Matthew Osborn
Founder: PET BUTLER
Dog Waste
Removal Service in Columbus, Ohio
I've always been interested in new and different ideas, especially ideas about making money.
Even as a kid I had my little money-making projects: picking wild berries in the woods in Maryland, putting on a magic show for the neighborhood, collecting pop bottles for the deposit, pet shows, lemonade stands, newspaper route; stuff like that.
I also enjoy doing things that are just a little out of the ordinary. Still, the first time I heard that someone was offering to clean up after people's dogs for a weekly fee, I just laughed. But the more I thought of it, the more sense it made. I mean, here was a job that obviously has to be done, but a lot of people prefer not to do it themselves.
The more I looked around in my community and the more I
thought about the idea, the more convinced I became that this
was truly a need that was not being met in my community.
So I spent the Winter of 1987-1988 studying and planning;
spending time in the local libraries in the few hours I had
available between the two full-time jobs I was working (making
less than $6 an hour at each of them). I studied demographics
and census data for my city and county. I looked up information
about the pet industry. I called the county auditor and learned
that there were about 100,000 dogs within 15 miles of my
home.
One Hundred Thousand dogs near me! I wouldn't
have to have even one percent of them in order to have enough
customers to improve my life. I studied ways to scoop large
quantities in the shortest time. I practiced with different
tools, using "simulated dog waste" to time how long it would
take to clean a yard.
I had a young and growing family
to support. We were living in a tiny upstairs apartment, and I
didn't even have a car. But I vividly remember walking a half
mile through the snow to catch a bus for work, and saying to
myself over and over, "Someday I'm not going to have to do this
anymore!"
I have had ideas before; you know that
feeling when you just know that something is going to work, that
somebody will do it -- but I didn't have the capital to take
advantage of those ideas. Now I had hold of an idea that I KNEW
was going to take off, and it was not going to take much money
to make it happen.
At first I had to start very
slowly. In the first month of the business, I spent a total of
about $150 for tools, flyers, cards, and a couple of very small
classified ads. $150 doesn't seem like much money now, but at
the time it was a huge risk. I couldn't afford to fail!
I got a few customers right off the bat, and made my
initial investment back, plus profit, after just a couple of
weeks. And that's how I got into the dog waste removal
service business.
I had a lot to learn, and no money to
spend. But little by little, constant improvements began to add
up. Step by step, my little business was making customers happy
and getting bigger and bigger. After a while I had to quit one
of my regular jobs. Eventually I quit all working for regular
jobs altogether.
The first vehicle I could buy to use
just for business was an old Honda Civic for which I paid $300.
But my customer list kept growing....
I began hiring
employees when I couldn't do all the work by myself. When I had
several people working for me I hired someone whom I knew could
become a good manager. After a few years that person was able
to take over more and more of the daily operation of the
business.
The service outgrew the home-office and
became an employer of 7 workers, with a fleet of 6 pickup trucks
-- serving between 650 and 700 regular weekly customers. I was
making more money than I had ever made before and spending
most of my time with my family, traveling, reading, and doing
the things I enjoy.
After ten years I felt it was time to move
on to new projects and I sold my business to an excellent manager
whom I know will continue to
improve the business and serve the customers well.
As
nice as it is to have some cash, and a deal worth nearly a
quarter-million dollars, one of the greatest feelings I've ever
had is to complete a project that I knew could work while just
about everybody around me laughed at the idea. They must have
thought I was nuts back then!
For me a great source of
satisfaction is to create new realities out of ideas. To solve
problems and make things happen.
If you're the kind
of person who likes to make things happen rather than just take
whatever comes along in life, I wish you all success.
With my most sincere best wishes,
MATTHEW
P. S.
Over the years I've had so many requests for information that I finally put it all down on paper. Complete details about operations, office prodecures, actual samples of successful marketing materials, distilling my own decade of experience in starting up from almost nothing and building a successful, thriving, well-liked and PROFITABLE dog waste removal service business.
If you think you might find
opportunity in filling an unmet need in your community by
opening your own dog waste removal service business, you'll find
my startup manual is a tool to speed your success and increase
your satisfaction.