There is a need for a junk removal business that can help people handle all the trash across America. After all, it is very common for people to remove unwanted items from their homes or commercial properties.
But for people who want to start their own junk removal business, the question is: Is it expensive? It’s not. However, you do need some organization and understand how much time this will take.
Starting a business is never easy since, regardless of the niche, you need to go over the usual business plan, choose your business structure, and so on.
Regarding the investment, you will determine this based on how big you want it and how much you can afford to spend. You don’t need to spend thousands of dollars just because of this. That’s for sure.
That being said, experience, education, and skills are all important for running a junk removal company.
You don’t need a business degree in order to start this type of business. However, having specific skills and experience can help increase your chances of success.
With this in mind, we can start helping you know how you get started with this business.
Get to Know the Disposal Regulations in Your City
Knowing them will allow you to choose the most appropriate disposal sites and methods. Yes, your methods of disposal depending on the regulations.
In addition, you must have endurance and physical strength. The junk removal industry can be a physically demanding job. Therefore, these qualities are essential for productivity and the well-being of the business owner and employees.
Safety and attention to detail are key. It can be dangerous to remove junk, especially if it involves heavy and large items.
To keep employees and themselves safe, a business owner should have a keen eye for detail.
Now, when you get to know the local disposal regulations, you can start thinking about:
- Proper lifting techniques: This knowledge can prevent injury to the owner as well as staff members.
- What type of junk you can dispose of: Some countries, states, and cities can make it harder for you to dispose of some items.
- Offer your employees better working conditions: Workaround their well-being as well as yours all the time.
Writing A Business Plan
A business plan will help you get your junk hauling business on the right path.
You can focus on your business goals and objectives by creating them and having an idea of the paths you can take. Now, what should you include in your plan? Here are some details:
- A brief overview of your company: Who manages the day-to-day operations? What is special about your business? Who are the members or co-owners?
- What are your business offerings? What is your pricing? What are your curbside rates? Anything related to prices and services.
- Marketing plan: It should include questions like, who are your target markets? What demographics are required for junk removal customers? This step takes a lot more than just simple addition so that we will be going over it in detail later.
- Manager & Sales Team: Who is responsible for hauling and marketing, PR, sales, and financials?
- Financial projections: What are your goals for the first year? Are you planning to expand your business in the future? How about the finances when starting?
Although a business plan is a lengthy document, your business needs to be successful. This helps you to know your business’s status and gives you a reference point.
If you have a hard time with it, you can always find a professional. You can also decide to start small and just set some parameters within it.
Choose the Legal Structure of Your Business
You will need to create a legal structure in order to turn your junk removal business into a legal entity.
This will allow you to see how your company will look in terms of control, capitalization, taxation, and liability.
These are the five legal structures you should be aware of:
- Sole Proprietorship: Your junk removal company is completely owned and managed by you. However, legal repercussions and financial losses will be handled by you as well.
- Partnership: Your company should be managed by at least two people.
- Corporation: Your junk-removing business is legally recognized and separate from you, its owner.
- Limited Partnership: You need at least one partner to remove junk from your home. One partner is responsible (general partner), and one is not (limited partnership).
- Limited Liability Company: Your company is legally recognized and has all the advantages of a corporation and partnership.
Each option has its pros and cons. However, there might be one that is best for your junk removal business.
It is important to determine who will run the business and who will be responsible for it. You should also consider whether there will be any partners.
Once you have decided which legal structure is best for your junk removal company, you will need to file all necessary paperwork with the state where you live. Then you can get your business started.
Name Your Junk Removal Business
Your name for your junk company will be the first thing people see of your business. It’s important to ensure it is memorable and relevant.
You can decide your company’s name based on five different parameters:
- Description: This describes the business activities, and it is usually the simples one.
- Founder Name: Add your personal touch or last name.
- Create a word: If you feel creative, you can come up with a new word for your business.
- Combination: Take two words and combine them to create a new word.
- Word Association: Choose a word you would like your business to be associated with.
It is a good idea to start by creating a list with relevant words for your business. Then, you can go from there.
Just remember, it is important to choose a name that is both meaningful and consistent with your brand.
Have Your Finances in Order
Any business’s goal is to make money. If you don’t make money, it is a hobby. If your goal is to create a successful business, it’s important to understand what you need and how to manage your cash flow.
It’s difficult to pinpoint the exact reasons why businesses fail. However, cash flow and insufficient funds are common culprits.
There are two sides to this coin: financial literacy and securing financing (if necessary).
Let’s begin with the first. While many businesses can be started with low startup costs, others will require capital for equipment and inventory.
It is important to have a clear picture of your total investment before you make any expenditures. This will allow you to make accurate projections, such as when you will break even.
Your business will determine where the money goes. However, our market research has shown that product and inventory costs account for a significant portion of all spending in Year 1.
If your calculations reveal that you will need more money than you have the ability to payout, there are options such as a small business loan or private lenders.
Financial literacy is the second component of the equation. This refers to understanding how your finances flow through your business.
If the math isn’t working, your business will not work. As soon as your business is ready to make purchases or, more like taking clients, bookkeeping should be a priority.
You can keep accurate records of your income, expenses, and other financial information to help you monitor cash flow. This will allow you to make a smooth transition to work with an accountant or bookkeeper when you are able to.
Open a business bank account and apply for a business credit card. This will make managing your finances much easier.
Separating your professional and personal finances makes it easier to do your business taxes. It can also help automate many of the financial steps involved in starting a business.
This is especially important if you are looking for ways to start a small business without spending a lot of money.
Set Prices for Your Services
When you have the basics and ain structure of the company, you can start thinking about how much your services will cost.
Prices will vary from one business to another, but there are common elements regarding pricing junk removal jobs.
Most companies charge by the truckload regardless of whether it is a fourth, half, or full load. A minimum price will be charged for jobs less than 1/4.
You can compare the prices of junk haulers in your area to get a sense of what they are charging and help you position yourself on the market.
Usually, the minimum charge starts at $120 and goes all the way to $700+ for a full load.
For 1/4, 1/2, and ¾, prices range between $150 and $450 in the USA, but this can vary in other countries and specific states.
We recommend you consider your competitors but also keep in mind your own expenses. For example, how much are you spending on your own truck? Employees? What about additional expenses?
You can decide based on covering your costs as well.
Get the Right Equipment for It
A truck is the first thing you will need to be a junk removalist. It doesn’t matter how much you are against the idea; junk removal is nothing without one.
To acquire it, you can either use an old one that is at least safe for the task or rent a truck if you don’t have enough money to purchase a new one.
You might need business insurance, a permit, or a license, depending on where you live. To ensure that your junk removal business is legally registered, you should check your state’s requirements.
Are you planning on hiring employees? The IRS will require you to obtain an Employer ID Number (EIN). It is vital that you have all the necessary documentation in order to run a business.
You will also need a shovel for removal and an industrial broom to clean up. You will show professionalism and consideration for your clients by having the right supplies.
You will need to set a list of things to buy and things you need. Thus, you better sit for a bit and determine what you will buy first.
The main problem starts with a simple question: How can you purchase the equipment or hire employees? Your business can finance it.
Some junk removal companies started very small and relied on options like:
- Sell valuable items: Sometimes, clients get rid of the junk that could be worth something. These items can be listed on Craigslist and eBay to make extra money while you work.
- Get donations: Some charity sites and places can offer simple yet crucial equipment. Check with your local donation center before anything else to see if you can find value.
- You can recycle many items that have been thrown away: This includes household appliances like refrigerators and washing machines, as well as construction materials such as concrete, plastic, and lumber. You can also sell them.
Hire and Manage Your Trucks and Recruits
You might decide to hire more haulers or invest in new trucks at some point in your junk removal career.
While this can help increase your profits, it also means you have to take more responsibility and lead.
It is crucial that you know how to manage your haulers as a business owner effectively. Here are some managerial best practices:
- Clearly defining goals and targets: Every team member should know what the company’s objectives are. Your business should be known for its excellent customer service and teach the employees how to interact with clients.
- Maintaining open and effective communication: Apps such as Trello and Asana allow you to set up group chats, assign tasks, and give an overview of the current projects and goals. Open communication between haulers allows them to work more efficiently and stay on the same page.
- Provide constructive feedback: Encourage your team to grow by giving them weekly, monthly and quarterly feedback. You can let them know whether they communicated well or not with customers. These constructive comments will help employees become more productive and build a positive reputation for your business.
- Lead by example: Your employees are going to be looking at you and watching how you handle different situations. You must follow the same rules that you expect your employees to follow.
It takes time and experience to become a great manager. However, these practices can help you create a proud company you and your employees love working for.
We suggest you pay lots of attention to this since every junk removal business starts with at least two or three employees.
Market Your Junk Removal Business
Once everything is settled, and you have a clear business idea of how you will start your business, it is time to think about marketing.
Remember when we mentioned you should add a marketing plan to your business plan? This is when we dive a bit more into it.
Create a Marketing Plan
A business plan provides insight into the business, but a marketing plan gives you more detail about the strategies that will be used to grow it.
Your junk removal company must have a marketing plan in order to reach potential customers in your local area. Include these elements in it:
- The mission and goals of your company.
- Description of your target market.
- A comparison of your competitors.
- A strategy (or more) for boosting your marketing efforts.
- What marketing channels do you intend to use for your junk hauling company?
- Your marketing budget.
A marketing plan is something you shouldn’t skip. This will drive your efforts to reach new customers and grow your company.
Since we know it can be overwhelming to work with marketing, we decided to help a bit with some lead generation strategies. Also, with elements that can’t be missing:
- Convert visitors into clients with a well-designed website.
If you are wondering if your company needs a website, the answer is yes.
The concept of a website is to make sure people can find you. If you think a minute and Google “junk removal near me,” you will see all the websites available for this service. Done! This is how people find the services as well.
About 87% of Internet users have used it to search for local products or services within the last years. You won’t be able to get any business from a search if your website doesn’t show up on the results page or if you don’t have one in the first place.
Don’t you know how coding works? It’s not necessary to be an expert to build a website today. At least, while you get a more professional one.
There are plenty of resources that will help you create a website. Website builders like Wix or Weebly make it simple to create a website for your junk business while learning about WordPress or afford a web developer.
To ensure you are designing a good website, make sure you include these pages and details:
- List Products/Services.
- Photos of your services, team, or any relevant testimonials.
- Company Information.
- Contact form/email.
- Testimonials.
- Also, utilize SEO (search engine optimization).
A website for your junk removal company will increase your credibility and show professionalism to your customers. It’s a great investment for small and large businesses.
Additional options we can add for marketing your business are:
- Make use of your network: Promote the company on all free channels available to you. This includes your social media accounts and your contacts. One-to-one emails asking for help, as simple as sharing a post on social media, can go a long way in gaining traction.
- Offer discounts to customers who are early adopters.
- Utilize Marketing Tools.
For this last one, you must know the many marketing tools that can help you reach more people in your local area.
Although you can distribute flyers in your city, telling people about your junk removal services and your phone number to them, this will only reach a small percentage of people.
Online marketing can help you expand your customer base and business, and the tools that come with it are ten times better.
- Google My Business listings provide information about your business, including contact information, hours, reviews, ratings, and ratings. This service is free and can help your junk removal company rank on Google’s first page.
- Google Ads campaigns are one of the most affordable methods to market your company.
- Google Analytics.
For the latter, if you don’t analyze your marketing efforts and see what is working, it’s useless.
You can move forward with your junk removal business by taking the time to evaluate your website’s actions.
Understanding the factors that made you more customers and received more calls will help you focus your marketing efforts and increase your sales. These are some important metrics that you should be looking at:
- Search terms to locate your business.
- Where are your customers?
- Who are your customers?
- Phone tracking.
This information can help you decide whom you should target with your ad, when to run them, and where to advertise.
It’s the Journey of a Lifetime
There is always a thrill in the lead-up to launching your company. Here’s why.
Many entrepreneurs tell us it’s the excitement of setting sail into the unknown. While they can plan for business and have so much control, you are in uncharted territory once the business is launched.
This is not the most comforting idea, but it’s the one that entrepreneurs find too compelling.
We admire entrepreneurs for their willingness to risk everything to achieve their goals. Although starting a business can be difficult, it is not impossible.
However, you should never let go of a goal that’s difficult to achieve.
Only by being out there, in the unmapped territory that is your personal growth, will you discover who you are. Thus, don’t be worry about jumping for a new startup business and betting on your business ideas.
The Local Lead Generation Process for Your Junk Removal Business
All right! So, everything is about building properties and generating leads. But how does the process actually take place? Are there other steps I need to know?
The steps I mention below are what students from our local lead generation program follow to generate leads for businesses like yourself. So I’ll help you see what we do. And how if you join our program, you can simply generate leads for your own business (unless you want to start a side hustle and build a laptop lifestyle business).
Essentially, our lead generation can be divided into four steps:
The first is prospecting. You need to take the time to do market research on a niche (industry) and determine how many phone-driven businesses are there.
Keep in mind that this is local research as you need to know how many companies need leads. For example, you may search for “plumbing services Youngstown OH.”
You will find dozens or even hundreds of businesses trying to get themselves in front of the customers by ranking on Map Listings, organic results, and even Ad.
The second step, building. When you find a niche (plumbing, tree services, a software company, real estate…), you will need to start building your digital properties. You don’t need to be an expert in HTML or coding. It can be easy with the right tools.
The third step is now taking time to rank your lead gen website. With the site done, you need to work on SEO strategies and start dominating those Google search results. If you’re new to SEO, it stands for Search Engine Optimization.
To keep it simple, it consists of the entire process of growing a company’s visibility on search engines like Google and generating organic traffic. And remember this, local lead generation is part of the strategies.
Moving on to step four, once you rank the site, you will start getting your ROI and profits. You only need to rent it out to a local business interested in the leads the site generates. You can offer a couple of free leads to their move on with the actual pay per lead.
To review steps 1-4 above, I described it to a normal student who is building a lead gen business to help local service providers generate more calls. But replace the student with you as the business owner. And replace sending the leads to a business to simply siphoning the leads to your personal business.
By the way, fun fact, about 20% of our students in our local lead gen program are actually business owners who went through the program. And they use the skillsets we teach to generate leads for their own business.
An Example of Lead Generation: Home Advisor
You must be thinking, “if lead generation sounds so good so far, how come I haven’t seen any company?” That’s the thing; there are many out there. You just don’t know they are dedicated to it.
HomeAdvisor is one of the best examples you can find on the Internet as it is a top lead generation company that has spent millions building its brand but also earned even more zeros for this same reason.
They started small as everyone else but invested in building their brand awareness to make people who are looking for home services go to their website and find what they need. They are over 75% of people’s first choice when they need those services.
If you don’t get HomeAdvisor that much or need a refresh, users need to submit their information to request a service and get a professional or expert who can provide it.
HomeAdvisor’s job is to share your information, which makes you a lead, with local companies so they can contact you and offer the service you’re requesting. For sharing this lead information, HomeAdvisor gets paid by the companies. This happens for every single lead they send to multiple businesses.
Business owners who don’t have marketing skills or don’t even know how to have any online presence will always rely on those pages to list their services. They will save time and effort, but companies like HomeAdvisor can make them spend lots of money as leads aren’t exclusive (one lead is sent to multiple companies after all).
Using Facebook Ads aka Paid Ad Platforms: Do They Generate Leads?
They DO generate leads. If not, no one would use them.
However, you need to remember two facts:
- Paid ads or platforms can be expensive.
- They don’t generate “natural” leads.
Whenever someone sees or clicks in one of those ads, over 80% of them did it by accident or are trying to close/report it.
Why? Because they aren’t looking for those services. At least not at the moment.
What those ads do instead is interrupt their time on the platforms. Users aren’t there to find companies or businesses unless they are searching for a specific company’s user, and for that, there’s a search bar. This is why it is hard to convert them to actual customers who will show interest in the companies’ services. Also, you’re limited by a budget.
When using lead generation, everything is organic. You aren’t forcing others to pay attention to your business but rather being there when they need you. This is why Google’s organic traffic will always beat paid ads, and the reason companies continue investing in it, which is a lot cheaper as well.
What Is Local SEO?
Don’t worry… I didn’t get it at first either. Following the short explanation, local SEO focuses on scaling businesses’ visibility on search engines. However, this is only for those who serve their communities face-to-face.
What does this mean?
Experts and professionals like painters, plumbers, and dentists (but not only them) offer their services to their local customers. Why? Because they can’t deliver them unless they are located in the same area of their customers.
To make sure those businesses get more leads, you need to rank them locally by claiming the business listing on Google to place them on Map Listings. Local SEO also involves online reviews, citation management, and how you manage your entire online presence in the local area.
If you are going to bet on lead gen, you need to adapt yourself to today’s world: The Internet.
Keep in mind that although traditional channels and methods like billboards, warm calls, and pamphlets still work, they aren’t part of your tools. Whenever someone needs a service, they go to Google and search for it.
“Dentist in Miami” or “plumbing services in Orlando,” etc. And you can keep coming up with services or professionals people need and look for. Thus, you need to make sure you’re using Google to get the companies in front of their clients.
Users will always click on the first search results (those near the top), and many of them will be either Ad links (people paid to place their websites there), Map Listing, and then you get websites. Almost all of them are your goal and where you should always aim to place yourself.
Can My Junk Removal Business Utilize a Local Lead Generation Strategy?
If you want customers, you better know you need it. Following the previous explanation, lead gen is all about placing businesses in front of their customers, choosing them over their competitors.
Put it simply – it’s all about closing deals and having clients for those companies to make money. The main difference with the usual methods companies use for this is how lead generation approaches different channels to get them in the right place of the market to get customers.
Those channels are all focused on the Internet as most people are searching for products but also services across the net. The issue is that the Internet is way too broad, and businesses don’t know how to place themselves. They usually try, but they get one common result: losing money and time.
How Powerful Are Organic Junk Removal Leads from Google?
For companies looking for customers, it’s everything. For you? Pretty much the same. When you build a business with digital properties, you get to make thousands of dollars a month.
This isn’t a “get started today and get rich tomorrow” thing, but it is HIGHLY scalable, and ROI + positive results are guaranteed. Learning a fairly decent and very needed set of skills to create your digital properties and start ranking them on Google is required.
I have invested in several online businesses over the years, and if there’s something uncertain, whether you will get your ROI or not, even more than the actual profit.
However, this business moved my earnings from five figures a year to a month in ONLY passive income while sitting comfortably at home.
On my laptop. Anywhere. Anytime.
You can look at one of the first sites I built back in 2016, and it continues making me over $1.000+ every month. The best part is that I don’t need to touch it or the rest I’ve built over the years, just like this digital property.
What Makes Lead Generation SO Alluring?
Here it goes: you can work from home.
The main issue with regular business opportunities is how much you need to invest in staff, equipment, or rent to have a place to sell your products or offer your services.
We all know the hassles of traditional businesses that involve regular expenses, which are extremely high. Can you afford it? I don’t think so, and even if you can, is it worth it? Now, it isn’t only about the money. You also need to put in a lot of work, and it isn’t only during the first couple of months or years. Usually, it is as long as you continue running it.
You can save yourself those headaches and bone-breaking tasks and expenses with lead gen since it is more about generating leads with digital channels—mainly websites.
Websites can be VERY cheap to build, and with many tools online, you get to do it in a couple of hours instead of days. Any virtual or digital business is scalable and won’t need constant maintenance.
So, let’s summarize this:
- You save money in regular expenses with traditional and most online businesses as what you need is yourself and digital properties (websites).
- You can bet on passive income.
- There’s no need to hire more people to get started.
- You can generate leads in multiple industries, which allows you to work on any niche you want.
How Can I Get Started in the Local Lead Generation Program?
Anyone can start and learn. That’s the beauty of this business model. I knew nothing about SEO, Map Listing, and everything I’ve mentioned so far. It is all about learning the skills, gaining experience, and deciding to take the step.
Remember that this business model will never get old as business owners are always looking for leads. They need to do business and scale their companies. Why not do the same while helping others and still making money?
You can start with this local lead generation course highly recommended for anyone wanting to grow in the business. It is a close training that will take you through each step and make sure you are able to get your ROI, profits and take control of your life.
You will be added to an incredible lead generation family ready to help you 24/7 when asking questions on the group. Anyone is welcome who’s willing to put in the work. Click here to watch the lead gen webinar.