Hello All!
Over the last six months I have been voraciously reading everything I can on business and electronic scrapping and have finally taken the plunge into bootstrapping my own ecycling business. The information on this forum has been invaluable and has taken a lot of time to sort through and learn. But it has been worth it! So with things now moving I decided to start a thread on the forum to keep track of what I am doing, keep myself accountable, and let more experienced people tell me what I am doing right and wrong.
The idea started brewing in my mind last fall as a way to join my interests in technology, sustainability, and entrepreneurship. There was no way I was going to begin just as it was getting cold and the winter was coming up so I instead spent a bunch of time reading and researching. Now that it is finally getting warm up here in Wisconsin I've pulled the trigger and started moving forward.
So here is what has been done over the past two weeks: met with a number of businesses/nonprofits about future partnerships, put the word out to friends and family, formed an LLC, spoke with a trademark lawyer, repurposed my eBay account for reselling, started the search for a business mentor, completed the business plan, registered a website, spoke with a logo designer, and picked up about 150 pounds of electronic waste. There is a long way to go but I'm hoping I'm on the right track.
My intent is to go big within my local region. There was a comment by olddude on some thread I ran across where he talked about going big over the next 5 years before the ewaste landscape changes drastically. It was great advice. And, well, that's the plan. So I am planning for volume and also looking down the road to R2 and eStewards certification if the business pans out. I know its a ways out but you have to have a vision right?
Things I am learning:
It takes a ton of effort to start a business right (the intent is for this to be a sole source of income) and look at the big picture. However, don't miss the fact that only day-to-day scrapping is what will ultimately cause your business to succeed or fail.
You always have to be willing to adapt. My main business customer segment has shifted three times since I started planning and talking to many people. I now am pursuing a specific line of customers I never would have thought would be significant six months ago.
You can file an LLC yourself through the state and save tons of money over going to an attorney or using an online service.
Depending on how you are looking to brand your business, naming a business can be a pain. It takes a long time to get it right, but if you do it right you can generate tons of free advertising through word-of-mouth and a catchy/memorable name.
Always listen to advice from other people...even if you initially think it's worthless. At least evaluate it. I don't know everything for certain and I've learned many things from random people or gotten new ideas.
What's happening now?
I'm going back to a nonprofit this week with a proposal, which I need to write yet. So I've gotta nail down what I am going to offer them per pound to pick up community electronic waste drop-off. I think I can do about 20 cents a pound for desktops and 10 cents a pound for everything else, but I'm not sure yet. Am I on the right track? The biggest issue for me is how to handle CRT monitors and TVs. I want to accept them but what I would REALLY like to do is accept them for free. However, my current downstream supplier charges 10-12 cents per pound to accept the tubes. Plus I need to ship them there. I've been told I could never get enough value out of disassembly to cover the costs of disposing of the tubes. I've got a number of the threads here on the forum bookmarked regarding TV and monitor breakdown so I will be reading through them again but if anyone has any advice in this area I would appreciate hearing it.
Well, that's what I got to start off the journey. I'll answer any questions I can. Any and all advice is appreciated. I hope to learn more and share what I learn with all of you who have indirectly been incredibly helpful. Now I am off to unload a bunch of stuff out of my car to break down and research. Take care!
Bookmarks