The Side Hustle Show

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737: The 6-Figure Slumber Party Business: Don’t Sleep on This!

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May 4, 2026

Guest

Anne McGraw

Anne McGraw, founder of Firefly Slumber Parties and coach/licensor for similar businesses, built a luxury tent slumber party side hustle that pulls $800–$1,000 per setup. She talks about how the idea started, profitable themes and pricing, building and training weekend teams, logistics like storage and bookings, and how coaching and licensing help others replicate the model.

44:56

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insights

INSIGHT

Hyperlocal Demand Makes Regional Scaling Easy

Slumber party rentals are hyperlocal and scalable across neighborhoods rather than dominating a whole city.
Anne found demand via social posts and neighboring operators, then bought out a Chattanooga operator to accelerate growth.

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ADVICE

Price For Full-Service Time And Add Simple Upsells

Price to cover setup, delivery, pickup and team pay; Firefly starts at $425 for a four-tent minimum.
Offer à la carte rentals (popcorn machine, karaoke) to raise average order value and justify logistics time.

insights

INSIGHT

Instagram Photos Create Built-In Viral Referrals

Visual social content plus built-in party word of mouth drives bookings.
Guests and parents post photos, creating neighborhood ripple effects that bring inquiries from nearby streets.

Get the Snipd Podcast app to discover more snips from this episode

How the slumber party idea began

01:48 • 58sec

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What the setups look like and target age

02:47 • 1min

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Choosing profitable themes

03:50 • 2min

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Inventory challenges and custom themes

06:16 • 44sec

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Pricing, add-ons, and minimums

07:00 • 3min

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Finding customers and visual marketing

09:45 • 3min

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Hiring to reclaim weekends

Building a team and onboarding helpers

16:37 • 4min

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Operations: bookings and HoneyBook

20:34 • 1min

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Paying setup teams and margins

21:51 • 2min

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Storage logistics and garage pickup model

23:36 • 2min

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Coaching, licensing, and helping others start

25:22 • 1min

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Common blockers for new operators

Full-time pivot and balance with corporate job

31:49 • 51sec

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Upsells, invitations, and sibling tents

32:40 • 2min

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Handling mistakes and customer make-rights

34:45 • 3min

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Why Anne keeps doing it

37:39 • 2min

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Partnerships within the party ecosystem

39:54 • 3min

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Scaling considerations and multiple sets

43:17 • 1min

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Realistic break-even expectations

44:39 • 1min

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Customer experience is everything

What if you could set up the same tents and pillows every weekend — and get paid $800 to $1,000 each time you did it?

That's exactly what Anne McGraw has built with Firefly Slumber Parties, a luxury tent slumber party rental business based in Nashville. Anne and her husband run it as a side hustle while both working demanding full-time jobs, and last weekend alone they did five parties at $800 to $1,000 each.

The idea came from Anne's daughter, who spotted the concept on TikTok or Instagram back in 2020. There was nobody doing it in Nashville at the time, so they decided to build it themselves.

They connected with a couple in Chattanooga who was doing something similar and got some early tips on what to buy and how to set up. A few years later, they ended up buying out that Chattanooga business when the owners decided to close.

Listen to Episode 737 of the Side Hustle Show to learn:

what a slumber party rental business looks like and how the money works
how to build a team so the business doesn’t run your weekends
the real startup costs and how long it takes to break even

Full Show Notes: The 6-Figure Slumber Party Business: Don’t Sleep on This!

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