Niche Pursuits Podcast: Find Your Next "Niche" Business Idea! · Spencer Haws: NichePursuits.com

How Nick Huber Turned 'Boring' Businesses Into a $30M Empire

·42 min·3 clips

Nick Huber explains how he turned 'boring' businesses into a $30 million empire by focusing on overlooked opportunities.

Nick Huber, founder of Sweaty Startup, joins host Jared Bauman to discuss building wealth through unsexy, service-based businesses. Huber has built a portfolio generating about $30 million in revenue, including companies like Bolt Storage and the recently acquired Somewhere.com. He argues that the most reliable path to wealth is through "boring" local businesses like HVAC, plumbing, or tree removal, not trendy tech startups. Huber started with a college storage business that taught him hard lessons in hiring and operations before he sold it for a seven-figure exit. He emphasizes analyzing local competition through a "10-minute drill," like calling three house painters to gauge their hunger for work. A key insight is that 70% of the wealthiest people he knows focused intensely on a single business, though he diversified when his first venture hit a growth ceiling. He advises starting by trading time for money, like making $500 on a weekend, to overcome paralysis by analysis. Huber shares that hiring became less stressful only after his businesses became consistently profitable, and he now employs 325 people, mostly internationally. He recounts a pivotal moment in a bar with his partner where they realized employee mistakes were their own leadership failures. One of his best hires was a proactive Walmart employee he recruited in a parking lot. A surprising claim is that 95% of people lack the skill and temperament to start or buy a business, and he himself will only acquire companies now. The tone is direct, tactical, and conversational, drawn from Huber's blunt, experienced perspective. Listeners will appreciate the actionable frameworks for evaluating ideas and hiring, plus the countercultural stance against glamorous entrepreneurship. This episode is ideal for aspiring or early-stage founders feeling overwhelmed by trendy advice and seeking a pragmatic, boots-on-the-ground approach. Those solely interested in digital or venture-scale businesses might find the focus on local service industries less relevant.

As heard by us

A practical case for building wealth from overlooked businesses.

Nick Huber makes a familiar founder interview feel grounded. He talks through the purchase of somewhere.com for $52 million, the shape of a business with 325 employees and about $30 million in revenue, and the case for paying attention to plain, ordinary businesses instead of…

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You want a blunt guide to turning ordinary businesses into real money.

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