159: Popcorn Profits: Making a Living in Just One Day a Week
Jonathan shares how he makes a comfortable living selling popcorn just one day a week ... and what he's eyeing as his next cash cow.
We explore pricing psychology, margins, and practical lessons for any side hustle.
Welcome to a rebroadcast of a popular episode featuring Jonathan Schuit, who makes a comfortable living selling popcorn… just one day a week.
But this episode isn’t just about popcorn - it’s about smart business thinking, small changes that lead to big wins, and spotting opportunities hiding in plain sight.
Whether you're already running a side hustle or just looking for one that works, Jonathan shares insights you can apply to almost any business.
You’ll discover,
- How Jonathan turned a teenage side gig into a high-profit business
- The small pricing change that boosted revenue by 50% overnight
- Why fewer options can lead to more sales
- The psychology behind lineups, product pricing, and buyer behavior
- What most farmers’ market vendors get wrong
- Why simple, low-cost businesses (like snow cones!) can outperform “cooler” jobs
- The real-life numbers behind a one-day-a-week business model
Stick around after the main interview for a bonus convo on how a snow cone stand could pull in $20K in five days… ..and the margins? Seriously impressive.
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Need a little (and sometimes big) push to start and stay focused to grow your side hustle? Dive into my online Masterclass: How To Turn Your Thoughts Into Wanted Things.
Be sure to sign up to our Side Hustle Hero community to grab a copy of my 28-page guide, called, Smart Start: From Idea to It’s Live in 7 Steps. It walks you through the core things to focus on, including a checklist of 8 essentials you need to launch. The guide is free for now...but not forever.
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How One Entrepreneur Built a Popcorn Business That Pays Him Well - One Day a Week
If you think building a successful business has to mean grinding seven days a week, think again. Today we feature a rebroadcast a listener favorite featuring Jonathan Schuit, who has turned a popcorn stand into a profitable venture that requires just one day of work each week.
This blog explores Jonathan’s simple yet powerful strategies; from pricing psychology to product simplicity.
Making a Living Working One Day a Week
Jonathan's story began as a kid helping his parents sell honey at farmers' markets. When wholesale honey prices dropped and his parents couldn't sustain their beekeeping business, they pivoted to selling direct at local markets. That early exposure taught Jonathan the value of margins, customer interaction, and hands-on business.
Years later, after working for a vendor selling popcorn, he convinced his dad to buy the business. At the time, Jonathan was just 14. Eventually, he bought the business from his parents and made it his own.
Today, he makes a comfortable living selling popcorn one day a week, leveraging smart pricing strategies and high margins. He’s also grown a successful residential construction business, but his popcorn hustle continues to fund travel and long-term investments - proving that a simple setup can scale when done right.
Why This Business Model Works
Jonathan's setup is deceptively simple. Here's what contributes to its success:
- Low overhead: A trailer, popcorn supplies, and a Saturday spot at the market.
- High markup: Popcorn ingredients are inexpensive, allowing strong profit margins.
- Predictable foot traffic: Farmers' markets bring in ready-to-buy customers weekly.
- Smart pricing psychology: He eliminated smaller sizes, which nudged people to buy more expensive options.
- No rent or long-term lease: Unlike a retail store, the market model allows weekly flexibility.
- Minimal perishables: Popcorn has a long shelf life, reducing waste.
These tactics have helped him nearly double his revenue twice by making seemingly minor changes.
One example: He eliminated the $3 small bag, leaving only medium and large. Customers defaulted to the next lowest price, and revenue jumped. A year later, he removed the medium and only offered a large size, again increasing profits. Add in a smart upsell strategy (2 for $15), and suddenly popcorn becomes a very lucrative business.
What this Side Hustle Teaches
If you're building a side hustle and want to avoid burnout, Jonathan's approach offers valuable takeaways.
1. Simplify Your Offer
By offering fewer choices (just one bag size), Jonathan sped up his service, reduced decision fatigue, and increased average sales. Plus, it made his setup and staffing easier to manage.
2. Leverage Follow-the-Leader Behaviour
Jonathan noticed that customers tend to follow what others are doing. If the first person in line buys one bag, the next five often do the same. By managing the first impression and the first sale, he influences the rest of the line.
He also doesn’t post prices. Instead, customers have to ask. That small bit of interaction opens the door to a conversation, and often - a sale.
3. Focus on High-Margin Products
Popcorn, snow cones, lemonade—these simple items cost little to make but sell well in the right setting. Jonathan gave a detailed example of a vendor he saw at a festival selling snow cones for $8–10 each. With low ingredients cost and a fast sales cycle, the vendor likely cleared $20,000 in a five-day event.
Jonathan broke down how a $5,000 investment in a snow cone setup could pay itself back in one weekend - a great reminder to think about cost vs. return, not just startup complexity.
4. Use Farmers’ Markets as a Testing Ground
Jonathan believes markets are one of the best ways to start a business with minimal risk. No long-term lease, no massive upfront investment, and plenty of foot traffic. Even if your product doesn’t work, you’ve gathered valuable data and customer feedback.
He emphasized that not every product works well at a market - especially handmade goods with low margins or high time investment (like quilts or crafts). If it takes 8 hours to make something you sell for $20, your hourly rate is too low. Instead, look for products with simple production and high markups.
The Power of Intentional Simplicity
Jonathan doesn’t try to do everything. He focuses on doing one thing well, one day a week. That decision has given him more time, financial freedom, and flexibility to grow his construction business and explore future plans like franchising his popcorn setup or creating shelf-stable packaged goods for convenience stores.
He’s even thinking about expanding into new products like snow cones or branded snacks. But he’s clear that simplicity and profitability come first.
There’s also a bigger mindset lesson here: Jonathan built his business not by chasing trends but by noticing what already works and refining it. That includes pricing tweaks, eliminating options, watching customer behaviour, and using sensory appeal (like the smell of fresh popcorn) to drive traffic.
Whether you’re thinking of starting a side hustle or want to streamline the one you have, this episode is full of applicable wisdom.
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