The boring businesses quietly printing money over $1M.

Real businesses - Just high-margin, self-run work that pays.

👋 Hi and welcome to today’s edition of Venture Radar — where we uncover real businesses making real money, and break down how they do it.

When you think of entrepreneurship, you probably imagine sleek tech startups, viral content creators, or million-dollar crypto plays.

But scroll through certain corners of Reddit, and you’ll discover something surprising:

Some of the most profitable businesses are the ones nobody dreams of starting.

They’re not flashy. They don’t go viral. And that’s exactly why they work.

In our recent article, we shared “How People Really Make $200K+ Working for Themselves ?” But today’s post is different, we’re spotlighting how people are making serious money (from $200K to $1M) by running “boring” businesses with minimal teams.

All of these are real stories, of real people quietly building high-margin, no-fuss businesses that just work.

The hole driller who became rich by being precise

“I knew a guy who had a company that specialized in cutting holes in concrete. That was all his company did… and he did extremely well indeed.”

Concrete coring is one of those hyper-niche tasks that’s always in demand on construction sites but too specialized for contractors to do in-house. With the right machine and reliability, this guy carved (literally) a path to serious profits.

Bonus: A reply said they knew a guy who just X-rays the concrete to check for cables before the drillers come in. He too “makes good money doing even less work.”

The septic tank installer with a waitlist and recurring revenue

“Clears 7 figures with a relatively small team.”

This business isn’t glamorous, but it’s required by law. Each install includes a $1K+ mandatory service plan. Demand is off the charts. The operator? Considering leaving software dev to do this full time.

The guy who removes and flips broken hot tubs

“He buys shitty broken tubs, puts ~$500 into them, and sells them for $2K–$3.5K. Pays someone $25/hr to do all the work. Literally just works off his phone.”

This is arbitrage for the physical world. Buying junk others don’t want, fixing it up with universal parts, and flipping it for 3–5X the cost. Simple. Repeatable. Profitable.

The dog poop scooper who built an empire

“Over 3,000 customers. 20+ vehicles. Owns a strip mall and multiple rentals.”

Started with flyers his 12-year-old son handed out. Now? Total dominance in the niche. People want clean yards and nobody wants to do it themselves.

The guy who only replaces mailboxes

“He posted in a Facebook group, offered multiple options, replaced ours in 2 hours. Judging by his posts, he has no shortage of customers.”

And the kicker? He spots bad mailboxes while driving, sticks flyers on them, and gets a conversion right when people realize they need one.

The plumber parents once felt sad about

“He had dyslexia and was sent to a technical school. His parents were so sad.”

Fast forward: he’s now richer than his friend who became a senior IT exec. Built a massive plumbing company with dozens of employees and tens of thousands of customers.

His secret? “Showing up when people called him.”

The dirt seller

“A business partner sells dirt by the ton. Makes a ton of money.”

Yes. Literally dirt. When you own land and others need to build or fill lots, that pile of earth becomes a cash machine.

The guy who wraps boats, furniture, and even cars

“Eventually got contracts to plastic-wrap cars going on trains. Makes bank.”

Protective shrink-wrapping is surprisingly valuable. It started with boats, expanded into more categories, and now spans industries.

The laundromat moguls

“Multiple people here mention owning laundromats. They're killing it.”

Simple model. Recurring use. Recession-resistant. One person mentioned a psychologist who co-ran laundromats with her husband, slowly acquiring more every few years.

The garage door installer earning $1,200/day

“Just him, cash only, installs garage doors. That’s it.”

Imagine doing 1–2 installs per day, charging a healthy rate, and keeping overhead low. No team. No stress. Just a niche, in-demand skill.

Why these “boring” businesses win

After going through hundreds of these comments, five patterns stood out:

• Unsexy = less competition
  Fewer people want to scoop poop or cut concrete. That means fewer competitors and more pricing power.

• Essential, not optional
  These businesses solve unavoidable problems plumbing, taxes, mailboxes, pest control meaning customers need them, not just want them.

• Repeat work + steady margins
  Many have recurring customers and minimal churn. Think 20–50% margins and predictable cash flow.

• Systemizable & outsource-friendly
  They often become machines the owner hires and manages, rather than doing all the work themselves.

• Trust = growth
  Word-of-mouth rules these industries. Reliability and reputation close more deals than fancy branding ever could.

You might scroll through Twitter or LinkedIn and feel like you need to build the next big AI tool to make good money.

But you don’t.

Sometimes the best opportunities are right under our noses or under concrete, or inside broken hot tubs.

Want to build something simple that works?

Start by asking: What do people hate doing, but need done well and are willing to pay for?

Then show up. The bar is lower than you think.

Also When it comes to boring businesses, people often argue that they take a lot of time and especially money to build.

If you're still thinking that way, let me tell you: you're wrong.

Sure, some businesses require capital. But there are also plenty of online boring businesses that you can start with zero investment and people are making serious money from them.

We’ll be sharing more in our upcoming issue. Until then, don’t forget to subscribe.

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🌐 From Around the Internet

• What's the best business in your opinion to run in 2025? (Read)

• How did you become successful in business? learn from real stories (Read)

• How to use Reddit to grow your startup: a lesson from a $1M SaaS founder. (Read)

• If you had $1,000 to start your own scalable business (preferably online) what would you start? (Read)

• How Nick Saban’s side hustle might make him a billionaire. (Watch)

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