👻 The $100 side hustle inside abandoned storage units

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If you’re new here, we turn $1 into thousands building these weird but simple side hustles. Welcome to Ghost Business 👻 Your (mostly) weekly email

TLDR;

• Spend $20 on a storage unit → flip $200–$300 in sellable goods.

• Start with $100 (5 units), reinvest profits into more bids.

• Clear junk fast with dump runs.

• Run weekly garage sales + online listings for constant turnover.

• Scale to 20 units/month = $10k profit target.

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Abandoned storage units get auctioned off every day, and sites like StorageTreasures.com let you bid from your couch. Most people picture TV crews dropping thousands, but in reality, you can snag units for as little as $20. The hustle is simple: buy low, pull out what sells, dump the rest, and keep the cash flowing through weekend garage sales and online flips.

The MVP

Start with $100 → grab 5 units at $20 each. Expect to find a mix of household goods, small furniture, clothes, and random surprises. You’ll need to factor in dump fees (about $20–$40 per load, depending on volume) to clear junk that won’t sell. Anything with resale value goes straight to Facebook Marketplace, OfferUp, or into your weekly garage sale pile.

• Cost of 1 unit: $20

• Dump fees: $20–$40 per haul

• Resale range: $100–$500+ per decent unit

• MVP goal: Flip first $20 unit into $200–$300 in sales within a week

Path to $10,000 a month

The playbook is volume + velocity: keep buying cheap units, clearing them quickly, and funneling inventory into a standing garage sale every weekend. Once you’re known as the “junk guy/gal,” buyers will show up weekly for fresh stock. Layer in online sales (fb marketplace, offerup etc) for higher-value finds (tools, furniture, collectibles). At scale, you can hit 20–25 units a month, averaging $500 profit each, plus steady garage sale cash. Bring in a helper with a truck to double your haul capacity.

• 20 units/month × $500 avg profit = $10k/month

• Weekly garage sales = $500–$1k cash flow

• Dumping costs = ~$400–$800/month (already factored into profit)

p.s If you found this insight into the newsletter industry valuable, imagine how helpful it could be to someone else dreaming of starting their own hustle!

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Viability:

1 [building spaceships] 🚀 to 5 [easy peasy] 😊 

2/5 It’s not hard to start, but it is physical: hauling junk, driving to dumps, and running sales. The money is there if you move fast and don’t get attached to what you find. Biggest challenge is space… your garage will look like an episode of Hoarders.

(As usual each business will have it’s own setbacks, and it’s all about the execution and consistency rather than just having the idea)

It’s a great day to be great!

Love, Mike 👋