Maybe your scrapping career started as a side job for some extra cash, then you realized it was time to start growing your services to pick up materials from homeowners or business owners. Some scrappers have the truck and the trailer to haul larger loads away from job sites. Maybe that is your next step in growing your scrap business with a property for scrapping and accepting customers too.
If you have started your own scrap business and begun to establish customers and some locations you are constantly picking up materials from, it may be time you consider to grow your business. Growing a new business can be a daunting task, but it doesn’t have to be if you have a goal in mind. The iScrap App team has over 40 years of experience in the scrap industry and there are some things to keep in mind to help grow your scrap business.
What Is Your Current Status of Your Scrap Business?
Something to consider before your dreams of opening a 10-acre scrap facility, is where you are right now. Do a status check for your scrap business and figure out what your current position is. Some questions and things to consider are:
- Do you have enough time? – If you are working at another job and your scrap business is not full-time yet, will you have the time to dedicate to grow your scrap business? It’s important to think about, because while you are growing your business, you will still need income and not having the time to complete your other “transition” job for income can become a problem.
- Do you have the right tools? – This just doesn’t mean the right tools to take apart a computer or remove materials with a truck trailer. This means business tools. Have you filed your company with the state? It’s important to do so before you start expanding. When you become bigger liabilities and legalities are important to register your scrap business.
- Do you have the space? – Scrapping requires space. Space to store your materials, tools, equipment, and eventually a place for customers to drop off materials. If you are looking to take your scrap to the next level, this is important to consider.
- Do you have the money? – This is probably going to be the most important question you have to ask yourself before growing your scrap business. There are several expenses from insurance, to equipment, to employees, to business services, and more that have to be paid in order to operate. Making sure you have good credit in case you need to take a business loan out is important. Also it’s a good idea to make sure you have no outstanding debts to pay.
- Do you have insurance? – Just like when you have a car, it’s important to have insurance for not only yourself, but also look into getting it for your business and what the cost would be. If you are going to be using equipment and trucks on the road, insurance is a must to operate well.
Business Plan For Growing Your Scrap Business
When creating your scrap business, its a good idea to have a plan either written down or discussed with any business partners you work with. When moving onto the larger expansion of your scrap business, it can be overwhelming to figure out where to start. We have some things to help you organize your plans and tools that are good to have to get your scrap empire growing. There are a few things you will want to first establish when planning your next step.
Register Your Business
To start off, it’s important to register your business with your state. This will be helpful when filing taxes, protecting your assets as a business, and organizing your finances. The iScrap App Team is not able to provide legal assistance or best practices for registering your business, so we suggest contact your business bureau in your state for resources and helpful guidance. A great resource is the Small Business Administration, which is a part of the US Government.
Suggest Resource: 10 Steps for Starting Your Small Business
How Big Do You Want To Be?
Are you looking to be a mobile fleet of trucks on the road constantly buying materials and picking up? Are you looking to buy property for you to buy and sell metals from? These are important questions to ask yourself. Being a more established mobile service scrap business, you have more flexibility to travel and do various sized jobs. Also to be a successful mobile service, you have to make sure to maintain your equipment regularly and also having multiple trucks on the road will be your best option to constantly have materials flowing. Just keep in mind trucks breakdown, so it could be tough for you if you don’t have a backup plan to pick up material.
If you want to go the more ‘brick and mortar” route, owning a property and running a scrap yard there is a big undertaking. You have to make sure that you are first allowed to have a scrap yard there, based on the zoning laws and regulations in your town or city. Also you have to think about things like security and storage for your materials. Buying or leasing a property can be a large financial burden, so make sure you know you will have the customers lined up to make necessary payments.
How Are You Going To Get More Customers?
When scrapping is your full-time job, you have to ensure that you are consistently making money. There are several ways to market your scrap services including a website and online advertising. The days of newspaper ads and billboards is dwindling fast. With most of the population using their smartphones to find local businesses, it’s important to market you services online on various places.
If you are a location-based scrap yard, the iScrap App is always a great option for online marketing and advertising for your region. But also buying online ad services and being active on social media is a good place to start. Remember when you are posting as your company, that you want to be a representation of your positive services, so be sure to have rules set in place of what you want to share.
Who Are Your Competitors?
Yes, you are going to have competitors. You may not have thought about that when planning all of your business endeavors, but it’s a reality. There are bound to be at least one, if not several, scrap yards in your immediate area that you will be competing with to collect scrap. Knowing how they operate and their pricing structure is a good idea to get your feet set for how you are going to operate your business.
Start The Best Route For Success
If you have gone through some of the basics of planning your scrap business, it’s time to execute. Start small and think through every decision. Be smart with your money and your investments, like equipment and employees. Remember, like any industry, scrap is always changing so it’s important to have the flexibility to change and work through hard times like low scrap prices. Be sure to document all of your costs and expenses along with the money you are making. Good luck and we can’t wait to see how your business grows!
