A Los Angeles man who lost his job during Covid built a multimillion-dollar plant business from his apartment

Brandon Hurst, a Los Angeles resident, never owned a plant but still managed to turn them into a multimillion-dollar business after losing his job. Yes, you read that right. A pandemic side hustle of selling plants on social media turned into a full-fledged business with his husband and family, reports PEOPLE. Now, he employs 24 people and sells about 5,000 plants each week, with his most expensive going for $200.

How losing a job helped Brandon Hurst start his business

According to PEOPLE, it all started in 2020 when the world was reeling under Covid-19 pandemic. Brandon Hurst was fired from his job as an administrative assistant at a real estate office. Already living paycheck to paycheck, he was reselling items on Facebook Marketplace when he spotted a woman selling plants she had bought from a local dollar store. He saw it as an opportunity to earn some extra money and decided to try selling plants too.

In 2020, he posted his first listing — a pink plant in a pink pot. “People were messaging me like crazy overnight,” he tells PEOPLE exclusively over Zoom. “Like, ‘Oh, is this available? Can I pick this?’ ”

This response helped him turn his side hustle into a family business and the unexpected demand helped transform his small venture into a family business involving his husband, Josh, and his mother.

Today, Hurst has expanded the operation beyond his family's apartment, built a large customer base through TikTok and developed a business that generates millions of dollars in annual gross sales. “I just remember feeling so peaceful,” he told PEOPLE.

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How TikTok helped his business grow

In 2021, a customer who worked as a social media manager suggested Brandon Hurst that he should use the name Brandon The Plant Guy across platforms. He began posting TikTok videos with plant-care advice, including tips on growing snake plants and choosing varieties suitable for beginners. Some videos received more than one million views, helping him build an audience.

When TikTok Shop launched in 2023, Hurst received an early invitation to sell through the platform. He hosted his first livestream on April 18, 2023, expecting to sell about 30 plants.

Instead, he sold 250 plants in approximately three hours. His TikTok following has since grown to more than 268,000, according to the report. The business has sold more than 100,000 plants in 2026 alone and processes approximately 1,000 orders daily, according to PEOPLE. Reflecting on its growth, Hurst said, “It's the wildest thing.”

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From an apartment balcony to a 3,000-square-foot greenhouse

At one point, the family sold more than 1,000 plants a week from the apartment, with sales sometimes reaching 2,000.

In February 2026, Hurst began renting space at a family-run nursery in Los Angeles' San Fernando Valley. The new location includes a 3,000-square-foot greenhouse and an attached house, providing room for inventory, packing and livestream sales.

The business has grown from a small family venture into an operation employing 24 people, including relatives, neighbours and former customers. “The life I have today would not have been possible without TikTok Shop, to be honest with you,” he told PEOPLE.