A Quirky $100-a-Day Business Idea from Email Marketing Veteran Ben Settle
Updated: April 6, 2026
If you need cash fast — to cover living costs, not to get rich overnight — and you want a business with almost no competition and plenty of customers nearly anywhere, think about starting a pet waste removal service.
The basic idea: launch a business that scoops up people's pet waste. But a twist turns it into a solid operation. The work isn't glamorous, but it has teeth, as Ben would say. Fortunately, results are what count around here.
Note: as with most notes on this site, some or much of the following is taken word-for-word from Ben. I can't recall exactly how much, since I took these notes over three years ago.
A "doo bag" is just a bag for dog waste.
Tip: find the wealthy zip codes near you and start there. Search Google for "Every door direct mail." If that's over your budget, print flyers at home and put them on doors.
The Steps to Get Started
- Get your supplies together: a pooper scooper, doo bags, and transportation.
- Compile a list of every dog owner in your county and mail each one a postcard with a bold guarantee, like: "If you find even a trace of dog waste in your yard after I'm done, I'll double your money back."
Crunch the Numbers
At $20 per pickup and five pickups a day, that's $100 a day in revenue. You can also approach public places — churches, parks, apartment complexes and similar spots — and offer to clean up the dog waste on their grounds.
Once you've done a good job and they say so, reply: "Thank you. Would you like me on retainer — coming in every week, every two weeks, or every month, whatever you prefer — so you never have to worry about it piling up back there or ruining your shoes. Want to set that up?" That's how you reach your five clients a day.
If you average $20 per yard and finish five yards a day, that's under an hour or two of work.
Holding On to Your Clients
By the time a competitor shows up in your market, you're already firmly established with your clients — and why would they switch if you do a good job? If you're running direct mail, the calls will come. At that point you might build a simple WordPress site (I like DIYTheme's Focus template) with a contact form, a chat bot (or Facebook Messenger), or just an email address and phone number.
Growing Your Pooper Scooper Profits
Eventually you'll have more clients than you can handle — that's when you start building the pipeline. Then you can begin farming the work out to others: high school kids, family members and so on. Pay them roughly 50% of the fee you charge clients. Now you can scale.
Once you've maxed out your own town, expand into other towns in your county. Now you're starting to see some traction. Perhaps you hire a manager to oversee everyone who cleans the waste for you.
Keep up the direct mail, but test driving traffic online too. Don't go in blind or you'll lose money. Take the Bulletproof Facebook Ads course from someone who has spent over $10 million profitably: Justin Brooke's courses at AdSkills.com, or visit NicholasKusmich.com.
Maybe launch an AdWords or Facebook campaign. Now you can start collecting email addresses from customers and emailing them dog-related information such as safety tips and health tips. Tell stories. Perhaps you could:
- Promote dog-related affiliate offers
- Strike deals with dog food manufacturers and run joint ventures with them
- Partner with local dog trainers, groomers and veterinarians
- Accept paid ads from dog walkers and babysitters
- Launch a free print newsletter for dog owners and sell advertising in it (you might even outsource the writing)
Yes, it sounds crazy. But someone is already doing this, turned it into a franchise, and is making good money at it: DoodyCalls.com.
Don't want to do the hard work yourself? Have a friend, younger sibling or cousin who's a go-getter? Provide the funds and this article, and offer your help in exchange for a 20% cut of the business.
Some of the most boring businesses can be cash cows — vegetable transport, septic tank pumping, waste removal services.
Next post: Perry Marshall's Wisdom Part 1: My Notes and Collection — read the notes.
The Boring Stuff
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This pet waste removal model works because it targets a real, recurring need with almost no competition. By focusing on wealthy neighborhoods, offering a strong guarantee, and turning one-time cleanups into retainers, you can build steady cash flow. From there, hiring help and expanding into nearby towns lets you scale without doing every job yourself.