We Bought a “Boring” Business. Running it Was Another Story.

Purchase a boring enterprise, they mentioned. It’ll be straightforward. It’ll be enjoyable.

I Asked Listeners for the Most Random Ways They’ve Made Extra Money

How I Track Multiple Income Streams in My Business (2026)

That’s the dream Andrea Palacio and her husband chased after they purchased a landscaping firm.

The highway bought bumpy quick, however they nonetheless added round $300,000 in fairness worth in simply a few years.

Andrea Palacio runs AndreaPalacio.ai, the place she helps different enterprise homeowners put AI to work.

However earlier than that, she and her husband lived on a sailboat for 4 years whereas working an e-commerce enterprise promoting pet provides on Amazon and Shopify.

When that enterprise stalled, they bought it and went in search of one thing new. They landed on a South Florida landscaping firm, considering it might be regular and largely hands-off. As an alternative, nearly every thing went fallacious without delay.

Tune in to Episode 750 of the Aspect Hustle Present to be taught:

how Andrea rebuilt after dropping most of her crew and purchasers
how easy AI instruments gave her again 20+ hours a month
what shopping for a enterprise taught her about management

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Why a Landscaping Enterprise?

After 4 years on a sailboat, Andrea and her husband felt their e-commerce progress stall.

To maintain competing with huge pet-supply sellers, they might have wanted to speculate a whole lot of hundreds of {dollars}. They didn’t need that danger, in order that they bought and regarded for a brand new path.

Andrea watched a variety of YouTube videos about buying businesses. The pitch was easy: purchase an organization that already works, put a supervisor in place, and step again.

They needed one thing that match each of them. Andrea is robust on-line with marketing and clients. Her husband could be very hands-on.

Landscaping felt recession-proof, since in Florida everybody has to maintain their garden reduce, in order that they went for it.

The Deal That Fell Aside

They purchased the corporate for $470,000, paying a few 2.3x a number of on web earnings.

To fund it, they used an SBA mortgage and put their private property, together with their dwelling, up as collateral. Quitting was by no means an choice.

Then issues unraveled. The vendor was supposed to coach them, however he disappeared simply 5 days after the sale.

Quickly after, the supervisor stop and informed the crew they have been higher off discovering different jobs. The crew dropped from 12 staff right down to about 2.

A Brutal First Month

On the time, Andrea had a 7-month-old and was pregnant together with her second son.

She was fielding 50 calls a day whereas dealing with advertising and marketing, admin, and customer support.

Income fell from $70,000 a month to $40,000 a month, and her husband needed to do the labor himself.

Digging Out of the Gap

The primary transfer was working Google Adverts to win again purchasers. It was costly to be taught, and so they wasted cash earlier than getting it proper.

Discovering employees was even more durable. Andrea says she would possibly interview 100 folks, have 5 present up, and discover simply 1 who was respectable.

Taking up an current enterprise after which enhancing it’s its personal talent.

Jono Santamaria took the same approach with a laundromat, making a collection of modifications to develop income as soon as he owned it.

Studying to Promote

About half their income was recurring lawn care.

The opposite half got here from greater customized and enhancement jobs, which they didn’t know how you can promote. They misplaced their massive business purchasers, like procuring plazas paying $2,000 to $3,000 a month.

Andrea’s husband realized gross sales the “faux it until you make it” means.

Over a few yr, they rebuilt income to $60,000 to $65,000 a month, generally hitting $70,000, whereas working 80-hour weeks.

Utilizing AI to Get Time Again

The 80-hour weeks left Andrea feeling like she couldn’t be current for her children. One thing needed to change.

Her sister talked about that ChatGPT had simply come out.

Andrea, who calls herself tech-curious, began enjoying with it and imagined AI dealing with her cellphone calls and chasing late funds.

Trial and Error

She first employed an Upwork freelancer to construct her thought. 5 months later, she had nothing.

A second freelancer constructed an automation on Make that despatched purchasers a photograph, pulled from their CRM, after each service, plus a follow-up textual content.

Joyful purchasers have been despatched to a Google evaluate; sad ones went to a grievance type.

Additionally they switched from paper scheduling to a CRM referred to as Jobber.

Then Andrea taught herself Make on YouTube and constructed the AI receptionist she first imagined, which booked appointments proper inside Jobber.

She notes instruments like Claude Code make this even simpler in the present day.

How She Educated the AI

Andrea says the setup is the straightforward half. Instruments like VAPI or Retell AI can spin up an AI receptionist rapidly. The actual work is coaching it to say the precise factor each time.

So she listened to each name, discovered the issue spots, and up to date the immediate to repair them.

Her huge mindset shift was to assume in steps and techniques, and to coach the AI like a junior worker.

If a shopper calls upset, the AI transfers the decision to her. If a shopper needs an estimate, it books the go to on the calendar. Simply two automations gave her again no less than 20 hours a month.

Listed for Sale — and a $750,000 Supply

With calls dealt with and time again, they listed the corporate on the market. Additionally they employed a good friend Andrea had identified for 20 years as operations supervisor in December 2024.

Across the identical time, they bought a suggestion of $750,000, effectively above their $470,000 buy worth.

Additionally they purchased a small fertilization and pest management firm for $170,000, with the vendor financing half.

Ultimately, they determined to not promote, since promoting would go away them with out an earnings supply. The enterprise was lastly steady and working with out them dealing with calls.

When It Fell Aside… Once more

In January 2025, the household moved overseas for six months and left the supervisor in cost. However the enterprise began sliding. Andrea had additionally stepped away in September 2025 to deal with her personal AI firm.

After they returned close to New 12 months, their checking account had $2.50 in it. They found the supervisor, a good friend of 20 years, had been stealing.

5 days later, a full truck of apparatus value $10,000 to $15,000 was stolen. The lesson Andrea took away was painful however clear: that they had not realized how you can lead an organization.

Rebuilding Leaner with AI

They let the supervisor go. Good alternative managers needed $100,000 or extra a yr, which the corporate couldn’t afford. So as a substitute of hiring, they automated extra.

Now Andrea’s husband goes to the workplace simply at some point every week for gross sales. AI handles the advertising and marketing, which introduced in so many leads that Could was their greatest month ever.

Additionally they constructed a dashboard to trace their actual numbers:

which crews are environment friendly
how lengthy jobs take
and pay versus what every shopper is charged

For folks, they merely promoted their longest-tenured employee to arrange the crews every morning. Andrea says lacking these key numbers is precisely why they bought robbed with out noticing.

What Andrea Realized About Shopping for Companies

Andrea’s high warning is to by no means buy a company until the vendor funds no less than a part of it, in order that they preserve some pores and skin within the sport.

If the thought of proprietor financing appeals to you, Hannah Ingram did exactly that in Episode 571, shopping for a whole self-service automotive wash with the vendor footing a part of the invoice.

Andrea additionally handed on one other deal the place purchasers paid three months late and visits have been priced at $25, far beneath their $60 minimal.

In her personal firm, purchasers are billed on the primary of the month, earlier than any work is completed. She warns that elevating costs and altering phrases after an acquisition will often value you these clients.

Tech/Instruments

Listed here are the primary instruments Andrea talked about:

Make – automation platform for connecting apps and constructing workflows
Jobber – CRM constructed for landscaping and cleansing providers
Claude Code – instrument she makes use of day by day to construct automations
VAPI and Retell AI – platforms for constructing AI cellphone receptionists
Upwork – the place she employed freelancers to assist construct automations

The place the Enterprise Is Now

At present the corporate is leaner and steadier. Andrea’s husband goes into the workplace about at some point every week for gross sales, and so they promoted their longest-tenured employee to arrange the crews every morning. Final month the enterprise did $75,000 with 7 staff.