I recently had a conversation with someone who used to work for a small, private company (i.e., one with not very many employees). It’s in a non-sexy, traditional industry and sells relatively inexpensive products (think $10–$20). He surprised me. That “small” company was doing $100–$200 million in revenue and had extremely high profit margins.

Digging in, I learned that the company’s secret sauce was distribution. They had a large social media following, which they used to drive consumer awareness of their new products. This strategy created a massive amount of social buzz, which was basically free, top-of-funnel marketing. It translated into sales and put them on the radar of larger retail merchants, who began placing large wholesale orders.

This company did a great job of building distribution directly to consumers before they needed it. So, they effectively had no marketing costs when they launched their products, which saved them a ton of money. Their social media strategy caught the attention of large retailers, who stocked the products, which further expanded their distribution.

The company is in a sleepy, slow-moving space that isn’t highly competitive. When I ask my friends about the company, they have no idea what I’m talking about. But the company sells a lot of products every year, generating a tremendous amount of cash for the owners.

You don’t have to be in a hot industry to build a great business. Some of the best businesses have been in non-sexy categories selling simple products for a low price to the average consumer.