A couple built a $1 million business turning shipping containers into vacation homes. Here's how they decided when to stop growing.

There are several reasons to visit Hocking Hills, a foliage-rich region in the Appalachian foothills of Ohio: the majestic views, year-round outdoor adventures, and the chance to escape overwhelming city life.

The six shipping container homes dotting the region are another.

"Right now, I feel like the big push is experiential hospitality for people. It's no longer just staying at an Airbnb," Emily, 38, told Business Insider. "What does it look like? What does it feel like? What's the experience like when you're there?"

While shipping containers might conjure visions of warehouses or loading docks, Seth and Emily Britt believed they could create a successful business transforming the storage units into modern vacation destinations. They earned over $1 million in revenue last year through their business, The Box Hop, which launched in 2018.

"When Emily and I were dating, I mentioned to her that someday I want to build a house out of shipping containers," Seth, 36, told Business Insider. "Then she actually brought it back up in 2017, like, 'Hey, why don't we do that and chase that dream down?'"

Now, they have six vacation rentals and a wedding venue called The Seventy Five Venue. The couple also expanded their services to include construction, interior design, and cleaning.

However, building their real estate portfolio involved making tough calls, including making the decision to downsize.

"I thought by now we would have a lot more properties, but I'm really glad we're where we're at because you can grow so much that you implode," Seth said.

To scale or not to scale

Seth and Emily Britt. Seth and Emily Britt

Scaling a business is a tricky feat that has stumped major companies like WeWork, let alone small, family-owned operations trying to do the same thing.

They built their first rental home in 2018 by placing two shipping containers side by side and setting a third container on top, with the third facing the opposite direction. The three-bedroom, two-bathroom home has a rooftop patio, hot tub, full kitchen, and access to 18.5 acres of land.

"As soon as we built The OG, we were booked 100% every night for two years, and we booked out in advance a year," Seth said. "We quickly realized we needed to increase the supply just to try to keep up with the demand."

Building more vacation rentals in Hocking Hills was a natural step, but Emily and Seth also set their sights on new horizons: North Carolina and Michigan. The couple purchased the properties in 2021 and 2022, respectively.

"We're dreamers and were ready to jump into the next thing headfirst," Emily said.

Preparing to scale took several steps, including applying for a loan, purchasing the properties, and gaining approval to move forward with the projects. While most business owners might have cheered and gone full steam into the expansion, Seth and Emily hesitated.

"The only thing that stopped us was the fact that the interest rates were so high," Emily said. "It would almost be a wash for the business. There wasn't a lot of profit there, so it would have to run extremely lean, and it would not be for a huge amount of return."

Plus, Emily and Seth live in Ohio, meaning they would likely have to pay other companies to maintain their properties, squeezing the budget and profits even more.

The No. 1 question: "Why"

When business owners get caught at a crossroad like this, Seth said it's important to start with the question "why?"

"Is it just to make more money? What's the point? " Seth asked.

As enticing as branching out seemed, they ultimately sold the North Carolina property in 2023 and the Michigan property in 2025.

"We were super proud that we got it that far and had the option to continue, but in order to pace properly and not bite off more than we could chew, we said, 'Okay, it's not the time for that approach. We're in a critical time to save and profit.'"

Although Emily and Seth stepped back from those two projects, they've continued to push The Box Hop forward.

"People always joke about rentals being passive income. It's not passive, but there's a lot of freedom, fun, and beauty in what we do. She's stuck with me all the time, so it's been good," Seth said, referring to Emily.

Making the jump from regional to nationwide

In addition to more vacation rentals, the couple now wants to offer their interior design and construction services to short-term rental owners across the country.

"We have a business partner that we've been working tirelessly for two years to figure out how do we take The Box Holp and expand it," Emily said. "People from all over the nation and all over the world are saying, 'How do we get one of these?'"

She added: "We'll play more of the middleman role by bringing all of the pieces of the puzzle together and figuring out how to do it."

Managing their business is a full-time job, but Emily and Seth wouldn't want it any other way.

"My workweek now is a heck of a lot harder than it was working 40 hours a week in a manufacturing facility, but we have more freedom," Seth said. "We're not missing our kids' sporting events, and we're able to be present. That's been huge."