In short6 min read
- The founder runs package forwarding, proxy buying and 3PL services across Spain and Chile.
- Almost all customers came organically, with no advertising or paid marketing.
- Lost clients came from lack of time, not lack of demand, while working two jobs.
- Monthly revenue is still under €1,000; the founder's next goal is €25,000 per month.
Most side hustle stories you read online lead with a revenue screenshot. This one leads with a warehouse. A founder based in Spain, who runs a package forwarding, proxy buying and 3PL business across Spain and Chile, shared on r/passive_income that they are close to acquiring their first warehouse. The twist: the business is still bringing in less than €1,000 a month.
That combination makes it one of the more useful case studies for anyone building a physical-services side business. By the end of this article you will understand how this business grew without ads, why time became its main constraint, and how to stress-test a big infrastructure decision before you make it.
In this article
What this business actually sells
The founder combines three related services. If you are new to logistics, here is what each one generally means.
| Service | What the customer pays for | Operational load | Capital needed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Package forwarding | A local address to receive goods, then reshipping to the buyer | Receiving, repacking, shipping | Low to start, grows with volume |
| Proxy buying | Someone to purchase items on their behalf where they cannot buy directly | Purchasing, payment handling, customer communication | Working capital for purchases |
| 3PL (third-party logistics) | Storage, picking, packing and shipping for another seller | Inventory management, space, staff time | Highest; space is the core asset |
The services stack naturally. A forwarding customer may later need proxy buying, and a growing seller may eventually need full fulfillment. That stacking is also why a warehouse becomes the logical next step: 3PL work in particular is limited by physical space.
How it grew: organic only
The founder says they have not invested in advertising or paid marketing, and that almost all customers came organically. They did not share the exact channels, so we cannot say whether that meant referrals, community posts, or search. What we can say is that demand showed up without a marketing budget.
The second growth factor is one the founder is unusually candid about. They say the warehouse is not happening because of the side hustle alone. Their full-time job played a huge role, and combining the regular job with the business is what made this point reachable. In other words, the salary is funding the infrastructure, not the business profits.
The founder also adds context that matters for US readers: salaries and financial opportunities in Spain can look quite different from the US. Keep that in mind before comparing their timeline or numbers to your own.
The real bottleneck: time, not customers
The most practical line in the update is this one: the founder says they have lost quite a few potential clients and opportunities simply because they did not have enough time while working two jobs.
That is a different problem from the one most early businesses have. If you are losing deals to a lack of hours, more marketing will not help. It will only create more leads you cannot serve. The fixes are capacity fixes:
- Systemize intake. A standard form for every forwarding or proxy-buying request cuts back-and-forth messages.
- Template the repeat answers. Pricing questions, shipping timelines and customs basics can be answered with saved replies you review before sending.
- Automate status updates. Customers in logistics mostly want to know where their package is. Sending tracking updates automatically removes a large share of inbound questions.
- Batch physical work. Receiving and repacking on fixed days is easier to fit around a full-time job than reacting to every arrival.
AI tools can help with the first three, for example by drafting replies from your saved answers or summarizing incoming requests into a standard format. The founder did not say they use any of these, so treat them as options for your own setup.
Reading the €25,000 goal: a gap analysis
The founder’s next big goal is €25,000 per month, while the business is not yet making €1,000 monthly. They openly joke that the number sounds crazy. It is worth doing the math, because the gap shapes every decision.
Going from under €1,000 to €25,000 a month means growing revenue by more than 25 times. For a services business with physical handling, that kind of growth cannot come from the same person working more evenings. It has to come from some mix of:
- More capacity, such as space, staff or partners who handle receiving and shipping.
- Higher value per customer, for example moving clients from one-off forwarding to ongoing 3PL contracts.
- More customers, which in this case could start with simply serving the leads that are currently lost to lack of time.
A warehouse addresses the first point and enables the second. That is why the decision makes strategic sense even at low current revenue. The open question is timing and fixed costs.
A warehouse decision checklist
Buying or leasing space turns a flexible side hustle into a business with fixed costs. Before you take a similar step, work through these questions. They are general planning questions, not details from the founder’s plan.
| Question | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Can my current income cover the space if revenue stays flat for a year? | A salary-funded business can survive a slow ramp, but only if the math works without new customers |
| How much of the space will paying work use in the first months? | Unused square footage is a cost with no matching revenue |
| Who handles receiving while I am at my day job? | Space without staff time does not fix a time bottleneck |
| Which service line fills the space first? | 3PL contracts use space steadily; forwarding may be more irregular |
| What is my exit if demand drops? | Leasing, subletting or selling options limit the downside |
If you cannot answer the third question, the warehouse may add work rather than remove it. The founder’s own experience shows that hours, not space alone, were the limiting factor.
What replicators should adjust today
If you want to build something similar, start where the founder is now strongest and avoid where they struggled.
- Start asset-light. Forwarding and proxy buying can begin from limited space. Do not take on fixed costs before demand is proven.
- Pick a corridor you understand. The founder works between Spain and Chile. Knowing both markets, languages and buyer needs is a real advantage you cannot buy with ads.
- Track lost opportunities. Write down every lead you turn away and why. That list becomes your evidence for when to hire, partner or expand.
- Keep your day job as long as it funds growth. The founder credits their job heavily. A stable income can be the cheapest capital you have.
- Set goals with a plan attached. A big target is motivating, but break it into capacity, price and volume steps you can measure each month.
Results in a business like this depend heavily on your location, local regulations, shipping costs and how much time you can commit. Check customs and tax rules for your countries before taking on customers.
How to do it
- [ ] Choose your corridor: two countries where you understand buyers, sellers and shipping options.
- [ ] Pick one starting service, such as package forwarding, before adding proxy buying or 3PL.
- [ ] Research customs, taxes and carrier options for that corridor and document them.
- [ ] Create a standard intake form for every request so you are not negotiating details over chat.
- [ ] Write saved replies for pricing, timelines and common questions, and use an AI assistant to draft from them if it saves time.
- [ ] Set up automatic tracking updates so customers do not need to message you.
- [ ] Grow through organic channels first and record where each customer came from.
- [ ] Log every lost lead and the reason, especially lack of time.
- [ ] Run the warehouse checklist above before committing to fixed space.
- [ ] Review monthly: revenue, hours spent, and lost opportunities, then decide on the next capacity step.
Want to build a logistics side hustle the smart way?
Today, write down the two countries you know best and list what buyers in one struggle to get from the other. That list is the starting point for choosing your first service and testing demand without spending on ads.
Source: From a Side Hustle to Buying My First Warehouse – A Small Update on My Journey
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