Boring businesses that are absolutely killing it

and how?

Hey everyone! The weekend is over, and we are back to hustle mode (not willingly, tho, 🙂).

When talking about businesses, we all try to build something new and unique, which is obviously good, but you can also build an empire by doing the most common thing.

People who own boring ventures probably don’t get to enjoy fame like others, but their success is no less noteworthy than the famous tycoons.

That’s why, in today’s newsletter, we will discuss some boring businesses that will help you make the bucks.

Let’s dive in…

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📌 The ‘Boring Business’ formula

Many of the most profitable businesses follow a simple pattern:

• Find a niche task that people or companies need to do but don’t want to do themselves.

• Buy the specialized equipment so you can do it efficiently and better than anyone else.

• Charge a premium because businesses would rather pay than invest in the equipment themselves.

Take my friend’s neighbor. His entire company revolved around drilling holes in concrete. That’s it. 

People pointed to where they wanted a hole, and he drilled it. It sounded so mundane at the time,  “What do you do?” “I drill holes in concrete.” 

But his business was thriving. And looking back, I’d trade my world for his in a heartbeat.

Another example is - concrete X-raying. 

In many places, building regulations require scanning concrete for cables and pipes before drilling. That means a concrete scanning company will always be in demand. 

And guess what? After the scan, the next guy gets paid to drill the holes.

Then there’s the gravel supplier, the guy who crushes rocks into smaller rocks to make the concrete for the X-ray guys to X-ray so the drill guy can drill.

See the chain? Every ‘boring’ job is a link in a money-making cycle.

📌 The rich plumber (And why you should care)

In the 80s and 90s, struggling students were often pushed into trades like plumbing, mechanics, or electricity. These were seen as ‘failures’ compared to university-bound students.

One of my friends was dyslexic, struggled with school, and ended up in plumbing. 

Fast forward 30 years: he owns a plumbing empire with dozens of employees, thousands of customers, and earns 13 times the salary of a senior IT specialist in a massive telecom company.

The real kicker? His most valuable skill wasn’t plumbing, it was simply showing up when people called.

(That’s a sad reality in the trades. Plumbers, landscapers, pool installers, so many customers just want someone who actually answers their calls and does the job.)

📌 Want a business idea? Go to a city council meeting

One guy in a discussion thread jokingly said he wanted to sit in on city council meetings and figure out how roadwork contracts get awarded. Then, he financed a machine and became the guy for his area.

That’s actually brilliant.

Many successful business owners didn’t have a ‘visionary’ moment; they just noticed an overlooked industry where demand outpaced supply.

The result? A lucrative, high-barrier-to-entry business with little competition.

📌 Fun facts about these ‘boring’ millionaires

• A lawyer I once worked for told me the nicest house in her neighborhood was owned by a plumber.

• A lawyer also helped a plumber sell his business for $40 million.

• A snowplow driver realized mailboxes kept getting destroyed, so he started a mailbox replacement business. He simply drove around looking for broken mailboxes, left flyers, and quickly built a profitable business.

• A trash-hauling business that started with one borrowed garbage truck was sold years later with six trucks for millions.

• A college kid paid his tuition by picking up dog poop in rich neighborhoods

📌 How do you scale a ‘boring’ business?

A plumbing tycoon who sold his company for $40M did three things right:

1. Worked like crazy in his early years.

2. Reinvested all profits into expansion rather than spending frivolously.

3. Bought out smaller competitors and real estate for his business to grow.

When customers Googled “plumber near me,” he had shops across the region, making sure he was always the first result.

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Boring businesses don’t chase trends. They don’t rely on likes, shares, or market hype. They solve real problems, get paid well, and, most importantly, are built to last.

So, if you’re thinking about starting a business, maybe skip the next big thing and take a look at the old, unsexy, reliable ones.

That’s it for today. If you enjoyed this edition, subscribe to hear from us every day!

See ya 👋

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