964
9 min 48 sec

All Boxed In: Knoxville Man Rents Reusable Packing Totes

Everyone hates cardboard moving boxes, but is there an alternative? This marketer from Tennessee delivers reusable plastic moving totes for an extra $500/month.
Niche Ideas Reselling Service Unique Ideas

Subscribe Now For A Free Five Step Tutorial

What It's About

Plastic moving boxes stack up monthly profits.

Business Model
Reselling
Skills Required
Power of Observation & Resourcefulness
Complexity
Medium
Profit Potential
Medium

Words of Wisdom

Because moving is stressful, what are some other problems associated with it that could be solved? Here we’re talking about boxes, but I think other challenges include getting people to help, saying farewell to a place you’ve lived for a while, and just making decisions in general.

There could be some others as well! Whenever there’s a problem, consider what the potential solution could be.

Fun Fact

Frank has discovered that there is a deep-seated hatred of cardboard boxes. Between the weird cardboard smell, putting the boxes together, trying to find the end of the roll of packing tape, having to break down the boxes, and then figuring out what to do with them once they’ve been unpacked (and no, no one on Craig’s List or Nextdoor wants them!), lots of people are fed up. Even if you never minded cardboard boxes, here’s something that might change your mind. Bed bugs love cardboard. Ugh!

Notes from Chris

Episode 964
We all have to do it at least once in our lives, and no matter what advances technology brings, moving can still be stressful and expensive. For anyone who has ever spent hours shoving all of their earthly possessions into a U-Haul, you know the struggle is real!

For the most part, we take Moving Day challenges in stride and consider them a necessary evil. But as Frank Ramey of Knoxville, Tennessee listened to the lamentations of his sister and brother-in-law regarding their recent hellish move, an idea began to take shape… in the form of a box.

Because that was one of their biggest complaints: cardboard boxes. No move was complete without an abundance of flimsy and expensive cardboard boxes and rolls of sticky packing tape. To them, the whole process just felt so wasteful—what do you do with those boxes once you’re done? You can store them for later, but you never know if they’ll hold up over time.

Like most of us, Frank never really gave the moving business a thought unless he needed to move. He happily ran an online marketing company, but he knew that there had to be a stress-free and eco-friendly solution to these cardboard box woes.

In his mind, the solution would be made of something sturdy and reusable like plastic. Something that movers could rent on an as-needed basis so that storage wasn’t an issue.

Before running with what he thought was a great idea, Frank did some research. As he put it, “Your idea might be a good one, but you have to ask yourself if you’re in the right area for it.” Since this was something that he was planning on starting out locally, Frank wanted to learn how many people move into the Knoxville area each year and how many of those moves were local. Only when the numbers looked good, he knew it was time to unbox his idea for real!

These were the beginnings of Rent Plastic Moving Boxes, or RPM Boxes for short. Frank planned on delivering sturdy, waterproof, and reusable plastic totes for people to pack their belongings in. When the client’s move is complete, Frank would pick up the boxes, sanitize them, and then get them ready for the next customer. Ideally, he wanted each tote to be sturdy enough to use more than 400 times each and capable of being responsibly recycled once they had served their purpose.

In the beginning, Frank was spending 10 to 15 hours per week on his hustle. He built the website, spent time networking, delivering totes, picking them up, and sanitizing. Currently, the business requires just 2 to 5 hours per week—most of which is spent cleaning the boxes. Frank’s home has a large detached workshop where the totes are cleaned and stored, but he has long term plans to rent a small warehouse with a storefront that would allow customers to pick up and return the totes themselves for a discount.

Frank began this hustle in June 2018. In that time, the business has averaged $600 a month in income. Most of his small startup cost went to purchasing the totes which cost about $15 each. He already had the truck he uses to deliver and pick up, a holdover from his lawn mowing side hustle which really helped reduce his start-up costs.

As word of mouth spreads about RPM Boxes, Frank is trying to find a balance between keeping inventory lean while keeping up with customer demand. For the future, Frank’s looking to expand outside of the Knoxville area, and he’s even toying with the idea of turning RPM Boxes into a micro-storage business as a way to produce passive income.

Clearly, there’s more than one business idea still to be unboxed!

 
  MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

  SEE ALSO:

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

Yours in the revolution,

cg-sig-newsletter


Download Episodes By Months:

Season 6 (2022): JAN | FEB | MAR | APR | MAY | JUN | JUL | AUG | SEP | OCT | NOV | DEC |

Season 5 (2021): JAN | FEB | MAR | APR | MAY | JUN | JUL | AUG | SEP | OCT | NOV | DEC |

Season 4 (2020): JAN | FEB | MAR | APR | MAY | JUN | JUL | AUG | SEP | OCT | NOV | DEC |

Season 3 (2019): JAN | FEB | MAR | APR | MAY | JUN | JUL | AUG | SEP | OCT | NOV | DEC |

Season 2 (2018): JAN | FEB | MAR | APR | MAY | JUN | JUL | AUG | SEP | OCT | NOV | DEC |

Season 1 (2017): JAN | FEB | MAR | APR | MAY | JUN | JUL | AUG | SEP | OCT | NOV | DEC |

Resources

CREATE YOUR ONLINE STORE

Create your online store with Shopify using an exclusive discount for Side Hustle School listeners. For a limited time, get a free 21-day trial and a 10% discount for a whole year.

Many Side Hustle School listeners are building sites using Shopify's easy-to-learn platform. Try it free today!

Learn More

GET YOUR FIRST 1,000 EMAIL SUBSCRIBERS

Social media is nice, but building an email list is still the single best way to get customers and clients for your hustle. It's not hard to get started—sign up for a 30-day trial and join the list-building challenge! You’ll be up and running in no time.


Learn More

Quote of the Day
"Don't be afraid to be profitable out of the gate. If you're bringing a product or service to market that people really want, you need to charge accordingly for it. This way you can quickly figure out if there seems to be enough profit to be had."
—Frank Ramey #SideHustleSchool

Sponsors & Gratitude

Don't Do Business Without It

Side Hustle School is brought to you by American Express.

No matter what you do in business, from working nine-to-five to working five-to-nine, it’s easier when you don’t go it alone. Get the powerful backing of American Express—don't do business without it! 💳


Visit American Express

Like the Show? Leave a Rating!

Side Hustle School is for you! If you’re enjoying it, please take a quick moment to leave a rating or write a quick review. It's really easy and it makes a difference! ✅

It also makes a huge difference when you tell your friends about the show. Remember, it's 100% free and listener-supported.


Here's How

Keep in Touch

There’s a new story every single day on Side Hustle School. Episodes are produced to be short and to the point—I know you’re busy. Be sure you subscribe to get instant notification of the day’s broadcast!





To infinity and beyond,

Chris Guillebeau