The Hustle
Years in Tampa Bay
21
Hustle (job)
Pet Waste Technician/Business Owner
What do you do?
We offer a professional dog waste scooping and removal service to residential and commercial locations throughout Pinellas County Florida.
Why do you do it?
Partially to help keep our groundwater and waterways less polluted by E. Coli, and our pets and children safe from pollutants. I can’t say that the fresh air and sunshine has nothing to do with it. Tampa Bay sports some of the best weather around and being outside (instead of an office) is refreshing.
What was your Catalyst? (How did you get started?)
A light bulb went off when it was raining out several year as ago. Volunteering for a local rescue and having an occasional foster I was fastidious about waste clean up to protect my elderly special needs tiny dog. As I sat outside enjoying the fresh air I thought to myself that I wish I had scooped before it started raining, and then thought well I sure would have had I been paid to do it. I love the rain, so that was mostly an excuse. (My business scoops in the rain). But I ran with that idea immediately. I found out after researching how very bad leaving it in the ground was for pets, children and our waterways, and how it contributed to red tide, which gave me more passion to spring into action and start working on cleaning it up one yard at a time. I just hired my first employee, which is exciting, and started a retirement plan. I am hoping to grow to four employees in the next few years.
What’s a common misconception or unknown aspect of what you do?
Poop is heavy. You can be lifting 25-50 pounds of it, depending on the service intervals and size of the dogs. When people apply for a position, that is not ever something they consider. And many people don’t realize it’s a “thing”.. I didn’t when I ran with it. I meet more people asking me about it at stoplights, grocery stores etc. Many of us are professionals, have insurance, are licensed members of waste management affiliations and some are certified waste techs. It’s a 3.8 billion dollar business across the USA.
What’s the most challenging part of your Hustle?
Getting the word out there we are here to make people’s lives easier.
What’s the most valuable piece of business advice/insight that’s helped you?
Never listen to others! Do your thing and do it well!
