SYSTEM NOTICE

Auto translation by AI. Be sure, accuracy, nuances and authorial intent may not be fully reflected.
見出し画像

#23 - The Kings of Micro-Business Thriving Overseas - What Are Their Methods for Earning Millions?!

リミ｜海外ビジネスPodcast編集長


Reselling snack foods. Self-storage units. Coin-operated car washes.

These are all businesses that can only be described as "plain."

Yet, there are people earning tens of millions of yen a month from them. Moreover, they reveal their methods for free every week via podcasts and newsletters.

The plainer the business, the more profitable it is. Because it lacks flashiness, competitors don't show up.

Across the ocean, this "full disclosure of boring businesses" has become a trend. The people I introduce in this series every week are right in the middle of this movement.

However, I suspect many of you see the names that appear each time and think, "So, who are they?" As a special edition, I will introduce six regulars of this series all at once.

In this series, I listen to their English podcasts every week, verify the numbers from primary sources, and rewrite them for Japanese readers.

Chris Koerner — A serial entrepreneur who has launched 75 companies

Based in Texas. He has launched over 75 businesses to date.

His signature business is "Texas Snax." It is a seemingly plain business that simply sells local Texas snacks online across the United States. This generates over 60 million yen in monthly sales.

A man who pulls in the sales of two convenience stores just from snack foods.

He also manages a wide range of businesses, including acquiring 27 RV parks—accommodations for recreational vehicles—as well as iPhone repair shops and a used car purchasing agency service.

What they all have in common is the philosophy of "demand first, product second." Find what people already want, and place the product there. Rather than flashy ideas, focus on plain demand. This way of thinking can be applied directly by those starting side hustles in Japan.

He reveals the behind-the-scenes of his businesses every week on his podcast, "The Koerner Office."

Nick Huber — Proponent of "Sweaty Side Hustles"

He sold a luggage storage service he started in college for approximately 25.5 million yen. That is seven years' worth of a new graduate's annual salary.

After that, he expanded his self-storage business, "Bolt Storage," to 68 locations across the U.S.

Huber's philosophy is simple: "Are you willing to wake up at 6 a.m. and break a sweat?"

He advocates for earning money through "boring but reliably in-demand jobs" like self-storage, car washes, and cleaning, rather than flashy startups. Don't think, just act. It's unglamorous, but it is the approach least likely to fail.

The podcast "The Sweaty Startup" is like a textbook for learning how to start these kinds of unglamorous businesses.

Codie Sanchez — The evangelist of "Buy Boring Businesses"

"Buy a boring business and get rich." She is the founder of the newsletter "Contrarian Thinking," which has gathered over a million subscribers with this message.

Coin-operated car washes, vending machine routes, small service businesses. Buy businesses that no one pays attention to at a low price, set up systems, and generate profit. Don't build from scratch; buy.

A former investment banker with a strong grasp of numbers, she generously shares her criteria for acquisition and methods for due diligence in her newsletter and on YouTube.

Ali Abdaal — Quit being a doctor to become a YouTuber, annual revenue of 600 million yen

A former junior doctor in the UK. He started YouTube while working as a doctor and became a global creator with over 6 million subscribers.

What is noteworthy is the scale of his business. With a team of about 18 people, he generates over 4 million dollars (approx. 600 million yen) in annual revenue. That calculates to 33 million yen generated per employee annually.

He utilizes AI automation agents to thoroughly reduce manual tasks.

"Think of the first 100 videos as practice." Rather than aiming for perfection, just put it out there. This is the most practical advice for those starting a side hustle.

Jayden (AI Hustle Podcast) — A practitioner of AI side hustles

He earns about 750,000 yen per month through AI video production and publishes his methods every week on his podcast, "AI Hustle."

Jayden's value lies in the fact that he proves "what can be done using AI" with his own hands. Stories about building his own SaaS to replace one he was paying for, or AI-based consulting side hustle models—they are all relatable and make you think, "I could do that too."

He is not a critic, but a practitioner. That is why I will refer to him repeatedly in this series.

Lenny Rachitsky — Formerly of Airbnb, 1 million newsletter subscribers

A former product manager at Airbnb. The newsletter he started after leaving, "Lenny's Newsletter," has surpassed 1 million subscribers and grown into one of the world's largest business newsletters.

Rachitsky's strength is his framework for "Product-Led Growth (PLG)." He doesn't rely on advertising, but increases users solely through the quality of the product. This is the most useful way of thinking for those building products alone.

"Full disclosure of boring businesses" — The common thread among the six

Snack foods, storage rentals, car washes, AI videos. None of them are flashy.

But all six of them run their own businesses while publicly sharing the process every week. The revenue, the failures, and the reasoning behind their decisions. That is why there are no lies in the numbers.

Almost no one in Japan knows the names of these six people. This is because they only publish content via English podcasts and newsletters. Although there is a mountain of information, it doesn't reach people due to the language barrier.

This series crosses that barrier to deliver their content in Japanese. If these six people appear in future articles, the way you read them should change a little.

What you can do today

  • Follow at least one of the six on their podcast or newsletter (links are summarized below)

  • It doesn't matter if you aren't good at English. I introduce their content in Japanese every week in this series.

The correct answer to a side hustle has already been tried and published by someone else. It's just a matter of whether you go looking for it. I would be happy if this series could serve as your gateway.

Reference Information

#SideHustle #SideHustleIncome #MicroBusiness #OverseasBusiness #Podcast #CreativeAward2026 #BusinessCategory

いいなと思ったら応援しよう！