Happy Thursday!

I'm building a private community called TKOwners for people who want to turn all these insights into real businesses. We have a slack channel where we drop insane AI tools and possibilities everyday. If you're serious about staying ahead of this AI revolution, check it out at tkowners.com. It's where the hundreds of action-takers hang out.

Okay, let’s get into it.

There’s a business hiding in almost every mid-sized city in America. It requires about $1,500 to start. It has almost no competition. And Google Trends just hit a score of 100 which means right now is the highest recorded search interest for this thing in history.

The business is renting out moving totes- reusable plastic bins that people use instead of cardboard boxes when they move. You buy a pallet of them, you rent them out, you go pick them up when the move is done, and then you rent them out again. Same asset, over and over.

This Opportunity Is Wide Open

Tote rental is a real industry in some major metros. Established, proven, and profitable. But no one has rolled it out in most places. Fort Wayne, Indiana? No providers. Billings, Montana? No providers. Hundreds of mid-sized cities across this country? Wide open.

I talked to a guy named David who stumbled into this while prepping for his own move. He didn’t want to hunt down used boxes or deal with the hassle of taping and breaking down cardboard. He researched tote rental in his area, found nothing, so he started it.

His first buy was one pallet of 120 commercial-grade totes. Worst case, he figured he would totes for life. Best case, the thing takes off and he would need more. That kind of low-downside, asymmetric thinking is exactly how you want to approach a business like this.

The Economics: Commercial totes cost around $12 each at wholesale, but you have to buy by the pallet to get that price. One pallet is roughly 120 totes, which runs about $1,500 with shipping. A standard rental package is 20 totes for a typical move. David charges $99 for that package.

One pallet gives you six rental sets. Six sets at $99 each is $594 in potential revenue per rental cycle. Totes go out for a week or two and come back. Rent them out again. The asset does not depreciate meaningfully, it does not expire, and it does not require restocking. You are selling the same $1,500 worth of plastic over and over.

Your costs after the initial buy are minimal. Fuel to deliver and pick up. A simple website. Maybe some local marketing spend. The gross margins on this business, once you have your inventory, are exceptional.

David started with 120 totes and had to immediately order another 120 because he overbooked. His rule: only buy more inventory when you oversell. Let demand prove the need before you spend.

The Google Trends:

Pull up Google Trends and search "tote rental." What you'll see is this: essentially zero search volume around 2010, a slow, steady climb through the mid-2010s, then a sharp move up, hitting 100 out of 100 in the most recent 2026 data.

A score of 100 does not mean the market has peaked. It means right now represents the highest relative search interest ever recorded for that term. The trend is accelerating. Consumer awareness of tote rental as an option is growing fast, and the supply of local providers is not keeping up.

People are sick of cardboard. Taping everything together, and then having nowhere to put forty broken-down boxes when the move is done. The environmental angle matters to a lot of people too. Reusable, stackable, sturdy plastic totes are a genuinely better product. Demand is real and it is growing. Supply in most markets is basically zero.

You can be that supply. First to market. But you’ll need systems. Most small business owners don't lose deals on price. They lose them on response time. A lead comes in after hours, a form, a DM, a call, and if nobody answers until morning, they've already booked with whoever responded first. That's true for tote rentals, that's true for every service business.

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Always Test It Before You Spend: You do not have to buy anything to know if it will work in your market.

Post on Facebook Marketplace. Write a simple listing: "Moving tote rentals coming to [your city]. 20 sturdy plastic bins delivered to your door for your next move.”

You do not have totes yet. That is fine. (You are testing demand, not fulfilling orders.) You can also go find existing tote rental companies in bigger cities near you and reach out directly. Ask how the business is going. Ask what they wish they had known. Most people doing niche businesses like this are not threatened by someone in a different market. They will talk to you.

Getting Customers

Facebook Marketplace is where David started, and it works because people searching for moving help are already there. But then he unlocked a better, stickier market- realtors.

David's wife started attending realtor networking events pitching the idea: “Let us gift your clients their moving totes as a closing gift. You get a memorable gift. We handle everything. You do nothing.”

Realtors are already looking for creative closing gifts. They close deals constantly, have marketing budgets and are surrounded by people who are literally about to move. And once you have accounts, they tend to stay. Realtors who have tried the gifting program and had clients rave about it are not going to drop it for a competitor. The switching cost is low in theory, but the inertia of a working system is real. You build relationships, you build a track record, and you become the obvious local option.

Start This Week: Go be first in your area. In most markets, there is no tote rental company. You are not taking share from anyone. You are creating the category. The person who shows up first, does good work, and builds those realtor relationships is going to be very hard to displace.

Search tote rental in your city right now. If you find a provider, great, learn from them. If you find nothing, you just found your business.

Post the Facebook Marketplace listing today. See what happens. You are out nothing except twenty minutes of your time, and the response will tell you everything you need to know about whether this works in your market.

If you get bites, order one pallet. Get your website up, it does not need to be fancy. Find the Real Producers magazine for your area and get yourself to the next networking event. Shake some hands. Explain the gifting program. Let the product sell itself. The totes will keep paying you long after that first $1,500 is gone.

That is the whole game. You can just do things.

And again- if you want to dive in deeper, our full conversation is way more detailed on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, and Spotify.

You can just do things.

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.