I spent a day with a blue-collar millionaire in NYC
Executive Summary
A My First Million episode in which host Sam Parr spends a day with Mark O'Brien, who buys, restores and sells brownstone homes in New York City, to see the economics and lifestyle of a blue-collar millionaire. Parr tours a townhouse and a commercial property being restored, asks about purchase, build and sale prices, hears how O'Brien finds properties, and ends by scoring the business and lifestyle out of 30 each. Sponsor: HubSpot (My First Million is a HubSpot Original Podcast), with Hampton, Somewhere and Mercury also promoted in the description. PARTIAL COVERAGE: this note is based on the opening, a middle section on finding properties and a project tour, the closing scores and the description, and does not cover every moment of the roughly 20 minute video. All prices, returns and scores are the speakers' own claims and opinions and are not independently checked. This is a summary, not financial or investment advice.
Key Takeaways
The idea
Parr says he does not want to make his living on screens and wanted to see how a brownstone restorer's life and economics work.
The scoring format
Parr says he will score the economics and the lifestyle, including pride in the work, and give O'Brien a Sam score.
A project's numbers
O'Brien and Parr discuss a project with a 2.8 million purchase, about 2 million to build and a hoped-for sale near 6.2 million.
Finding properties
O'Brien describes running past houses, talking to owners and putting notes in mailboxes, and calls it a numbers game.
Boom and bust
Parr says the work is somewhat boom and bust, and O'Brien says it can stress him but he has gotten good at it, helped by yoga.
Details he loves
O'Brien shows a floor he says is 140 years old, found under vinyl, and says he likes to finish the roof, the cellar and a widened staircase.
The scores
Parr gives business 8 of 30 and lifestyle 21 of 30, for a Sam score of 29, citing freedom limited by project deadlines and constant regulation calls.
The Conversation Breakdown
The idea
⏱ Untimed topicParr says he does not want to make his living on screens and wanted to see how a brownstone restorer's life and economics work.
The scoring format
⏱ Untimed topicParr says he will score the economics and the lifestyle, including pride in the work, and give O'Brien a Sam score.
A project's numbers
⏱ Untimed topicO'Brien and Parr discuss a project with a 2.8 million purchase, about 2 million to build and a hoped-for sale near 6.2 million.
Finding properties
⏱ Untimed topicO'Brien describes running past houses, talking to owners and putting notes in mailboxes, and calls it a numbers game.
Boom and bust
⏱ Untimed topicParr says the work is somewhat boom and bust, and O'Brien says it can stress him but he has gotten good at it, helped by yoga.
Details he loves
⏱ Untimed topicO'Brien shows a floor he says is 140 years old, found under vinyl, and says he likes to finish the roof, the cellar and a widened staircase.
The scores
⏱ Untimed topicParr gives business 8 of 30 and lifestyle 21 of 30, for a Sam score of 29, citing freedom limited by project deadlines and constant regulation calls.
Core Frameworks & Ideas
The Sam score - Parr's evaluation method
Rate a business on economics and on lifestyle, including pride, people and freedom.
Numbers game outreach - O'Brien's sourcing
Keep reaching out to owners because only some conversations turn into deals.
Look under the surface - O'Brien's restoration habit
Restore original features rather than covering them.
Actionable Next Steps
- ✓Write down the economics and the lifestyle of a business idea before you commit to it.
- ✓Spend a day with someone who does the job you are curious about.
- ✓Ask what each project's purchase, build and sale numbers look like, not just the headline price.
- ✓Treat every figure as the speakers' own claim and do your own checks.
Notable Quotes
“I don't want to make my living using screens all the time.”
“I'm cosplaying.”
“It was a numbers game.”
The One Thing to Remember
Sam Parr shadows a New York brownstone restorer, looks at the numbers behind one project, and gives the business and lifestyle a score.