On this episode of the Rent It Out Podcast, Cal sits down with Bodhi, a software engineer and founder of Locki, to talk about the evolution of automated rentals and the growing opportunities in the rental side hustle world.

Bodhi shares how he and his uncle built one of the world’s first paddleboard vending machines in Australia, allowing customers to rent paddleboards without needing staff onsite. What started as a creative experiment turned into a successful automated rental business before COVID changed everything.

The conversation dives into:

• How automation removes friction from rental businesses
• Why last-minute rentals are rapidly growing
• The importance of Google and Apple business profiles
• Why multiple pickup locations dramatically increase traffic
• What trailer types make the most money at different business stages
• New rental trends including tools, water sports equipment, and golf simulators
• The concept of “distribution as a moat” in rental businesses
• Why convenience matters more than ever for customers

Bodhi also shares insights from working with some of the largest automated trailer rental operators in the world and explains how small operators can compete by focusing on accessibility, automation, and customer convenience.

If you’ve ever considered starting a rental side hustle or expanding your current rental operation, this episode is packed with practical insights and future-focused ideas.

Resources Mentioned

• Lockii
• Google Business Profile
• Apple Business Connect

On this episode of the Rent It Out Podcast, Cal sits down with Nikki, who shares how she’s growing a tote rental business, not through ads or cold outreach, but through simple, consistent networking.

After years as a stay-at-home mom, Nikki found herself stepping into unfamiliar territory: meeting new people, attending events, and building connections from scratch. What started as a small effort to support their business quickly turned into a powerful customer acquisition strategy.

Instead of pitching or selling, Nikki focuses on building real relationships and those relationships are turning into rentals, referrals, and long-term opportunities.

If you’ve ever struggled with finding customers or felt uncomfortable selling, this episode will give you a practical, approachable path forward.

In this episode:

• How Nikki went from “knowing no one” to building a strong network
• Why networking works better than selling for service-based rentals
• The exact follow-up system she uses after meeting people
• How realtors are becoming a key referral source
• What to say (and not say) when talking about your business
• Why relationship-building beats hard sales every time
• How to get started networking, even if you’re uncomfortable

Resources Mentioned:

• Local networking groups and events
• Realtor partnerships
• Small Business Development Centers

Find Out More
Totes on Loan
Totes Rental Business Owners

This episode is different.

Instead of another success story, I’m sharing my own journey into the trailer rental business. And it’s still a work in progress.

From buying my first trailers to dealing with damage on day one, chasing “passive income,” and realizing I wasn’t marketing nearly enough… I break down what actually happened.

If you’ve ever thought about starting a rental side hustle, this is the honest version, not the highlight reel.

I cover:

• Why I got into trailer rentals in the first place
• The biggest mistake that cost me money
• What I misunderstood about “hands-off” income
• Why my business grew… then slowed down
• Marketing efforts that worked (and didn’t)
• Lessons from buying the wrong equipment
• What I would do differently if starting today
• The decision I’m facing: go all-in or get out

This isn’t a polished success story. It’s a real look at building something that hasn’t fully clicked yet and figuring out what comes next.

If you're in the middle of your own journey, this one’s for you.

What started as a single idea and about $3,000, turned into a fully booked rental business.

In this episode, you’ll hear how Amberlyn Richie built a photo booth side hustle from scratch while working a full-time job and raising a family.
After spotting a gap in her small-town market, she took action, landed her first event, and quickly found herself booked nearly every weekend.

We talk through how the business actually works—from 360 booths to selfie booths, digital vs print, and what it takes to run events without burning out. Amberlyn also shares what she’s learned about pricing, managing multiple bookings, and why staying in smaller markets can be a major advantage.

If you’re looking for a rental idea that works in real life—not just online—this episode will give you a clear starting point.

In This Episode:

• How she started with one 360 photo booth
• Getting fully booked through word of mouth
• 360 booths vs selfie booths (what’s the difference)
• Digital vs print rentals (and what customers actually want)
• Pricing, time minimums, and event structure
• Managing multiple rentals with a small team
• Lessons from early mistakes and upgrades
• Why small towns can be better than big cities

🛠️ Resources & Mentions:

• Canva (for templates and overlays)
• Photo booth event software platforms
• TikTok (for learning and marketing ideas)
• YouTube (learning setup and operations)

👤 Connect with Amberlyn:

• Website: Richie 360 Photo Booth Rentals | https://www.richie360photoboothrentals.com/
• Social: Richie Photo Booth Rentals (Facebook, Instagram, TikTok)

David Stillson hated cardboard boxes and that frustration turned into a business.

When David and his wife Nikki needed to move, he went looking for a cheaper alternative to buying boxes and stumbled onto tote rental. For about $2,000, he bought a pallet of commercial logistics totes and dollies, used them for his own move, and started renting the rest. Their first customer needed totes to transport live coral from a 180-gallon fish tank. Their fourth rental was a 150-tote corporate order they didn't have the inventory to fill...yet.

Now they're running 380 totes out of their garage, hitting 61% utilization, and booked out weeks in advance with residential movers, real estate agents, and corporate clients.

In this episode, David covers:
→ How he researched and validated the idea using ChatGPT and competitor scraping
→ Why he chose commercial logistics totes over $7 Home Depot bins
→ The bundle pricing structure that makes it easy for customers to say yes
→ How in-person networking (and premium cookies) outperformed paid ads
→ Logistics of delivering, cleaning, and storing hundreds of totes from home
→ His advice for anyone who wants to start a rental side hustle this year

If you've been looking for a physical rental idea that's low drama, low loss risk, and easy to scale from your own driveway, this episode is for you.

Most people walk right past a rental side hustle without realizing it. Not because it's complicated but because it looks too simple.

In this solo episode, Cal Hardage breaks down exactly what a rental side hustle is, why the economics work, what makes a good rental item, and who this model is actually built for. He also pulls in stories and clips from the first three guests, Jamie (bounce houses), Justin (trailer rentals), and Adam (party tents), to show that these aren't unicorn stories. They're regular people who ran the math, took a chance, and figured it out as they went.

What you'll hear:

→ The core idea: buy something once, rent it over and over, get paid every time it goes out the door

→ Why rental income works differently than trading time for money

→ The four characteristics of a great rental item

→ The sweet spot between "too cheap to rent" and "too expensive to own"

→ Why most people talk themselves out of this before they even try — and what the three most common objections actually look like

→ What's coming up on the show (including a new Famous Four format starting Episode 5)

→ Cal's own origin story with Load It Trailers

Whether you're thinking about starting a rental business or just trying to understand if this model could work for you, this episode will give you a clear picture of what it actually is and what it takes.

Adam was one month from finishing college when he decided to start a tent rental company. He maxed out credit cards, cashed in birthday bonds, bought three tents, and advertised in the Yellow Pages and the local Penny Saver. That was 22 years ago.

Today Adam runs a full party rental operation in upstate New York, tents, tables and chairs, dance floors, lighting, restroom trailers, and more, generating at least $200K per year from tents alone. His framework for the whole business: the tent is just the bread. The money is in everything under it.

This episode is packed with hard-won perspective: how to price equipment so you break even in 10 rentals, why Google Ads is the only marketing channel that makes sense for event rentals, when to say no to a revenue stream that's making your life miserable, how to use efficiency equipment to double your profit without adding a single job, and why he's made an estimated $300K in mistakes — so you don't have to.

What you'll learn

• Why Adam started with 3 tents on credit cards right out of college
• The "tent is just the bread" framework and everything under it is the real money
• Target payback: recover your equipment cost within 10 rentals
• Why he dropped $150K/year in catering revenue and doesn't regret it
• Google Ads as the only marketing that works for event rental (search-based business)
• Using Facebook Reels to reach people who don't know restroom trailers exist
• Efficiency equipment: how Adam cut tent setup time from 4–5 hours to under 2
• Profit margins: up to 30% if you run efficiently, closer to 12% if you don't
• Renting trucks seasonally instead of buying them
• The $300K in mistakes — and the credit card processor that cost him $90K over 6 years
• Why rentals are one of the few businesses where you can bootstrap to millionaire status

Timestamps

• [0:00] How Adam got started: one month before college graduation
• [2:00] First years: Yellow Pages, Penny Saver, mom's SUV
• [4:00] Why nothing went wrong early and when it started getting hard
• [5:00] The tent count question: why 30 tents isn't the right gauge
• [6:00] What he actually rents: tents, tables, chairs, dance floors, restroom trailers
• [8:00] Dropping catering equipment: $150K revenue that wasn't worth it
• [9:00] Customer acquisition: Google Ads only for tents, Reels for restroom trailers
• [12:00] Still working crew lead and the company culture advantage
• [13:00] 10-rental payback framework for pricing equipment
• [15:00] Setup equipment: from hammers to powered hand carts and stake pullers
• [19:00] Revenue: $200K/year from tents, over $1M lifetime in tents
• [20:00] Getting started revenue: $20–25K cash at age 22–23
• [22:00] Profit margins: 30% efficient, 12% inefficient
• [23:00] Weather as the biggest ongoing challenge
• [29:00] The $300K in mistakes including $90K in credit card fees over 6 years
• [31:00] "Rentals are one of the few businesses where you can bootstrap to millionaire"
• [32:00] Famous Four Questions

Find Out More

• YouTube: The Tent Guy (free — covers ~80% of the business)
• startapartyrentalcompany.com (course)
• TikTok: @realworldsidehustles

Justin had a utility trailer sitting in his backyard. He didn't want to sell it, didn't want it rotting away, so he listed it on Facebook Marketplace for $40 a day — and someone rented it three days later. That same customer still rents from him today.

Five years later, Justin runs a fleet of seven trailers out of Jacksonville, Florida, averaging $9,000 a month in gross revenue. It's his full-time income. He also built Trailer Hustle, a community and resource hub approaching 20,000 members, for people doing exactly what he does.

This episode covers the entire arc: starting with no contract, no toolbox, and a handshake in a movie theater parking lot — to building a systemized rental business with contactless pickup, a maintenance fund, local networking partnerships, and almost 40% recurring revenue from repeat commercial customers.

What you'll learn

• Why the best trailer to start with is the one you already have
• How Justin went from $40/day to ~$100/trailer/day average
• Four customer acquisition channels: Marketplace, Google Reviews, local networking, rental platforms
• The donut-and-pizza strategy for building referral relationships with U-Haul locations
• Why 39.5% of his revenue comes from recurring commercial customers (HVAC, roofing, landscapers)
• How to set up a maintenance fund: $100/trailer/month, covers almost everything
• The $20 flat-rate minor damage fee that adds up and trains customers fairly
• 24-hour minimum rentals and why he never does hourly
• Contactless rental setup and when to go hands-on first
• How to handle discounts: pick one percentage (his is 20%) and never deviate

Timestamps

• [0:00] How Justin got started: trailer in the backyard, $40/night
• [2:00] First rental: no contract, movie theater parking lot, handshake
• [4:00] Adding a toolbox, raising to $50, the iterative improvement approach
• [5:00] Current operation: 7 trailers, full-time income, founded Trailer Hustle
• [6:00] Four ways to find customers
• [7:00] The donut strategy for U-Haul partnerships
• [9:00] Networking with commercial businesses; HVAC, roofing, landscapers
• [13:00] Pricing philosophy: be selfish, train your customers
• [18:00] Contactless rentals: pros, cons, when to start
• [24:00] Revenue: $9K/month average, slow $7K, great $11–12K
• [25:00] The maintenance fund and tire warranty strategy
• [29:00] The $20 minor damage flat rate
• [32:00] What he got wrong: not taking it seriously early enough
• [35:00] Biggest challenges: market saturation perception and spouse support
• [41:00] Famous Four Questions

Find Out More.

• TrailerHustle.com
• Trailer Hustle Facebook group
• Trailer Hustle Podcast