Notes from Chris

Episode 2075

Back in 2013, Shannon Houchin was leaving a big family company with six figures of debt in her name. As she looked for a way to get out of debt quickly, a friend told her how lucrative his roadside peach stands were. Shannon and her 11-year-old son Finn spent the summer in South Carolina and learned how to sell roadside peaches from the Peach Guy himself. 

  Shannon admits that at first, she did everything wrong. She lost peaches to extreme heat. She lost an entire truckload of peaches in an accident. She also didn’t have the proper oversight on the people working the stands, and cash went missing. But she kept at it and eventually learned the ropes.

In a single summer, she got out of debt, scaled her roadside fruit stand business, Peach Queen, from one to one-hundred stands and created a replicable business model in the process, generating over $50,000 a week in cash flow. 

Let’s back up a bit. You know how I talk about transferring your existing skills? Keep in mind that Shannon has a background in logistics and operations. Still, she believes that anyone can start a roadside fruit stand with an initial investment of around $500 to $1,000. In fact, this seasonal hustle has grown into her main hustle.

In addition to running her roadside fruit stands and working as a realtor, Shannon now has a business called Roadside Republic teaching others, including her son, how to profit from this business model.

That’s where Finn comes in. Last summer when he was a high school senior, he decided to take on more responsibility and run two of his own peach stands. With $500 and some borrowed equipment from his mom Shannon, he set up a mobile peach stand at a very busy business in Texas and started selling peaches seven days a week.

He’s experienced every aspect of it from brokering with the orchards to the logistics of receiving shipments—and then delivering peaches to locations—working in the peach stands and learning to sell effectively; managing and training workers, and how to wind down a seasonal summer business.

  Classmates from his high school worked at the stand and learned how to run it, too. From just two fruit stands, he made enough money to pay for his first year of college without taking out student loans or working a part-time job while going to college. There’s gold in them peaches!

Since peach season kicks off around Memorial Day and lasts until Labor Day, Shannon says it’s the perfect side hustle for students. They have a little time in between the end of the school year and the start of the season to prepare. 

The other cool thing about roadside stands is that the business model can go anywhere, sell anything, and sell at any time—provided they follow any city permitting and licensing requirements. It’s basically a retail business but without the overhead of renting a storefront.

For instance, Shannon can buy a case of peaches for $12-$20 from the orchard and make gross sales of $80 a case. That’s because they’re buying “seconds,” fruit that the orchards can’t sell to grocery stores due to cosmetic imperfections but they’re still tasty straight from the orchard. 

  A couple other tips: Shannon’s stands are co-located with other very popular businesses so they can piggy back off the destination traffic. Their best locations are in convenience store parking lots. She pays "rent" to the property owner and may or may not have to get a permit depending on the city. People recognize their white tents and red banners and know that they have delicious peaches. 

  Ultimately, Shannon says she’s on a mission to bring back the roadside stand as a staple of American life. She (and Finn!) wants to grow their network so that people everywhere have access to delicious produce.

 

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  MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

• Learn more about Shannon's peachy operation from her website, RoadsideRepublic.com.

SEE ALSO:

• Mom-Founded Startup Rents Infant Gear to Tourists: Busy mom in Chicago uses a peer-to-peer sharing platform to earn extra money for her family and help visiting parents get all the baby gear they need for their trip.
• Clothing Store Salesman Invents Baby Harness, Earns $100k Per Year: An innovative salesman creates a baby harness that benefits both parent and child, all the while creating a six-figure side income for himself.
• Paralegal Starts Side Hustle During Maternity Leave: After starting her hustle with a friend, this new mom buys out her co-owner and begins earning $10,000/month selling baby items.

Inspiration is good; inspiration combined with action is better. Now get back to work!

Yours in the revolution,

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