If you need money fast (to live on, not to get rich fast) and a business that nobody is going to try to compete with you in, of which there are ample customers anywhere…
Start a pet waste removal company
Core Idea: Start a biz picking up people’s pet crap.
But…there’s a twist to make this into a solid business. The execution ain’t pretty, but it’s got teeth, as Ben would say. Luckily, we ’bout results ’round here.
Misc:
Like most of the notes on this site, some/most of the following is verbatim from Ben. I forgot how much because I took the notes over 3 years ago.
Doo bag = bag for dog crap
Tip: Find the rich zip codes near you and start there. Google “Every door direct mail.” If you can’t afford that, then print some flyers at home and stick them on doors.
The Steps
- Get your supplies: a pooper scooper, doo bags, and transportation
- Get a list of all the dog owners in your county and send them all a postcard with a bold guarantee like:
“If you see even a smidgen of dog poop in your yard when I’m done, I’ll double your money back”
Run the Numbers
If your price was $20/pickup and you did 5 a day, that’s $100/day in revenue.
You could also contact public places and offer to pick up the dog poop in their lawn (Churches, parks, apartment complexes etc.)
Once you’ve done a good job, and they say you’ve done a good job…say, “Thank you. Would you like to have be on retainer where I come in every week, 2 weeks, or every month…whatever you want and I’ll come in and do this.
Then you don’t have to ever worry about it piling up too much back there or ruining your shoes. Would you like to do that?”
This is how you get to your 5 clients/day.
If you average $20/yard and you do 5 yards per day—that’s less than an hour or 2 of work.
Keeping Your Clients
By the time somebody enters the market to compete with you—you’re already solid with your clients—why would they switch if you do good job?
If you’re doing the direct mail thing—you’re going to get calls. Maybe now you create a simple WordPress website (I like DIYTheme’s Focus template) with a contact form, chat bot (or use FB MEssenger), or just an email address/phone number.
Expanding Your Pooper Scooper Profits
Eventually you’ll get more clients than you can handle—and that is when you start building the pipeline.
Then you can start farming it out to other people: High school kids, family members, etc. Pay them ~50% of the fee you’re charging clients. Now you can scale it. Start going to other towns in your county, once you’ve maxed out your town.
Now you’re beginning to see some traction.
Maybe you hire a manager to oversee all the people who clean the poop for you
Keep doing the direct mail, but test taking the traffic online. And pdon’t go in blind, you’ll lose money. Take the Bulletproof Facebook Ads course from a guy who’s spent over $10 million (profitably): Justin Brooke’s AdSkills.com courses. Or NicholasKusmich.com
Maybe start up an AdWords or Facebook campaign. Now you can start collecting email addresses from your customers and emailing them dog related information like safety tips. Health tips. Tell stories.
Maybe you:
- have dog-related affiliate offers
- Make deals with dog food manufacturers and you do a JV with them
- Make deals with the local dog trainers and the local dog groomers, and the local vets
- Start taking paid ads from dog walkers and baby sitters
- Start a free print newsletter for dog owners and take advertisements in that (maybe hire the writing out the writing of the NL)
Yeah, it sounds crazy. But. There’s someone doing this, turned it into a franchise, and making good money with it: DoodyCalls.com
Don’t want to do the hard work? Got a friend / younger sibling / cousin that’s a go-getter? Provide the funds and this article, and offer your help 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.)