The UpFlip Podcast

Hosted by UpFlip

Business Careers ManagementInterviews guests

Website RSS feed LinkedIn Facebook Instagram

Episodes

255

Latest episode

Aug 2026

Language

EN-US

About the show

The UpFlip podcast is where you get to unravel how great businesses are built, how they are run behind the scenes, and how their success can be replicated. We feed on the idea that no matter what the circumstances are, the American Dream is still just around the corner. With over 150+ videos and 50 million views on YouTube, UpFlip has ignited the spark that rekindles the fire of entrepreneurship in its ever-growing 700K+ audience. Through this podcast, we aim at sharing practical nuggets of gold and brilliant advice with you by making knowledge more accessible. For more information about us and our services, please visit https://www.upflip.com.

Listen to episodes

60 recent

September 7, 202628 min

255. He Built a $10 Million Reselling Business from His Bedroom

In 2019, Caleb was completely broke, living in a one-bedroom apartment, and trying to support his wife through law school on a single nonprofit salary. Armed with just $500 in leftover birthday money and a beat-up Prius, he started scouring yard sales and thrift stores for items with low perceived value. Fast forward to today, Caleb is the founder of Quick Flips—a massive video game reselling operation that includes a retail store, a private Amazon FBA network, and a 30-person team. The company is currently pulling in up to $600,000 a month in revenue and is on track to hit $10 million this year. In this episode of the UpFlip Podcast, Caleb sits down with Ryan Atkinson to break down the exact blueprint for turning a weekend side hustle into an eight-figure empire. He reveals why pawn shops are a massive goldmine for underpriced games, how to negotiate bulk deals to guarantee your profit margins, and the exact steps you can take this weekend to start your own flipping business from scratch. 🎙️ What You’ll Learn in This Episode: The "Low Perceived Value" Strategy: Why starting with unsexy, ignored items (like used books or electrical breakers) is the fastest way to build your initial bankroll without facing stiff competition. Pawn Shop Arbitrage: How to exploit the gap between pawn shop sticker prices and Amazon FBA market value by negotiating clever bulk-buy discounts. The "Quick Nickel" Mindset: Why pricing your items 5% below market value to guarantee rapid sell-through will mathematically beat holding out for top dollar every single time. The $5,500 Flip: The story behind Caleb's most profitable flip ever (a graded copy of Wolverine on the NES) and how to spot rare, high-ticket collectibles. The 3-Step Beginner's Blueprint: The exact three things you need to do this weekend to launch your reselling side hustle using nothing but cash and the eBay app. Tags: Side hustle, Retail Goods, Startup, Passive income, Retail Goods, Video Game Reselling Resources: If you’ve been putting off starting a business… good. Because before you jump into an idea that worked for someone else, you should figure out what kind of business actually fits you. That’s why we created the best Assessment there is. It’s a free tool that asks about your skills, experience, budget, goals, location, and preferences — then matches you with business ideas that make the most sense for YOU. The results are scary accurate. Click the link in the show notes to see your best-fit business ideas in seconds — for free. Grow your business today: https://accelerator.upflip.com/assessment Follow Our Second Channel Here: https://next.upflip.com/spotify Connect with Caleb: https://www.instagram.com/quickflipsvideogames/?hl=en

August 31, 202623 min

254. The $200K/Month Business Nobody Wants to Touch

Kim Hatch was at rock bottom. After seven grueling years working as a police officer in a domestic violence unit, she lost her job and found herself navigating a brutal divorce. She needed to completely reinvent her life—but she never expected that salvation would come in the form of a septic tank. With zero industry experience (admitting she "didn't even know where poop went") and a single $100,000 used truck, Kim launched Turner Septic Services. Her first job took her four hours and left her in tears. Today? Her team completes 18 jobs a day, pumps up to 400,000 gallons a month, and generates up to $200,000 a month in peak-season revenue. In this episode of the UpFlip Podcast, Kim sits down with Ryan Atkinson to share her unbelievable "zero-to-hero" story. She breaks down exactly how she disrupted a dinosaur industry by combining grueling hard work with modern technology—like outfitting her trucks with Starlink satellite internet and using heating mats to thaw frozen ground in -30 degree blizzards. If you want to know what it really takes to survive the school of hard knocks and build a highly profitable blue-collar business, this episode is a masterclass in resilience and innovation. 🎙️ What You’ll Learn in This Episode: The Ultimate Pivot: How to push past imposter syndrome and launch a highly profitable service business in an industry you know absolutely nothing about. Tech in the Trenches: How Kim uses Starlink, digital reporting software, and iPads to dominate older, tech-resistant competitors. The "Mini-Truck" Strategy: Why Turner Septic custom-built a specialized 1,400-gallon 4x4 truck to service mountain-top clients that no other company could reach. Surviving Seasonal Dips: The reality of managing extreme revenue swings (from $200K months in summer to $30K months in winter) and how to keep your crew on payroll year-round. Redefining Customer Service: Why sending detailed, empathetic, photo-heavy invoices is the ultimate hack for driving 5-star reviews and real estate referrals. Tags: Home Services, Service & Consulting, Side Hustle, Business Growth, Social Media Marketing Resources: The only thing worse than never starting a business… is starting the wrong one. That’s why we created the UpFlip Assessment. It’s a free tool that matches you with business ideas based on your skills, budget, experience, goals, and the kind of work you actually want to do. The results are scary accurate. Click the link in the show notes to see your best-fit business ideas in seconds — for free. Grow your business today: https://accelerator.upflip.com/assessment Follow Our Second Channel Here: https://next.upflip.com/spotify Connect with Kim: https://www.tiktok.com/@turnerseptic

August 24, 202632 min

253. From $500 to a $40K/Month ATM Empire

Gianni Santino was exhausted. As a police officer in Connecticut working up to 80 hours a week, he had barely any time for his family. After a failed attempt at real estate investing left him buried in COVID-related evictions, Gianni stumbled upon a goldmine hidden in plain sight: a sketchy ATM inside a gentlemen's club that was quietly printing thousands of dollars a night in surcharge fees. Realizing you didn't need to be a bank to own an ATM, Gianni bought his first machine, loaded it with the last $500 he had, and watched the passive income start rolling in. Today, Gianni has retired from the police force and runs a massive network of nearly 100 ATMs from his laptop in Miami, generating over $40,000 a month in revenue. In this episode of the UpFlip Podcast, Gianni sits down with Ryan Atkinson to reveal the exact blueprint for starting your own highly profitable ATM side hustle. He breaks down the startup costs, the best (and worst) locations to target, and how to safely load and manage your machines working just a few hours a month. What You’ll Learn in This Episode: The $2,500 Startup Strategy: The exact machine brands you should buy (Hyosung and Genmega) and the truth about how much cash you actually need to load your first ATM. The "Donut" Pitch: Gianni’s foolproof, low-pressure sales tactic for getting cash-only business owners (like barbershops and dispensaries) to let you place an ATM in their store for free. Avoiding the Gym Trap: Why high-foot-traffic areas like gyms are terrible for ATMs, and the specific high-demand locations you should target instead. Safety & Security Protocols: How to make yourself a hard target. Gianni reveals his 2-minute loading rule, why you should never load a machine during business hours, and the critical importance of bolting your ATM down. Why Cash is Still King: Debunking the myth of a "cashless society" and why the closure of local bank branches is actually creating a massive opportunity for independent ATM operators. Tags: Side hustle, Entrepreneurship, Passive income, ATM business, Startup Resources: If you’ve been putting off starting a business… good. Because before you jump into an idea that worked for someone else, you should figure out what kind of business actually fits you. That’s why we created the best Assessment there is. It’s a free tool that asks about your skills, experience, budget, goals, location, and preferences — then matches you with business ideas that make the most sense for YOU. The results are scary accurate. Click the link in the show notes to see your best-fit business ideas in seconds — for free. Grow your business today: https://accelerator.upflip.com/assessment Follow Our Second Channel Here: https://next.upflip.com/spotify Connect with Gianni: https://www.instagram.com/atmoperations/

August 17, 202635 min

252. He Makes $15M/Year Selling Fried Chicken Sandwiches

Joe Fontana spent a decade chasing a punk rock music career and another six years trapped in a soul-crushing corporate job that caused his leg hair to fall out from stress. Broke and with a baby on the way, he packed up his life, moved into his in-laws' basement, and took the ultimate leap of faith. He borrowed $21,000 from his mother's savings, scrapped his original restaurant idea, and launched Fry the Coop. Today, that single chicken sandwich shop has exploded into a fast-casual powerhouse with 11 locations, over 200 employees, and $15 million in annual revenue. In this episode of the UpFlip Podcast, Joe sits down with Ryan Atkinson to break down the exact roadmap he used to scale from an empty cash register to an eight-figure empire. He reveals why hiring a publicist was the ultimate cheat code to hitting his first million, how treating customer service like "vanilla ice cream" scaled him to $5M, and the painful $12,000 accounting mistake that taught him why you must watch your financials like a hawk. Whether you want to open a restaurant or scale a local brick-and-mortar, Joe drops the unvarnished truth on what it takes to survive and thrive. 🎙️ What You’ll Learn in This Episode: The $60K Lean Startup: How Joe opened his first location by securing a 2nd-generation space, and why leasing restaurant equipment was his most expensive early mistake. The Publicist Hack (0 to $1M): Why the secret to your first million isn't better food—it's media exposure. How local TV spots on WGN and ABC forced Joe to hire 25 people overnight. The "Vanilla Ice Cream" Philosophy: Why legendary customer service will outsell your best product every single time. The 3 Pillars of a $10M+ Business: The non-negotiable holy trinity of scaling a physical footprint: Great Service, Great Product, and Air-Tight Financials. Reverse Engineering Success: Why setting an audacious $200M goal changed how Joe operated his business from day one. Tags: Restaurant business, Retail Goods, Business scaling, Retail Goods, Chicken Sandwich Resources: The only thing worse than never starting a business… is starting the wrong one. That’s why we created the UpFlip Assessment. It’s a free tool that matches you with business ideas based on your skills, budget, experience, goals, and the kind of work you actually want to do. The results are scary accurate. Click the link in the show notes to see your best-fit business ideas in seconds — for free. UpFlip Assessment Tool: https://accelerator.upflip.com/assessment Follow Our Second Channel Here: https://next.upflip.com/spotify Connect with Joe: https://www.instagram.com/frythecoop/?hl=en

August 10, 202633 min

251. How to Earn Your First $1M With Small Coffee Carts

Christian Lynch went from running a childhood lemonade stand to dropping out of college, but he never lost his entrepreneurial drive. Today, he is the founder of Phase Two Coffee, a private catering mobile coffee cart generating $25,000 to $27,000 a month/cart—all without the massive overhead, debt, or risk of a traditional brick-and-mortar cafe. In this episode of the UpFlip Podcast, Christian breaks down his exact blueprint for launching and scaling a highly profitable mobile coffee cart business. He shares how working for free at a local shop saved him half a million dollars in mistakes, why B2B corporate events make up roughly 94% of his revenue, and how to craft irresistible offers that keep event planners coming back. Whether you love coffee or are just looking for a lucrative, low-overhead business model, this episode is packed with actionable advice on sales, marketing, and avoiding expensive rookie mistakes. What You’ll Learn in This Episode: The Power of Free Labor: Why working for free at a coffee shop for two months saved him an estimated $500,000 in expensive business mistakes. The B2B Goldmine: Why corporate events make up 93-94% of his total revenue, and why B2B clients have vastly better budgets than B2C. Targeting the Gatekeepers: Why you should actively market your services to wedding and event planners instead of trying to sell directly to brides and grooms. Crafting Irresistible Offers: How applying principles from Alex Hormozi's $100M Offers helped him perfectly price and position his coffee cart experience. Start-Up Costs: A realistic breakdown of the $2,000 to $15,000 capital needed to build out your own cart, espresso machine, and grinder setup. Stop dreaming about a brick-and-mortar cafe and learn how to take your business on the road! Tags: Business ideas, Entrepreneurship, Business growth, Startup, Side Hustle Resources: Tired of guessing what business you should start? Before you waste months chasing an idea that doesn’t fit you, take the UpFlip Assessment. It’s a free tool that asks about your skills, budget, experience, goals, location, and what kind of work you actually enjoy — then matches you with business ideas that make the most sense for YOU. Click the link in the show notes to see your best-fit business ideas in seconds — for free. UpFlip Assessment Tool: https://accelerator.upflip.com/assessment Follow Our Second Channel Here: https://next.upflip.com/spotify Connect with Christian: https://www.instagram.com/christian.j.lynch/

August 3, 202625 min

250. Wealthy Pet Owners Pay Premium For This

Dr. Stacey McFarland was tired of watching well-meaning pet parents feed their dogs birthday cakes and treats packed with toxic sugars, salt, and artificial fillers. So, this practicing veterinarian decided to step into the kitchen and change the industry herself. In this episode of the UpFlip Podcast, we sit down with Dr. Stacey to uncover how she built Doggie Bakery Miami. What started as a zero-budget passion project baking healthy treats for Caribbean shelter dogs has exploded into a luxury pet bakery generating 7-Figure a year. She shares exactly how she transitioned from a side project into a premium brand that caters to everyday dog moms and celebrity VIPs like IShowSpeed. If you are looking for the push to start your own business or want to learn how to stand out in a saturated market, this episode proves that you don't need a massive budget to launch—you just need a great product and the grit to keep going. What You’ll Learn in This Episode: The Vet-Approved Differentiator: Why refusing to cut corners with cheap fillers and focusing on organic, science-backed ingredients allowed her to command premium pricing. Starting on a Shoestring Budget: How to launch a profitable business with just a few dollars, a smartphone camera, and an LLC. Organic Marketing Mastery: How showing your face, connecting with the local community, and leveraging organic social media beats expensive paid ads. Surviving the First-Year Valleys: A raw look at entrepreneurial burnout, 3:00 AM oven disasters, and why refusing to quit is the ultimate secret to success. Scaling Without Selling Out: How to grow your revenue while staying true to your core mission and refusing to mass-produce a lower-quality product. Stop waiting for the perfect business plan and take your first step today! Tags: Side hustle, Entrepreneurship, Business growth, Business ideas, Pet Bakery Resources: The only thing worse than never starting a business… is starting the wrong one. That’s why we created the UpFlip Assessment. It’s a free tool that matches you with business ideas based on your skills, budget, experience, goals, and the kind of work you actually want to do. The results are scary accurate. Click the link in the show notes to see your best-fit business ideas in seconds — for free. UpFlip Assessment Tool: https://accelerator.upflip.com/assessment Follow Our Second Channel Here: https://next.upflip.com/spotify Connect with Stacy: https://www.instagram.com/doggiebakerymiami/?hl=en

July 27, 202627 min

249. She Run a $1Million Home Service Business Using Just 1 AI Tool

When Andrea Palacio stepped into the unfamiliar home services industry as an inexperienced founder, disaster struck almost immediately. A rogue manager quit after convincing 10 employees to leave, top clients walked away, and monthly revenue plummeted from $70,000 down to $40,000—all while Andrea was pregnant with her second child and raising an eight-month-old. With zero technical background and no trade experience, Andrea refused to give up. Armed with YouTube tutorials and sheer grit, she taught herself how to build custom AI automations using Claude Code to save her struggling business. Today, her landscaping company generates over $1 million a year, operates seamlessly on autopilot, and runs so effectively without her daily involvement that she recently turned down an offer to sell it. In this episode of the UpFlip Podcast, Andrea sits down with Ryan Atkinson to reveal how a first-time operator replaced tedious manual tasks with custom AI agents—from 24/7 AI voice receptionists and automated invoice follow-ups to hands-free Google Ad optimization. What You’ll Learn in This Episode: The Time & Energy Audit: How to analyze your weekly schedule as a new founder to pinpoint the exact manual, repetitive tasks you should delegate to AI first. Hands-Free Google Ads: How connecting Claude directly to your Google Ads campaign slashes your cost-per-click and replaces $4,000/month marketing agencies. The AI Receptionist & Invoice Chaser: How Andrea built automated AI voice agents to answer missed calls, book appointments directly into calendars, and follow up on past-due invoices. Automating 5-Star Reviews: The exact post-service automation workflow that sends instant, time-stamped photos to clients and drives a consistent stream of 5-star Google reviews. One Tool to Rule Them All: Why you don't need to master dozens of complex AI tools, and why focusing deeply on one platform (like Claude) is all it takes to transform your operations. Tags: Service & Consulting, Home Services, Business scaling, Home Services, AI, Landscaping, Automation Resources: The only thing worse than never starting a business… is starting the wrong one. That’s why we created the UpFlip Assessment. It’s a free tool that matches you with business ideas based on your skills, budget, experience, goals, and the kind of work you actually want to do. The results are scary accurate. Click the link in the show notes to see your best-fit business ideas in seconds — for free. UpFlip Assessment Tool: https://accelerator.upflip.com/assessment Follow Our Second Channel Here: https://next.upflip.com/spotify Connect with Andrea: https://www.instagram.com/andreapalacio/?hl=en

July 20, 202627 min

248. Why Home Inspection is the Next Boring Business Gold Mine

Brent Fletcher knew absolutely nothing about home inspections—until he bought his first house during COVID. After watching an inspector uncover thousands of dollars in hidden defects, Brent was handed an $8,000 check for closing concessions. That same day, he took that exact $8,000, deposited it, and went all-in on starting his own home inspection business. He committed to a 100-day challenge to be laser-focused on his new venture, and landed his very first paying client on day 97. Today, Brent's company completes over 500 inspections a year at up to $900 a ticket. Not only did he scale to a team of five, but he also built a massive online presence, growing from 4,000 to over 250,000 followers in just six months by giving the internet a front-row seat to his craziest job-site discoveries. In this episode, Brent sits down with Ryan Atkinson to reveal his ultimate side-hustle playbook. He breaks down how he survived 16-hour days as a bartender while building his company, the exact networking strategy he used to get his first leads, and his 4:00 AM video editing routine that sparked explosive viral growth. What You’ll Learn in This Episode: The 100-Day Launch Plan: How Brent used extreme focus and local chamber of commerce networking to get his business off the ground with zero industry connections. The Post-Inspection Pitch: Why an inspection doesn't end when you leave the crawlspace, and how using a laser pointer and an iPad presentation guarantees lifelong referrals from real estate agents. The 4:00 AM Viral Routine: The daily posting schedule and simple video editing strategy Brent used to attract a quarter of a million followers in just six months. Who to Hire First: Why hiring another inspector is the biggest mistake you can make when scaling, and why an admin should always be your very first hire. Tags: Home Services, Service & Consulting, Side hustle, Entrepreneurship, Home Inspection, Startup Resources: The only thing worse than never starting a business… is starting the wrong one. That’s why we created the UpFlip Assessment. It’s a free tool that matches you with business ideas based on your skills, budget, experience, goals, and the kind of work you actually want to do. The results are scary accurate. Click the link in the show notes to see your best-fit business ideas in seconds — for free. UpFlip Assessment Tool: https://accelerator.upflip.com/assessment Follow Our Second Channel Here: https://next.upflip.com/spotify Connect with Brent: https://www.instagram.com/inspector_fletch/?hl=en

July 13, 202631 min

247. The Secret to His $200M Home Service Business

Tommy Mello took a college side hustle painting garage doors and turned it into A1 Garage—a home service behemoth on track to generate over $260 million in revenue this year. But he didn't do it by acting like a traditional tradesman. He did it by running his blue-collar business with the data-driven precision of a Silicon Valley tech giant. In this episode, Tommy sits down with Ryan Atkinson to reveal the aggressive scaling playbook that took him from a broke college kid driving a salvage-title truck to leading a company marching toward a $1.4 billion valuation. Tommy breaks down his obsession with marketing and data, including the exact four KPIs he uses to buy, fix, and scale any service business on the planet. Whether you want to dominate your local market or expand across 22 states, Tommy shares exactly how to build a bulletproof brand, why you should give equity to your technicians, and the networking secret that allowed him to walk into $100M+ shops and copy their exact blueprints for success. What You’ll Learn in This Episode: The 4 Golden KPIs: The exact four metrics (Booking Rate, Door Conversion Rate, Average Ticket, and Cost Per Acquisition) Tommy uses to guarantee massive profit margins. Creating Blue-Collar Millionaires: Why Tommy gave away over 20% of his company's equity to his top technicians before private equity ever got involved. The Expansion Playbook: Why "spraying and praying" is a mistake, and why you must completely dominate your local market before attempting to expand across state lines. The Billionaire Mindset: How to out-delegate your competition, avoid "shiny object syndrome," and pay for access to the smartest mentors in your industry. Tags: Home Services, Service & Consulting, Business Scaling, Business Mindset, KPI Resources: The only thing worse than never starting a business… is starting the wrong one. That’s why we created the UpFlip Assessment. It’s a free tool that matches you with business ideas based on your skills, budget, experience, goals, and the kind of work you actually want to do. The results are scary accurate. Click the link in the show notes to see your best-fit business ideas in seconds — for free. UpFlip Assessment Tool: https://accelerator.upflip.com/assessment Follow Our Second Channel Here: https://next.upflip.com/spotify Connect with Tommy Mello: https://www.instagram.com/officialtommymello/?hl=en

July 6, 202629 min

246. The $120M Blueprint for Scaling a Local Service Business

Dominic Rubino knows a painful truth about the trades: being great at your job has almost nothing to do with whether your business makes money. Growing up in an immigrant family of welders and framers, he watched talented contractors grind for years just to barely break even. After nearly going bankrupt running his own house-painting business, Dominic realized he needed to stop acting like a tradesman and start acting like a CEO. He mastered the systems of business, eventually building and exiting a massive $120 million mail-order pharmacy empire. Today, Dominic is a high-level business coach dedicated to helping blue-collar entrepreneurs fix their pricing, build systems, and finally get paid what they’re worth. If you are exhausted, underpriced, and tired of working 70-hour weeks just to survive, this episode gives you the exact blueprint to step out of the daily grind and into the owner's chair. What You’ll Learn in This Episode: You Are Not Your Customer : Why pricing jobs based on what you can afford is keeping your business broke, and how to confidently sell to high-ticket clients. The 30% Close Rate Rule: Why you should actively try to lose 7 out of 10 bids, and how closing every estimate means you are severely underpricing your work. The 40% Profit Target: Dominic breaks down the exact math of a healthy service business and why you must aim for 40% to 50% gross profit margins on every single job. Calendar Selling: How to create genuine urgency and close deals faster by selling forward and backward through the customer's calendar. The E-Myth Shift: The critical mindset shift from being a "flooring guy who runs a business" to a "business person who happens to do flooring." Tags: Business consulting,Service & Consulting, Business scaling, Home Services, Business Growth Resources: If you’ve been putting off starting a business… good. Because before you jump into an idea that worked for someone else, you should figure out what kind of business actually fits you. That’s why we created the best Assessment there is. It’s a free tool that asks about your skills, experience, budget, goals, location, and preferences — then matches you with business ideas that make the most sense for YOU. The results are scary accurate. Click the link in the show notes to see your best-fit business ideas in seconds — for free. UpFlip Assessment Tool: https://accelerator.upflip.com/assessment Follow Our Second Channel Here: https://next.upflip.com/spotify Connect with Dominic Rubino: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dominicrubino/