Step 1: Video -> Step 2: Economics Deck -> Step 3: Meet with Casey
STEP 1: WATCH THIS VIDEO: THE BASICS
Think a Bin Cleaning Business Is in Your Future?
Our trailers cost $55k with marketing tools included. Equipment financing is available.
But owning a business is a commitment.
In this video, Casey talks you through the basics of the business model, a day in the life, and more.
Check it out.
Did you watch? Pinky swear?
If you liked what you saw, let’s see how serious you are. Now you’ve got some homework that will help you decide if you can really be a successful can cleaning business owner.
I’m Ready: Show Me the Economics
Think a Bin Cleaning Business Is In Your Future?
Our trailers cost $55k with marketing tools kit. Equipment financing is available.
But owning a business is a commitment.
Equipment + Effort = Profit
Equipment without effort just gathers dust.
This presentation will walk you through the pros & cons of owning a can cleaning business, so you can make an informed decision (and we can avoid spending time with someone for whom it really doesn’t make sense).
Got It! Enlighten Me, CaseyWe’re Going to Cover These Topics…So Hopefully You Can Decide What Makes Sense For You
Can Cleaning Business Viability/Economics
Equipment Details
Cost & Financing
Operational Details
Market Insights
Support & Training
Challenges & Risks
Scalability
Competitor Comparison
Makes Sense…Let’s Do ItCan Cleaning Business Viability/Economics
How Much Can I Realistically Earn in the Business?
Bin cleaning agreements are for you to decide with your client. We see $30/cleaning for monthly agreements and $45/cleaning for quarterly agreements fairly commonly.
For a deep dive on math, we’ll pick a middle number: A single, two-bin cleaning going for $40.
Our trailers can service 45+ two-bin customers in a row on the internal fresh water tank, depending on how dirty the bins are and how is operating the equipment.
The right software will charge each stop’s credit card as you complete the work.
So a full-to-empty route is worth $1800 and that takes 3-4 hours if you’re building your routes correctly (dense/urban) and are adept at using your equipment.
Here’s a chart that shows you what you can make annually by stacking up dense routes and running multiple per day.
That’s a lot of money right? But understand that 200 stops in a single day means you marketed and sold your services to 200 clients for that single day and 1000 for the whole week, which is the realm of seasoned bin cleaners running multiple daily routes.
As a startup, we suggest you aim for 30-50 stops per day and 2500 recurring customers. That’s a really nice, super profitable book of business that opens up all kinds of possibilities and should settle out around $500k/year in gross revenue/sales.
You’ll have one-time customers as well as can leverage pressure-washing gigs in the beginning until you have a deep subscriber base.
So anyone considering growing a big can cleaning business needs to really understand that they are going to be doing a lot of sales in the beginning. It’s not a complex sale and neither is getting paid, but it does require work.
How Many Customers Do I Need to Break Even?
Right now, the financed cost for our Ultimate trailer is ~$1200/mo so that’s 30 stops/customers a month. Factor in that you need gas, repairs, marketing, etc. and you might as well consider your break even point as a full trailer route per month.
So land 45 recurring clients per month and you’ll break even, but’s that not the goal.
Keep in mind that most residential cans don’t need to be cleaned every month. They’re often quarterly.
So work to land 45×3 = 135 recurring clients and you should be at break even on a can cleaning business running a financed trailer for a nice morning route.
We call that the magic morning…why? Because you work the morning and have the rest of the day to do whatever you want.
Have a bunch of magic mornings every week and you’ve got a real business!
Understand that pickup day for a particular street is one of Monday through Saturday, so day by day you can work different streets/neighborhoods.
What’s the Average Retention Rate?
There’s nothing you can do about natural attrition. People move eventually.
But if you choose affluent neighborhoods and do a great job, you can expect to retain over 95% of your clients annually.
And if you’re serious about the business, you’ll be dropping bin hangers on properties that don’t use your services anyway, right?
So acquiring more customers than you lose to natural attrition shouldn’t be a problem if you’re being disciplined about prospecting and taking great care of your clients.
Bonus 1: Properly-branded can cleaning equipment is literally a rolling billboard.
Bonus 2: People love this service and if you take care of them, you’ll get referral sales funnel going organically.
Bonus 3: If you want to grow outside of your current neighborhoods, we can assist you with digital marketing support and/or training.
Economics Understood…What About Equipment?Equipment Details
How Does Your Equipment Work & Is It Easy to Use?
Professional can cleaning equipment has some critical components that come in different form factors that are all part of what is commonly referred to as a “rig” in can cleaner speak:
- Wheels: This business is about bringing specialized equipment to clients who don’t already have it. Even if they have a pressure washer, they don’t want to do this job. There are truck-based rigs and trailer-based rigs.
- Clean Water Reservoir: These are big tanks that you fill before you start your route.
- Pressure Washer: Heated versions do the best work and blast water from your clean reservoir through both a spinning nozzle and a traditional wand.
- Can Lifter: This is a device that make it easy to transfer a can from the ground to the hopper, where it is inverted.
- Hopper: This is an enclosure around the spinning nozzle that keeps the spray contained and collects garbage juice.
- Dirty Water Reservoir: This is where water collected in the hopper goes. Once a route is completed, you visit a partner who has a gray water collection service and drain this. Car washers are often great partners for this.
- Extra Hose: Our trailers include 100 ft of pressure washer hose because pressure washing is a great service to offer as a startup until you get your deep routes developed.
And yes, ease of use is a big deal. We joke about the can cleaning Olympics. That’s not real, but what is real is that you want to knock out lots of jobs really fast (dense routes), and this equipment is designed for that while keeping you clean and not requiring any special physical exertion or awkward motion.
How Many Bins Can Your Trailer Clean on a Full Tank of Water?
Our trailers service roughly 90 bins in a row. Most residential subscribers are two-bin jobs, so you can service roughly 45 houses before needing to drain gray water and refill clean water.
How Much Maintenance Does the Equipment Require?
We have a course on trailer maintenance that includes how to clean lines and change O-rings. Those routine items are not expensive and just need to be scheduled.
On our trailers, we prefer manual can flippers/lifters because you don’t need an extra system to power hydraulics, so those are essentially maintenance free.
Like any vehicle, your trailer tires will eventually need to be replaced at the same interval as normal tires.
Pressure washers need periodic servicing. Changing the oil every 50-100 operating hours is advisable.
What’s Appropriate…Truck or Trailer?
Both trucks and trailers have their pros and cons. As generation-1 can cleaners, we’ve seen so many businesses fail because they bought a really fancy truck and had no capital available to pay for marketing and hadn’t developed the skills themselves either.
If you’re reading this article, you’re likely new to this industry, so we would highly recommend de-risking and giving yourself time to learn the business.
Start with a trailer, which is much more affordable.
You should also strongly consider financing it so you keep more capital on hand.
With our The Ultimate offer, you can actually get your brand kit and website created as part of your equipment financing.
If you want to purchase just the trailer wrapped with your brand, that’s The Flex.
Either way, we don’t want to see more can cleaning businesses fail. We created GarbageCanCleaning.com to give fellow entrepreneurs situationally-specific advice and equipment.
So if your situation is “startup,” go with a trailer. Ignore fancy, huge trucks for now. You’ll know when your business is ready for trucks.
Rhyme: Trailers Over Trucks for Startups
Cost & Financing
What Is the Total Cost of the Equipment (Any Hidden Fees)?
The Flex is $55,000 plus shipping.
Do You Offer Financing or Payment Plans?
For either package, you can get equipment financing through our preferred partner or others and the cost of shipping can be included.
If you’re going the financing route, factor in a 10% down payment and then a $1000-$1250/month payment.
What’s the Return on Investment Timeframe for Your Equipment?
Stinky cans are everywhere.
Using a $40/2-can job, you would need to service 1250 cans to cover the cost of The Flex.
1625 will cover the cost of The Ultimate.
Keeping in mind that most residences choose a quarterly service, you need to get 400 subscribers to cover the cash purchase cost of The Ultimate within a calendar year.
If you get your digital funnels up and put in some bin-hanger time early on, you can go faster. Servicing 90 properties/day is feasible, but you’ll need to put in the work to sign them up.
Cost Understood…How Do I Run This Business?Operational Details
How Do I Price My Services to Stay Competitive?
In most areas of the country, this service doesn’t exist at all. That doesn’t mean you want to charge a crazy price that no one will pay.
If you’re in an area where there actually is a can cleaner, just figure out what neighborhoods they cover and pick others.
There is an incredible amount of white space in this industry.
Right now, $45/two-can cleaning is a reasonable rate on a quarterly subscription.
How Much Does It Cost to Operate the Equipment (Water, Fuel, Cleaning Supplies)?
Fuel cost is actually not that crazy at all because Pro can cleaners work dense routes. How much gas do you use driving less than a mile? Not much.
Many residential water bills are in-part factoring in your sewer usage. If you intend to fill up at home, see if you can get a second meter for your water that won’t go into the local sewer. This will be much more affordable.
The national average for water purchased through local utilities is $1.50 per 1000 gallons, so not very expensive at all.
Alternatively, you may want to work with your gray water partner, who likely has a better rate.
The cleaning is powered by hot water and we recommend adding a little fresh scent when you’re done. A bottle of Fabuloso or similar is a good choice and goes a long way. You can switch up your scent seasonally.
What Kind of Vehicle Do I Need to Tow the Trailer?
Our trailers weigh ~5500 lbs with water onboard. You can check your vehicle’s towing capacity easily online.
An F-150 or similar class truck or SUV with the equivalent frame like an Expedition will do the job perfectly. All the major manufacturers have similar specs for their vehicles of similar size.
Market Insights
Is There Demand for Bin Cleaning In My Area?
Are there dirty bins? Then there is demand and more importantly, little or no supply.
That’s where you come in. If you’re considering joining the industry, go ask some people in your prospective neighborhood if they’d like the service.
You’ll love the response!
How Can I Educate Potential Customers About This Service?
We love helping can cleaners get their branding together and being sure it’s crystal clear how to order the service.
In terms of getting the service in front of strangers, think of the approaches as 1) in-person and 2) digital.
Digital is all about running ads for people searching for things like “garbage can cleaning in [their city]” on Google or targeted social media ads on Instagram in neighborhoods where you want clients.
In-person is about dropping bin hangers, meeting fellow business owners, attending parades and things of that nature, but there’s this really unique built-in marketing aspect to this business.
Imagine you start servicing home 1 on a street with 50 homes. You’re literally driving a rolling billboard down that street every time you service the home. And no one is going to get mad at you for actually stopping to provide your service. So those other 49 folks can’t help but be educated about your service.
Pretty cool, huh?
Are There Examples of Others Who Have Succeeded With This Business?
There are. You’ll find some of those stories in the GCC blog, and we’re working to do a better job of featuring successful can cleaners all over the world. Our other business, Bin Blasters, became so successful that by popular demand, we franchised it in the US and will be able to offer franchises in Canada soon as well.
But we’re generation-1 can cleaners, and we’ve also seen so many fail. It’s usually because they put all their money into a fancy rig thinking it was a true “business in a box” and then realized that they didn’t have sales/marketing skills themselves nor money left over to pay for those skills.
Once you get the basics under control, we’ happy to speak with you about whether or not a Bin Blasters franchise might make sense.
Either way, you’ll find can cleaning businesses launching all over the country with The Flex and The Ultimate, and we’re seeing interest in this industry globally as well because the only other way anybody can accomplish this service creates a garbage juice mess on property and clothing.
Okay…But If I Need Help?Support & Training
Do You Provide Training On How to Use the Equipment & Run the Business?
Every purchase comes with a course on how to operate and maintain our can cleaning trailers.
With The Ultimate package, you also get your branding, website, and print collateral ready for use and 3 months of digital marketing management, so that’s a great way to get some training and then decide whether you want to keep outsourcing digital marketing management or manage it yourself.
Our customers have direct access to our team for any questions regarding their new business. We’ve been in your shoes and understand the struggles and successes you’ll experience. Bottom line, we’re here to help!
For our owners that will have vehicles stored in freezing temperatures, you’ll need to be cognizant of how to store them properly when not in use. Water expands when it turns to ice, so winterization is required if you’re going to take a break. We’re happy to help you with how to do that.
What Kind of Marketing Support or Resources Do You Offer?
The Ultimate has a great starter package included and the great thing is it gets rolled into your equipment financing thereafter.
You’ll also find all kinds of free resources in our “Learn the Biz” content as well as a growing list of premium courses you can take in your spare time.
Is There a Warranty or Service Plan for the Equipment?
Our trailer assembly line is in Utah and we ship to your door, so no, there is no service plan. We do offer a 12-month warranty on the trailer and any custom fabrication, however.
These trailers are designed with reliability in mind and all equipment is chosen for durability.
You do get a 12-month manufacturer warranty on your Honda pressure washer. These machines are designed to run for 1000s of hours if properly maintained. You’ll want to establish a relationship with a local pressure washer sales/repair location when the time comes.
Thereafter, you’ll find everything you need to keep your trailer rocking routes in your local major metro area minus spinning nozzle heads. We keep those in stock and ship overnight for when you need a replacement.
Challenges & Risk
What Are the Biggest Challenges I Might Face in This Business?
- It’s a business. If you’ve never run one, understand that you’ll have to do things you may not enjoy. You may love the idea of driving your rig around and making people smile. We do, too. But we also set aside time for sales, marketing, admin, and maintenance tasks. Just like in any other business, you either need to do those tasks yourself or pay someone to handle it.
- Sales is scary for some folks. If you’ve never “done sales,” we would encourage you to reframe what your business does. You help people. Can you get comfortable with talking to total strangers about whether or not they’d like to pay for your help in doing a job that can be quite nasty without the right equipment?
- Customer service is great or it isn’t. If you tell your client you’ll be there on a certain date and will leave their bins in pristine shape with no garbage juice, you need to do just that. This business requires setting and following a schedule. The job routing software tells you exactly what to do, but you have to do it.
How Seasonal Is the Demand for Bin Cleaning?
Water-based services require some adjustments in colder climes. You might think you’ll have nothing to do in the frozen north but that’s not true! We’ve seen people clean bins all winter in Alaska.
If you’re in a colder area, be sure to bring up winter adjustments when we talk. You’ll want indoor storage between routes. We’re happy to help you with services you can offer in colder areas throughout the winter.
For the middle and southern portions of the country, the type of work is consistent year round.
What Happens If My Equipment Breaks Down During a Job?
One of the reasons we designed The Flex/The Ultimate trailer the way we did is to minimize the risk for this.
The most complex part of the whole setup is the pressure washer. We use Honda GX 630s on our rigs for their reliability, but like anything, if you don’t take care of it, it will eventually fail on you.
In that case, the appropriate thing to do is not charge the client if you weren’t actually able to complete the job.
For folks further along in that route, you simply reschedule with them…usually a week later on their next garbage collection day.
Clients are understanding as long as you communicate with them professionally.
Sounds Manageable…How Big Can I Grow This?Scalability
Can I Scale This Business with Your Equipment?
We sell ready-to-go trailers. So let’s say you bought The Ultimate (which includes your branding, website, and funnel development) and you followed best practices. Now you’re rocking routes and seeing that it’s getting pretty close to full-time for whoever is driving today.
If you felt so inclined, you likely paid off that trailer many times over. It doesn’t take that long to recoup the cost of a trailer even if you paid all cash if you do the marketing and sales work.
Congrats! Being close to full-time is the goal. Now it’s time to think about a second driver…or maybe even two drivers?
Let’s dive in on that driver comment. A lot of can cleaning entrepreneurs start as their own driver and why wouldn’t you? It’s a blast and if you enjoy it as much as we do, you’ll keep servicing some of your clients even when you’re mega successful.
But driving a rig at slow speed, lifting a can, washing it, and returning it isn’t that complex. There are a lot of people in your area that would love a job where that’s what they get to do all day.
And it’s not that expensive. Let’s say you hire someone at an all-in cost of $20/hour. They run 2 routes/day for you in roughly 8 hours. That’s $160 of additional cost and…drum roll…4 stops cover that cost. The Ultimate/Flex can service 45 stops before resupply so a 2-route day is 90 stops or $3600 in gross revenue.
Let’s look at a 20 day work week of 90 stop routes.
Gross Revenue: $40/stop x 90 stops/day = $3600/day x 20 days = $72,000/month
Employee Cost: $20/hour x 8 hours = $160/day x 20 days = $3,200/month
Financed Trailer Cost: $1200/month
Your numbers will vary as you build routes, and you don’t need to have a full-time employee until you have the routes to support it. You have plenty of room to pay them more if you desire.
But in summary, yes, this business is very scalable.
What Happens If I Want to Expand and Add More Trailers?
The most affordable way to get a second rig is to purchase The Flex. We need ~60 days to produce a new trailer for you, brand it, and ship it to your door.
Yes, you can finance it.
Yes, you can order more than one at once.
Once you’ve got your client acquisition engine primed, you’ll feel the need for more equipment coming pretty quickly, and we’ve got you covered.
I’m Loving It…But What About Other Equipment Providers?Competitor Comparison
How Does Your Equipment Compare to $150k-$200k Trucks?
There are many can-cleaning startup horror stories that surround buying expensive equipment without a plan.
Fundamentally, our trailers are named “The Flex” for a reason. They create flexibility in every way and for a startup, that also means breathing room to figure out the fundamentals of the business.
- Low Purchase Cost: We don’t want to you to spend a lot of money on equipment, especially when that might mean there is no money for sales and marketing.
- Low Maintenance Cost: The most complex piece of The Flex is the pressure washer, and it’s a Honda. We all know about Japanese reliability. There are spinning nozzles heads that cost $4000. Ours cost $1250 and we keep them inventory in case you need a replacement.
- Low Risk of Downtime: When your cleaning equipment and drive train are all the same, that means any drive train issue prevents you from cleaning clans, period. Engine, transmission, etc. problems mean you can’t work that day. And not just any mechanic or oil change place is willing to work on a really big vehicle. Can cleaning trucks also typically come with hydraulic lifts, which is a critical system that can break. Ours use a manual lifter and let’s face it, empty trash cans just don’t weigh that much, especially when you have a hinge and leverage to flip them.
- Multiple Revenue Streams: Our trucks come with 100 feet of pressure washer line, and that’s a great service to offer while you build routes. The per job rate is much higher.
- Lower Capacity: When you’re ultra successful, you’ll know how to properly evaluate whether or not going all-in or part way on trucks makes sense. If you’re big enough to have back up rigs, service contracts, or even an in-house mechanic, you can run higher capacity trucks while significantly reducing the impact of a mechanical failure. With trailers, you do have to fill up your reservoir more frequently. That’s the main drawback.
We don’t want to see more failed can cleaning businesses.
Why Is Your Trailer a Better Option?
You’ve probably gathered that from above but we designed our trailers with business growth being the goal, not profit per unit sold.
When this industry started, the early equipment providers started with a high price point and high margin truck that kind of looks like a standard garbage truck. That’s great for them because they make their money on the sale of the vehicle and that’s it, because these guys also know that a lot of their buyers won’t be around in a year.
But at GarbageCanCleaning.com, we’re not a one-and-done firm. We built this business to support can cleaners at their current stage and help them get to the next stage. So while we make less money on trailers than we could if we wanted to build our own new trucks, we’re in it for the long haul.
If you combine our trailer and knowledge with your effort towards the goals we share freely, you’re a lot more likely to need more trailers, parts, and other support for years to come.
And then you’ll be able to have the lifestyle you deserve…and that’s what this business is all about.
Schedule
Got It? Still Want to Talk with Our Team About Purchasing a Can Cleaning Trailer?
That was a lot of reading, right? You’ll be doing a lot more if you want to get a business off the ground.
If you’re sure you’re ready, we’d love to talk to you. And if you’re on the fence, maybe it’s better to hold off?
I’m Ready to Buy…Let’s Meet I Need to Evaluate FurtherI Get It…I’m Ready to Buy a Trailer Now
Okay, we look forward to collecting your deposit. We’ll help you get your financing application in if required. Please find a convenient time for a one-on-one.
Sounds Cool…But I’m Not Ready Yet
Not a problem. We host a group Zoom call where you can ask questions along with other prospective can cleaners every Monday at 6pm MT.
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