I think I'm going to start a small business within a year or two.

"Rainbow" (rainbeaux) 12/21/2018 at 13:08 • Filed to: None

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It will compete against my current employer, but they’re one of the biggest in the industry (junk removal), so I’m not worried about hurting them. They just don’t pay what I think would be fair, so I want to do my own thing.

Here are a few of the ideas I have, if you want to give feedback:

Black, pink, and chrome will be the colors. Everything will have a retro ‘50s feel to it. ( If I’m successful enough to get a second truck, it will have black, chrome, and some other pastel color. They’ll all be different but recognizable)

Assuming it’s not already trademarked, the name will be Junk Jet. Yes, that’s a Fallout reference.

Instead of by-volume or by-weight   pricing, I’ll adjust the cost based on the condition of the items and resell and/or donate the good things, passing the savings on to the customer. ( For reference, most junk removal companies charge $100 -500, depending on the size of the items. I’m looking to use the secondhand market to keep costs as low as $50 -300 for the same amount of stuff. Straight trash will be more expensive to remove than furniture, for example)

Free estimates are a given, but I’ll do them on the spot through video chat. I’ll just have the customer show me what’s going and I’ll give them a price without ever having to crank up th e truck.

For advertising purposes, the truck will function as my daily driver and I’ll hang fliers wherever I can. I won’t spend money on commercials or billboards unless I’m making a lot more than expected.

Depending on how profitable it is, you can bet I’ll sponsor a race car. Even if it’s my own rallycross car.

I know I have a lot of dumb ideas that never actually happen, but this one feels different. I found a job that I enjoy and I’m prepared to take it a step further. 

Svend > Rainbow 12/21/2018 at 13:39

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Sounds like a plan, a good plan. 

I wish you all the best in your new venture.

facw > Rainbow 12/21/2018 at 14:08

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Hmm, good luck!

I don’t know the industry, but I’d be a bit worried that coming up with a price with that level of detail might create excessive overhead? On the other hand, figuring out a way to efficiently resell these used items seems like it could have a lot of value, there’s a ton of stuff with value that gets thrown out because selling it is too much of a burden (and the wealthiest owners, with the nicest stuff, are most likely to find selling it not worth their time.)

I think, especially if you are going to try to resell as much as possible, instead of junk removal, you’d want to brand yourself as reuse, or even salvage, or something along those lines (while still offering to accept junk as well). Greener, less wasteful, and less dirty sounding. People want their stuff gone, but generally I think they’d prefer it going to good use instead of the dump if possible. This is particularly true as the boomers downsize and eventually die, and you have a glut of things with sentimental value that people will be trying to get rid of. Obviously you can’t go too far in that direction or people will want you to pay them for their stuff instead of the other way around, but I do think there’s a place in the middle.

Funktheduck > Rainbow 12/21/2018 at 14:28

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Sounds like a plan but pricing. Resell means you need to store and list. That’s extra time and overhead (property to store the items to sell). You also take on a lot of risk if those items don’t sell for what you expect (if at all).It’s like the storage locker stuff. You need either a separate place like a thrift store to sell items (need constant supply to keep shelves stocked also more overhead) or you’d need to list items on your own web page (not much traffic) or eBay. Estimates would take longer unless you’re familiar with the second hand market prices.

I spoke with a junk removal guy once and he said his company donated useful items to relavent charities. Something to consider. Might be able to do a mix of selling items to recoup costs/make a profit. And donate to help with tax aspects 

jasmits > facw 12/21/2018 at 15:26

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I agree that this could possibly have a little too much overhead attached without knowing the business or the numbers, but I also kind of like the idea of a junk removal service/thrift store combination business. Also there is definitely a market for it.

Source: have relatively wealthy parents and also have some really nice stuff that they simply didn’t want to deal with selling and didn’t want taking up space anymore. My parents are good about donating when they clear out their own house and wouldn’t pay for a service like this when they can just take anything deemed useful to goodwill and pitch everything else for free, but for instance I think they would’ve been really about something like this when we cleaned their parents houses out for instance. Like we went through and took anything that was sentimentally important or really nice and still useful and paid for a service to get rid of the rest, but it would be a no brainier if there was a cheaper service that would also resell stuff that their parents may have valued but would just be clutter for them. So, both spend less money and not feel guilty about tossing recently- deceased D ad’s treasures into the trash.

f86sabre > Rainbow 12/21/2018 at 17:01

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Go for it!

Rainbow > Funktheduck 12/22/2018 at 08:03

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Very good point. I mostly mean I’ll donate the big stuff and sell the little things like electronics and whatnot. Technically, I’m supposed to donate at my current job, but we never have time between jobs. Still, the more I can unload outside of the dump, the better. I might even do scrap metal for free, or at least heavily discounted.