Podcast Summary: "The Side Hustle King: 11 Easy Businesses Anyone Can Start"

Podcast: My First Million
Date: September 22, 2025
Hosts: Sam Parr, Shaan Puri
Guest: Chris (the "Side Hustle King")

Episode Overview

In this energetic follow-up episode, Sam and Shaan bring back Chris, dubbed the "Side Hustle King," to share actionable business ideas anyone can start. With over a million downloads from his last guest spot, Chris returns to brainstorm, break down real businesses, and riff on small, profitable ventures. The trio digs into home service businesses, viral product ideas, and the psychology of entrepreneurship. Listeners get both the inspiration and practical steps to launch simple, high-margin businesses based on current trends.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Relatable, High-Demand Business Ideas

Chris's angle: Simple, replicable businesses geared toward everyday people aiming for substantial extra income.

a. Porch Pumpkins (Seasonal Home Decor)

• Business Model: Decorating porches with pumpkins and other seasonal themes.
• Founder Highlight: Heather Torres – started on Instagram, now runs a 7-figure, three-months-a-year business in Dallas.
• Revenue: 1,300–2,000 orders/year; avg. order size ~$1,000; $1.5–$2M revenue with approx. 20% cost of goods.
• Origin Story: Mom posted her decor, went viral, monetized demand. Teaches 1-on-1 coaching for $5k (with her own trademark).
• Upsell: Removal of pumpkins, business coaching, trademarks "porch pumpkins."
• Notable Quote:
  "She charges extra to take them away so people don't know what to do with them. So that's an upsell." — Chris (04:14)
• Expansion: Could run year-round with Christmas, graduation, or event-focused decor.

b. Sport Courts (Backyard Multi-use Courts)

• Trend: Families want "the new pool"–sport courts for pickleball, basketball, etc.
• Chris's Experience: DIY half the cost by subbing out local contractors found on Facebook marketplace; now pivoting his tree trimming business toward sport court build-outs.
• Business Model: End-to-end home transformation: start with sport courts, then upsell outdoor kitchens, fire pits, etc.
• Key Insight: "You're not selling a court, you're selling the dream backyard." (15:13)

c. In-Ground Trampoline Installation

• Opportunity: E-commerce brands selling trampolines need local diggers—they'll provide you leads.
• Unit Economics: $10k per install (half to seller, half to digger for ~4 hours work renting an excavator).
• Supply Gap: Installers can't keep up with e-commerce demand; low barrier to entry.

d. GovDeals/BStock Liquidation Flipping

• Model: Buy government or retail returns/distressed assets (e.g., TSA confiscations, Costco returns) then re-list locally for profit.
• Tactic: Set up bots/agents to scrape deals, pre-list on marketplace, and drop ship based on sales.
• Notable Quote:
  “You buy pallets worth of crap, and then you split it up and sell it on Facebook." — Chris (35:44)

e. Mobile Fuel Delivery

• Market Need: DoorDash for gas; busy professionals subscribe (avg. $5k/year per customer) for fill-ups at home.
• Churn: Near zero, as people get addicted to the convenience.
• Pricing: Price-averaged to area, then marked up 20%.

f. Novelty Ice Cream and Visual Food

• Idea: Viral and visually striking foods (rolled/fresh-pressed ice cream) as event or pop-up business.
• Tactic: Leverage social media to create demand, test at farmers’ markets or busy corners.
• Highlight: “It's viralable. Very visual ice cream that sells itself.” — Chris (43:23)

g. Dollhouses for Men

• Concept: Intricate, hyper-realistic miniature home-building kits marketed as the “guy dollhouse.”
• Viral Demand: Chris’s TikTok video demo got 20 million views.
• Notable Quote:
  "Men are builders...nobody's selling us the materials to build miniature homes and structures." — Chris (29:50)

h. AI Implementation Agency for SMBs

• Chris’s ‘If I Had to Start from Scratch’: Build an agency implementing AI solutions for small businesses (voice agents, automation, etc.).
• Approach: Start free, build trust, then charge flat monthly fees.

2. Marketing, Execution & Mindset

• Viral Content First: Build businesses backward from viral social content to drive demand.
• Simple Go-To-Market: Post time-lapse/how-to content on local platforms (Facebook groups, marketplace, TikTok, Instagram).
• Leveraging Trends: Many ideas lifted from international markets (e.g., Dubai) or viral TikTok content.
• Chris’s “Day X” Hack: Pretend every day is a new business idea day to keep followers hooked (even if out of order).

Notable Quotes on Marketing & Mindset

• "People are very creative in coming up with excuses and reasons why they won't do something." — Chris (44:52)
• “If we were as creative at actually starting and executing on things as we are…with excuses, we'd all be millionaires.” — Chris (45:28)
• "The old playbook is slowing you down. I broke the funnel. Loop marketing fixes it." — Sam (28:51, HubSpot plug but insight on new marketing paradigms)

3. Business Model Deep Dives

a. RV Parks (Chris’s Best Business)

• Ownership: Stake in 9 parks, part of $260M portfolio by end-of-year.
• Profit Model: Buy existing parks near national/state parks, extend seasonality, raise under-market rents, expand pad sites.
• Exit Plan: Sell entire portfolio at lower cap rate for maximum profit.
• Role: Marketing and fundraising (“I’m an ideas guy with a great personality.” — Chris, 61:25)

b. The Nugget (Kids Mod Furniture)

• Business Type: Modular kid-safe couches doubling as play equipment.
• Growth: Possibly $100M+/year, bootstrapped, virality via Facebook ads and word-of-mouth; opportunity for lower-cost or retail-first competitors.
• Lesson: Functionality + viral design = massive demand in niche kids market.

Memorable Moments & Quotes (with Timestamps)

• On side hustles anyone can start:
  "If you’re entrepreneurial, you got that itch, here’s how you get this business off the ground…" — Sam (06:32)
• On viral influence:
  "Just film a time lapse on your iPhone and post it to all the local mom groups… watch the comments come in." — Chris (06:42)
• On copycats:
  "Not porch pumpkins! She owns the trademark…. Patio gourds." — Chris (07:59)
• Product-market fit vs. founder fit:
  "There are women (or dudes) who work three days a week and are happy. That's kind of what this lady is… she's winning." — Sam (11:37)
• On hiring subcontractors:
  "That's what $30,000 net profit per job is for— for dealing with annoying subcontractors that show up with meth in their system." — Chris (19:22)
• On business scores:
  "Pumpkins… a 9 out of 10. Sport court… 3 out of 10. I don’t want to work with subcontractors." — Sam (18:45)
• Entrepreneur’s dopamine fix:
  "I just chase product-market fit… I’m chasing dopamine." — Chris (68:44)

Timestamps for Major Segments

• Porch Pumpkins discussion: 02:00–12:10
• Sport Courts: 12:54–18:29
• In-Ground Trampoline installation: 19:38–23:02
• Dubai/Trends from Abroad: 23:13–25:32
• Dollhouses for Men: 29:32–35:17
• GovDeals/BStock: 35:24–38:12
• Mobile Fuel Delivery: 40:55–42:13
• Kids’ Furniture (The Nugget): 51:03–55:54
• RV Parks and scaling: 56:17–61:31
• AI Implementation Agency: 62:34–67:40
• Entrepreneurial mindset/philosophy: 68:31–71:09

Tone & Format

• Language: Direct, humorous, and conversational—full of banter and tangible steps.
• Tone: Light, irreverent, and practical—business-building as a game and a creative outlet.
• Style: Each idea is riffed on practically (how to market, how to get initial customers, where the margin and challenge is), with plenty of self-deprecating asides and acknowledgment of trade-offs.

Additional Resources

• Chris’s database of 200+ business blueprints: Linked in episode
• Chris’s podcast: tkopod.com
• Content examples and TikTok: (referenced but explicit accounts not listed in transcript)