This Side Hustle Spotlight Q&A features Shannon Houchin, 54, of Fort Worth, Texas. Houchin and her son Finn Canard, 22, own and operate Roadside Republic, a seven-figure business selling peaches on the side of the road. Responses have been edited for length and clarity.
Image Credit: Courtesy of Roadside Republic. Finn Canard and Shannon Houchin.
What was your day job or primary occupation when you started your side hustle?
I was the COO of a family-run software company. I also spent years prior to that as a research specialist, so my brain was trained to find stories, patterns and hidden opportunities. Turns out, those same skills are useful when you’re selling fruit on the side of the road.
When did you start your side hustle, and where did you find the inspiration for it?
It started in 2013, after my dad was diagnosed with small-cell lung cancer. He later passed away in 2015. I wanted to do something real. Face-to-face. Something that mattered. Something that made people happy. A longtime friend kept telling me to come out to South Carolina and see what it was like to sell peaches at a roadside stand.
I finally said yes. It changed everything.
What were some of the first steps you took to get your side hustle off the ground?
I’m not very good at dipping my toe into a new venture and starting small. So, in 2014, I went all in. I took Finn, who was 10 at the time, and apprenticed with the Peach Man in South Carolina.
I opened 100 stands that same summer. I had trucks, warehouses and crew logistics experience from the software business, so I used it. Everything else? I figured it out in real time. And I did everything wrong! But I learned fast how to correct my failures, and after a decade doing this, it’s amazing.
Are there any free or paid resources that have been especially helpful for you in starting and running this business?
Honestly? No. Nothing. There wasn’t a single resource out there that showed me how to do what I was doing. I had to build it all from scratch. Thankfully, I’d spent over a decade working side-by-side with my dad running a successful software business, so I had a solid business education, but when I pivoted into this, I was flying blind. No playbook. No roadmap. Just grit, trial and error, a mentor (thankfully!) and a lot of failure, which I learned from. Fast.
Everything I know now — every system, process, pricing model, sourcing tactic, sales script and stand setup — I created on the fly. And that’s why I built Roadside Republic. I turned all that knowledge into a business that teaches people how to open and run profitable peach stands. They don’t have to guess. They get the exact tools and blueprint I wish I’d had when I started.
If you could go back in your business journey and change one process or approach, what would it be, and how do you wish you’d done it differently?
I would have started documenting my journey sooner and published from the very beginning on social media. I waited a long time to do both because I thought I wasn’t very good at it. I was wrong. People want roadside peach stands and roadside farm stands more than I could ever have imagined.
Peach stands are literally ATMs. No joke.
When it comes to this specific business, what is something you’ve found particularly challenging and/or surprising that people who get into this type of work should be prepared for, but likely aren’t?
The business is labor-intensive. Ten hours a day in the summer heat. But it’s all worth it to see how happy peaches make people. It seems so silly to think a simple peach stand can not only make a ton of money (which it does!), but the sheer sight of a roadside peach stand can bring so much joy to a community.
Over the years, I have learned that the disappearance of roadside farm stands has left a hole in the fabric of our communities, and people crave access to locally grown and sourced food. People want to be able to talk to the farmers and the growers and ask questions about the food we eat. They want to exchange stories about how it used to be in the good old days when the countryside was dotted with family farms.
Our roadside peach stands serve that purpose and bring people together. We make people happy.
So really, we sell happiness. It just looks like peaches.
Image Credit: Courtesy of Roadside Republic
Can you recall a specific instance when something went very wrong? How did you fix it?
Oh yes. Early on, with dozens of peach stands open and running, I wasn’t good yet at forecasting sales and ordering inventory. I overordered (an 18-wheeler load) and ended up with a warehouse of over-ripe peaches. I lost thousands of dollars. From that very costly mistake, I learned “just in time inventory” and how to better predict demand.
Today, I don’t lose a single peach and nothing goes bad.
How long did it take you to see consistent monthly revenue? How much did the side hustle earn?
We were profitable within the first week. That’s what blew my mind. The turn on peaches is so fast and is in such high demand that the profits are immediate. No waiting around for the business to turn a profit after months. Try one week. A typical peach stand can profit $1,500 to $3,000 per week during the peach season.
What does growth and revenue look like now?
We’ve expanded into mobile farmers markets, farm box subscriptions, product development, online content and education.
Our business has grown from a seasonal business lasting only four months (summer peach season) to an all-year company specializing in local produce, subscriptions and delivery. We just had our first $50,000 month outside of the summer months (May-August), and we couldn’t be more thrilled!
How much time do you spend working on your business on a daily, weekly or monthly basis?
Since taking the business from seasonal to all year, my time commitment hasn’t changed that much. During the peach season, we have dozens of stands open simultaneously, which require constant service and logistical oversight.
When peach season is over, we fall back to our store location in Fort Worth and focus on our mobile farmers markets traveling directly into neighborhoods, as well as our newly launched farm box subscriptions. The outreach is amazing for the neighborhoods and for our brand name.
These days, I’m up at 5 a.m. working on content creation, scheduling, administrative tasks etc. until about 8 a.m. From 8 a.m. to 11 a.m., we order produce, open our locations, conduct deliveries and greet customers. During the day, we oversee all of our stands and locations and ensure that stand workers are taken care of and have everything they need. Our mobile farmers markets pop up in neighborhoods in the evenings from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. (Long days!)
We run six days a week now, with Mondays as our off day.
What do you enjoy most about running this business?
The freedom, the stories and the people. There’s nothing like helping someone earn real money from a roadside peach tent and a dream.
And I love watching customers light up when they taste a peach that actually tastes like a peach.
What is your best piece of specific, actionable business advice?
Sell something today. Not after your logo is perfect. Not after your website is live. Not after your cousin finishes your business cards. Just sell something. Take it to market. Talk to a customer.
Everything gets clearer after the first sale.
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