When I got started scrapping I used to take a 1/4 of my paycheck and use it for buying scrap. When I got time outside of work I would prep the stuff. Let the money come back and always used some more off the paycheck from work, took all the profit from the scrap and leave it solely for scrap. Everyone has a little bit of slow times, and faster times. If you don't have cash on hand, your not ready. The easiest way to try to get the work out for example is: live radio shows (Local radio for buying and selling), craigslist, facebook, word of mouth, fliers, cards, town clean-ups, ect.. If you want to be dominant offer $ that you know will kill out your competitors, even if you hardly make money on that particular piece or person you are buying from. It's like the stock market. Buy as low as you possibly can and sell as high as you can. I had always tried to find the biggest buys I could afford. (example: if I had $100 in hand I would look for something as close to $100 as I could and leave myself a little wiggle room for fuel). Invest the most you can and the return is always higher, making you more money in the end. After you get the ball bouncing you can relax a little bit but keep on top of everything so nobody is knocking on your back door. There is nothing wrong with being a little slow starting to a rock solid foundation, with a well built base you can build anything.