-riches instant classic, Matt Higgins provides the blueprint he used to go from a desperate sixteen-year-old high school dropout caring for his sick mother in Queens, New York, to a shark on Shark Tank and the faculty of Harvard Business School.

I have no idea if this book is any good, but I know that burning the boats is a good thing. 

But what does that phrase mean, exactly?

It means to destroy all possible ways to go back to a situation.

In other words it can mean:

1. Quitting your job to start a business

2. Selling your house to move somewhere entirely new

3. Deleting your dating apps after finding “the one”

4. Throwing away all the sugar in your house

5. Pouring 100% of your savings into something you’re passionate about

If you've never heard of Dude Perfect, they're the most entertaining yet wholesome YouTubers on the planet.

I highly recommend watching their whole documentary, but there's an especially moving part about burning the boats. I've attached it in the first comment below this post.

What a perfect example of "when burning the boats goes right."

But alas, there are still two competing viewpoints in my mind.

1. Burning the boats is good because when there’s no Plan B, Plan A HAS to work.

2. Burning the boats is foolish because it’s wise to always have a backup plan.

Is it okay to believe both of these things at the same time?

How can both be true? And when do we choose one, but not the other?

Story time.

I couple weeks ago I posted about the iPhone parts resale biz I started, after selling my iPhone repair stores.

When I sold those stores, I cut a deal with the acquirers. It was a no good very bad deal, in fact.

It turns out I still had a lot of learning to do in the year my brain officially became fully developed (25 - I’m a late bloomer though, my brain is still forming today.)

The deal was this:

1. I had 4 stores, and my acquirer had 1

2. They pay me $20k upfront and ⅓ of all combined store profits, passively, in perpetuity.

3. They invest $50k into making the branding of all 5 stores match up so it could become franchisable.

4. They do all the work, and I sit on the beach and collect mailbox money.

But here’s the thing, I launched my parts resale biz the day after I sold those stores. I was certainly allowed to do this, as Phone Restore didn’t sell parts, nor had any plans to, and there was no noncompete anyway.

But my two partners soon learned how successful my new venture was becoming. As a dumb 25 year old, I likely told them too much (oops).

I got a profit check in months 1 and 2, but never again, despite the fact that the business kept growing and growing.

Why? Well, I can tell that story another day, but that’s not the point. The point is that my two partners burned my boats for me, without my consent.

I sat on the white sand and watched those catamarans disappear into the Caribbean, bloody Wilson at my side.

My new business HAD to work, or I couldn’t feed my kids. So I willed it to work.

I’ve had a couple other “burn the boats” moments, and guess what, they always just worked.

But I’ve had many Plan B moments, & my success rate on those startups is around 30%.

Why? Because when the going got tough, I shrugged my shoulders & quit. Why keep grinding on thing B when thing A was printing mailbox money?

I had a company called Presto Cars once. It was a concierge car buying service. I didn’t reinvent the wheel, as this is a well-proven business model. But the company failed. 

Why? Because I really don’t like cars, and it was kinda hard, so I quit.

But the real reason I quit is… …because I didn't have to be doing it. You better believe I’d still be slangin’ Toyota Avalons today if I had to.

But let’s talk about having a Plan B for a moment. 

I often have friends tell me about their business idea and ask me if they should quit their 6 figure job. I almost always tell them no. 

They're hoping and expecting I'll say yes! They want me to say yes!

I can’t advise that because the thought of doing such a thing scares me to death. 

I could never dream of encouraging you to risk your family’s livelihood, especially when you might turn out to be a totally crap business owner!

Burning the boats is NOT taking a poorly calculated risk. If burning the boats is done right it will feel like the obvious decision.

And remember, most every time I burned the boats in a big way, it was done for me. I can’t think of a time (in business at least) when I’ve willingly chosen to burn the boats on a scale as grand as quitting my job, hoping that the next thing goes well.

Sometimes that fire arrow comes arching from behind the ridge and lands right on the stern, and there’s nothing you can do about it.

So how can this help you?

Well, because you should know that you can do both. 

You can have a Plan B and burn the boats at the same time. You can both have and eat your cake.

One more quick story time.

As a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints I have never tasted

Alcohol
Drugs
Cigarettes/Weed

So when I go to networking events and I’m offered a beer, the temptation to say yes is precisely 0.00%. I made up my mind as a kid and I’ve never faltered.

So at age 31 when I looked in the mirror and saw how fat I’d gotten in my 20s, I knew I had to make a change. I knew I had to lay off the carbs. 

But how?

I simply treated carbs as if they were a drug. Like I had already made up my mind to avoid them decades ago.

Once I flipped this switch in my brain it literally wasn’t even an option, much less a temptation. 

5 months later and I was down 60 pounds and I’ve kept it off ever since (5 years now). 

That’s a “burn the boats” moment. Your BTB moment doesn't have to be quitting your job, it can be smaller things, too. You can do the same with whatever your “burn the boats moment” needs to be.

In a practical sense, let’s say John makes $180k/year and wants to open a mini donut stand. 

He’s all in. He wants to start with 1 and then create a franchisable model that he can scale nationwide.

John doesn’t go and quit his job, no, no, no. John burns the boats by committing to this plan, in this order:

- Day 1 - He sets a revenue goal within a reasonable timeframe. If these goals are hit, he quits his job. If not, he stays.

- Months 1 - 3 - Spend nights and weekends learning everything about the business

- Month 4 - 5  - Finds and buys a mini donut cart on eBay.

- Month 6 - Learns how to operate everything in his spare time

- Month 7 - Spends weekends at fairs, festivals and farmers markets slangin’ donuts and learning the ropes.

- Month 9 - Buys a 2nd cart and hires his first employee, etc.

You get the idea. By the time he really burns the boats and quits his job it feels like a no-brainer.

Many of you reading this either own or want to own a business or real estate

Both categories will always need a burn the boats moment. Maybe it’s to open location #2 or maybe it’s to quit your job.

Side note: I can’t remember ever having a conversation with someone about a major trial they faced and had them not tell me something to the effect of “but man did things get so much better afterwards.”

Many of you reading this are likely going through some serious suck right now. I promise that your greatest days are ahead of you. I don’t know why this post is taking this weird turn, but it feels right. Maybe it's for you?

If you burn the boats and run out of coconuts, you’re about to find a herd of cattle and a spring.

If you burn the boats and you get desperately homesick, you’re about…

Every now and then I have a conversation that blows my mind.

I just hung up with a 23 year old kid that noticed that many apartments near him didn't have washers and dryers, despite having hook ups for them.

Curious, he posted an ad to FB Marketplace that said: "Washer and Dryer Rental. $60 per month."

(He had no business and no washer and dryer to rent out)

He got 80 inquiries! That was a year ago. Today he has 98 washer dryer sets that he rents out for $60 - $85 per month.

There's a gold mine marketing channel that everyone is ignoring.

I just discovered a way to exploit it.

Here's what it is, plus step by step instructions on how to copy me: The channel: Owning your own empire, or in this case, SubReddit.

Why?

You control what goes in and out. All the links you want, none of the links you don't. It works for any niche.

Here's how to do it:

Would you believe me if I told you there's a business out there that looks like this:

- Cash-based with 70% margins
- $200 to get started & simple to run
- Almost no barrier to entry or regulation
- Locations can bring in $1,500 - $2,500 in weekly profit

And also... Overhead costs? About $25 per day + labor (if hiring it out)

Long term leases? No
Leases of any sort? No
Handshake agreements? Usually

Top locations make $5k in a weekend.

Set up and take down in minutes.

Northern Kentucky is exploding right now.

There's an attraction generating millions of visitors per year and expanding like crazy.

So we're investing $5m in an asset 16 mins away. Here's what's up: Have you heard of the Ark Encounter? A life-sized depiction of Noah's Ark that cost $100m to build!

6 years after opening they had their 10 millionth visitor, and they get as many yearly guests as a 6 Flags.

They've since added a Creation Museum & plan to add...

COLD PLUNGE & SAUNA BUSINESS DEEP DIVE:

Location & Setup:

Inside of World Gym in Cleburne, TX
Facility Size: x2 cold plunges, x4 infrared saunas
Equipment Cost: ~$50,000 total. $20x for cold plunges & $30k for saunas

Membership Structure & Customer Base: Unlimited Membership: $75/month (access to public + private facilities)
Walk-in Sessions: $30 per session

130 active members (target: 200 for profitability)
Primary Customers: Gym members, fitness enthusiasts, some fitness influencers

What Sets It Apart:

I got monetized on YouTube 90 days ago today.

Here’s a breakdown of how much YouTube has paid me so far and how I got there: $5,003.16. Most of that in the last 4 weeks.

It took 5 months to get monetized. The secret sauce?

Using short form platforms to funnel all traffic to YT.

Learning the quirks of YT shorts.

Having a very short CTA in every short.

My 4 favorite business ideas based around spying on others:

1. A lightweight Zoom app that listens in on sales calls

It displays a meter on the person's screen showing what % of the time they spend talking vs listening. I call it "Shut Up" 😂

More listening = more sales! #2: 2. White label an existing software like Call Rail and re-sell it to home service providers as an agency service.

The software will listen in on calls and track missed calls so businesses can plug the gaps and make more money.

$3k/month service, easily. Sold to $5m+ businesses

I rarely start a business without running a scrape first, and I don't know how to code.

Scrape for customers, research, reviews, etc.

It changes EVERYTHING. These are my 4 favorite tools for this: For 1 flat monthly fee you can scrape millions of records and find out:

What tools a website is built with
All eCom sites by product category
All websites by keyword
Much more

Yes, you'll get contact info.

Scrape as much as you can for 1 month and then cancel.

If you want a MUCH cheaper option, check out the last tweet instead. And yes, this is an affiliate link, I've been using it for 5 years. builtwith.com/tkopod

Every 6 months, 21,000 people come from all over the world to gather in a remarkable piece of real estate.

Most have no idea how massive, one of a kind & record-breaking this unique building is.

Some mind-numbing facts 🤯: The building is for LDS church members to gather for "General Conference." Now for the crazy facts:

- There's a man-made waterfall inside that's fed from a natural creek, plus a 4 acre garden on the roof!

- It's 1.4 million square feet and only took 3 years to build

My friend "CJ" told me something shocking.

He's an executive for one of the big 4 airplane seat manufacturers.

He begged me to start a very specific business, because the wiring harness for seat back displays always break.

And guess how much his company pays for them?? You won't believe me, but I don't care.

$10k! For something that looks about like the below.

Any airplane vendor needs to be FAA certified with an airworthiness certification. This regulation creates somewhat of a moat.

His idea for me was to...

The 5 tweets below will be a new business for someone. Pinky promise.

Will it be you?

There are 44,000 print shops in the US, and the vast majority of owners spend way too much time doing 1 thing: Quoting custom print jobs over the phone.

I'm advising an owner right now that literally spends 4 hours per day quoting jobs over the phone...

...that a simple Wordpress widget could do for him.

So he got a quote to add a widget. Guess how much?

My college buddy had a tailgating monopoly & made 7 figures working** 7 days per year.

Below is how the biz worked. (Still viable today): Around the time Nick Saban arrived at Alabama, tailgating on "the quad" was a mess.

Students and families would stake their claim in the grass days before kickoff, because there was no better way.

There was no order to it, fights would often break out and it looked terrible.

I found an untapped home service niche. 1 competitor per 1 million residents.

But first, I'll show you how I evaluate a market's size and competitive landscape: - 70% of Americans own a grill, and there are 334m Americans

- There are 2.35 people per household, therefore, there are 142m households and about 100m households with a grill

This includes single family, apartments, mobile homes, etc.

Why grills?

This is my yard. Total trash.

I took a bunch of close up pics to upload to ChatGPT so it could give me a 12 month plan of what to do and buy in order to fix it.

Then I thought “I bet I could build an AI tool that monetizes this same prompt in an hour or two.”

& then I thought I could have it spit out everyone’s results as Webflow articles to capture some user-generated SEO.

“How to fix your (insert grass type) lawn in (city), (state).”

I could embed Amazon affiliate links on all the recommendations AND sell these leads to local companies. And then

Today I learned that people routinely make $5k - $15k per year simply by signing up for free bank bonuses.

Here's everything I learned about this life hack in 5 tweets: How and why it works, in a nutshell.

You're 1 cold email away from a life changing deal, customer or partnership

My cold emails have generated millions & gotten me meetings and/or responses from Cuban, McAfee & CEOs

Below is every cold emailing lesson & tactic I've learned over 16 years, for free: All of the tools I mention here are linked in the 1st comment below.

If you find any value here, please share with a friend or let me know below. Let's get into it:

COLD EMAILING:

We love it and we hate it. We love it because...

I've had my Tesla Model S for exactly 2 years (31k miles)

Here are my brutally honest opinions of why you SHOULD and SHOULD NOT buy one:
------
Should NOT:

1) You're driving a car that's still in beta. The software makes the car, & the software is still a work in progress. I bought the car for full self driving (FSD) & paid $10k for it. It still doesn't work great.

If it works as intended, it's convenient, if it doesn't, you die.

It still bugs out at certain spots, and I only use FSD on 8% of my mileage.

Alex made $5,000 per month doing these 2 things:

1. Posting free ads for garage shelves on FB Marketplace.

2. Building & delivering these on the weekend.

Then he quit his job, went all in and tripled his income.

What he did can be copied by ANYONE. Story time: Alex got this idea after seeing a video of these custom shelves on FB. He thought "Why not me?"

So he downloaded the plans, built a set for himself, and then posted his own ad.

$200 in materials
$770 for the shelf

$570 gross profit! But then what?

B2B stump grinding is a low risk, high reward business to start.

I talked about this idea last month on my podcast and one of my listeners traded in his car for a truck and took my exact advice.

Here's exactly what he did and how his first 15 days have gone: He's done $9k in revenue the first 15 days. This was the email he sent me 2 hours ago.

He's not sending me this email as a member of some high ticket mastermind I run. I don't know this guy. He just heard my podcast & took action.

How did he acquire his customers? Let's see