Scaling a Local Service Business: Multi 6-Figures in Pet Waste Removal

It’s not every day you spot one of your podcast guests’ yard signs while driving, but that’s exactly what happened to me.

As we cruised the neighborhood, a bright pink “Kroopin’s Poopin Scoopin” sign caught my eye.

We first heard from this guest in 2020.

She was earning around a thousand bucks a week from her part-time pooper scooper/pet waste removal business.

And since then, it has grown to serve almost 200 weekly residential customers at an average ticket price of $99/month.

In this ‘Where Are They Now?’ episode, we’re catching up with Erica Krupin to hear how business has grown over the last few years.

Free Bonus: 101 Service Business Ideas

Sponsors

• Ladder – Get instantly approved for term life insurance—no doctors, no needles, no paperwork!

• Indeed – Start hiring NOW with a $75 sponsored job credit to upgrade your job post!

• This is Small Business Podcast – Brought to you by Amazon, explore the stories of small business owners as they navigate their path to success!

• Tailor Brands — Get 35% off LLC formation plans w/ code SIDEHUSTLE.

Raising Prices and Landing Commercial Clients

@kroopinspoopinscoopin

It how the professionals do it #yellowtrash #yellowdustpan #pooperscooperservice

♬ original sound – Pooper Scooper Erica

A big part of Erica’s growth came from incrementally raising her rates. She started by charging new customers more, going from an initial $55/month to where she is today at $99/month on average.

“Residential pays the bills, commercial puts money in the bank,” Erica explained.

She’s made a push into servicing Homeowners Associations and apartment complexes. Her first big commercial client was a 17-station dog waste contract for $625 a month.

These commercial contracts have allowed Erica to further increase her margins.

She said the lower residential recurring revenue is great for reliable baseline income, but the commercial projects give her business an opportunity for higher profits.

Bright Pink Fleet and a Rebrand

Erica went all-in on branding and marketing upgrades. This included a professional logo redesign as well as a brand new bright pink wrapped vehicle fleet.

“You can see my vehicles from so far away,” Erica shared.

Indeed, those eye-catching pink cars and trucks would be hard to miss rolling through the neighborhood.

Bringing in Employees

Today, she has three bright pink vehicles: two cars and one truck.

Erica brought on part-time and full-time staff to operate this fleet, albeit not without some hiring and management hurdles.

In fact, her full-time employee handles 125 houses per week!

Erica pays her scoopers an hourly rate starting at $18.50 per hour and sets the expectation that they can service at least three houses per hour on average.

Franchising a Satellite Location and Bringing on Software

Early on, Erica had an interesting franchising experiment where she helped an operator in the Muskegon area of Michigan launch her own poop and scoop location.

When that operator proved she could run the business successfully on her own, Erica sold the territory to her.

As her business continued growing, Erica brought on the Jobber field service management software to help stay organized. The all-in-one Jobber platform allows Erica to manage everything from customer communication and scheduling to invoicing and reporting.

In fact, Jobber was so integral to Erica’s operations that she became an official Jobber Ambassador.

Rebranding and The Scoop Podcast

Over the last couple of years, Erica has been busy with a series of other growth moves and milestones, including:

• Starting The Scoop podcast to share her entrepreneurial journey
• Coaching other aspiring pet waste entrepreneurs
• Moving into a new office
• Hiring and firing several employees over the years
• Filing her first worker’s compensation claim after a staff injury

Marketing: Racking Up 376 5-Star Google Reviews

What’s working today to attract new customers?

Erica has collected 376 5-star reviews on Google—towering over her closest competitors. To make this happen, she first started by manually asking for reviews via text message.

Then she leveled up to NiceJob, which automatically requests a review from customers after their service.

Today, she uses Review Harvest, which in addition to asking for a review, re-shares positive reviews on Erica’s social media channels.

Erica has also had success posting in local Facebook groups and on NextDoor. After getting new vehicle wraps, she made a post tagging and thanking the local wrap company—while sharing pictures of her trucks. That post alone led to 10 new customer inquiries.

In the offline world, Erica said the yard signs, vehicle wraps, and intentional local community involvement have gone a long way in building the brand.

Customer Acquisition Cost vs Lifetime Value

One thing Erica mentioned struggling with was understanding and tracking metrics like customer lifetime value and cost of acquisition.

After connecting with William, the founder of the “Poop Scoop Millionaire” training program, Erica began learning how to calculate and improve these numbers. Things like churn rate, average customer lifespan, and average job size all factor in.

Being able to forecast each new customer’s projected lifetime value makes decisions around marketing spend and promotions easier.

For example, Erica might offer a discounted first month if she can acquire a new recurring $99/month customer for less than projecting that customer’s lifetime value.

Coaching and Content Creation Split

As a student of the business, Erica began studying and creating content about her entrepreneurial experience.

Her YouTube channel, branded as the “crappiest channel on YouTube”, has over 3000 subscribers. And her podcast, The Scoop, aims to highlight other female entrepreneurs.

We spoke about the loneliness that often comes with entrepreneurship and the importance of having an outlet for stress relief and creative expression. Erica time-blocks specific days for content creation, separate from working on the business itself.

While the content creation side of things may not directly drive revenue, Erica says it helps her avoid burnout, connect with like-minded entrepreneurs, and solidify her authority in the pet waste removal space.

Challenges and Surprises Along the Way

Growing her pooper scooper business hasn’t been without its challenges.

She told the story of an underperforming employee who nearly brought down the business with sloppy work and unreliable attendance. Things finally came to a head when that person’s negligence resulted in two dogs escaping through an open gate.

As a result of that experience, Erica put stricter hiring standards and quality control systems in place.

Team members have to pass background checks since they’re being given access to clients’ home and personal information.

There’s now a documented system of reprimands for unacceptable work or violations of company policy. At the end of every shift, workers have to send “closed gate” photos as proof that they followed protocol.

What’s Next?

Looking ahead, the next phase for Erica involves:

• Coaching other pet waste entrepreneurs
• Building out a professional podcasting studio in her new office space
• Highlighting female entrepreneurs on her podcast to help address that content gap
• Meeting and connecting with other local business owners to find her tribe (entrepreneurship can be a lonely journey!)

While she’s achieved an incredible level of success taking this side hustle to a point where it provides a great lifestyle, Erica admits she’s torn on whether she wants to go all-out and turn Kroopin’s Poopin Scoopin into a massive multi-state or even nationwide operation.

For now, she’s taking it one day at a time and embracing whatever opportunities present themselves organically.

And you’d better believe if I see another one of Erica’s distinctive pink yard signs out there, I’ll be sure to snap a picture and send it her way!

Erica’s #1 Tip for Side Hustle Nation

“If there’s something you’re stuck on, find somebody who knows how to do it.”

Episode Links

• How to Start a Pet Waste Removal Business: $50 an Hour Part-Time
• Kroopin’s Poopin Scoopin
• Erica’s Viral TikTok Clip
• Jobber
• The Scoop podcast
• NiceJob
• Review Harvest
• NextDoor
• “Poop Scoop Millionaire” training program
• Kroonpin’s Poopin Scoopin YouTube channel

Looking for More Side Hustle Help?

• Start Your Free $500 Challenge. My free 5-day email course shows you how to add $500 to your bottom line.
• Join the free Side Hustle Nation Community. The free Facebook group is the best place to connect with other side hustlers and get your questions answered.
• Download The Side Hustle Show. My free podcast shares how to make extra money with actionable weekly episodes. Get your personalized money-making playlist here!