For years, 36-year-old Anders Boisen lived in apartments all over the city of Aarhus, the second-largest in Denmark.

Despite having a comfortable living situation — a two-bedroom apartment he shared with a girlfriend at the time — and a job working in city development at a local municipality, Boisen tells CNBC Make It he felt confined by his lifestyle and the societal pressure of what life should look like at his age.

“I had this claustrophobic feeling about living in an apartment, not so much because of the size of it but more because of the lifestyle that seems so predefined,” he says.

During that time, Boisen came across a YouTube Channel that featured people living in tiny homes that were totally off the grid.

“I thought it was very inspirational, and it opened my eyes to a new possibility where I could actually live more economically free, and I could also live relatively sustainably,” he says. “If I could build a house that is off the grid and in sync with nature, then maybe I could learn how to get a better sense of life on a philosophical level.”

Boisen left his apartment and moved into a garden house where he came up with the idea to build a tiny home of his own. In 2018, Boisen started building a mobile one, but it was stolen just a few months later.

“It was all over the news here in Denmark, but we didn’t find it,” Boisen says.

But Boisen didn’t give up and started building another the following year. In the spring of 2020, Boisen finished the tiny home after working on it on and off for eight months.

He did most of the building himself and estimates he spent 80,000 to 90,000 Danish Krone or USD $11,366 to $12,787.

The tiny house is six and a half meters long and two and a half meters wide, or 21.3 feet long by 6.6 feet wide.

At the time, Boisen lived on a piece of land he he’d been renting for over a year.

To finish building the tiny home, Boisen quit his job and focused on the project full-time. He also started a Facebook group to share his journey, and some of the people he met there helped with the building process along the way.

“I realized how personalized this home already was because I had built most of it on my own, so it was filled with my own memories and personal decisions,” he says. “But it also had the memories of all the people who came and helped out. It was qualitatively very different from what I imagine, having a contractor build a house for you.”

Since quitting his job, Boisen has made his career creating content for YouTube and giving talks around the country on tiny living and life off-the-grid.

While Boisen has fond memories of building his tiny home, he admits there were many technical issues along the way, including having to move the house itself and a hole in the roof.

“At that time I hadn’t secured the framing enough so it wasn’t stabilized. When I moved the house, it ended up tilted to one side, and it was hard to correct it later on,” Boisen says.

“It was a setback and I was kind of bummed out. In my dreams I dreamt about burning the house down because then I would get rid of the problem. But, of course, I didn’t do it but it was very stressful,” he adds laughing.

Despite those challenges, Boisen says there is no greater feeling than seeing the tiny home he built be finished.

“There were bad things but it was a nice feeling knowing I was creating something that will be my home. You get this giddy feeling because you’re so excited about the things that you’re doing. It was like realizing a dream,” Boisen says. “I wasn’t just building something like a roof over my head; I was actually building a dream. It was like stepping into a new chapter in my life and all the things that will hopefully follow in that life.”

In September 2021, Boisen bought a plot of land about 17,800 square feet outside of Aarhus for 160,000 Danish Krone, or USD $22,791, according to documents reviewed by CNBC Make It.

“It’s at the end of a dirt road and it doesn’t have immediate neighbors. It also has a meadow and a big forest adjacent to it so it feels a lot bigger than it really is,” Boisen says.

A month later, Boisen had the tiny home moved from the property he was renting to the land he now owns.

Boisen made sure his tiny home was equipped for life off the grid, which he defines as “self-sufficient with water, electricity, and heat.”

The house has a rainwater filtration system, solar panels, and batteries to store energy.

Boisen has lived in the tiny home for over four years now and says he’s run out of power several times and water just once.

Now he keeps a close eye on his water tank, takes short baths if his tank is starting to run low, and aims to save water in other ways.

“I tend to think I need power but then I think to myself is it the lack of power or is it how much power I’m actually consuming and that’s been part of my journey,” he says.

In the winter, Boisen uses less power and lives more sustainably by storing certain items like milk and condiments outside in the cold instead of using electricity for a fridge.

“The point of this house is to teach me how to consume less resources and that was part of the idea from the beginning,” Boisen says. “I wanted to see how low you can go in terms of still living comfortably in a tiny house. My journey is to not only make the tiny home liveable but also adjust my need for resources and my behavior. The house nudges my behavior in a way.”

Boisen also has a permaculture garden — which Better Homes and Gardens defines as one that ″helps build soils and doesn’t rely on synthetic inputs” — where he’s growing potatoes, several berries, apples, leeks, cabbage, and different kinds of herbs.

“I try to plant permanent plants that will give me a yield for the greatest amount of time,” he says. “I will be expanding my entire food production because right now it’s only on an experiment level, but from next season, I will expand the size of the garden considerably.”

Boisen says growing his own food is an extension of his original journey to trying to be self-sufficient.

“On a personal level it teaches me how I can be more in sync with the seasons and with nature in general. In order for me to grow food, I need to learn a whole lot about gardening. It gives me joy that every season has its own types of foods so you’re always looking forward to something and you’re always eating food that is local and seasonal.”

Boisen uses his food scraps to feed his chickens and composts it to use for the soil in his garden.

Since finishing up the initial work on the tiny home, Boisen has added a mud room and upgraded the water filtration system. He’s getting ready to build a new house and sell this one.

Boisen says the plan is to build a tiny home that is more practical for having a family and continuing a self-sufficient lifestyle: “I’m in a way, preparing for the future.”

He plans to finish the new home next spring.

Conversions to USD were done on November 15, 2024, using OANDA conversion rates. All amounts are rounded to the nearest dollar.

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Work doesn’t wait for Todd Graves, even on vacation.

Sometimes, the billionaire co-founder and CEO of Raising Cane’s Chicken Fingers starts work at 4:30 a.m. while traveling, so he can join his family at the beach by the time they wake up around 11 a.m., he says.

Graves defines work-life balance as scheduling family time into his calendar, to avoid getting lost while growing his company. He could ease his workload if he was happy or comfortable with his level of success, he adds — but he’s unlikely to stop trying to grow his restaurant chain, which could finish this year with nearly $5 billion in sales, anytime soon.

“I’m as busy as anybody I know, I travel as much as anybody I know, but I can work my schedule where I can make most of the things I need to be at with kids, family or important friends,” says Graves, who has helmed Raising Cane’s since opening its first location nearly three decades ago in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

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Running a reportedly billion-dollar company while spending time with his wife and two children is a matter of “extreme logistics,” he says — setting family time in stone in his calendar, and making a conscious effort to be present during those times, even if he’s tired. At times, his wife has even brought their two kids to his office for dinner and playtime, so he could see them before their bedtimes, he told CNBC Make It last week.

“There’s always something to work on and you’ll just constantly do it, so it’s being very diligent on planning,” says Graves. “You might be tired, but you’re not going to be dragging around … You’re going to be just as enthusiastic for those special times [with your family].”

Graves’ “extreme logistics” approach includes elements of timeboxing, a productivity strategy where you set allotted times in your schedule for specific tasks, and when each time is up, you move to the next box on your calendar — no matter what.

Using a timebox calendar can help with procrastination, bestselling author and behavioral design expert Nir Eyal told CNBC Make It in June: “If you don’t have time for exercise, time with your family, time with your friends, time for focused work, it’s not going to get done.”

You can similarly schedule wellness days into your life, psychologist Casey Tallent told CNBC Make It in September. Intentionally dedicate your days off work to specific goals, she recommended: connecting with others, catching up on sleep, focusing on yourself, a day with less social media and a day with no schedule.

“Our society focuses so much on keeping up and doing things for others, but bringing that back to you so that you have more to give on those other days is so important,” said Tallent.

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After 30 years in business, Amazon is a $2 trillion behemoth and one of the world’s largest retailers.

But back in 2001, its very survival was in doubt after the dot-com bubble burst and Amazon’s stock dipped by 90 percent. Some critics believed Amazon was doomed to never recover, but founder Jeff Bezos turned things around — with some helpful advice from Jim Sinegal, founder of rival retailer Costco.

That year, Bezos met Sinegal for coffee at a Starbucks inside a Barnes & Noble near Amazon’s offices in Bellevue, Washington, according to the 2013 book “The Everything Store,” by journalist Brad Stone. Bezos wanted to talk about using Costco as a wholesale supplier for some products, but the meeting’s key takeaway ended up involving pricing strategies.

Sinegal explained how Costco could sell so many products for “dirt cheap” by eliminating unnecessary costs and maintaining strong relationships with suppliers to secure the best deals on bulk goods, Stone wrote. Those low prices were key to getting customers to pay for Costco’s annual membership, comprising most of the company’s gross profits.

“The membership fee is a one-time pain, but it’s reinforced every time customers walk in and see forty-seven-inch televisions that are two hundred dollars less than anyplace else,” Sinegal told Bezos, according to Stone. “It reinforces the value of the concept. Customers know they will find really cheap stuff at Costco.”

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Costco’s approach was that “value trumps everything,” and it would always work hard to ensure it delivered enough value to keep customers happy, Sinegal emphasized. Speaking to Stone for the book, Sinegal noted that he believed “Jeff looked at [that approach] and thought that was something that would apply to his business as well.”

Bezos has never publicly credited the meeting with Sinegal for inspiring any of Amazon’s pricing strategies, but Stone wrote that Bezos called a meeting at Amazon just a few days after sitting down with Sinegal. The topic: Amazon’s “incoherent” pricing strategy and the need to deliver on the company’s promise to always have lower prices than its competitors, according to Stone, who interviewed Amazon executives who were present.

That summer, Amazon slashed prices for some of its flagship products — books, music and videos — discounting them by up to 30%, in some cases. “There are two kinds of companies: Those that work to raise prices and those that work to lower them,” Bezos said at the time, according to The New York Times. Amazon, Bezos added, would always aim to be the second type of company.

Sales bounced back by the end of 2001, when Amazon posted its first ever profitable quarter. Bezos credited the rebound to lower prices and promised to eliminate unnecessary costs in order to make more discounts possible, the Times reported — a similar strategy to Costco’s.

“We had a great Q4. We’re incredibly proud of it. And what really drove it was lower prices for customers…” Bezos told Fox News in January 2002. “We’ve always had low prices, but pushing that a little further really had a big impact on our results.”

A few years later, in 2005, Amazon rolled out its own membership program, Amazon Prime, offering discounted prices and free shipping on orders for members who pay an upfront fee. In a 2016 letter to Amazon’s shareholders, Bezos described the idea behind Prime using language reminiscent of Sinegal and Costco: “We want Prime to be such a good value, you’d be irresponsible not to be a member.”

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Costco may have raised its prices, but right now you can snag a membership for cheaper than ever.

The warehouse store chain’s Gold Star Membership normally retails for $65. For the next few weeks, shoppers can purchase a 12-month membership through affiliate marketer StackSocial and receive a $45 Costco gift card, effectively reducing their annual rate to $20 for their first year.

The same offer is also available for Costco’s premium Executive Membership, which costs $130 per year and gives members 2% cash back on all Costco purchases. Factoring in the $45 gift card, you can get an Executive Membership for an effective annual rate of $85 for your first year.

Costco recently increased its membership rates from $60 and $120 for the Gold Star and Executive memberships, respectively.

In order to score the savings, you’ll need to purchase your membership through StackSocial. After creating your account, you will receive your $45 digital gift card via email from Costco within two weeks.

The deal is available through Dec. 22 and must be redeemed before Jan. 31 of next year. You can access the offer here.

The offer is only eligible to new members or to people whose Costco membership expired more than 18 months ago, meaning that if you already have a Costco membership, you’re out of luck.

If you’re thinking about joining Costco, which membership should you choose?

Costco’s basic Gold Star Membership gets you access to Costco warehouses, the chain’s website and its famously affordable gas stations.

The Executive Membership has all the benefits of the Gold Star membership, as well as 2% cash back on all purchases and additional savings on Costco services like their bottled water delivery and pet insurance.

If you buy your home or auto insurance through Costco, the Executive membership will get you some exclusive benefits such as roadside and lockout assistance.

Costco’s membership page includes a calculator where you can enter how much you spend at the store each month to see how much cash back you can expect to receive at the end of the year to see if the higher rate makes sense for you.

If you’re on the fence about getting the pricier option, Costco has taken the stress out of the decision. the chain promises to refund the difference in cost between a Gold Star membership and an Executive membership in your first year if you aren’t satisfied.

Keep in mind that the refund won’t happen automatically. To get your money back, you’ll need to go to your local Costco location and have the reimbursement processed at the membership desk. 

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David Niles will go to great lengths, or depths, to save food from going to waste: Sometimes, the 63-year-old goes dumpster diving near his home in Brooklyn, New York.

The far more sanitary digital version, Niles says, is an app called Too Good To Go, where retailers like restaurants and bakeries sell “surprise bags” of leftover food at discounted prices, usually between $3.99 to $9.99 apiece in the U.S. He’s spent nearly $10,000 to pick up almost 2,000 surprise bags on his bicycle over the past four years, he says.

Too Good To Go, a Copenhagen-based company founded in 2015, brought in just under $162 million in revenue in U.S. dollars last year, according to documents reviewed by CNBC Make It — primarily by taking a cut of each surprise bag purchase and collecting annual membership fees from retailers.

In the U.S., the company typically takes $1.79 per bag and charges an annual membership fee of $89, a company spokesperson says.

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Publicly, Too Good To Go’s mission is to help reduce global food waste, a problem that costs the world $1 trillion per year, the World Bank estimates. The company has yet to enjoy a profitable year, instead reinvesting its cash flow into expanding geographically, adding new retailers to its app, building new support offices and acquiring other startups, says CEO Mette Lykke.

“We do want to run a profitable company,” says Lykke, who notes that her business earned $8 million last year before subtracting one-time costs. “If we really wanted to, we could go more hardcore for profitability. But again, it’s not really why we’re here,” she adds.

Too Good To Go was originally founded by a group of five Danish entrepreneurs: Thomas Bjørn, Stian Olesen, Klaus Bagge Pedersen, Brian Christensen and Adam Sigbrand. 

Lykke learned about the company while chatting with another woman on a bus near Copenhagen, and joined its first funding round in 2016 as an angel investor. An entrepreneur herself, Lykke co-founded a social fitness startup called Endomondo that was acquired by Under Armour for $85 million in 2015.

“I just thought [Too Good To Go] was the most genius app, and I loved the concept,” she says.

In 2017, Too Good To Go’s founders decided they needed a CEO who could more effectively grow the company — and they asked Lykke to take over, says a company spokesperson.

One of her first acts was to more deeply examine the startup’s finances, which were in such poor shape that she went home and asked her husband if she should back out of the job, she says.

His response, Lykke recalls: “It’s already been in the newspaper, and you’re probably just going to have to make it work. So suck it up and get to work.”

Lykke’s first step toward company growth was actually a contraction, shuttering Too Good To Go in four of the 10 countries it operated in. The business had expanded “way too fast, way too soon” without fully figuring out its business model, she says.

Since then, Lykke has re-expanded the company to include a grocery service, a software system for food retailers and 100 million users across in 19 countries in Europe, North America and Australia. The app arrived in the United States in 2020, and already hosts retailers in 33 U.S. metro areas and counting, says a company spokesperson.

″[Food waste] a massive, massive issue, and it’s important that we solve it fast,” Lykke says.

Too Good To Go, which has nearly $158 million in investment funding, isn’t the only for-profit company trying reduce food waste. Venture capitalists have poured more than $1 billion into the niche industry, funding businesses from online grocery delivery service Misfits Market to at-home composting system Mill, according to PitchBook data.

They’re all attempting to reach users who are strapped for cash, care about the environment or both. Retailers don’t often profit hugely from Too Good To Go sales, but some income is better than the $0 they’d get from throwing their extra food away. And at Delish Bakery in Medford, Oregon, for example, owner Susan Prunty says that multiple of her Too Good To Go customers have become full-priced regulars.

Some app users like Niles, the dumpster diver in Brooklyn, worry that Too Good To Go “greenwashes” the issue of food waste, giving users false impressions of environmental responsibility. But if every food retailer in the U.S. used a similar markdown mechanism, they’d save one million tons of food annually, according to calculations by Chicago-based nonprofit ReFED.

“That’s the [environmental] equivalent of about 900,000 cars coming off the road,” says Dana Gunders, ReFED’s president.

A profitable, eco-friendly approach can’t guarantee Too Good To Go’s future success. Retailers could cut out the middleman by launching similar programs themselves, food safety regulatory hurdles vary by country and the company will eventually run out of stores to add to its app, says PitchBook food tech analyst Alex Frederick.

Too Good To Go’s future depends on faith in the long-term potential of its business model and a conviction to stay the course over time, says Lykke.

“I’m very convinced that we have a brilliant model here,” she says. “Having a great idea or concept is fantastic, but it’s really only 10% of getting there. The rest is all about the execution.” 

Conversions from EUR to USD were done using the OANDA conversion rate of 1 EUR to 1.103897 USD on December 31, 2023. 

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