22-year-old college dropout who bought a car wash earns $50K a year from it

A 22-year-old who dropped out of college and bought a car wash as a side hustle has revealed how the venture makes her roughly $50,000 a year with minimal effort. 

Hannah Ingram, a real estate agent and entrepreneur from Tennessee, gives her TikTok followers a behind-the-scenes look at what it’s like to own a self-serve car wash on her @hannah_ingram_ account.   

‘I bought a car wash and I’m going to show you how much money it made,’ she says in one viral clip, which has been viewed more than 38.8 million times.

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Behind the scenes: Hannah Ingram, a real estate agent and entrepreneur from Tennessee, opens up about what it’s like to own a car wash on her @hannah_ingram_ account

Making bank: The 22-year-old college dropout bought the self-serve car wash as a side hustle, and one of her recent videos shows her emptying out the coin slots and change dispensers

Making bank: The 22-year-old college dropout bought the self-serve car wash as a side hustle, and one of her recent videos shows her emptying out the coin slots and change dispensers

Making bank: The 22-year-old college dropout bought the self-serve car wash as a side hustle, and one of her recent videos shows her emptying out the coin slots and change dispensers 

The footage shows her emptying the coin slots and the change dispensers at the property, where she also has vending machines with scented car fresheners that ‘make bank.’ 

‘This is one of my largest vacuums. It’s overflowing,’ she explains as she dumps the quarters inside into a large plastic bucket. 

Ingram does this with all three vacuums, the vending machines, and the change dispensers before taking her buckets filled with money to the bank. 

That week, she made $773 in dollar bills alone, and she was up to about $450 in quarters when the machine filled up. She had to call a bank attendant over to help, and they actually ran out of bags to put the quarters in. 

Much to the chagrin of her millions of viewers, she never revealed just how much she made that week, but the buckets full of money suggest a good amount for only a few hours of work. 

Profits: Ingram makes roughly $50,000 a year in gross income from the car wash

Profits: Ingram makes roughly $50,000 a year in gross income from the car wash

Profits: Ingram makes roughly $50,000 a year in gross income from the car wash  

Rolling in dough: In the video, which has been viewed 38.8 million times, Ingram pours the money from the machines into plastic buckets and takes it to the bank

Rolling in dough: In the video, which has been viewed 38.8 million times, Ingram pours the money from the machines into plastic buckets and takes it to the bank 

Literally breaking the bank! That week, she made $773 in dollar bills alone, and she was up to about $450 in quarters when the machine filled up

Literally breaking the bank! That week, she made $773 in dollar bills alone, and she was up to about $450 in quarters when the machine filled up

Literally breaking the bank! That week, she made $773 in dollar bills alone, and she was up to about $450 in quarters when the machine filled up

What a scene: She had to call a bank attendant over to help, and they actually ran out of bags to put the quarters in

What a scene: She had to call a bank attendant over to help, and they actually ran out of bags to put the quarters in

In another video detailing a day in the life of a car wash owner, she shows how she fills the change dispensers, restocks the vending machines, and takes out the trash. 

At the end of the day, she collects the money, washes and dries the quarters, and takes the profits to the bank — the ‘best part.’   

Ingram spends only an hour and a half to two and a half hours a week at her car wash, which makes her money constantly, including when she is sleeping and on vacation. 

She owns the land that the car wash sits on, and she is in the process of adding storage units to the property to make her even more money a month.  

What’s most surprising is that she bought the car wash for $140,000 on her own without a loan, parental help, or even credit. 

Success: In another video, she details the day in the life of a car wash owner. She collects the money, washes and dries the quarters, and takes the profits to the bank — the 'best part'

Success: In another video, she details the day in the life of a car wash owner. She collects the money, washes and dries the quarters, and takes the profits to the bank — the 'best part'

Success: In another video, she details the day in the life of a car wash owner. She collects the money, washes and dries the quarters, and takes the profits to the bank — the ‘best part’

Balling out: Ingram's side hustles and real estate ventures have helper her buy her dream car, a black Maserati

Balling out: Ingram’s side hustles and real estate ventures have helper her buy her dream car, a black Maserati

Done: Ingram went to community college for two years and planned on studying business, but after she transferred to the University of Tennessee at Martin, she realized it wasn't for her

Done: Ingram went to community college for two years and planned on studying business, but after she transferred to the University of Tennessee at Martin, she realized it wasn't for her

Done: Ingram went to community college for two years and planned on studying business, but after she transferred to the University of Tennessee at Martin, she realized it wasn’t for her

Plan: After leaving school, she focused on getting her real estate license. Real estate is her primary source of income, but she has a growing number of side gigs, including the car wash

Plan: After leaving school, she focused on getting her real estate license. Real estate is her primary source of income, but she has a growing number of side gigs, including the car wash

Plan: After leaving school, she focused on getting her real estate license. Real estate is her primary source of income, but she has a growing number of side gigs, including the car wash 

Ingram told BuzzFeed News that she was able to make the investment through seller financing, a loan provided by the seller of a property or a business to the purchaser.  

‘I just pay the seller’s payment every month,’ she explained. ‘They already got a loan from their bank for the $140,000, so I just make their payments to their bank.’

As part of the agreement, she receives all of the income and is responsible for the expenses and maintenance. If she fails to make the payments, the car wash will be repossessed.

Ingram, who has more than 620,000 TikTok followers, also posts videos about her work as a real estate agent and her other side hustles, which include storage units, carwash, e-commerce, and coaching students.

She credits her success to taking the path less traveled. She went to community college for two years and planned on studying business, but after she transferred to the University of Tennessee at Martin, she realized it wasn’t for her. 

Smart: Ingram has been reading self-help books about business and success since she was in high school, and she has put her knowledge to good use

Smart: Ingram has been reading self-help books about business and success since she was in high school, and she has put her knowledge to good use 

Brilliant: She recently purchased a new truck, the cost of which she will be able to deduct on her taxes because she uses it to transport soap and other equipment to her business

Brilliant: She recently purchased a new truck, the cost of which she will be able to deduct on her taxes because she uses it to transport soap and other equipment to her business

Brilliant: She recently purchased a new truck, the cost of which she will be able to deduct on her taxes because she uses it to transport soap and other equipment to her business

Passive income: The car wash makes Ingram money all of the time, including when she is sleeping and on vacation

Passive income: The car wash makes Ingram money all of the time, including when she is sleeping and on vacation

All hers: Ingram bought the car wash for $140,000 on her own without a loan, parental help, or even credit through seller financing, a loan provided by the seller to the purchaser

All hers: Ingram bought the car wash for $140,000 on her own without a loan, parental help, or even credit through seller financing, a loan provided by the seller to the purchaser

Incredible: Ingram owns the land that the car wash sits on, and she is in the process of adding storage units to the property to make her even more money a month

Incredible: Ingram owns the land that the car wash sits on, and she is in the process of adding storage units to the property to make her even more money a month

Incredible: Ingram owns the land that the car wash sits on, and she is in the process of adding storage units to the property to make her even more money a month

After she dropping out in her first semester, she focused on getting her real estate license and using the money she had saved to fund projects that would help her achieve passive income such as her car wash.  

Real estate is her primary source of money, but the car wash makes her an extra $50,000 in gross income a year. She drives her dream car — a Maserati — and recently purchased a brand new truck, the cost of which she will be able to deduct on her taxes because she uses it to transport soap and other equipment to her business. 

Ingram admitted to BuzzFeed News that her life choices have definitely had her family and friends lifting her eyebrows at times, but she is confident she made the right choice. 

‘I’m over here taking crazy risks, and I think they think I’m crazy half the time,’ she said.