My First Million – “3 Simple Businesses That Make Millions”

Podcast: My First Million
Date: December 3, 2025
Hosts: Sam Parr, Shaan Puri
Theme: Brainstorming simple, blue-collar business ideas that generate millions, the power of marketing in “boring” industries, and the outsized rewards of doing content well in today's world.

Overview

In this high-energy episode, Sam and Shaan spotlight three surprisingly simple businesses generating millions in revenue—gutter cleaning, novelty teeth, and roofing—exploring the traits and tactics that set these “blue-collar hustles” apart. They dissect brilliant examples of marketing in mundane spaces, the value of content creation as both a business and cultural lever, and the massive leverage available to exceptional brand builders in today's media ecosystem.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Perfect Landing Page: Suck My Gutters Clean

• Sam showcases a brilliantly executed landing page for a gutter cleaning business that exemplifies best practices in digital marketing.
  • Clear USP: Instantly says what they do—“We suck gutters clean.”
  • Social Proof: 1,500+ reviews averaging 4.9 stars.
  • Simple, rotating daily coupons (“Wednesday’s coupon”: always $20 off, but made to feel exclusive and urgent).
  • Authentic Imagery: Real photos of workers on the job—“Our guys are out there sucking gutters every day.” [01:33]
  • Transparent Operations: Named staff, personal touches (“Robert answers 90% of our calls. He’s been with us seven years.”) Humanizes the business.
  • Pricing Honesty: “We’re not the lowest price, and here’s why.”
  • Behind-the-Scenes Video: Autoplay, TikTok-style owner video.
• Revenue Estimation: 6,000 jobs/year x $250–$300 = ~$1.5–$2M/year for a single operator covering multiple states.

“Every single pixel on this page, I love. Just love.” —Sam Parr [04:21]

2. Hillbilly Hustle: Billy Bob’s Teeth

• Exploring the wild success of “Billy Bob’s Teeth,” a novelty product company:
  • Founder Jonah White’s legend—possibly exaggerated but captivating—living in a cave, eating roadkill, and inventing the business.
  • Sold 20 million sets of fake teeth worldwide.
  • Reframing the product in emotional/psychological terms: Not just fake teeth but “a permission slip to be silly and playful.”
  • Outrageous personal branding and media features amplify curiosity and sales.

“My teeth are a permission slip. People want to be silly. As soon as you pop in the teeth, you kind of have to be.” —Sam, quoting Jonah White [07:02]

• Key takeaway: Even the silliest, low-tech products can become multi-million dollar businesses with the right narrative and marketing angle.

3. Content-Driven Roofing Hustle

• Cole’s Roofing Company (franchise, viral video strategy):
  • Applying MrBeast-style viral “good deed” videos to a local roofing business.
  • Examples: Giving a roof away for free to a struggling homeowner and documenting the experience in a feel-good YouTube video.
  • Reasoning: Makes the brand fun internally, inspires the team, creates powerful top-of-the-funnel awareness.
  • Started with YouTube Shorts, scaled to long-form video after hitting traction (over 400,000 views).
  • The fusion of blue-collar business with modern content/brand tactics could be the growth lever for a national franchise.

“Doing the irrational can be the most rational thing you do. In this case, he's actually pulling it off.” —Sam Parr [11:10]

4. Marketing, Content & Trust: The “Table Stakes” of Modern Business

• Creating Content as Leverage:
  • Analogous examples: Savanna Bananas, Barbershops growing via Instagram/TikTok.
  • Advice to business newbies: “Learn one core money-making skill—digital marketing for local businesses.” [16:35]
  • Content isn’t just for customer acquisition—it shapes company culture, attracts better staff, and differentiates brand.
• The Winner-Takes-All Nature of Content:
  • Only the absolute best content/storytelling wins—being first or best offers outsized rewards.
    • “Nobody wants to be Samsung.” (Analogy: Apple vs. Samsung, Usain Bolt vs. second place)—attention, fame, and narrative are concentrated among the top performers.

“There's a difference between successful and loved and admired.” —Sam Parr [33:07]
“The difference between first place and second place... is a thousand X in the results.” —Shaan Puri [33:00]

5. Live Events as the “Anti-AI” Bet

• Ari Emanuel Interview Recap (from Invest Like The Best podcast):
  • Ari’s strategy: Roll up live event businesses (e.g., art fairs, car auctions, sports).
  • Rationale: As AI commoditizes digital/remote experiences, live, in-person events become more scarce—and thus, more valuable.
  • Case studies:
    • Frieze (art fair—expanded globally)
    • Barrett-Jackson (car auction—TV, content, community)
• Monetization Leverage: Simple operational improvements and branding can 10x revenue.
• Business Advice: Even “boring” events businesses can become huge with better ops and content partnerships.

“Live is going to last forever. It's not going to go out of style ... all we're going to do is do the exact same thing, but more.” —Ari Emanuel, quoted by Sam/Shaan [24:08]

6. Noise, Focus, and Business/Product Idea

• Barcelona Study: Noise in schools (e.g., near trains/traffic) reduces children’s cognitive growth by 11–23%.
• Implications:
  • Personal performance (Sam: “Should I wear earplugs? Soundproof my office to be 23% smarter?”).
  • Business/product opportunity: Create a new category of headphones/ear protection for focus and market via TikTok and content as a “study/focus hack”—not just for music.

“Just doing this one thing is going to make you smarter.” —Sam Parr [44:50]
“Studyears.com … I think this is one of those things that sounds ridiculous… it makes total sense to me.” —Shaan Puri [45:45]

7. Memorable Quotes & Moments

• “He just happens to be doing gutter cleaning … shoutout to Garrett for making the best marketing website I’ve ever seen.” —Sam Parr [04:08]
• “You can sort of rebrand… a product that already exists as a commodity.” —Sam Parr [45:14]
• “Content creates trust. And trust is time spent listening.” —Shaan Puri [14:24]
• “Nobody wants to be Samsung.” —Sam Parr [33:07]
• “The difference between first and second place isn’t just a place. It’s 1000X in the results.” —Shaan Puri [33:00]
• “Noise destroys. It sounds like [Hormozi] read the same study.” —Sam Parr [44:20]

Notable Segments & Timestamps

| Segment | Timestamp | |---|---| | SuckMyGuttersClean.com landing page breakdown | 00:00 – 04:33 | | Billy Bob’s Teeth: Hillbilly billionaires | 04:53 – 08:31 | | “MrBeast for Roofing” content strategy | 09:53 – 13:38 | | Content as company culture & the barbershop example | 16:00 – 21:05 | | Ari Emanuel/Endeavor & live event business roll-ups | 21:40 – 28:57 | | Barrett Jackson auctions & business content parallel | 28:57 – 32:07 | | The “winner takes all” in story/content (“Nobody wants to be Samsung”) | 32:07 – 34:09 | | Barcelona study, noise, and the Study Ears product idea | 42:15 – 46:21 |

Episode Tone

Energetic, witty, practical, and highly conversational. Sam and Shaan banter, riff, and challenge each other’s thinking while delivering real, actionable insights and wild entrepreneurial stories. Their style is improvisational and direct, with a self-aware sense of humor (“Hillbilly of the week,” “Nobody wants to be Samsung,” brandable domain hijinks).

Summary Takeaways

• Simple “boring” businesses can crush it with great branding, content, and authentic human touch.
• Digital marketing and storytelling are the ultimate leverage for blue collar and local businesses.
• Being “the best” at narrative or content isn’t just a nice-to-have—it’s an exponential advantage.
• Live events and in-person experiences are a defensible “anti-AI” bet.
• Counterintuitive ideas—like noise-canceling for kids—can be reframed and sold as new-category products if you own the story and positioning.
• Whatever industry you’re in, investing in content and narrative is no longer optional for those who want to win big.

Closing

“That’s the pod.” —Shaun Puri [46:34]