I make $19/h selling free horse manure, scaling up, feedback please

[whatnow]

@demorah39 Actually it smells fine once the manure it out because it's all in containers. It's just the last half of the trip that smells but I get used to it. It'll be nicer when I have a truck.

 

[carleo]

@whatnow What are you using for containers ?

 

[whatnow]

@carleo Large Rubbermaid bins, 68L (18 gallons). I have cheaper brands too but their "handles" are terrible and they crack easily. I'm sticking with Rubbermaid for all heavy duty applications.

 

[vrl]

@whatnow Horse shit.

 

[stagdoe]

@whatnow Yes I too think it's more valuable that you grow your business using these ideas here and dump the idea of training other people to do what you do

 

[firetje]

@whatnow so your saying you want to sell me shit

 

[bella14]

@whatnow Wow. Good on you!

Are there any colleges/unis nearby? Grab interns..get yourself some cheap/free help with entrepreneurial minded kids who are ambitious and wanna grab the horns. Use your ebook as their curriculum instead..
These guys can leadgen contacts for you..whether it be a directory of farmer's in the region with contact info, pooling lists of previous clients, etc. Youngins are also good with social media and the marketing side.

 

[adam2]

@whatnow This begs the question, where are you getting the horse manure from

 

[whatnow]

@adam2 Farms and ranches in my area. There are tons of horses in every city. You can call up places and ask about their manure or you can look online to see who's giving it away.

 

[robinwhite065]

@whatnow Used Uhaul can be picked up under $5k Advertise on the side.

 

[aleksandr1991]

@whatnow So you just go out to the county. Get some buckets of horse manure and the deliver it to people? You say you have a civic so you are not taking Truck loads away at a time. And do you store it some where or do you deliver to the customers?

Very interesting read over all and great work on the hustle!

 

[whatnow]

@aleksandr1991 That's correct except I don't deliver. Maybe I should have mentioned that. All my customers come pick up from me. I can fit a surprising amount in my car. About 8 large tote bins at a time. I do some processing to take out the lumps but that's it. I store it at my house in bins when it's ready to sell. Then I get more when it's sold but this year I'm going to stockpile supply in advance so I can keep up with demand. Probably still in someone's yard in bags or bins.

 

[aleksandr1991]

@whatnow Hey thanks! That makes sense. Also if you don't mind my asking. How much do you sell for?

 

[whatnow]

@aleksandr1991 I sell it for $5 per five gallon bucket worth.

 

[aleksandr1991]

@whatnow That is cool. Also I was reading. Yours is not fully composted? Doesn't that burn the plants?

Im not a garden expert, just know a couple of things from when I was a kid helping my grandparents around their tiny farm. Also thanks again for all the information. This is truly the most interesting way I have seen someone make money on this sub.

 

[whatnow]

@aleksandr1991 Yes, if it's fresh it will definitely burn but I have tested mine and it's fine.

 

[truebornagain]

@whatnow Focus on growing your business and branding it. Go ahead and start working on your e-book but right it as if you're speaking to a future franchisee, since that's the model I'd pursue if I were in your shoes.

 

[cinnamonshiva]

@whatnow Hi man, where are you getting most of your customers from? If it's mostly friends/family it might be hard to scale as you have no proof of concept outside of this group.

Also, remember to factor in your car insurance (depending on legislation you may need to tell your insurance provider you're using your vehicle for business use), and the extra car maintenance that'll come from increased heavy use

 

[whatnow]

@cinnamonshiva Fair point. Actually I haven't sold to a single friend or family member! All my customers have been strangers.

Good point about insurance. I'm already self employed/on contract so my insurance company knows I use my car for work. As I grow I will keep them updated. Maintenance I never factored in because it never added up to much compared to my monthly driving and it's pretty low for my car anyway. I should at least include oil changes though.

 

[jagges]

@whatnow I just dumped a nice load of free horse manure onto my compost heap, today!

I don't have any feedback, except to note the irony of your toting horse poo into the very cities where it was a major problem, just over a century ago!