I’ve got an idea that isn’t sexy, but I think would work. Let me know your feedback - also feel free to run with it yourself. If you like content like this, get more here.
Here’s the idea: Moving sucks for a lot of reasons, but one of the worst parts is all of the cardboard boxes you have leftover.
One of my buddies told me about a company called Gorilla Bins. Basically, they drop off these plastic moving bins and pick them up after your move.
I think this could be a great side hustle, or a way to pay for college. I’m thinking you could make like ~$30K/year profit.
Here’s the napkin math:
I think to hit $30K/year profit, you’d need to hit $50K/year revenue.
Based on Gorilla Bins’ website, I’d guess they charge an avg. $180/move (two-bedroom move).
So, to hit $50K/year in revenue, you’d need to do about ~5.5 moves/week.
Each move requires ~50 bins, so to cover 5.5 moves per week you’d need about 275 (6.5 * 50 bins)
You can get bins from ULine’s website. Bins will cost you about $15/each.
275 bins *$15 = $4,125 initial startup cost.
Keep in mind, you don’t necessarily need to spend this much to test the idea.
The economics actually work pretty well here. You’re renting out each bin for about ~$3.50/move. That means, you only need to rent out the bin 4 times and it’s paid off.
To put this in perspective, if the bin gets rented out ~100 times, that’s $350 in revenue - which is a 23x return on investment (per bin).
Here’s how I would pull this off:
I don’t think it’s worth wasting a lot of time on naming, branding, incorporating, etc…
I’d just take the easy route with all the stuff.
Name = [cityname]binbuds.com - costs $1/mo
Logo = Namecheap free logo maker
Incorpotation = UpCounsel for basic paper work - $300
Branding = stickers from Stickermule to throw on the bins - 300 for $75
Website = Carrd super easy to set up - $9/year
Let’s say this all adds up to about $500 in misc. startup costs.
Next, let’s look at marketing
Personally, I think the easiest way to pull this off is via Google Ads, Yelps Ads, and partnerships with moving companies.
Based on my quick research, in most cities, there’s no one advertising for “moving bin + [city name]”. If there is, there are typically only 1 competitor - and sometimes they don’t even serve the city you’re searching in.
If you threw $5-7K in marketing at this, I’m confident you could kickstart the business.
If you’re feeling ambitious, you could also expand on this idea:
Revenue goal: $50K/year = 5.5 moves/week * $180/move
Costs: $500 for misc + $4,125 for bins + $8K for labor (bin dropoff + pickup) + $7K for marketing.
Total costs = $19,625
Net profit = $30,375
So for less than $5,000 of startup costs, you could have a business that will profit about $30K/year.
Keep in mind, this isn’t a sexy business and it would take work, but I think it would be relatively easy to get off the group.
Let me know what you think and please add to the discussion!
h/t to Shaan Puri for the inspiration.
Here’s the idea: Moving sucks for a lot of reasons, but one of the worst parts is all of the cardboard boxes you have leftover.
One of my buddies told me about a company called Gorilla Bins. Basically, they drop off these plastic moving bins and pick them up after your move.
I think this could be a great side hustle, or a way to pay for college. I’m thinking you could make like ~$30K/year profit.
Here’s the napkin math:
I think to hit $30K/year profit, you’d need to hit $50K/year revenue.
Based on Gorilla Bins’ website, I’d guess they charge an avg. $180/move (two-bedroom move).
So, to hit $50K/year in revenue, you’d need to do about ~5.5 moves/week.
Each move requires ~50 bins, so to cover 5.5 moves per week you’d need about 275 (6.5 * 50 bins)
You can get bins from ULine’s website. Bins will cost you about $15/each.
275 bins *$15 = $4,125 initial startup cost.
Keep in mind, you don’t necessarily need to spend this much to test the idea.
The economics actually work pretty well here. You’re renting out each bin for about ~$3.50/move. That means, you only need to rent out the bin 4 times and it’s paid off.
To put this in perspective, if the bin gets rented out ~100 times, that’s $350 in revenue - which is a 23x return on investment (per bin).
Here’s how I would pull this off:
I don’t think it’s worth wasting a lot of time on naming, branding, incorporating, etc…
I’d just take the easy route with all the stuff.
Name = [cityname]binbuds.com - costs $1/mo
Logo = Namecheap free logo maker
Incorpotation = UpCounsel for basic paper work - $300
Branding = stickers from Stickermule to throw on the bins - 300 for $75
Website = Carrd super easy to set up - $9/year
Let’s say this all adds up to about $500 in misc. startup costs.
Next, let’s look at marketing
Personally, I think the easiest way to pull this off is via Google Ads, Yelps Ads, and partnerships with moving companies.
Based on my quick research, in most cities, there’s no one advertising for “moving bin + [city name]”. If there is, there are typically only 1 competitor - and sometimes they don’t even serve the city you’re searching in.
If you threw $5-7K in marketing at this, I’m confident you could kickstart the business.
If you’re feeling ambitious, you could also expand on this idea:
- Franchise this idea to other towns or college students
- Add on a moving truck service
- Sell leads to self-storage operators
Revenue goal: $50K/year = 5.5 moves/week * $180/move
Costs: $500 for misc + $4,125 for bins + $8K for labor (bin dropoff + pickup) + $7K for marketing.
Total costs = $19,625
Net profit = $30,375
So for less than $5,000 of startup costs, you could have a business that will profit about $30K/year.
Keep in mind, this isn’t a sexy business and it would take work, but I think it would be relatively easy to get off the group.
Let me know what you think and please add to the discussion!
h/t to Shaan Puri for the inspiration.