LA man turns plant side hustle into millions

Brandon Hurst, a Los Angeles resident, turned his side hustle of selling plants on social media into a multimillion-dollar business after losing his job during the Covid-19 pandemic. According to PEOPLE, Hurst was fired from his administrative assistant position at a real estate office in 2020 and started reselling items on Facebook Marketplace when he noticed a woman selling plants she purchased from a local dollar store.

Intrigued by the opportunity, he began selling plants himself, posting his first listing of a pink plant in a pink pot. Overnight, he received numerous messages from interested customers.

Hurst's side hustle quickly turned into a family business when his husband, Josh, and his mother became involved. Today, the business operates from a location beyond their apartment, with a large customer base built through TikTok and a thriving online presence. In 2021, Hurst's strategic use of the name "Brandon The Plant Guy" on social media platforms, coupled with TikTok videos offering plant-care advice, helped him gain a significant following.

When TikTok Shop launched in 2023, Hurst seized the opportunity to sell through the platform, hosting his first livestream in April 2023 and selling 250 plants in just three hours.

The business has grown tremendously since then, with Hurst processing approximately 1,000 orders daily and selling over 100,000 plants in 2026 alone. In February 2026, the family rented space at a family-run nursery in Los Angeles' San Fernando Valley, which included a 3,000-square-foot greenhouse and an attached house for inventory, packing, and livestream sales.

Now employing 24 people, including relatives, neighbors, and former customers, Hurst's plant business has transformed from a small apartment venture into a lucrative operation generating millions in annual gross sales. Hurst credits TikTok Shop as the key driver of his business's success, stating, "It's the wildest thing."