1) "Is
this for real!?"
It certainly is! I'll readily admit it sounds pretty funny at
first. Of course that's simply because it's such a new concept
that not very many people have heard of it... yet. But all over
the country new dog waste removal services are being started,
and customers are signing up for them. Demographics and social
trends point to an accelerating demand for personal services
for busy professionals and executives, single parent households,
and people who simply have better things to do than scoop up
after dogs.
For me, my "crazy idea" grew into a lucrative business with
hundreds of clients every week. Word of this unique new concept
began to spread, and I began to receive numerous inquiries from
people wanting to know how they could make money in a dog
service like mine. So, by popular demand, I have compiled my
years of successful experience into a complete and detailed
startup guide :
The Professional Pooper-Scooper:
How to start your own low-cost, high-profit dog waste removal
service.
2) "How
do you charge for this service?"
Scoopers make excellent profits! Prices around
the U.S. vary from $3.50 per dog per week to $15 per week. My
own fees averaged about $7.50 per client per week. Cleaning an
average of 6 yards per hour earns $45 per hour! With 650
clients, I was depositing checks for more than $20,000.00 per
month. Even if you generate only half that amount you can hire
others, pay them a great wage, and still net excellent profits
for yourself.
3) "What do you do with the
waste you collect?"
The best
disposal method will vary according to local regulations and
available facilities. Some simply place the waste into plastic
bags and leave it in the customer's trash cans. Others share a
trash bin with another small business or take the waste directly
to a local landfill.
You'll need to check the rules in your
area. When I first started, it seemed that there was no way
that was both legal and practical to dispose of the waste. I
had to go through certain official procedures to obtain
permission from state and local authorities to dump doggie doo
at the landfill. But then I simply contracted with a private
hauler to provide a dumpster and empty it twice a week. Simple,
neat, and cost-effective.
4) "How do you get
customers?"
I learned to make
effective use of free publicity and inexpensive marketing.
Successful marketing is a cumulative effect of various media and
methods. My manual includes copies of my most successful
marketing materials, including press releases that have resulted
in many thousands of dollars worth of FREE publicity. There are
also samples of classified ads for your neighborhood weekly
newspapers, designs for business cards, fliers, voice mail
scripts, vehicle signs and more.
5) "How
long does it take to clean a yard?"
It varies, of course. Some small yards or dog runs can be
cleaned in just a few minutes. A first-time or one-time cleanup
in a yard that hasn't been cleaned for a year or more could take
an hour! -- Of course, I'd charge extra for those jobs (a
minimum of $35 for a one-time job). But overall I could average
6 yards per hour over the course of week's work, and that
includes travel time. My employees productivity ranged from 4
to 7 yards per hour. Naturally you won't be that fast when you
first start, but with experience you should definitely generate
between $30 and $50 per hour.
6) " What kind of tools do
you use?"
Proper and efficient use of effective
tools is key to high productivity and the prevention of
repetitive stress injuries. (Forget about those scissors-type
"pooper-scoopers" sold in pet shops. They're simply not made for
this kind of work.) I'll show you how to use a "lobby dust
pan," a small shovel and plastic trash bags to quickly and
cleanly scoop up dog waste. You'll learn about techniques that
will enable you to be sure of finding all the waste in a yard
without wasting precious time.
7) "What do
you do in the winter?"
Work! Sometimes the snow postpones a day's work, but usually it
melts in a day or two and you can catch up later the same week.
Dogs keep doing their thing all year long, and if we didn't
keep up with it through the winter, things would get awfully
foul by Spring.
8) "Could
you also clean apartments and condo grounds?"
Absolutely! Most of your work will probably be
in the back yards of single-family homes, but many professional
scoopers service commercial accounts, too. These kinds of
clients will each pay you hundreds of extra dollars each month,
but these jobs must be approached differently from the normal
residential work. I'll tell you more about that in the manual!
9) "Why
would anyone pay you to clean up after dogs?"
Busy dog-owners are delighted to pay someone to
have this done! Many dog owners need a way to dispose pet waste
that is both legal and practical. Some cities' refuse
departments prohibit the placement of animal waste in with
residential refuse. Uncollected dog feces is a significant
contributor to ground water pollution. Uncleaned back yards
stink, they annoy the neighbors and attract flies that lay their
eggs on the feces and then move on. Pets and people using dirty
yards track poop into the house. You can provide simple, neat,
and cost-effective solutions to all these problems and more.
Lack of time; physical difficulty; and the "Repugnance Factor"
mean many people are more than happy to pay someone to do this
necessary chore. Some clients even tell us we are a "godsend"
and credit us with stopping family quarrels!
10) "Is there really a
market for this?"
Yes! This New
and rapidly expanding market is ready NOW. My business reached
700 clients each week and it's still growing with a new owner .
A Colorado service cleans more than 2,000 yards each week! I
know two owners of dog waste services in Saint Louis, and some
cities are supporting four or more services. Professional
pooper-scoopers now operate in Canada, Australia, and more than
30 states in the USA... and counting!
Demographic and
psychographic data indicate this service will work in hundreds
of cities throughout the USA and even overseas! There is a huge
market that is hardly even beginning to be addressed! For those
who act now this could be your opportunity to own your own
business with very little startup capital. Maybe you could be
the very first one in your area! Think about that!
Copyright (C) 1998, 2002
Matthew Osborn,
P.O. Box
132308, Columbus OH 43213, USA, (614) 235-2316
Some images are
from"Holy Cow! 250,000 Graphics" by Macmillan Digital
Publishing USA