Adam was one month from finishing college when he decided to start a tent rental company. He maxed out credit cards, cashed in birthday bonds, bought three tents, and advertised in the Yellow Pages and the local Penny Saver. That was 22 years ago.

Today Adam runs a full party rental operation in upstate New York, tents, tables and chairs, dance floors, lighting, restroom trailers, and more, generating at least $200K per year from tents alone. His framework for the whole business: the tent is just the bread. The money is in everything under it.

This episode is packed with hard-won perspective: how to price equipment so you break even in 10 rentals, why Google Ads is the only marketing channel that makes sense for event rentals, when to say no to a revenue stream that's making your life miserable, how to use efficiency equipment to double your profit without adding a single job, and why he's made an estimated $300K in mistakes — so you don't have to.

What you'll learn

• Why Adam started with 3 tents on credit cards right out of college
• The "tent is just the bread" framework and everything under it is the real money
• Target payback: recover your equipment cost within 10 rentals
• Why he dropped $150K/year in catering revenue and doesn't regret it
• Google Ads as the only marketing that works for event rental (search-based business)
• Using Facebook Reels to reach people who don't know restroom trailers exist
• Efficiency equipment: how Adam cut tent setup time from 4–5 hours to under 2
• Profit margins: up to 30% if you run efficiently, closer to 12% if you don't
• Renting trucks seasonally instead of buying them
• The $300K in mistakes — and the credit card processor that cost him $90K over 6 years
• Why rentals are one of the few businesses where you can bootstrap to millionaire status

Timestamps

• [0:00] How Adam got started: one month before college graduation
• [2:00] First years: Yellow Pages, Penny Saver, mom's SUV
• [4:00] Why nothing went wrong early and when it started getting hard
• [5:00] The tent count question: why 30 tents isn't the right gauge
• [6:00] What he actually rents: tents, tables, chairs, dance floors, restroom trailers
• [8:00] Dropping catering equipment: $150K revenue that wasn't worth it
• [9:00] Customer acquisition: Google Ads only for tents, Reels for restroom trailers
• [12:00] Still working crew lead and the company culture advantage
• [13:00] 10-rental payback framework for pricing equipment
• [15:00] Setup equipment: from hammers to powered hand carts and stake pullers
• [19:00] Revenue: $200K/year from tents, over $1M lifetime in tents
• [20:00] Getting started revenue: $20–25K cash at age 22–23
• [22:00] Profit margins: 30% efficient, 12% inefficient
• [23:00] Weather as the biggest ongoing challenge
• [29:00] The $300K in mistakes including $90K in credit card fees over 6 years
• [31:00] "Rentals are one of the few businesses where you can bootstrap to millionaire"
• [32:00] Famous Four Questions

Find Out More

• YouTube: The Tent Guy (free — covers ~80% of the business)
• startapartyrentalcompany.com (course)
• TikTok: @realworldsidehustles

Justin had a utility trailer sitting in his backyard. He didn't want to sell it, didn't want it rotting away, so he listed it on Facebook Marketplace for $40 a day — and someone rented it three days later. That same customer still rents from him today.

Five years later, Justin runs a fleet of seven trailers out of Jacksonville, Florida, averaging $9,000 a month in gross revenue. It's his full-time income. He also built Trailer Hustle, a community and resource hub approaching 20,000 members, for people doing exactly what he does.

This episode covers the entire arc: starting with no contract, no toolbox, and a handshake in a movie theater parking lot — to building a systemized rental business with contactless pickup, a maintenance fund, local networking partnerships, and almost 40% recurring revenue from repeat commercial customers.

What you'll learn

• Why the best trailer to start with is the one you already have
• How Justin went from $40/day to ~$100/trailer/day average
• Four customer acquisition channels: Marketplace, Google Reviews, local networking, rental platforms
• The donut-and-pizza strategy for building referral relationships with U-Haul locations
• Why 39.5% of his revenue comes from recurring commercial customers (HVAC, roofing, landscapers)
• How to set up a maintenance fund: $100/trailer/month, covers almost everything
• The $20 flat-rate minor damage fee that adds up and trains customers fairly
• 24-hour minimum rentals and why he never does hourly
• Contactless rental setup and when to go hands-on first
• How to handle discounts: pick one percentage (his is 20%) and never deviate

Timestamps

• [0:00] How Justin got started: trailer in the backyard, $40/night
• [2:00] First rental: no contract, movie theater parking lot, handshake
• [4:00] Adding a toolbox, raising to $50, the iterative improvement approach
• [5:00] Current operation: 7 trailers, full-time income, founded Trailer Hustle
• [6:00] Four ways to find customers
• [7:00] The donut strategy for U-Haul partnerships
• [9:00] Networking with commercial businesses; HVAC, roofing, landscapers
• [13:00] Pricing philosophy: be selfish, train your customers
• [18:00] Contactless rentals: pros, cons, when to start
• [24:00] Revenue: $9K/month average, slow $7K, great $11–12K
• [25:00] The maintenance fund and tire warranty strategy
• [29:00] The $20 minor damage flat rate
• [32:00] What he got wrong: not taking it seriously early enough
• [35:00] Biggest challenges: market saturation perception and spouse support
• [41:00] Famous Four Questions

Find Out More.

• TrailerHustle.com
• Trailer Hustle Facebook group
• Trailer Hustle Podcast