Happy Thursday!
Real quick- I get this question all the time: “How do I actually make money with all these AI tools?” Thats why I built Playmakers- my AI agency program where I teach you how to charge local businesses $500-$5,000 a month to set up and manage AI for them. You get three live calls a week, plug-and-play automation templates you can deploy for clients on day one, a 5 Day First Client Challenge, and my personal lead lists with businesses in your area ready to connect.120+ people are already in the community building agencies right now. Go to playmakersai.com and check it out.
Okay, let’s get into it.
So a few weeks ago I sat down with a guy named Marc. He's a 66-year-old lawyer from California. Sharp guy. Entrepreneurial his whole life. And he told me about a business that anyone could start. His best event? $8,000 net profit in two days. (You can listen to our whole conversation here on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.)
He did it in 100-degree heat in the middle of a desert. A $150,000 truck was parked right next to him running the same concept but Marc out-earned it. And his total equipment cost was under $3,000. His cost per unit sold is under $3. He sells each one for $8. He fulfills every order in 30 seconds flat. No employees. No lease. No machinery that costs more than a used car.
It's iced coffee. And he’s selling it from a gutted Home Depot tool cart with a nitro tap system bolted inside. And once he told me how it worked, I couldn't stop thinking about it. (Which says a lot because I have never tried coffee in my life).
The Business Model in 60 Seconds:
Cold brew coffee gets brewed and packed into a bag-in-box container, similar to the syrup pouches you see in restaurant kitchens. You tap it with a nitrogen gas system, which creates a smooth, foamy pour with tiny microbubbles. After 9 a.m., Marc says, 95% of people want something iced with cream and syrup anyway. The quality of the underlying coffee barely matters to them. What matters is speed, temperature, and price.
That's why the tool cart model destroys every other coffee format. No grinding, brewing on-site or milk steaming. Just tap, pour, cap, hand it over. Thirty seconds per cup. He's served a thousand people in a single day with three people working the station. It’s cheap, fast, and people love it.
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The Numbers:
Cup cost: roughly $3 including coffee, ice, cup, lid, and straw
Selling price: $8 to $8.50 per cup
Margin: about $5 profit per cup, or roughly 60%
Cart setup cost: $2,500 to $3,000 total, all in
Revenue per day at a small event (80 buyers): $400 net
Revenue per day at a mid-size festival (150 to 200 buyers): $800 to $1,200 net
Revenue at a big multi-day event: $2,000 to $8,000 net
You're making between $100 and $400 per hour in pure profit depending on the event.
How to Launch in Your Area:
Step 1: Build the cart. First, go search FB Marketplace to see if you can get one for cheap. If not, go to Home Depot and buy a Husky tool cart (around $600).
-Have a local metal shop cut out the interior shelves so you have clean flat space.
-Drop in a bag-in-box tap system ($200) and a nitrogen tank ($200 to buy, then $30 to refill every few months).
-Source your cold brew from a local coffee roaster or a food service cold brew supplier that ships bag-in-box.
Step 2: Get legal. In most areas you'll need a basic catering or food handler's permit. Start by checking your county health department website. If you're operating at private events- weddings, corporate parties, festivals on private land- requirements are lighter. If you want to set up at gas stations or car washes, you may need a mobile vending license. Budget $200 to $500 for permits depending on your state.
Step 3: Lock in locations before you launch. Don't wait until the cart is built. Start calling event organizers now. Target car shows, air shows, farmers markets, tractor supply parking lots, night markets, and local festivals. Introduce yourself, ask about vendor fees, and get on their list. Marc built relationships with event organizers over years and now gets into events for $300 to $400 in booth fees that earn him $1,500 net.
Step 4: Nail your signage. Mark made one expensive mistake early: people didn't know what he was selling. "Nitro coffee" meant nothing to most people walking by. The sign that worked? Just ICED COFFEE. Big font, bright color, PVC sign printed at FedEx for about $100.
Step 5: Test, calibrate, repeat. Your first few events are data collection. If you sell $100 at a tractor supply one Saturday, don't quit. The cost of being wrong is just gas money and a $150 booth fee. Figure out what the right events are for your area and double down on those. Car washes are especially underrated. He parks at a hand car wash and clears $500 to $600 in an afternoon.
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Not inspired by the coffee idea? The same low-overhead, high-margin logic applies to a bunch of other cart concepts. Here are a few that are wide open:
Dirty sodas/ specialty lemonades. Fruit syrups run about $10 to $15 per bottle and yield 30 to 40 servings. Add sparkling water, ice, and a cup and your cost per drink lands around $1.50. Sell them for $6 to $8 and you're running 75% to 80% gross margins. Startup is under $1,500 total.
Cotton candy. A commercial machine runs $300 to $600. Sugar costs about 10 cents per serving. You charge $5 to $8 per bag, meaning margins are north of 95%. (Mark told me about a woman at Hollywood parties charge $500 to $600 for a three-hour appearance. One machine and a bag of sugar.)
Nitro tea or matcha. Same tap system as the coffee cart, just different liquid. Matcha concentrate costs roughly $0.50 per serving. Sell a 16 oz nitro matcha latte for $7 and you're looking at 85% gross margins. Virtually no competition at events right now, and the demographic skews younger and higher-income.
Kettle corn. A kettle corn setup runs $800 to $1,500 for the kettle and cart. Your cost per bag is under $0.75 for oil, sugar, salt, and corn. Bags sell for $5 to $8. Shelf stable, no refrigeration needed, and the smell alone sells product from 50 feet away. Margins routinely hit 85%.
Paletas or shaved ice. Shaved ice machines start around $500. Syrup concentrates run about $0.30 to $0.50 per serving. A $6 shaved ice has a food cost well under $1, so you're at 85% margins or better. Paletas require a bit more prep but a chest freezer and a pop mold setup keeps startup under $1,000. Both dominate at family events and farmers markets, especially in warm climates.
The Bottom Line: Marc's whole point is this: you don't need a truck, a lease, or a logo to start a real business. You need a cart, a permit, and the willingness to show up somewhere people are already gathering.
The event business in America is huge. Weddings, air shows, night markets, car shows, festivals, sporting events. And people there want something memorable and interactive.
You just have to be there. Build the cart. Get the permit. Call three event organizers this week. That's your whole to-do list. Marc had his first paying event within weeks of getting started, and he's a 66-year-old lawyer who has never tasted the product he sells.
You can just do things. And again- if you want to learn more about this hustle, you can listen to our whole conversation here on Spotify and Apple Podcasts. And when you start your own cart, let me know how quickly you make over $1,000 at an event!
Lastly, I'm always looking for cool, unique businesses to share on my podcasts. If you have one and are comfortable sharing your journey, drop your info here!
Have a great week!
Chris
P.S. I share deep dives on business ideas and complete playbooks three times a week on YouTube and every podcast platform.
