When Todd Graves and Craig Silvey came up with the idea for a restaurant in southern Louisiana that only sold chicken fingers, they probably didn’t expect to get the lowest grade in a startup-pitching assignment for Silvey’s LSU undergraduate business class — or to get rejected for bank loans when they tried to make it a reality.

Yet the concept, which eventually became Raising Cane’s Chicken Fingers, propelled Graves to his debut Tuesday on the Forbes 400, a ranking of America’s richest people. He’s reportedly the country’s 107th-richest person, with an estimated net worth of $9.5 billion, largely driven by his ownership stake in Raising Cane’s.

“If people tell you something can’t be done, it makes you strive so much more to do it,” Graves, now 52 and the company’s co-CEO, told students at Nicholls State University in 2009.

To raise enough money to open the fast-food chain’s first location in 1996, Graves moved to California from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, to work 90-hour weeks in an oil refinery — and, later, fish for salmon in Alaska — according to the company’s website.

He spent between $40,000 and $50,000 of his own money, plus roughly $100,000 from friends, family and a Small Business Administration loan, to get his restaurant off the ground, he told the “Trading Secrets” podcast in May.

DON’T MISS: The ultimate guide to negotiating a higher salary

Today, Raising Cane’s — named after Graves’ yellow lab Raising Cane — has more than 800 locations internationally and brought in $3.7 billion in net sales last year, a company spokesperson tells CNBC Make It. Graves owns more than 90 percent of the company, and has no plans to take it public or sell his stake to private investors, he said.

“I want my kids in the business to be able to carry our values on after their mom and I are gone,” said Graves. “They can turn this into a worldwide business and continue to grow.”

When Graves and Silvey — who left the business in 1999 — opened their first location in Baton Rouge, Graves had zero business management skills, he said. He worked seven days per week at the restaurant, from opening at 8 a.m. to closing at 3:30 am the next morning, he added.

As the company grew, Graves figured out how to recruit employees and develop leaders on the fly, he said: “I was building a plane while I was flying it.”

Most entrepreneurs finance their businesses with a mix of debt and equity. Graves relied almost exclusively on loans when starting out, he told the “How I Built This” podcast in 2022. He’d offer private investors a 15% interest rate on a loan, which he’d then use to secure additional funding from community banks that treated the debt as equity, he said.

In retrospect, the approach was “stupid,” and nearly cost him the business when Hurricane Katrina hit Louisiana in 2005 — shutting down 21 of his 28 storefronts in the Baton Rouge area — but it allowed him to maintain his ownership stake while growing his company, he said.

“Debt to equity, you should have proper balances in your business, and that helps you get through tough times like a major hurricane — but I levered everything,” said Graves, who credited his business’ survival to reopening as much as he could quickly after Katrina passed. “Luckily I lived through that, but that’s when I really learned to balance risk.”

The company — which turned 28 this year and is on its third real-life yellow lab mascot, Raising Cane III — had its first billion-dollar quarter in sales earlier this year and is on track to finish 2024 with nearly $5 billion in sales, says the Raising Cane’s spokesperson.

Contrary to the company’s hard-charging early expansion, Graves now preaches the value of not rushing into opportunities or growing too quickly at his brand’s expense, he told “Trading Secrets.”

“The vision of Raising Cane’s is to someday have locations all over the world, and be the brand for crave-able chicken finger meals, great crew, cool culture and active community involvement,” Graves said. “You have to stay disciplined, because if you are successful, opportunities are crazy, and you can grow it towards something not special at all.”

His outlook echoes advice from other successful entrepreneurs. Kind Snacks founder Daniel Lubetzky and Vuori CEO Joe Kudla advocate for taking a step back to self-reflect before big decisions, and Rocket Lab CEO Peter Beck says he takes his time to analyze any potential opportunity.

“Sometimes, you can take big risks. Sometimes, you need to be very safe and methodical about how to back out of situation,” Beck told Make It last year. “Control the things you can control and acknowledge the things you can’t control.”

Want to earn more money at work? Take CNBC’s new online course How to Negotiate a Higher Salary. Expert instructors will teach you the skills you need to get a bigger paycheck, including how to prepare and build your confidence, what to do and say, and how to craft a counteroffer. Pre-register now and use coupon code EARLYBIRD for an introductory discount of 50% off through Nov. 26, 2024.

Plus, sign up for CNBC Make It’s newsletter to get tips and tricks for success at work, with money and in life.

Jayde Powell started her social media career over a decade ago, working for wellness brands and big name companies like Delta Airlines. She never imagined she’d make money creating content as herself — especially not on LinkedIn.

Powell started posting observations from her experience in corporate America on the job search-platform after she noticed other creators were shifting away X.com, formerly known as Twitter,, at the end of 2022. Within a year, the posts started gaining traction and catching the attention of past clients.

When the social media management platform Sprout Social, offered $1,000 for Powell to write a sponsored post promoting their upcoming event on her personal LinkedIn page, she says, it was a light-bulb moment. Powell — whose day job is running her Atlanta-based social media strategy agency, The Em Dash Co. — realized she could leverage the skills she used to write for corporate companies on her own accounts.

The epiphany has helped her grow her career and earn money in unexpected ways. This year, she has made $27,000 posting content as Jayde I. Powell on LinkedIn, according to documents reviewed by CNBC Make It.

DON’T MISS: The ultimate guide to earning passive income online

As a solo business owner, that cash has come in handy. The money she earns from LinkedIn helps her pay her mortgage and utilities bills, and offset monthly business expenses, while she grows her own company, she says. Powell has made $32,700 through The Em Dash Co. and another $2,750 from other social media content so far this year.

The combined income hasn’t yet surpassed her $95,000 annual salary from her last full-time job at wellness beverage company Sunwink, she says — but it outpaces the $52,100 she earned solely from The Em Dash Co. last year. It’s also slightly higher than the median annual salary for social media managers in the U.S. ($60,000 a year, according to job recruiting site Glassdoor).

“Having brand partnerships [on LinkedIn] has really saved me and allowed me to pay my bills,” Powell, 31, tells CNBC Make It. “There have been times where I haven’t been able to pull in new client work [at the Em Dash Co.].”

Here’s how Powell developed her voice on social media and leveraged it into a lucrative LinkedIn side hustle.

Before Powell built her audience of more than 19,000 followers on LinkedIn, her specialty was making content for X.com, she says.

Her posts, which often reflected her personal experiences at work and prompted conversations among other users, regularly attracted hundreds of thousands of likes and reposts.

Looking for more flexibility than traditional corporate jobs offered, Powell started freelancing full-time and launched The Em Dash Co. in October 2022.

Her secret to going viral revolved around mastering one skill, Powell says: marrying corporate content with a conversational tone.

The key is injecting enough personality to make people feel like they’re talking to a real person. “Consumers are more savvy than ever; they know when they’re being marketed to,” Powell says. “It feels inauthentic when brands are like, ‘Buy this product,’ over and over again. The messaging becomes boring.”

That’s a big reason why “influencer marketing is very hot right now,” she adds.

Advertisers are on pace to spend more than $8.1 billion on influencer marketing this year, a 16% increase from 2023, according to estimates from eMarketer.

“People trust people, not brands,” Powell says. “Creators provide a level of personality, comfort and familiarity that brands just cannot accomplish.”

More than two-thirds of U.S. consumers say they are more likely to trust the recommendation of an influencer, friend or family member than they are to be swayed by content coming directly from a brand, according to a 2023 survey from PR firm Matter Communications.

Powell has worked to translate her personal voice from X to LinkedIn, where the tone remains “unserious,” she says. She tweaks her content to fit trends and issues young professionals experience.

After her first LinkedIn post for Sprout Social, Powell began seeking out clients for her personal page. She did it the same way she found corporate clients for The Em Dash Co.: She made a list of the tools she used as an influencer — like Teachable, where she hosts a webinar series — and slid into the platforms’ DMs, she says.

Businesses know their customers want to hear from real people, Powell says. That’s why she believes the income from her LinkedIn side hustle could soon outpace her solo agency.

At the same time, Powell — who now works about 25 hours per week for The Em Dash Co. and 10 hours per week on LinkedIn — says that running a business and a side hustle by herself has pros and cons.

“The traditional 9-to-5, 40 hours-a-week model is a bit much for me,” Powell says. “I like having more flexibility and the freedom to adapt my schedule … but it can be scary in those moments where you’re like, ‘When is my next paycheck coming? When is my next invoice going to process?’”

Still, after her unexpected success promoting brands as herself on LinkedIn, Powell is strongly considering shifting her focus to her personal content.

Her next goal: hit 100,000 followers on the platform by the end of 2025.

“I’ve just really been taking this platform so seriously, so I kind of want to see the fruits of my labor in that way,” Powell says. “I would also love to get to a place eventually where I can do this full time, [and] be a LinkedIn influencer.”

Want to make extra money outside of your day job? Sign up for CNBC’s online course How to Earn Passive Income Online to learn about common passive income streams, tips to get started and real-life success stories.

Plus, sign up for CNBC Make It’s newsletter to get tips and tricks for success at work, with money and in life.

Growing up in Nara, Japan, one food that was a constant in my home was tofu. It’s truly been a lifelong staple. 

When I was a baby, once I could eat solids, my mom commonly prepared two dishes for me — one was a mix of tofu, rice porridge, sweet potato, kabocha (squash), and nori (seaweed) paste, and the other was miso soup with rice porridge.

I carried on that culinary tradition with my two kids when they were small. I never bought any ultra-processed baby food; instead I opted for tofu. It saved me time, money and stress, and it was a way for us to connect with our roots while living in the U.S.

DON’T MISS: How to master your money and grow your wealth

When we arrived here in 1994, tofu was harder to come by. If I could only find shelf-stabilized packaged versions, I kept about two dozen of them in the house at any given time. Even today, I always have several packs of tofu in my refrigerator.

In Japan, tofu is enjoyed by folks of all ages. My in-laws are 95 and 88 years old. They still live in Nara, and have tofu, natto (fermented soybeans) and miso soup every day. They attribute their longevity and immunity, in part, to that daily routine.

Here is why tofu is my No. 1 kitchen must-have.

Tofu is traditionally made from soybeans and nigari, the liquid that remains after removing the salt from seawater. In the U.S., calcium sulfate is often used as the main coagulant. 

Either way, tofu contains all the essential amino acids that meat, poultry, eggs, fish and dairy do — but without cholesterol, since it is plant based.

It also is rich in calcium, iron, vitamins, fiber and isoflavones, a type of plant estrogen. 

Studies have shown that the consumption of tofu can help reduce the risk of heart disease, fight cancer and reduce the risk of bone loss. 

It takes 70.6 kilograms of greenhouse emissions to produce just one kilogram of beef, but only 3.2 kilograms of emissions to produce the same amount of tofu.

I typically purchase 14 ounces of organic tofu for $2 or $3, which is often much less than the same amount of poultry or beef would cost me at the grocery store. 

To me, it is simple math. In the course of the week, if you were to swap out one or two beef burgers for a tofu burgers, you would feel better, pay less for groceries and do something small to help the environment. 

Tofu has a very natural, subtle flavor, so it can be matched with just about any cuisine or dish. Since it’s soft, you can also prepare it without a knife and cutting board.

As a nutritionist and cooking instructor, I am always developing new recipes, and tofu makes it very easy to experiment.

I serve tofu in a variety of ways: pan-fried or in soups and salads, in nimono (slow cooked roots and veggies), dumplings, veggie pancakes, vegan curry, burgers, cabbage rolls, mochi and ice cream, to name a few. 

My go-to lunch is a tofu miso soup with seasonal roots and leafy vegetables, seaweed, ginger and goji berries. Generally, I make a large pot and return to it throughout the week, serving it with multigrain rice, natto and nukazuke (pickles). 

My other perfect, simple meal is hiyayakko. It is cold tofu — usually the silken or soft variety — topped with nori, sesame seeds, ginger, shiso, scallions, natto and a little bit of soy sauce. If you prefer it warm, you can always pop it into the microwave for one to two minutes and then add your toppings. 

I often call tofu my best friend for happy living. I hope you are inspired to incorporate it into your kitchen, too. 

Michiko Tomioka, MBA, RDN, is a certified nutritionist and longevity expert. Born and raised in Nara, Japan, her approach focuses on a plant-based diet. She has worked in nutritional roles at substance recovery centers, charter schools and food banks. Follow her on Instagram @michian_rd. 

Want to master your money this fall? Sign up for CNBC’s new online course. We’ll teach you practical strategies to hack your budget, reduce your debt, and grow your wealth. Start today to feel more confident and successful. Use code EARLYBIRD for an introductory discount of 30% off, now extended through September 30, 2024, for the back-to-school season.

Stacie Grissom and Sean Wilson lived in New York City for almost a decade, and then the covid-19 pandemic hit.

In early 2020, Grissom was pregnant with their first child and working in marketing at BarkBox, while Wilson was working as an orthopedic surgeon in NYC hospitals.

Seeing the state of the city during that time made Grissom realize she was ready to move back to Franklin, Indiana, their hometown, which is about 30 miles from downtown Indianapolis.

“We had a reevaluation that it’s the people who matter the most, so we wanted to move back to our hometown to be by our families,” Grissom tells CNBC Make It.

“We got our chosen family in New York, and it’s the best city in the world, but we had to go where our family was.”

A couple of months after their son was born, Grissom contacted a realtor friend in Franklin and told him to start looking at “weird old houses.”

“I told him the quirkier, the better, and to send us a fixer-upper,” Grissom says. “His dad saw a school for sale and immediately said, ‘Send it to Stacie.’”

Since Grissom and Wilson were still in New York City at the time, they asked her parents to check out the property instead.

Grissom says the building was a school for local children between 1914 and 1934. After the schoolhouse closed, it was used as a barn.

Since Grissom’s dad had experience running a commercial real estate business, she knew he would give her an honest and expert opinion on the school’s state.

After getting her parents’ approval, Grissom and Wilson made an offer on the schoolhouse without ever seeing it in person themselves — and it was accepted within 24 hours.

“We wouldn’t have bought it if my parents hadn’t agreed because we knew with this kind of project we were going to need the entire village,” she says.

A week after Grissom and Wilson closed on the former schoolhouse, they saw it in person for the first time.

“I think back then I was a lot more naive than I am today, but I was so excited to see it and its potential,” Grissom says. “You could see that there could be giant windows, tall ceilings, and open spaces for a big family to come together around the holidays.”

“It’s like a Midwestern castle in the middle of some cornfields of Indiana. It’s a beautiful little brick building that is home now,” she adds.

After the couple closed on the former schoolhouse, the real work began. By the fall of 2021, the couple got the school down to its bare bones, but a renovation they thought would take two years ended up taking three.

The couple was still living in New York City at the time.

“Things were a little slow to get going but then the new roof started going in February 2022 and things started to move but it ended up taking us three years because we were basically building a new house inside an old shell of a building,” Grissom says.

Grissom declined to comment on how much the couple spent on the renovation but says they are still getting through it and not completely done yet.

While cleaning out the property, the couple and their contractors found random things, including a board that would hold old chalkboards with the words “Chicken coop” written on it.

“It was really cool to see because this is such a beautiful little school built by farmers for the kids in this rural area. The community was really proud of the school,” Grissom says.

Though the couple had to almost start from scratch with the schoolhouse, they were able to keep the floors in one classroom, all of the brick, the original doors and a water fountain that they are trying to restore.

“The time it took was definitely a big challenge and having to renovate from afar was tough. I don’t think we were naïve going into it, but now I know we’re not renovating anything again after this,” Grissom says. “We did it, and we’re glad we’ve gone through, but no more old buildings for a while.”

Despite how hard the renovation was for the couple, Grissom says her favorite part was getting to work alongside her dad.

“It’s been really cool to go through my dad’s renovation boot camp, from how to work with other contractors to how to do the work ourselves. We learned a lot of trade-like things over the three years,” she adds.

To pay homage to the former school, the couple used the same colors that were originally painted on the walls back when the school was still open. Grissom also made two mosaics for the entrances with the name of the school and its date of creation.

Of the décor, Grissom says they’re “trying to get as much school furniture as we can put back into the school.”

Grissom admits that nothing about the renovation has been easy, but a highlight of the experience has been being able to focus full-time on being a content creator and sharing the schoolhouse journey on social media.

“It has been fun to document this process and find this old home renovation community online. I never thought my house could be a job,” she says. “It’s nice to be able to make an income from some of the storytelling while also getting advice and having a community of people who like restoring old stuff.”

Amid ongoing renovations, the couple and their now two kids moved into the home in September of this year.

“Moving into the schoolhouse was easier than moving into any New York City apartment we ever had,” Grissom says. “It was nice to wake up and see the sunrise over the cornfields. It will be a tornado in here for a while, but it was really crazy to finally set up a place that we’ve been thinking about for three years and pouring all of our money, energy, sweat, and tears into.”

The schoolhouse now has four bedrooms and two and a half baths, all on the 4,000-square-foot upper level. The couple still has a lower 4,000-square-foot sub-basement that they are trying to figure out what to do with.

The best part of finally moving into the schoolhouse and being back in their hometown, Grissom says is that her kids will grow up around their families.

“After living through the pandemic and all of the stress and anxiety, we all had a confrontation with our mortality at a much earlier age than most generations do and that totally shifted stuff in my brain. It’s beautiful to see my parents are healthy, our kids are happy and just appreciate the small things,” she adds.

Since moving in a few weeks ago, Grissom says that while she realizes it was a long road to move in, she would go through it again.

“I never want to lose the naivete of whatever made us say that we wanted to buy a school and it was going to be our house,” she says.

Want to earn more money at work? Take CNBC’s new online course How to Negotiate a Higher Salary. Expert instructors will teach you the skills you need to get a bigger paycheck, including how to prepare and build your confidence, what to do and say, and how to craft a counteroffer. Pre-register now and use coupon code EARLYBIRD for an introductory discount of 50% off through Nov. 26, 2024.

Plus, sign up for CNBC Make It’s newsletter to get tips and tricks for success at work, with money and in life.

What lengths would you go to for your dream house?

Would you move to another country? How about remodeling the interior of a space that was never meant to be a home at all?

For the Americans who invited CNBC Make It into their homes for an Unlocked tour, thinking outside the box helped them turn unexpected spaces like abandoned lighthouses, old baseball stadiums and decrepit Italian properties into the homes of their dreams.

Take a look inside some of the most unique homes we’ve toured and learn how they came to be.

When Michael Cox first told people about his plan to convert a former Indianapolis baseball stadium into a 138-unit apartment complex, they thought he was crazy.

But after a $14 million renovation and remodeling, Stadium Lofts is now one of the most unique apartment complexes in the city.

The former stadium, which was home to the Indianapolis Indians from 1931 to 1996 before eventually falling into disrepair, was in danger of being torn down before Cox’s plan was put into effect.

Along with business partner John Watson and his two sons, Cox acquired the landmark property for just $1.

The stadium’s renovation began in August 2011 and was completed in a little under two years. By the time it opened in July 2013, all 138 apartments had been leased.

It was converted into 95 one-bedroom apartments, 26 two-bedroom apartments, and 17 lofts. Rent in the complex ranges from $900 to $1,700 and each apartment has a washer and dryer.

The developers made sure to keep certain features in honor of the ballpark’s past, including the original scoreboard, old ticket booths and press box. They even put bases back on the field.

“We designed it such that when you walked in, you felt like you were walking into a historic stadium rather than an apartment building,” Watson said.

Jesse Wig never set out to remodel an abandoned school, but when he was approached with an off-market deal to buy the property in 2019 he was intrigued by the space’s potential.

After enlisting real estate investor Adam Colucci and developer Dan Spanovich, the trio bought the abandoned Bowtie High for $100,000. They embarked on an 18-month renovation beginning in 2020 to turn it into an apartment building.

The $3.3 million renovation’s price tag was more than they ever expected to pay, but once leasing began they reached full occupancy within six months.

Monthly rent for one-bedrooms in the building starts at $1,400, while two-bedrooms start at $1,600.

Some units that used to be classrooms have the original chalkboards and an enviable amount of natural light, thanks to massive windows throughout the space.

Apartments are also equipped with stainless steel appliances, in-unit washers and dryers, and walk-in closets.

After Bowtie High, the team decided to buy and renovate the abandoned school across the street, turning it into a 33-unit apartment building with amenities like a rooftop deck, indoor parking and lounge.

When test pilot Joe Sobczak was looking for a new home, he wasn’t worried about square footage or backyard space. Instead, he wanted a property where he could keep his plane.

In 2017, he found what he was looking for at a residential airpark at the Pine Mountain Lake Airport and bought his 3-bedroom, 7-bathroom, 5,000-square-foot home with a 3,600-square-foot hangar for $698,000.

The community where he lives has dozens of homes with hangars, each with their own deeded access to uses the taxiways and runways at the Tuolumne County airport.

As a test pilot, Sobczak works primarily out of the San Francisco International Airport (SFO). Instead of doing the three-hour drive, he jumps in one of his airplanes and takes a 45-minute flight to nearby San Carlos Airport and drives 15 minutes to SFO.

Although Sobczak owns three homes, he calls this one his favorite. The former U.S. Air Force fighter jet pilot is an expert at the rural lifestyle and has no plans to leave anytime soon. 

“I plan on being here for quite a while,” he says. “I can live up here. Fly airplanes. Stay out of the congestion of the Bay Area. Breathe the fresh air and take a trip to Yosemite in 30 minutes. It’s all the justification I need.”

In 2009, Sheila Consaul’s search for a second home took an unexpected turn. Though the 65-year-old communications consultant was originally looking for a normal house, when she learned that the U.S. government was auctioning off lighthouses she was immediately interested.

Congress passed the National Historic Lighthouse Preservation Act in 2000. It allows the government to auction or give away “federally-owned historic light stations that have been declared excess to the needs of the responsible agency.”

Consaul had previously restored a historic home and was intrigued by the challenges that renovating a lighthouse would pose.

Built in 1925, the three-story lighthouse has three bedrooms, three bathrooms and is almost 3,000 square feet. Consaul is the first person to live in the lighthouse since it was abandoned in the late 1940s.

She lives in the lighthouse from May to October and it sits empty when she’s at her primary home outside of Washington D.C.

Consaul started renovating in the summer of 2012, and over 10 years later, the project is almost done. “The renovation process has been long and arduous,” she said.

The property is a half mile from the nearest parking lot in Headlands Beach State Park, so big appliances like the stove and refrigerator needed to be transported by boat and then delivered by crane onto the platform of the lighthouse.

Despite going over her initial $200,000 renovation budget, for Consaul the time and effort has been worth it. “This was a great challenge, a great opportunity, and I loved every minute of it,” she said.

Rubia Daniels was thrilled at the chance to purchase a building in Sicility for the low price of 1 euro. The only catch? The property had extensive mold, water damage, a termite infestation and a collapsed roof.

The deal was part of an Italian initiative to attract foreign investors in towns with dwindling populations. In exchange for the symbolic price tag, homebuyers are expected to renovate their homes within three years.

Daniels told Make It that she didn’t just see endless amounts of work in front of her when she looked at the three run down buildings she purchased. Instead, she visualized the final result of a trio of dream projects: a vacation home, a restaurant and a wellness center.

Daniels is building the house of her dreams, “which I wouldn’t be able to do back in California because the cost would be much higher,” she said. Daniels plans to visit her Italian home for vacations and split her time between California and Sicily in retirement. 

Want to earn more money at work? Take CNBC’s new online course How to Negotiate a Higher Salary. Expert instructors will teach you the skills you need to get a bigger paycheck, including how to prepare and build your confidence, what to do and say, and how to craft a counteroffer. Pre-register now and use coupon code EARLYBIRD for an introductory discount of 50% off through Nov. 26, 2024.

Plus, sign up for CNBC Make It’s newsletter to get tips and tricks for success at work, with money and in life.