House Trash Outs/Junk Removal-How to get contracts (insurance, sales, licenses)

[nwmsfootball79]

Hello,

I am starting a junk removal and residential trash/clean outs company while I am in college. I have been doing junk removal for about a year and had house trash outs here and there but want to get more residential house clean outs.


I would like to gain business/contracts from realtors in my area as well as apartments/student housing landlords.


Licensed and insured


What do you think is the best way to do this?
For realtors should I just email several and see what happens or stop in their office too?

Same with apartment complexes and landlords?


Thank you for any and all advice I really appreciate it

[NJ Brazen_3133]

First off, do you personally know anyone who needs the service right now. You could first offer your services to them. Then if they know any realtors who could recommend you to their other clients. That realtor will want to keep his relations with your friend(s), and most likely help you out a little.

I would not seek out long term contracts for something like this. It may scare some people off especially that realtor.

Just curious, what kind of insurance and license do you need for this?

[trashcanwillys]

I have grown a business like yours to 2 million a year in 4 years. What I did with relators is the following:

- when we get a job from one we give them 20% off our normal pricing every time
- we send them a $10 gift card with a hand written thank you card after every job they get us
- we visited every single local realtors office, dropped flyers, introduced ourselves, gave business cards, got the main office managers email and follow up with every office using constant contact twice a year

We have developed many great relationships doing such. We stay hands on and proactive with working realtors as they are your number 1 best customers to have. one loyal realtor can give you 10-15 cleanouts a year or over 5k in sales.

Best of luck

[yellowsnow]

The OP is probably long gone since this is a 2012 post. I was going to suggest getting all that hazmat/crime scene cleanup licenses/classes. They charge a lot of money! And that type of cleaning is usually required when someone dies in a home. Doesn't have to be an actual crime.

[Dport7674]

My uncle cleans out apartments for a couple different property owners in Seattle. He says he makes more money off of what he finds in the apartments than he does getting paid to clean them.

You mentioned you were in college. He once told me college kids move out in the spring and leave behind all kinds of furniture/electronics etc. that he flips on Craigslist. He said selling the textbooks they leave behind alone makes him decent money.

Edit: 2012 huh?... Maybe someone that lives in a college town will read this, get rich off of selling used textbooks.

[TaxPhd]

Originally Posted by trashcanwillys

I have grown a business like yours to 2 million a year in 4 years. What I did with relators is the following:

- when we get a job from one we give them 20% off our normal pricing every time
- we send them a $10 gift card with a hand written thank you card after every job they get us
- we visited every single local realtors office, dropped flyers, introduced ourselves, gave business cards, got the main office managers email and follow up with every office using constant contact twice a year

We have developed many great relationships doing such. We stay hands on and proactive with working realtors as they are your number 1 best customers to have. one loyal realtor can give you 10-15 cleanouts a year or over 5k in sales.

Best of luck

You’re doing 4,000 - 6,000 cleanouts a year? What market are you in that has that kind of volume available?

[hyerground]

Craigslist has LOTS of landlords listed...Just send around an email inquiry in areas where you work.

[Fedupwiththis]

Originally Posted by TaxPhd

You’re doing 4,000 - 6,000 cleanouts a year? What market are you in that has that kind of volume available?

I believe in this business its not just the cleanout itself that generates money. My wife and I dropped a pickup truck full of "junk" off at an auction house last spring and got a $150 check back. Imagine a box truck full of similar junk, would probably generate $500-$1000. Then on top of that you may have random big money items from time to time, a big old butcher block table, a zero turn lawn mower, flat screens, appliances.. these items could be kept at a storage location and sold on ebay or craigslist for top dollar. Any "trash" thats left over could likely be donated allowing you to keep more of your $.

I'd assume an average clean out that is charging $500 for a truck load, will also make another $750 with all the items sent to auction, and maybe another $750 if the "quality items" are sold on craigslist or ebay. Averaging 2 clean outs a day would probably get you to $2million. Could probably do it with a crew of 5 guys and 2 trucks with pretty limited overhead compared to most other businesses. With the ability to "writeoff" a lot of stuff.

I've thought about getting into this for a very long time.

[flamadiddle]

so this is an interesting thread since we recently moved and left behind some items that we thought the future homeowner would appreciate. However, at the last minute, we were told everything needed to go so we hired a junk removal company. In addition to the base fee, they apparently charge around $5 per paint can? Where do you dump all this stuff and how much does it cost to dump? Considering some of the things we were forced to toss, I've actually thought about starting such a business myself.

[Dport7674]

In my county there are free days to take loads to the dump. Along with a free monthly bulk pick up on your regular garbage day.

Paint cans and any chemicals are always free. But it's on you to take them to a local recycling center type place. You can't take them to the dump or set them out on bulk day.