Hello friend,
Why you're getting this: this is my “I wish someone told me this at 25” memo.
If you’ve ever wondered how people get rich without going viral, this one’s for you.
Here’s what I’m thinking about…
People keep asking me:
“What’s a boring business I can start today that actually makes money?”
So I made a list.
This is not theory.
These are real-world, unsexy, low-drama business ideas that I’ve seen work (and in some cases, personally funded or acquired).
Some I’ve owned.
Some I wish I owned.
All of them print cash and don’t require a tech co-founder or a seed round.
Let’s dive in.
Yes, you read that right.
Nobody wants to talk about poop, which is exactly why you should.
Margins are wild because customers can’t DIY this.
I tried to buy one of these in Alberta. The owner laughed and said, “Son, you’d have to outbid my kids. This thing pays for five mortgages.”
I made $20,303 power washing driveways.
No joke.
For the full breakdown (and why I backed a university dropout to run it), see my post: I Made $20,303 Power Washing Driveways
Startup costs are under $5K.
Upsell sealing and fence cleaning.
Build routes.
Print money.
Think: "Bookkeeping for dentists."
Or “Bookkeeping for Shopify sellers.”
Specialize.
You’ll beat generic QuickBooks freelancers on trust and price.
Recurring monthly revenue.
No inventory.
No truck needed.
Just taste and systems.
People will pay $150+ for a car clean they don’t have to drive to.
I funded a kid in Victoria to start this.
He does $8K/month, mostly on weekends.
Add a subscription.
Partner with real estate offices.
Scale with vans.
This one smells.
Literally.
Which is why it works.
People hate the job.
One guy I know does 5 bins every 15 minutes.
Charges $20/bin.
Runs two trucks.
$400K a year in a town of 70,000.
Find gross problems. Solve them cleanly.
Seasonal, yes.
But insane margins.
Best part?
No one’s price shopping at 5 a.m. during a blizzard.
Works better than you'd think.
If you can chop and lift, you can build a cashflowing biz here.
Bonus if you’re in a cold climate.
This is code for “$10K for digging a hole and inserting a window.”
It’s legally required for basement bedrooms.
Most homeowners don’t even know what it is.
Which means you can be the only person educating them.
Low competition.
High ROI.
Buy a small patch of gravel.
Fence it.
Install an online payment form.
Boom:
RV and boat storage.
I know someone who bought an empty lot for $180K.
Pays itself off in 3 years with zero employees.
Yes, again, poop.
But every construction site, wedding, and fair needs these.
The economics are glorious:
One truck. One guy.
$300K business.
Every year, every city repaints their parking lots.
Most bids are local and boring.
If you can draw straight lines and own a trailer, you can own a region.
Add sealcoating and curb painting to double revenue.
They break.
Nobody knows how to fix them.
And yet...
Everyone Googles “hot tub repair near me” in a panic.
If you’re good with tools and YouTube tutorials, this one’s yours.
This is one of my favorite secret businesses.
Every commercial building needs it annually.
It’s regulated.
No one shops around.
No one understands the quote.
They just pay it.
This one is beautifully weird.
Homeowners don’t know what a crawl space is.
Until it floods.
Or smells.
Or mold shows up.
Then they want it fixed yesterday.
High-value repair.
Minimal tools.
Subscription add-on for monitoring.
You know the little air fresheners and soap dispensers in office bathrooms?
Someone refills those.
And bills monthly.
It’s a “nobody wants to deal with it” business.
Which makes it perfect.
Hospitals and clinics need someone to haul away needles and biohazards.
If you can follow protocol and pass inspections, it’s boring gold.
Recurring routes.
Low churn.
Regulated = protected.
Buy the ATM.
Install it in a convenience store.
Split the fees.
That’s it.
One guy I know runs 60 machines part-time and clears six figures.
Still works in 2025.
Even with tap cards.
Yes, again.
You can laugh.
Or you can invoice.
This is now a legit six-figure niche in most niche industries.
People pay to rank on google, AI, and Google Business Profile.
You can niche down to e-commerce, beauty saloons or gyms.
People will pay to have their fridge removed.
Then the scrap yard will pay you for the parts.
Double dip.
Own a truck and a sledgehammer.
You’re in business.
Niche. But timeless.
If you can store 100 white folding chairs and a box truck, you’ve got a $2K/weekend business.
Upsell arches, flower carts, and delivery.
Not scalable?
Tell that to the guy in Texas I met who scaled this to $1.5M with 3 staff and a dusty warehouse.
These aren’t trends.
They’re cashflows in hiding.
They don’t need tech.
They need taste.
Pick one.
Pick two.
Combine them.
Run quietly for a decade.
Then show up in a Porsche and confuse your cousin who just finished their Series A.
Want more on how I built my own boring empire?
Start with Never Tell, Always Storytell, or if you want to see the magic in action, read this: I Made $20,303 Power Washing Driveways.
1. Do boring businesses actually make money?
Yes. Often more than VC-backed startups.
2. Do I need a special license?
Some, like fire safety or medical disposal, do. Others, no.
3. Can I start these part-time?
Most of them, yes.
4. How do I find customers?
Google Local, door hangers, Facebook Groups.
Old-school works.
5. What about marketing?
Simple site, Google reviews, answer the phone. You’ll win.
6. Can I scale?
Stack locations. Hire operators. Productize the service.
7. Isn’t this boring?
Yes.
That’s the point.
Margin lives in boredom.
8. Where do I start?
Pick the one that makes you smile and groan.
That’s your gold mine.
9. Can I automate parts of this?
Yes. Use AI for scheduling, quoting, and follow-ups.
(Ask me how — I’m obsessed with this.)
10. What’s next in the Boring Business Playbook series?
Coming Soon: How to Buy a Boring Business With No Money Down
You don’t need to invent the next big thing.
You just need to show up, do what others won’t, and invoice quietly.
The keyword is: boring business ideas.
And if you follow just one of them, you’ll stop chasing buzzwords and start stacking freedom.
Get Your Copy of Never Enough at https://www.neverenough.com/
