Want to Start a Scrapping Career....Advice???

Hey guys,

I want to start a scrapping business/career, not hobby, and I'm glad to find this forum!!!

To start off, I'm 25, come from a long line of entrepreneurs and have a strong entrepreneurial spirit. I graduated from a top 30 University and have been working IT sales for the last 2 years. I hate it...(biweekly performance reviews, sitting in a cubicle all day everyday) and am thinking about starting a scrap yard. My degree was in Finance (I know having a scrap yard isn't exactly rocket science, but I have limited knowledge), but would you guys advise it getting into the business full-time?

I should have approximately $15k saved up to start, but can it be a lucrative career path? I know I can make money, but what do medium sized yards pull in annually, profit wise? 200,000-300,000+? I currently live in Denver but would plan on moving to a coastal city, like Jacksonville or Charleston, for selling/shipping purposes.

I know this is dreaming big, but that's what you need to do to get rich nowadays. No more corporate BS for this guy...any and all advice is greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

Do what makes you happy.

Scrap is cut throat, you really have to enjoy it.

I frequently hear "there is a lot of money in that business" or "that is lucrative". That is all relative... what it means is inventory is expensive. I know guys in logistics that are brokers, working out of a bedroom office making over 100k a year.

Doesnt matter what business you are in, there is money in it if done right. That is just my two cents.

I'd suggest getting plenty of experience in buying/selling scrap metal and electronics before getting a yard. Unless you plan on hiring a manager and a buyer. Either way - Lots of research.

Welcome to the forum. Sounds like you have a lot of reading to do here.

Enjoy.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by mrayrage19

Hey guys,

I want to start a scrapping business/career, not hobby, and I'm glad to find this forum!!!

To start off, I'm 25, come from a long line of entrepreneurs and have a strong entrepreneurial spirit. I graduated from a top 30 University and have been working IT sales for the last 2 years. I hate it...(biweekly performance reviews, sitting in a cubicle all day everyday) and am thinking about starting a scrap yard. My degree was in Finance (I know having a scrap yard isn't exactly rocket science, but I have limited knowledge), but would you guys advise it getting into the business full-time?

I should have approximately $15k saved up to start, but can it be a lucrative career path? I know I can make money, but what do medium sized yards pull in annually, profit wise? 200,000-300,000+? I currently live in Denver but would plan on moving to a coastal city, like Jacksonville or Charleston, for selling/shipping purposes.

I know this is dreaming big, but that's what you need to do to get rich nowadays. No more corporate BS for this guy...any and all advice is greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

---

Why don't you take that 15k and buy a good truck, trailer, and tools and you should have several grand left over for operating expenses............Then you will find out if you really wanna be in this biz...........I make money but I truly love what I do but at times it is hard on the body and frustrating

Thanks for the responses so far. I won't be planning on starting for at least a year, so I'll have plenty of time to do the research which I know is extremely important/necessary. Again, please keep the advice coming!

And I know you can make money doing a lot of different things and that I will need to start small. Just curious how much a well established scrap yard owner can pull in annually.

Basically to sum up what ewasted said do you have a heart or no heart at all. The most successful people i have meet in this industry aren't afraid to step on peoples throats to get what they want and need. Its the most cut throat industry there is in america. Its not so cut and dry as you would like to think. There are so many things that go into making it a success. I will give you one piece of advice stay at your day job if you have lived in a sterile office environment your whole life then this is not the industry for you. I don't fault you for wanting to try the scrap game but having zero experience you are gonna do nothing more then lose your investment and much more then that. A medium size scrap yard handles 5,000 to 10,000 tons of scrap in a month. If they paid 230 dollars a ton for everything crossing the scale that month. That is 1,150,000.00 to 2,300,000 a month just in inventory. Do you really think 15,000 is gonna cut it to start off with. I understand you want to dream big but for every success story there are 100 dreamers out there in this industry. There are two types of people out there. Those that make things happen and those that wonder what happened. Which do you want to be? Good luck.

Welcome to the forum.

Your probably blow thru that 15 grand just getting thru the red tape. Start out by picking up any metal and anything that plugs in(don't get nuts with the tvs though). Do some research on here to learn how to break it down to maximize your profits.

How many yards have you been to? No it may not be rocket science but the yards need to make money to survive...they are not backed by the Feds like NASA is.

You obviously believe in the importance of education. With your IT knowledge you have a leg up on a lot of people here. Now educate yourself on the ewaste potential. If you hate your current job then I would suggest trying to get a new IT job in a coastal city and start making connections while you decide if your really do hate that line of work. Sometimes one employer can make your job seem like hell and the next can make you look forward to going to work each day.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that you've invested a lot of yourself getting your degree so don't be so quick to kiss that goodbye. If you really decide IT work is not for you then start educating yourself for your next career. That education starts right here.

Good luck in your endeavors. Keep a few things in mind. Yard owners have to deal with a lot of things. Finding workers willing to work in dangerous dirty places for low wages. Dealing with people trying to sell you stolen items. Dealing with EPA and local authority. Dealing with market prices that swing crazier than a hyperactive monkey on a caffeine high. Tax audits. Expensive equipment. Repairing expensive equipment.

There is money to he made but it takes a certain brand.

you really need to specialize in this industry to make money right now, id look into escrap and catalytic converters

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by mrayrage19

Thanks for the responses so far. I won't be planning on starting for at least a year, so I'll have plenty of time to do the research which I know is extremely important/necessary. Again, please keep the advice coming!

And I know you can make money doing a lot of different things and that I will need to start small. Just curious how much a well established scrap yard owner can pull in annually.

---

Define well established scrap yard owners?
Judging from the way you are approaching this, in my interpretation of your inquiry it seems to be more geared towards money than anything else. Dont be misled that this easy money or quick money, or even good money. I can tell you a number of times we have worked 3 quarters of the year to make up for a quarters losses.
Alot of the guys that will tell you it is easy also arent paying all of the taxes that go along with running a recycling facility, nor do they pay for the appropriate insurances.

I'm 35 and my whole body aches when I get up from long hours spent in trucks, picking up heavy objects, dismantling scrap etc.........It's not just hard on the financial end but the wear and tear on the body.......Are u ready to work in pain, cut yourself wide open and just rub sum dirt on it.......Willing to dig through piles of trash to find that one gem..........The list goes on and on.......BEST OF LUCK

If you have a year to learn it. My best suggestion would be to stop everything you are doing and go apply at a scrap yard. Yeah 10 to 12 an hour but the experience is priceless. If you are really willing to learn it then that is how you do it. Start small think BIG. IT'S A LONG WAY TO THE TOP IF YOU WANNA ROCK AND ROLL.

I also have to ask how mechanically inclined are you? If something breaks and you don't have this or that part can you patch it back together to get the job done for the day until you can get the right part? A lot of this business is shear will to succeed. Are you competitive? Do you want to dominate in your craft of specialty? Are you motivated? No one is going to get you up in the morning and get to work other then yourself. You can't miss work its not an option when you are first starting out. You have to work those long nights to get a payday and a vacay.

By the way Yeah I just linked this website to anyone looking up that AC/DC song on google. Gotta love it.

Well I think we have made it sound bad enough (LOL)

Not making it sound bad just being real. I can't understand the perception that some people have that this is an easy industry to learn and understand. When its so complex and diverse. No one just dives in and gets rich right off the bat. I didn't just jump in and start making money hand over fist. I had to put in time and learn learn learn. The learning part was never ending it seemed like. Eventually the light clicked on though and I started to lead instead of follow. Being a leader leads to bigger and bigger things which brings me to where I am at now. You can't learn from others forever eventually you have to go out and blaze your own trail.

Quote:

---

You can't learn from others forever eventually you have to go out and blaze your own trail.

---

I like the way you said that, a torch master blazing his own trail,,,lol

If money is the really the only motivator (which always is, but you know what I mean) then like somebody else said look into Catalytic Converters. Spend the year researching the types, materials, recycling process and plants, and if your lucky make friends with a core buyer. The supply is almost endless and seems they are getting more valuable in todays vehicles (specifically diesel), not much to running the business if your a middle man. Cash + Quantity can make big bucks pretty quick in that business, But you really HAVE to know your stuff or you can go broke even faster.