🎉 The $100 Yard Sign Side Hustle

You’ve probably seen it:

A giant “HAPPY BIRTHDAY” spelled out in someone’s front yard. Maybe it had their kid’s name. Maybe “WELCOME HOME!” or “CONGRATS, GRAD!”

It looks like a fun surprise…

But it’s actually a profitable local business in many towns.

🪧 The Business: Card My Yard

Card My Yard is a yard sign rental company that’s grown to 500+ locations across the U.S., mostly run by small local franchisees. Their business model is ridiculously simple:

• A customer orders a custom yard greeting online (for a birthday, graduation, baby shower, whatever).

• You (the franchisee or independent operator) sneak out the night before or early morning and set up the signs in their yard.

• You come back 24 hours later and pick them up.

• Most customers never even see you.

💰 The Numbers:

• Sign rentals go for $95–$135 on average.

• It takes about 30–45 minutes total for setup and takedown.

• The signs are reusable, so once you own a basic set, your overhead is nearly zero.

📈 Estimated Revenue:

Franchisees have said publicly they do 10–20+ bookings per week, especially during peak seasons like graduation or holidays.

Let’s break it down:

• 15 bookings/week × $115 average = $1,725/week

• That’s $6,900/month, part time

  Costs:

  • Yard sign kits: $1500 (letters, themes, stakes) - Pay once, reuse them over and over again

  • Basic website or FB page: Free or <$50

  • Gas: $5–$10 per job depending on your area

  That’s it.

  Once you’ve booked 10-15 signs, the whole setup is usually paid off.

You can also go solo and avoid the franchise fees (there are tons of local independent operators doing this now too).

🧠 Why This Works:

• It’s visual and Instagrammable - customers do your marketing for you

• It’s giftable - most people aren’t ordering for themselves

• It’s fast and low effort - no face-to-face required

This is a simple local business almost anyone can start.

It doesn’t take a lot of time, there’s barely any overhead, and it fills a real need. People want to make others feel special, and this does it in a big (and shareable) way.

Hope you enjoyed this one. Have a great Tuesday!

-Tim