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Starting Up / Starting Up / Re: New Startup, Questions for the Pros
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on: March 24, 2013, 09:41:34 PM
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Telling people I pick up poop was the hardest part for me. Your second and third questions aren't really all that important to being successful in this arena. #1 piece of advice? Tell friggin everyone what you do..sit back and wait for the questions. Oh and answer your phone when it rings...no voicemail. Best, Mike OstermanPresident, Scoops of Marin
Pet Waste Removal Service.www.scoopguy.com |
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General Category / General Discussion / Re: Getting Over The Stigma
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on: March 24, 2013, 08:14:51 PM
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I wish I had this biz in High School. I had legitimate S.Hitty Jobs. You know how well I'dve done? I could've easily had 2k per month living at my folks place. One hot car and twice as many girls as...ok, well lets not get carried away here, picking up poop won't get you laid. But hey, the next company you build, might.
Here's to you dude... go gettem and don't worry about what people say. Your the master of your domain.
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Office Procedures, Scheduling, Routing / Office Procedures, Scheduling, Routing / Re: Client hasn't paid in 18 months.
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on: February 05, 2013, 09:03:00 AM
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Using QB. Honestly I don't know how he slipped through the cracks. He quit, started back up, new cc, old cc, etc. Typical, operator error. Mike OstermanPresident, Scoops of Marinwww.scoopguy.com |
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Advertising and Marketing / Advertising and Marketing / Re: Bandit signs, or Snipe signs
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on: February 04, 2013, 06:42:16 AM
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Have you actually been fined? I've only heard about it and I know there is a code written. The signs I lost to the city I could have got back it if I wanted to pay the fine. This goes back to my point. Just use a virtual number and off you go. For me, I don't expect someone to call off my sign. Rather the signs create awareness of my service. You could also put them on private property which, depending on occupancy of the property, would be fair game. We also don't have the abuse of signs that some cities deal with, so it may be moot. Mike OstermanPresident, Scoops of Marinwww.scoopguy.com |
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Office Procedures, Scheduling, Routing / Office Procedures, Scheduling, Routing / Re: Client hasn't paid in 18 months.
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on: February 03, 2013, 09:31:36 AM
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Thanks scoopers, I appreciate your feedback. I decided to use this as learning experience. It's my fault and grossly unprofessional. But this is good. I'm building systems to help manage my business. For years I've been a DIY guy. I realized that my time is way more valuable working on the business than in it. So I'm patching up the deck, getting this vessel sturdy for the long voyage. Thanks, Mike OstermanPresident, Scoops of Marinwww.scoopguy.com |
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Advertising and Marketing / Advertising and Marketing / Re: Blog
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on: January 31, 2013, 09:36:46 PM
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It's extremely helpful to help rank in other fields such as pet sitting, dog walking, or in other towns that you do business in. You can write about what people are looking for and relate it back to your business. For me I update it every few months, if your in a more competitive area. You could also do video blogs as video ranks well. The bottom line is that the more you update, the more relevant you will be in the eyes of the search engines. This rewards you by ranking your blog higher than your non blogging competitor. Best, Mike OstermanPresident, Scoops of Marinwww.scoopguy.com |
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Advertising and Marketing / Advertising and Marketing / Re: Commerical Accounts
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on: January 29, 2013, 08:18:14 AM
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I have one regular commercial and am trying to get several more. It's actually a focus for us this year. I agree with Yard Dogs. It's worth much more than one two or three clients. In fact I'm hoping to hear back from a few apartments that would be a HUGE boost to our bottom line. Just one alone would be worth 7 regular residential clients. We're focusing on Apartments and HOA's. The one we service now is a wheelchair community. The one's I'm courting are high end apartments with all kinds of fancy !@#$, door side garbage service cleaned daily etc.... They don't pick up pooh though. One other that we get from time to time is a one-time clean up ( quarterly ). That is pretty easy to handle. Best, Mike OstermanPresident, Scoops of Marinwww.scoopguy.com |
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General Category / General Discussion / Re: 1%
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on: January 27, 2013, 09:15:23 AM
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I'm servicing about the same SFLSCOOPER too. I've only got 8 years under my belt. My point is that the potential of business is out there. And depending on what you want from this business you can probably find it. You hit the nail on the head, you have to work...Gotta want those 1000 clients. Best, Mike OstermanPresident, Scoops of Marinwww.scoopguy.com |
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General Category / General Discussion / 1%
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on: January 26, 2013, 12:12:53 PM
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How many potential clients do you have? According to the Humane Society http://www.humanesociety.org/issues/pet_overpopulation/facts/pet_ownership_statistics.html 39% of American households have pets. I have 700,000 people in my counties. If 40% have dogs that's 280,000 dogs ( minimum ) in my area. Lets say half of those people are potential clients. That's 140,000 people I can potentially service. But I only need 1% to make a killer living. That would be 1400 clients at an average of 65$ per. So....somewhere around 91k per month gross. I figure half of that will go to payroll, taxes and general expenses. Maybe a bit more. That's a nice chunk of dough for a simple little service. Adjust your numbers to your area and you will have an idea of the potential of your service income and client base. Get going! Mike OstermanPresident, Scoops of Marinwww.scoopguy.com |
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