28-year-old spent $6,000 on an Airstream trailer—and turned it into a coffee shop that brings in $500,000 a year

When Avery Amstutz saw her neighbor selling a 1973 Airstream trailer on Facebook in November 2023, she knew she'd spotted her next business opportunity. She just wasn't sure what kind of business it would be.The Memphis, Tennessee-based serial entrepreneur bought the 50-year-old trailer using $6,000 from the profits of her other business ventures, she says. At the time, she was a destination wedding photographer who owned a photography studio available for rent, and the owner of a mobile cocktail trailer that could be hired for private parties.In July 2024, after a five-figure trailer renovation, Amstutz added a new venture to her portfolio: Byway Coffee, a mobile coffee shop that now pops up daily at locations throughout Memphis. Over the next year, and despite some growing pains, Byway brought in more than $500,000 in total revenue, including over $400,000 in net sales, according to documents reviewed by CNBC Make It.The business has been profitable "since Day 1," says Amstutz, 28. Byway's social media followers — more than 38,000 of them on Instagram and TikTok combined — receive updates on the trailer's rotating menu of pastries from local bakeries and unconventional drinks, including recent offerings like Bananas Foster Chai and Pistachio Cookie Matcha.DON'T MISS: The ultimate guide to starting a business—everything you need to know to be your own bossAmstutz has worked roughly 60 hours per week on Byway over the past two years, she estimates. At first, she knew "absolutely nothing about coffee," she says. But she tracked the trajectories of two Memphis-area mobile coffee shops, and noticed that one had sold to a larger company and the other converted into a brick-and-mortar location. That told her it was a "desirable business" and there was "a gap in the market" she could potentially fill, she says.At Byway's one-year anniversary celebration, some customers waited over an hour in a line that topped 70 people at one point, Amstutz says. And after living off the profits of her other ventures — reinvesting Byway's initial profits back into the company, and using them to pay off a startup loan from her uncle — she started paying herself a salary from Byway in December, she says. Amstutz requested to keep her salary details private.She sold the cocktail trailer on Tuesday, and is stepping back from wedding photography, she says."I expected much less than what I have gotten from this business," says Amstutz.After deciding to turn the trailer into a coffee shop, Amstutz contacted a friend she'd met on Instagram who owned a mobile coffee business. The friend gave her a rundown of what she'd need to open her own business. Amstutz's takeaway: She had enough cash to buy the trailer, but she needed help covering her other startup and renovation costs, she says.She put together an initial business plan and took it to her uncle, a health care executive, who offered to partner with Amstutz and invest $30,000, she says.Readying the "very old" 25-foot-long Airstream to house a licensed mobile restaurant required a complete renovation, and Amstutz handled the demolition herself, she says — ripping up flooring with a hammer and removing the shower, bed and some unusable gas pipes.She hired a local contractor to refurbish the interior, including custom countertops, a window for pastry display cases and storage areas for coffee beans and other necessities. Amstutz bought three refrigerators, a freezer and ice bin, and a professional-grade espresso machine, she says. The final tally for renovation and equipment: roughly $65,000. Amstutz contributed $20,000, drawing from her savings and maxing out multiple credit cards, she says. She took an additional $15,000 loan from her uncle, who now owns 30% of Byway, to cover the extra costs, she adds. (She's nearly paid off the loan, she notes.)"The funniest part is: The espresso machine and everything was purchased and installed and ready to go, and I still had never touched [or operated] an espresso machine," says Amstutz. Instead, she worked to hire "people who knew more about coffee than I did" to help her navigate the learning curve, she says.Byway now has nine part-time employees and one full-time operations manager, says Amstutz.As her employees taught her about coffee, Amstutz worked to build Byway's social media following, she says. More than 300 customers showed up for the trailer's opening day in Memphis' Overton Park, she wrote on Instagram at the time.Now, with a social following roughly 100 times as large, Amstutz posts daily with the trailer's upcoming locations and videos of its latest menu additions. The trailer model has benefits, she says: Byway doesn't have to pay rent, and it can literally meet customers where they are.Byway's business model has drawbacks, too. At a different location each day, customer demand can be difficult to anticipate. The trailer has limited storage space, and "several flat tires" have caused delays, says Amstutz. Once, the power cord that connects the trailer to a generator came loose and dragged behind Amstutz on the highway, where the friction "shaved it off," she says.When Amstutz tried to turn on the store's machines, she got "electrocuted, minorly," she says. "We've made almost every mistake at least once ... All of this is a learning experience."Those lessons may help inform her expansion plan: Amstutz bought another Airstream trailer in March for $2,500, and plans to spend an estimated total of $70,000 to renovate it into a second Byway location, she says."I think that all the businesses that I have started up until now have — it sounds cheesy — but, [they] truly led me to this business," says Amstutz.Want to be your own boss? Sign up for CNBC's new online course, How To Start A Business: For First-Time Founders. Find step-by-step guidance for launching your first business, from testing your idea to growing your revenue.CNBC Select is editorially independent and may earn a commission from affiliate partners on links.Get Make It newsletters delivered to your inboxLearn more about the world of CNBC Make It© 2025 Versant Media, LLC.

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