Lex DeVille's - 200 Mostly Offline Rental Business Ideas

[Lex DeVille]

Looking at the 100 Unsexy Business Ideas thread had me thinking about rentals. Thought we could separate the discussion so we can have rentals all in one place.

Below is 100 ideas off the top of my head that could be rented. These are in no particular order and by no particular industry. I tried to add a range of things from stuff you have around the house, to stuff you will have to invest serious cash in. Feel free to add more.

1. Lawn Mowers
2. Camping Tents
3. Portable Toilets
4. Christmas Lights
5. Concrete Barriers
6. Road Signs
7. Parking Lot Space
8. Mobile Home
9. Extra Room in Your Home
10. Garage Space
11. Moving Truck/van
12. Pickup Truck
13. Musical Instruments
14. Furniture
15. Trailers
16. Road Barrels
17. Kids Toys (slides, swings etc.)
18. Party lighting
19. Audio equipment
20. Barn (for weddings, parties etc.)
21. Canoes and Kayaks
22. Ski Gear
23. Carpet Cleaning Van/equipment
24. Restaurant Equipment
25. Indoor Cannabis Grow Rooms/Kits
26. HD Camera
27. Drones
28. Livestreaming Setup
29. Computers
30. Soundproof Studio
31. Casket
32. Portable Swimming Pool
33. Bounce House
34. Storage Units
35. Appliances (Fridge, Washer, Dryer, Microwave)
36. Plastic or Metal Tables & Chairs
37. Laser
38. Wood working tools
39. Metal working tools
40. Tractor
41. Plumbing tools
42. Attic Storage (I wonder if you could post this on AirBnB?)
43. ATV/Golf Cart
44. Video Games / Video Game Systems
45. Home Staging Supplies
46. Halloween Props
47. Halloween Costumes
49. Christmas Props
50. Fake Christmas Trees
51. Children's Supplies (Toy box, bassinet, play pin)
52. Storm Shelter or Doomsday Fallout Shelter
53. Metal Fencing
54. Electronic Radar Speed Signs
55. Yard Tools for Neighbors
56. Wheelchair, crutches, leg brace
57. Exercise equipment
58. Office chairs or desks
59. Standing desks
60. Home cooking supplies
61. Lawn chairs
62. Barbecue Grill
63. Construction Equipment (bulldozer, steam roller etc.)
64. Chains for transporting heavy equipment on diesels
65. Wall decor (like fancy artwork)
66. Props for influencers and gurus (clothing, jewelry, brand supplies)
67. High-speed internet connection
68. Projector
69. Private home theater
70. Popcorn machine
71. Food Truck
72. Medical Supplies
73. Curtains
74. Air soft Gear
75. Boat or Jet Skis
76. Camping Space
77. Small building for private community events
79. Outdoor festival canopies
80. Carport
81. Storage Shed
82. Meditation Space
83. Survival Gear or Supplies
84. Solar Panels
85. Generator
86. Large Fans (like you used to find in a high school gym)
87. Water pumping equipment (for pumping flooded basements)
88. Scaffolding
89. Hazmat Gear
90. Digital Billboard Space
91. Shuttle Service
92. Horses
93. Greenhouse
94. Moving Gear (dolly, straps, trailer hitch)
95. Security Cameras
96. Cots, Inflatable Beds, Other bedding
97. 5 Gallon Gatorade-Style Jugs
98. Office Space
99. Isolation Tanks
100. Tanning Beds

Looking forward to what you come up with. Go as big or small as you want. As wild or reserved too.

 

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[Lex DeVille]

100 More

1. Gumball Machine
2. Arcade Games
3. Phone Charging Stations
4. Freezer / Commercial Cooler
5. Suits
6. Paddle boats
7. Advertising space in a free local magazine
8. Plastic Storage Boxes
9. Workshop
10. Office phones or phone system
11. Party Bus
12. VR Gear
13. Ladder
14. Coin operated massage chairs
15. Mall booths
16. Car cover / Car Bra
17. Race wheels / rims / spoiler / lowering springs
18. Airplane
19. Helicopter
20. Hunting Stand
21. Vehicle ramps or other moving ramps
22. Auto Shop & Tools
23. Restaurant decor
24. Children's ball pit
25. Fake Flowers
26. Safes
27. Land for raising cattle
28. Sandbags for flood-prone places
29. Dog walking park
30. Lakeside Boat Storage
31. Private fishing dock
32. Pickup truck camper shells
33. Recreational vehicles
34. Retail display glass or stands
35. Ice machine
36. Food trailer
37. Rugs
39. Sports equipment and gear
40. Wood chipper
41. Tree Trimmer/Truck
42. Mobile home park space
43. Bicycles
44. Hot tub or portable hot tub
45. Watches
46. Flea Market Space
47. Snowmobiles
48. Firepit
49. Private Roads?
50. Photo booth
51. Portable changing rooms
52. Beach chairs / umbrellas
53. Scooters
54. Themed party homes (rent to wealthy)
55. A church (rent for community events)
56. Retail store location
57. Farm irrigation system
58. Police / Military tactical training equipment (mock buildings / towns, land for other field training)
59. Canning or bulk food packaging equipment
60. Label maker
61. Private Garden
62. Gazebo
63. Portable Bar
64. Airplane Hangar
65. Private island
66. Warehouse space
67. Professional weight scales
68. Wood shipping crates
69. Pallets and pallet jack
70. Private prison (full-time or maybe just for overflow from govt. prisons?)
71. Parking garage
72. Cattle pins, gates, feeders, shelters
73. Portable air conditioner or heaters
74. Luggage
75. Diner tables / booths
76. Pallet racks
77. Fork lift
78. Shipping containers
79. Mannequins
80. Air compressor
81. Hand soap dispensers
82. Hand dryers
83. Trash cans
84. Asphalt patching machine
85. Cubicles
86. Fire extinguishers
87. Emergency eyewash stations
88. Drink cooler
89. Bar stools
90. Gas station fuel dispensers
91. Office water cooler
92. Foldable wagons for kids outdoor activities
93. Car wash paystation or other kiosk systems
94. Vending machines
95. Exam tables / chairs
96. Hair salon chairs / hair dryer chairs
97. Highlift / Scissor lift
98. Go cart
99. School desks
100. Shopping carts or motorized carts

 

[Andy Black]

If you could figure out how to not get your stuff to turn to crap you could even just do longer term rentals. Your up front cost is ridiculous when you get a new kid, and none of the stuff is usable for very long because they grow so fast. .

You need to make more kids @Lex DeVille ...

 

[Lex DeVille]

You need to make more kids @Lex DeVille ...

Ha! I don't think I have enough remaining sanity for that.

 

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[Lex DeVille]

Rent a Friend

Rent a Friend To Meet New People And Find Platonic Companionship Companion Caregiver Respite

 

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[DustinH]

Just wanted to share this.

One of friends here in the area is building his own rental platform. It's called AirGym (AirGym) and it's targeted at people who:
a) have home gyms and want to let someone from out of town use it, or
b) small, local crossfit/regular gyms who want to let someone from out of town come and use their gym for the day. All for a small fee.

So, if you are traveling and want to find a local gym then you could go through AirGym. It's still pretty new and not sure how much reach it has across the US yet.

So, connecting people to use rental stuff is also a good avenue to keep in mind.

 

[G-Man]

Children's Supplies (Toy box, bassinet, play pin)

Cannot believe I didn't think of this. Just last week I found myself carrying two car seats and a pack and play slung over my back while trying not to trip over my 2 year old's leash walking to the bus in one of the satellite lots at DFW.

It would seem there are already marketplace type websites. Strategy would be to buy a lot of equipment and pay uber drivers to make the deliveries.

Travelling with kid crap is one of the biggest a$$ pains I've ever experienced. And half the time with what you pay for the extra luggage, you could almost just buy the crap at your destination and throw it away.

 

[Raoul Duke]

I'm adding sandbags to this list.

Just heard on the news that OKC is so flooded that they're going to Tulsa for 2,000 sandbags because they can't get them here.

So I did quick math...

2,000 sandbags x 1 day of use x $2 per bag = $4,000 per day
2,000 sandbags x 1 day of use x $5 per bag = $10,000 per day
2,000 sandbags x 1 day of use x $25 per bag = $50,000 per day

Uh...someone go buy some sandbags.

Hell, I'll store some in a shed outback and pounce on the next flood for that!

Bob's Barricades: The man behind it all

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ohYkQP3zyf0

 

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[Cvince]

If you could figure out how to not get your stuff to turn to crap you could even just do longer term rentals. Your up front cost is ridiculous when you get a new kid, and none of the stuff is usable for very long because they grow so fast. .

You could then place items into a themed category. Like a long term rental-package for the kids youth.

 

[ProcessPro]

Valuable post as usual. In my country people lease pool/billiard tables to bars. That might be an idea. I'm going to run down this list and see if anything resonates with my situation.

 

[Lex DeVille]

Why wouldnt your friend not just do it around you?

The main barrier for most people is the price.

Average Joe doesn't spend $1k on ideas that might make a profit because he'd rather spend it on a 4K Super Ultra HD Plasma Bendable Curvy television.

If his friend is an entrepreneur, then he might take the idea and run with it. But then he wouldn't really be a friend, so I guess you'd have the benefit of him showing his true colors!

 

[clickninja]

here's another rental idea: roof boxes for your car.

they can match your car's color (some colors) and can be rented out in winter (ski) and summer (longer trips)

You can run some Ads to people interested in traveling that are also parents (because kids need lots of stuff when they travel)

You could get $25-$45 / day for something like this.
Add the bars ($10-15/day) if the car doesn't have any.

 

[Lex DeVille]

Cannot believe I didn't think of this. Just last week I found myself carrying two car seats and a pack and play slung over my back while trying not to trip over my 2 year old's leash walking to the bus in one of the satellite lots at DFW.

It would seem there are already marketplace type websites. Strategy would be to buy a lot of equipment and pay uber drivers to make the deliveries.

Travelling with kid crap is one of the biggest a$$ pains I've ever experienced. And half the time with what you pay for the extra luggage, you could almost just buy the crap at your destination and throw it away.

My wife keeps selling all our old kids stuff at rock bottom prices on Facebook. Every time a $100 item goes for $10 or $20 I see a little money bird fly right out the window. But I guess that's what I get for not getting around to renting it out. At least she's taking action and making money with it lol!

 

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[Andreas Thrane]

In Denmark it's popular to rent out hot dog stands for big parties like birthdays and weddings.

 

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[Andreas Thrane]

Chocolate fountains

 

[Jeff Noel]

Why should the consumer rent my popcorn machine and not someone elses? Good food for thought.

That's where the customer service, customer support and general branding goes into play. If people know your renting business as a reputable place, with friendly personel and prompt reaction when issues arise, things should go well.

I know which U-Haul not go to around my town because some of them are owned by jerks and others are owned by people that will stop the Earth from rotating to fix your problems.

 

[Lex DeVille]

Unless I'm mistaken, these are not just small potential businesses. Some of these have HUGE profit potential.

Think about how often you can rent out some of these items. If you live in a relatively well populated area, there should be regular demand for most things on this list!

Yes, I tried to keep a balance between side hustles and things that could be rented out for a lot of money to businesses, contractors, govt. etc. Even some of the direct-to-consumer rentals could be a legit business.

One thing I've considered is teaming up with a local music studio to rent my studio out. I could set up the booth in their location and share the profits. They already have the target audience and the space. They already handle customers. It's a value add for them. So they keep half and do all the work and I just collect my paycheck each week or month or whatever. I'm just the guy who fronted the cash for the studio.

There's probably a lot of different ways you could make these ideas happen. The more expensive the item, the better the opportunity for renting it (in my opinion). But the small stuff can add up with consumers. You might end up doing more footwork for less pay with cheap or easily obtainable items though.

 

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[Simon Ashari]

Source?

I didn't want to give them publicity or link juice... but here you go:

XBOX One Console

 

[Lex DeVille]

I'm adding sandbags to this list.

Just heard on the news that OKC is so flooded that they're going to Tulsa for 2,000 sandbags because they can't get them here.

So I did quick math...

2,000 sandbags x 1 day of use x $2 per bag = $4,000 per day
2,000 sandbags x 1 day of use x $5 per bag = $10,000 per day
2,000 sandbags x 1 day of use x $25 per bag = $50,000 per day

Uh...someone go buy some sandbags.

Hell, I'll store some in a shed outback and pounce on the next flood for that!

 

[G-Man]

My wife keeps selling all our old kids stuff at rock bottom prices on Facebook. Every time a $100 item goes for $10 or $20 I see a little money bird fly right out the window. But I guess that's what I get for not getting around to renting it out. At least she's taking action and making money with it lol!

If you could figure out how to not get your stuff to turn to crap you could even just do longer term rentals. Your up front cost is ridiculous when you get a new kid, and none of the stuff is usable for very long because they grow so fast. .

 

[uroz]

Printers.

 

[Andreas Thrane]

I love the other post about unsexy ideas and this post is great too.

I just ebayed some of the things to rent out like christmas lights, popcorn machines etc. and you can get started pretty easy. The hard thing is to reach the unique selling point. Why should the consumer rent my popcorn machine and not someone elses? Good food for thought.

 

[Matt Hunt]

I found this site that allows you to rent camera gear... like Airbnb for camera gear. Sharegrid is what it's called. Looks like it's still pretty new, and was only recently rolled out nationwide, but they claim that their top renters are earning over $100k/year. Gonna post my gear up, and hopefully it grows enough that this could be a legitimate business, and not just a way to make back what you spent on gear (although that's better than nothing!).

 

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[Lex DeVille]

I found this site that allows you to rent camera gear... like Airbnb for camera gear. Sharegrid is what it's called. Looks like it's still pretty new, and was only recently rolled out nationwide, but they claim that their top renters are earning over $100k/year. Gonna post my gear up, and hopefully it grows enough that this could be a legitimate business, and not just a way to make back what you spent on gear (although that's better than nothing!).

If you want it to be a legitimate business then you better do more than just hope it grows. Legitimate businesses are made by people who make them grow.

 

[Mckenzie]

Looking at the 100 Unsexy Business Ideas thread had me thinking about rentals. Thought we could separate the discussion so we can have rentals all in one place.

Below is 100 ideas off the top of my head that could be rented. These are in no particular order and by no particular industry. I tried to add a range of things from stuff you have around the house, to stuff you will have to invest serious cash in. Feel free to add more.

1. Lawn Mowers
2. Camping Tents
3. Portable Toilets
4. Christmas Lights
5. Concrete Barriers
6. Road Signs
7. Parking Lot Space
8. Mobile Home
9. Extra Room in Your Home
10. Garage Space
11. Moving Truck/van
12. Pickup Truck
13. Musical Instruments
14. Furniture
15. Trailers
16. Road Barrels
17. Kids Toys (slides, swings etc.)
18. Party lighting
19. Audio equipment
20. Barn (for weddings, parties etc.)
21. Canoes and Kayaks
22. Ski Gear
23. Carpet Cleaning Van/equipment
24. Restaurant Equipment
25. Indoor Cannabis Grow Rooms/Kits
26. HD Camera
27. Drones
28. Livestreaming Setup
29. Computers
30. Soundproof Studio
31. Casket
32. Portable Swimming Pool
33. Bounce House
34. Storage Units
35. Appliances (Fridge, Washer, Dryer, Microwave)
36. Plastic or Metal Tables & Chairs
37. Laser
38. Wood working tools
39. Metal working tools
40. Tractor
41. Plumbing tools
42. Attic Storage (I wonder if you could post this on AirBnB?)
43. ATV/Golf Cart
44. Video Games / Video Game Systems
45. Home Staging Supplies
46. Halloween Props
47. Halloween Costumes
49. Christmas Props
50. Fake Christmas Trees
51. Children's Supplies (Toy box, bassinet, play pin)
52. Storm Shelter or Doomsday Fallout Shelter
53. Metal Fencing
54. Electronic Radar Speed Signs
55. Yard Tools for Neighbors
56. Wheelchair, crutches, leg brace
57. Exercise equipment
58. Office chairs or desks
59. Standing desks
60. Home cooking supplies
61. Lawn chairs
62. Barbecue Grill
63. Construction Equipment (bulldozer, steam roller etc.)
64. Chains for transporting heavy equipment on diesels
65. Wall decor (like fancy artwork)
66. Props for influencers and gurus (clothing, jewelry, brand supplies)
67. High-speed internet connection
68. Projector
69. Private home theater
70. Popcorn machine
71. Food Truck
72. Medical Supplies
73. Curtains
74. Air soft Gear
75. Boat or Jet Skis
76. Camping Space
77. Small building for private community events
79. Outdoor festival canopies
80. Carport
81. Storage Shed
82. Meditation Space
83. Survival Gear or Supplies
84. Solar Panels
85. Generator
86. Large Fans (like you used to find in a high school gym)
87. Water pumping equipment (for pumping flooded basements)
88. Scaffolding
89. Hazmat Gear
90. Digital Billboard Space
91. Shuttle Service
92. Horses
93. Greenhouse
94. Moving Gear (dolly, straps, trailer hitch)
95. Security Cameras
96. Cots, Inflatable Beds, Other bedding
97. 5 Gallon Gatorade-Style Jugs
98. Office Space
99. Isolation Tanks
100. Tanning Beds

Looking forward to what you come up with. Go as big or small as you want. As wild or reserved too.

WOW, what a list! Thanks Lex. I tumbled on number #9-extra room in your home- last year...It's sooooo good. The 2 spare rooms I have in my house bring me extra $20,000 p/y.

 

[Lex DeVille]

I had heard of people renting video game systems. It isn't a very wise financial decision but people still do it.

I just looked up an Australian website that allows you to rent an XBOX ONE 500GB version.

[NOTE: the following numbers are in Australian dollars]

You could buy one of these brand new on sale for about $300.

You could also rent one from this site for $48.45 per month on a 48 month rental.

$48.45*48= $2146.56

It's unfortunate that people make stupid financial decisions like that... but what can you do?

There's a lot of judgment in that post. You have to consider the context to say whether or not it's a stupid financial decision.

If you just wanted to try out an xbox, and you discover you hate it, then you've saved yourself $250 for the system plus however much you'd spend on games.

If you have a gaming addiction and $48 allows you to rent the system, feel the pain of making that purchase, and helps you avoid spending all your time gaming, then it wouldn't be a poor decision.

If you rented the xbox for one day to prove you could adapt to the system, and beat a top player at a game of his choosing on a bet for $3,000 and you win, then you made a lot of money. Plus, if you're smart and you made a video, you can potentially go viral and make money off ads, affiliates, or any number of other things.

So whether it's a poor financial decision or not is really a matter of context and mindset. Do you have the mindset to make it a good financial decision? If so, then it might not be such a bad deal after all.

 

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[George Appiah]

Have rental agreements just like any rental company, or use a third-party rental platform like Fat Llama who has their own agreements and insurance.

That gave me a chuckle... you certainly know nothing about Nigeria, or even my own Ghana

Not saying it cannot be done... but for small items, your only security down here would be to take a refundable deposit -- large enough to cover the cost of the item in case it's never returned or it gets damaged. And, unless you want to run a tiny operation only catering to your immediate locality, you also have to worry about payment infrastructure and delivery (again, not so trivial down here as it might be in the western world.)

 

[Lex DeVille]

The biggest problem with renting things with a low value of goods is the cost of oppression. At the agreed time, someone has to hand over the belongings, take them back at the agreed time and check their function. Of course, if you're not honest with yourself, it's worth it. If you are honest enough to set a reasonable hourly wage, it is usually a minus business. Alternatively, would you have to raise the business so big that it is worthwhile to put somebody full time?

So rent high value goods. Problem solved.

 

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[MJ DeMarco]

Bump.

 

[foodiepersecond]

22. Ski Gear

Someone had this in a recent Shark Tank episode. Seemed like he was doing well with it. Heard of a dude renting dorm furniture to students or anyone who has had to move in a quick manner in one of @JScott 's podcast. Wish I had thought of that one.