If you had $5000. to get started in scrapping how would you use it? - Page 2

Originally Posted by faulguy

Lol. I just took a look at backpage.com for my area. 99% of posts are spam...
I assume that social network sites such as facebook could be a goldmine. I know that in my county, there are 2 facebook groups set up for selling/buying/trading/free stuff. Also, set up a page for your business and get as many friends as you can. Post frequently to increase your exposure. If you're making a trip to pick something up, post an update... "at noon, I'm going to xyz neighborhood to pick some stuff up. Anybody else out there need something out of their way?"
I made a posting on freecycle the other day looking for old computers. I got an email from the moderator. Apparently there are quite a few people in the group that throw a fit if somebody's trying to make some money. So, I pushed the 'recycling' angle instead of the 'making a buck' angle and smoothed it over. I don't think the people that complain realize that you are still doing a service, even if you are making a buck. From the freecycle post, I have 4-5 computers to pick up from one guy and a lead on some office printers. Those office printers would cost the business $50 each to recycle through the washington ecycle program. That's a decent chunk of change that I can save that business and make a few bucks while I'm at it. Not to mention you're going to be saving a lot of stuff from reaching landfills.

Yeah, I don't even use backpage.com. Just facebook.com. I do have a business page, but popularity is not great, so I have not started doing updates really.

I used to belong to freecycle for my area, but not anymore. I had an account, and my wife loved it, so she created an account, and they threw a bit** fit over it. Banned us both, so then I started my own called Manassas Park FREE Exchange lol

What is a Rollback? Mst be a US term??

Thanks.

I would buy a $2000 pre paid fuel card, keep $1000 for just in case, then spend the other $2000 on some metal bins I can put at customers shops.

Its a towing truck used to tow cars, trucks, depending on the size, it can also tow buses, and some commercial trucks as well.

Rollback is the same as a ramp truck, where the vehicle being "towed" is pulled onto and transported on the back (deck) of the truck.

I am going with Mr Gustavus's suggestion.

Went to buy the book that was suggested to be read first and found a free copy.
Saving money is making money in my book, pun intended!

I do plan on buying the book.

Originally Posted by MBMetals

This is a area I always wanted to discover. I found a free version of CM Hokes book http://www.scribd.com/doc/2815953/Re...astes-C-M-Hoke I started reading it and Im already confused.

I have read it and am now in the shopping for supplies stage. It sure is an old copywrite, I wish the prices were still the same for labware.

Torker, a pic is worth at least a few words, here's a nice looking rollback. The bed will tilt down and you use the winch(not a wench) and drag the vehicle onto the bed if it's disabled. Can even do it without wheels.

Originally Posted by ChinaRedneck

The trick is to mix the computer parts with "mixed" scrap like motors, so the countries customs does not get to tax the heck out of it. Some companies have good "relations" with customs anyway.

There are a bunch of these companies popping up everywhere now for a good reason.

Are you suggesting tax fraud among other things?

Originally Posted by injunjoe

Are you suggesting tax fraud among other things?

Please explain further

I have seen this thread before and thought to post but never did. Now that it's popped up again, I think I'll take a shot at this.

If I am assuming I am starting with nothing at all, no tools, no licensing, no vehicle, nada. Just the house I lived in assuming it had a garage. And also assuming that I am attempting to start a business, not just to do this as a hobby. Assuming these things I think this is what I would do.

First, I would get a business license, it's alright to start small, but why not have the option to also attract larger customers. With a business license, this makes you legit. Most places you can get a DBA and a home business license/small business license for under $100.

Next I would find out what laws I was required to comply with, and what licensing I qualified for doing business out of my garage as opposed to doing business out of a rented or leased location. You would be surprised by the difference in the two. If there was enough difference where I lived I would look for the smallest place to lease, in many places you can do this in a storage facility because they are considered industrial, then get all the licensing you need. So lets assume the storage facility locker is going to cost you $250 per month for one of an adequate size.

You can pick up barrels to use initially to separate your material, the big blue plastic barrels can be found all over the place. I have several I have altered for leach tanks, or classification containers, some I was able to get for free from industrial parks where businesses were being supplied different chemicals or DI water, some I had to purchase for about $10 dollars each. So lets say you spend another $100 dollars on barrels to classify.

You can get away with making your own benches, I started with old doors laid across old kitchen cabinets. Later, when I started refining on a larger scale I picked up a few free pool tables made of slate, and laid those across welded metal frames, and still later I picked up laboratory cabinets for $100 dollars each and laid the slate across those. I still use them, they are almost identical to what labs use, and cost me very little. But lets stick to just starting out, old doors across old cabinets will do the trick, provide storage space, and probably will cost you little if nothing, but lets say another $100.

A man can only do a job as good as his tools, so buy the best and make sure you get tools that you can replace for free. If you buy at harbor, get the extended warranty but otherwise this is where I would spend the bulk of the money, lets say another $1000 in good tools.

I wouldn't purchase a truck, the expense is too much to bear initially, plus you would not be able to purchase a new truck so you will probably suffer breakdowns, etc. Instead, to start with, I would schedule pick up days, and just rent a truck for the day. Once my business was supporting itself, I would then use the business to lease a vehicle. The benefit in this is that you get to claim your lease against your business taxes at the end of the year, and also, if you are a c-corp you will be able to protect yourself if your business goes broke because so far as the law is concerned your c-corp is considered an entity and your lease is against your corp federal tax ID number, and not your personal credit. Instead of having to depreciate an asset, you can write your lease amount as a business expense against your taxes. Plus all the maintenance is taken care of under your lease agreement. So lets say initially you have 4 pick up days a month, and spend $100 each time you rent a truck for a day for a total of $400 per month. Once you establish you can afford $400, your lease will be similar and it won't be a stretch to make the lease payment. But the great thing is that if you cannot afford it, you don't have to pay it initially you just schedule 1-2 times a month instead.

Go to your local good will and buy a nice suit that fits properly, you will spend another $50 dollars, but the investment will come back ten fold the first time you land an industrial contract, or permission to remove scrap from a industrial business.

Cell phone and answering service. You can get an answering service for about $80 per month, having a live voice answering your calls during business hours not only makes you sound professional but will also make your customers feel you care about them by having a real human answering their calls 24/7. Plus you can decide when to take calls on your cell phone, or forward them to your answering service.

Spend another $30-$50 dollars and buy a website name that reflects your business name. And hose on a service like Host Gator for another $20 per month or so. The value in having an email address and website that explains your mission is invaluable. Most people when searching for a business no longer look through the yellow pages, but instead go to google. Make sure you rank well, and make sure your website keeps it nice, short and sweet. Hire someone to put a page up for you for another $100.

Make business cards that reflect the professionalism of your business, service, etc. Make sure you have your business number as well as web address but I would leave out your location address. You are not going to be in the storage unit forever, and you don't really want people stopping by to drop stuff off, you want to build a business that is service orientated, you want to pick up scrap and in this way also decide what you want to take away. Don't be a dump site for your customer's garbage, you will quickly turn into an unworkable dumb site.

Whatever money you have left over I would open a business account with, and get your checks.

I'm sure I have left a lot out, but if I were to start a scrap business from scratch, I believe this is the foundation I would start with. Not difficult to start up, not a huge overhead, the ability to choose how much or how little you spend per month, yet still retaining the ability to land big accounts. Room for growth or survivability if things go bad. I believe this is dynamic enough to weather today's market without putting you in the poor house.

Scott

hey scott, you mentioned the answering service, would they be able to answer basic questions and maybe even make quotes? or would they simply just give me a number to call back?

Some answering services will state pre-agreed upon messages. It depends on the service and how they operate.

In the help desk world, companies outsource to help desk answering services that cater to their needs. It's just a matter of finding the right service provider for the right price, how much you are willing to spend to get what you want.

Scott