Nikonomics - The Economics of Small Business

214 - $150K in 3 Weeks Selling Christmas Lights—In August! with Anne McGinty

Aug 6, 2025

Anne McGinty, host of the How I Built My Small Business Podcast, shares her incredible journey from a challenging sales job to founding a seasonal Christmas lighting business with her husband, Mark. They turned a simple idea into a six-month enterprise, generating $100K in just three weeks! Anne reveals their scrappy marketing tactics, like using a spray-painted truck as a billboard, and discusses the strategic decisions that led them to sell the business despite its profitability. Join this inspiring conversation about entrepreneurship and innovative success!

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ANECDOTE

Hustling Christmas Lights Big

Anne McGinty made $150,000 net profit from just three weeks working on a Christmas lighting business in year one.
This early success motivated her to grow this seasonal side hustle into a major business operating over several months.

ANECDOTE

From Sales to Real Estate Hustle

Anne started from low-paying, demoralizing sales jobs and made only $1,000 in six months.
She hustled with a side greeting card business, photography, and real estate investments to build capital.

INSIGHT

Immigrant Parents Inspired Hustle

Anne credits her hustler mindset to her immigrant parents who built wealth from very little.
Their story instilled a belief that one can make anything happen with determination.

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🚨MY NEWSLETTER https://nikolas-newsletter-241a64.beehiiv.com/subscribe 🚨

Join me, Nik (https://x.com/CoFoundersNik), as I interview Anne McGinty of the How I Built My Small Business Podcast.

In this episode, I sit down with Anne, a true hustler who transformed early career struggles into entrepreneurial triumphs. We dive into Anne's journey, starting from a demoralizing toothpaste sales job and a side greeting card business that funded her first foray into real estate.

Hear how a serendipitous repeated encounter with an idea led Anne and her husband, Mark, to launch a seasonal Christmas lighting business, growing it from a three-week operation generating $100,000 in net profit to a six-month, multi-truck enterprise. We discuss their unique, scrappy marketing tactics, like using a spray-painted box truck as a mobile billboard, and why they ultimately decided to sell their highly profitable business, even with a 50% net profit margin.

Enjoy the conversation!

Questions This Episode Answers:
• How did Anne McGinty pivot from a low-paying job to building significant capital through early side hustles and real estate?
• What innovative strategies did Anne and her husband Mark use to "house hack" and secure their first multi-unit property in the high-cost Bay Area?
• What unusual "signs" prompted the launch of their extremely successful seasonal Christmas lighting business?
• How did Anne and Mark scale their Christmas lighting business from a three-week side gig into a six-month operation with multiple teams and high-profile contracts?
• What strategic financial modeling led Anne to sell a thriving business, and how did she achieve passive income equivalent to its former profits within five years?

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Please fill out this brief survey with your opinion or email me at nik@cofounders.com with your thoughts.

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This week we covered:

00:00 From Struggles to Success: The Christmas Lighting Journey

11:23 The Birth of an Entrepreneur: Seizing Opportunities

18:29 Scaling the Business: Strategies for Growth

25:36 Navigating Challenges: The Impact of COVID-19

33:13 Reflections on Selling: Lessons Learned and Future Goals