When an asphalt pricing estimator looks to make extra money, he finds a straight-up business

idea and earns his stripes painting a parking lot spaces.

If you have ever wondered how the world of parking lot stripes works, you know, whenever

you go into a parking lot, and this is true pretty much anywhere in the world, just about.

I mean, I've seen a lot of the world, I've seen a lot of parking lot stripes, most parking

lots look kind of the same. If you have ever wondered how that world works, the economics

behind it at least, well, very soon you will know.

Now also this story introduces us to a question. My question is, why aren't you doing it?

It's a good question to think about whenever you encounter someone getting paid for something

that you could do, not necessarily painting those parking lot spaces, because that's not

for everyone. But the point is to use this case study model and look at the specific

situation and say, well, that person asked some good questions. They were curious. They

took action on their curiosity. And now, as you'll hear, this guy has done really, really

well for himself. So welcome to Side Usal School. I'm so glad you're here. My name is Chris

Gellabo. This story, the man who paints parking lot stripes, or alternatively asphalt estimator

paints parking spaces. That's the story for today. It's coming up after this quick message

from our sponsor. It was the early 90s when Dan Zurcher first thought about starting a

side business. He was an estimator in the asphalt industry, making pretty average money

in Columbus, Ohio. On top of that, the industry ground to a halt every winter, leaving him

jobless for several months. He felt like the job was going nowhere, but it was actually

his mom who put him on the path of the straight and narrow. And yes, I do mean that literally.

One day Dan was describing his work to her on the phone. He explained how they were finishing

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