![\"Chris](\"https:\/\/www.sidehustlenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Chris-Brown.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
Billboards are timeless.<\/p>\n
And they remain a successful advertising strategy even with the rise of digital technology.<\/p>\n
With that said, you probably never imagined that a solopreneur could rake in $30,000 a month from it (part-time!).<\/p>\n
But that\u2019s exactly what Chris Brown from Signs of Good<\/a> and wantmore.org<\/a> has done for the past decade.<\/p>\n Chris retired early at the age of 42 and now owns approximately 30 billboards around Bentonville, Arkansas.<\/p>\n Tune in to Ep 608 of The Side Hustle Show to learn:<\/p>\n What else could you rent out for a profit? Here are some ideas!<\/p>\n Enter your email to download the full list now:<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n You’ll also receive my best side hustle tips and weekly-ish newsletter. Opt-out anytime.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Chris, broke after college and struggling with debt, has also just gotten married.<\/p>\n While only earning $8 per hour<\/strong> in an unstable pharmaceutical job that could lay him off anytime, Chris realized something wasn\u2019t working with his finances and started how to build wealth and get out of debt.<\/p>\n After driving past the same rundown billboard every day, he sensed an opportunity.<\/p>\n He looked for the property owner, made an offer, and bought the neglected billboard (plus the land) for $75,000.<\/p>\n Maybe he got lucky because the owner was near bankruptcy, but they both benefited from it anyway.<\/p>\n With a prime location among neighborhoods and schools, he priced each ad face at $600, totaling $2,400 per month.<\/p>\n It became profitable and a true passive income stream as some advertisers stayed for over a decade.<\/p>\n With the success of the first billboard, Chris had the itch to keep growing his inventory.<\/p>\n Chris\u2019 next project involved the construction of two double-stacked billboard structures on a 3-acre commercial lot he acquired.<\/p>\n Between the land purchase price and construction costs, the total upfront price tag was around $200,000.<\/strong><\/p>\n However, Chris can generate over $8,000<\/strong> per month in billboard rental income from the 8 ad faces available.<\/p>\n \u201cThat math works pretty well all day long,\u201d Chris said about the sweet potential gains, even after considering the hefty upfront investment needed.<\/p>\n While the initial costs of building or acquiring billboards can be steep, billboard owners enjoy a major advantage\u2014there\u2019s an extremely limited supply of these advertising assets available.<\/p>\n This scarcity is thanks to the Highway Beautification Act<\/strong><\/a> passed by Congress in 1965. The act severely restricted where new billboards could be installed along federal highway systems.<\/p>\n \u201cAbout a hundred years ago, billboards were not banned anywhere,\u201d Chris explained. \u201cYou could put them up anywhere you wanted, which made them worth not very much at all.\u201d<\/p>\n So when you have a lot of supply, the demand goes down because there\u2019s not much price to be discovered on that.<\/p>\n Of course, that same legislation made it much harder to get approved for new billboard builds nowadays. The permitting process requires clearing multiple regulatory hurdles at the federal, state, county, and municipal levels.<\/strong><\/p>\n One of the simplest methods is simply plastering your phone number or website across any vacant billboard faces with something like a \u201cYour Ad Here!\u201d call-to-action.<\/p>\n \u201cPeople will drive by those signs, see them. And by default, they\u2019re going to call or be interested in if they have a business or they want to run it.\u201d Chris said.<\/p>\n Posting temporary banners or vinyl wraps makes it easy for any interested businesses to inquire about the available inventory.<\/p>\n For pricing, the typical billboard lease is at least 12 months to offset the upfront costs of printed vinyl wraps and installation. \u201cSome get shorter in the 1 to 6 months just depending on the location,\u201d Chris noted.<\/p>\n The most significant factors influencing monthly rates are the traffic counts and the number of ad faces already active in a particular area.<\/p>\n You can get higher rates on a billboard that\u2019s the only one for miles on a highway stretch, even if the raw traffic counts are lower than in more congested areas. It\u2019s a classic supply-and-demand game.<\/p>\n State highway traffic counts are publicly available data points used to estimate the potential number of impressions. Still, factors like commercial density and competing inventory affect the pricing.<\/p>\n Also, the industry standard is for advertisers to cover the printing and installation costs separately.<\/p>\n There are also key differences between traditional static billboards and newer digital\/LED screens.<\/p>\n Static billboards are basically large printed vinyl wraps displaying the same advertisement 24\/7 until a lease expires or an advertiser makes a change. They have low ongoing maintenance costs but require reprinting expenses with any new creative ad updates.<\/p>\n Digital billboards rotate a rotation of different advertisements on a recurring cycle, usually every 6-8 seconds.<\/p>\n This allows for more ad inventory per digital face compared to static boards.<\/p>\n However, the upfront and operating costs for digital boards are much higher with large LED screens to power and maintain. Advertisers may be able to get away with shorter rental terms on digital displays instead of annual commitments.<\/p>\n \u201cPersonally, I actually like the old-fashioned static science the best. No maintenance; always up unless they get knocked down by wind,\u201d Chris said about choosing between static or digital billboards.<\/p>\n While the monthly cash flow from renting billboard advertising is attractive, the real wealth-building potential lies in the equity growth of these income producing assets<\/a>.<\/p>\n Major national operators like Lamar Advertising<\/a> and Outfront Media<\/a> routinely acquire independent billboards at valuations ranging from 7-12 times the annual revenue stream.<\/p>\n These big players are always on the hunt to grow their networks through through mergers\/acquisitions. So any time an individual or group decides to sell their billboard asset, they can demand high prices from potential purchasers.<\/p>\n Let\u2019s say you own some billboards that bring in $100k<\/strong> per year after expenses and everything is paid off. That means your billboard business would be worth $700k to $1.2M!<\/p>\n You might be surprised, but Chris keeps his operations remarkably low-tech and streamlined.<\/p>\n No fancy proprietary software or complex systems are required.<\/p>\n For the most part, they use basic spreadsheets to track everything\u2014advertiser contacts, contract dates, income statements, and all the fundamentals.<\/p>\n One notable tool Chris uses is LandGlide<\/a>, which he uses for real estate<\/a> and scouting possible new spots for billboards. This app shows you \u201cwho owns what, where it is, lot of lines, all that kind of stuff.\u201d<\/p>\n It essentially maps out county parcel data and ownership records in an easily accessible mobile interface.<\/p>\n The location-scouting process is key since ideal billboard spots require careful evaluation of neighboring properties, road visibility, and more.<\/p>\n With so much complexity in zoning, permitting, and new construction logistics, you\u2019d think running a portfolio of billboards is a full-time operation.<\/p>\n According to Chris, nowadays, it\u2019s actually relatively passive<\/a> aside from some basic administrative work.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s been a little boring,\u201d Chris shared.<\/p>\n Most weeks, he\u2019s only spending around 5 hours or so on basic billboard business management tasks. Answering inquiries from potential new advertisers, handling contract renewals, those sorts of things.<\/p>\n Chris expressed surprise that more people don\u2019t value consistency and long-term investment approaches and instead prefer quick money-making schemes.<\/p>\n Everyone wants the overnight success story, but those are the extreme exceptions, not the rule.<\/p>\n In fact, shortcuts may lead to even further delays in your financial freedom.<\/p>\n Real wealth-building takes time and consistent effort, with small actions causing big difference over a decade.<\/p>\n Chris\u2019 goal for this year is to double the number of billboard faces in his portfolio within the next two years and launch a new coaching course called The Billboard Academy<\/a>.<\/p>\n This will be a chance for him to pull back the curtain and give people a proven blueprint they can follow.<\/p>\n \u201cI want to help others build wealth, get out of the rat race<\/a>, and achieve that financial freedom.\u201d<\/p>\n So stay tuned for that because it\u2019s going to come in the next couple of months.<\/p>\n\n
Download Your Free Bonus: 25 Other Unconventional Rental Ideas<\/span><\/h2>\n
25 Other Unconventional Rental Ideas<\/span><\/span><\/h2>\n
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![\"Next](\"https:\/\/www.sidehustlenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Next-Wave-Podcast-300x300.jpg\")
<\/p>\n\n
![\"indeed\"](\"https:\/\/www.sidehustlenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/indeed.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nStumbling Upon a Billboard Side Hustle<\/span><\/h2>\n
![\"Billboard](\"https:\/\/www.sidehustlenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Billboard-Sample-1024x768.jpg\")
<\/p>\nScaling Up: More Billboards, More Upfront Costs<\/span><\/h2>\n
Why Billboards Are a Limited Commodity<\/span><\/h2>\n
![\"Highway](\"https:\/\/www.sidehustlenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Highway-Beautification-Act.jpg\")
<\/p>\nAttracting Advertisers and Maximizing Billboard Revenue<\/span><\/h2>\n
Pricing Models: Terms, Traffic, And What\u2019s Available<\/span><\/h2>\n
Static vs. Digital Billboards: Pros and Cons<\/span><\/h2>\n
The Equity Upside in Billboard Ownership<\/span><\/h2>\n
Techs\/Tools<\/span><\/h2>\n
![\"LandGlide\"](\"https:\/\/www.sidehustlenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/LandGlide.jpg\")
<\/p>\nA (Mostly) Passive Day in Chris\u2019 Life<\/span><\/h2>\n
Mistakes or Surprises Along the Way<\/span><\/h2>\n
What\u2019s Next for Chris?<\/span><\/h2>\n
![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.sidehustlenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/V2-no-background-lead-magnet-on-ipad-large--222x300.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
![\"side](\"https:\/\/www.sidehustlenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/side-hustle-show-cover-art-2022-300-compressed.png\" "\\"side")
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