529: Giving a Crap with Erica Krupin
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What does it take to run a successful dog waste removal business that goes beyond just scooping poop? In this episode, Erica Krupin, owner of Kroopin's Poopin Scoopin, shares the behind-the-scenes realities of managing her growing business. She emphasizes the importance of providing an exceptional customer experience, from building trust through reliability to creating peace of mind with professional services. Erica dives into the challenges of hiring and retaining great employees, explaining how paying well and setting clear expectations helps her maintain a high standard of service. She also talks about the complexities of pricing for quality and managing company vehicles, highlighting how investing in these areas ensures long-term success. With her down-to-earth approach, Erica offers valuable insights into what it truly takes to lead a thriving, people-centered business.
Main topics:
Importance of customer experience
Hiring and retaining employees
Pricing for quality services
Managing company vehicle policies
Building trust through communication
Main takeaway: The service we provide is simple, but there’s so much behind the scenes to ensure everything runs smoothly.
About our guest:
The reason why Erica started this company is a two fold answer. She knows the number one reason people don’t want to own dogs is because they dislike cleaning up after them. Her mission is to provide an outstanding Pet Waste Removal service that takes care of their #2 so people can spend more time with their #1. Creating a solid foundation is the key to any success in life, business, friendship, marriage, and she believes it all starts with treating people with a little RESPECT.
Links:
Previously on Episode 43: https://www.petsitterconfessional.com/episodes/043-kroopin-poopin-scoopin
To stay up to date with Erica and her latest updates, check out her other social media channels:
📺YouTube: Subscribe to Kroopin's Poopin' Scoopin' at https://www.youtube.com/c/Kroopin’sPoopinScoopi🖼️Instagram: Follow The Scoop Podcast at https://www.instagram.com/the.scoop.podcast/.
🖼️Instagram: Follow Kroopin’s Poopin Scoopin at https://www.instagram.com/kroopins_poopin_scoopin/
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A VERY ROUGH TRANSCRIPT OF THE EPISODE
Provided by otter.ai
SUMMARY KEYWORDS
business, scooping, vehicle, work, pet, hire, clients, good, service, erica, person, dog, company, business owner, poop, customers, truck, commercial, deodorizer, experience
SPEAKERS
Erica K., Collin
Collin 00:02
Welcome to pet sitter confessional today, we're brought to you by time to pet and the peaceful pet music, calm music for pets. YouTube channel today we are super excited to have a returning guest, Erica Krupin. She was back on episode almost four and a half years ago, so it's been a hot minute, and super excited to have Erica back on to talk about her poop scooping business. What's changed since we've last gotten to speak with her, and some of the things that she's been working on? So, Erica, it's an absolute pleasure to have you back on the show. I couldn't believe it. I looked it's been over four years, and I had to lay down for a minute. So for those who haven't gone and listened to that episode, can you please tell us a bit more about all that you do?
Erica K. 00:43
Yeah? Well, first of all, I can't you just blew my mind when you said four and a half years ago, when I was telling my husband, I thought it was like maybe two years ago. So I have no, I have no concept of time, right? Yeah. Um, but yeah. So my, my name is Erica croupin. The business is called Kroopin's Poopin Scoopin. It's a dog waste removal business. We service residential and commercial properties, and it we do what it sounds like we do. We we take care of dog waste for people so they don't have to. It is an incredibly simple like business like, what we do is simple, but there's so much stuff that goes behind the scenes to really make sure that it keeps running smoothly, and that's kind of what I've really just been focusing on and working on, is mastering and getting better at those practices, becoming a better businesswoman, trying to learn how to lead a Team and navigate the ups and downs and the emotions that come along with just being a business owner in general.
Collin 01:47
I love how you point out that it's like the service itself is incredibly simple, but, like, running the service is incredibly complicated. And I think that that is, man, that's so true in a lot of what we do, isn't it? Of like, well, at the core, this doesn't take, it's not a rocket science to just to do the actual thing, but to do it repeatedly. Do it reliably. Do it professionally. Also manage this. Take care of that. Schedule this. Take care of these fires. Like, that's really where the complications and headaches kick in.
Erica K. 02:17
Yeah, the Yeah, the service providing this. The service is simple. I mean, we we go to the house, we scoop the dog waste, but there's more that goes into it. Because why would they hire us versus hiring a kid down the street, the street to scoop the waste, or forcing their kid to do it? They're hiring us because we're providing an excellent experience for them, we are reliable. We're going to show up. When we say we're going to show up, we're going to go the extra mile. And they're going to know that. Let's say, for instance, they go to work, they come home, their dog waste is going to be taken care of, and they can literally think about or do anything else other than scoop that dog waste. And that's what I've really been focusing on, is just really creating that wonderful customer experience with our customers. Yeah,
Collin 03:06
that that it is that experience right? Because you're right, when people have so many options that they can go after that they can look towards what really is going to be, making them come back. Day after day, time after time, you actually have this sentence on your website that I absolutely loved when I was looking at it, you said, Do you have a favorite bill to pay? No, just wait, coupon, scoop and scoop, and we'll fill that spot today. I love that take on making this a joy for people to look forward to it taking place. Where did this idea come from?
Erica K. 03:38
It was from a customer, actually, she, I don't know if she had wrote it in a review or wrote it on a comment, like on my Facebook page, but she said, literally, that krugman's poop and scooping is her favorite bill to pay. And it just got me thinking, I'm like that. Well, first of all, is wonderful. Like, thank you so so much. And so I took that and added that to the website, but literally, it straight up, came from our customer's mouth. What
Collin 04:09
do you think it is about your service that would make it somebody's favorite bill to pay?
Erica K. 04:13
It's because scooping dog poop isn't it's not hard in itself. It's very similar to like you buy a treadmill because you're gonna work out at home, and then the treadmill just collects clothes and dust. It's like, you can do it as long as you're able bodied, right? You can do it, but finding the time, being intentional with it, and keeping up on it, is what the hard part is. And it's not like the dog poops gonna go anywhere. It's going to stay there until somebody takes care of it. So it becomes a burden on people, and it's just one of those, like nagging things that's like, I need to take care of it. I need to take care of it. And so we're priced. We're not too high, but we're not too low to where it's it just. Makes sense where it's like, I would be more than happy to pay this bill so I can offload this and do anything else. And so I really do think that it just gives people, like a sense of mine, or peace of mind that's like, oh, that's taken care of. Now I can worry about something else and move out my life.
Collin 05:20
Yeah, it's, it's finding ways to communicate that to the clients too. Of because you're I like that, that idea of that visual representation of the poop is literally piling up, and I'm sure some clients may even feel guilty or bad about that, and it's just this nagging thing that's always there, always a constant reminder each time they let the dog out, oh, there's that poop I gotta pick up. Oh, there's that poop I gotta pick up. And going, wouldn't you just love some absolution from that, and for never have to worry about this again.
Erica K. 05:47
Yeah, and, and we just, yeah, we just take care of it. And you don't have to wonder, like, when the dog comes in after it rains, is that mud? Is that poop? I'm not sure what's happening here. And a lot of people really get grossed out by dog poop, I didn't realize that so many people like literally cannot handle the sight of it or scent until one of my customers told me, she said that just poop in general, grosses her out so much that she couldn't even change her son's diaper her sister, her sister had to change her son's diaper, and she felt so bad as a mother, but like she she couldn't, she couldn't do it, and so the only way that she was able to have a dog is if she hired a scooper.
Collin 06:31
Wow, again. Just just shows that you can find these services that really fit into those people's lives. Of like, Yeah, you can't not have this service. And not making people feel guilty about it if they don't have it, but just showing the positive. Positives of the kind of experience that they can have in their life, both the positive experience of working with a professional business, of the guarantees, the protections, how things are, the quality of service provide, but also then the quality of life that that person can lead afterwards.
Erica K. 06:57
Yeah, it's all. It all goes into Yeah, it all goes into the business and in the pricing. Because, you know, I do think about all that kind of stuff. I think about the delivery. I think about our presentation. I think about reliability. I think about the people I want to hire that I want to send to the households I want to make sure that they pass a background check, that they have a driver's license, that they're, they're a quality person, because a lot of times you're, we're going to homes where there's elderly people, we're going to homes where there's children, and there's a certain demographic of people that have, you know, rap sheets that I'm not going to send. I'm not going to send somebody that is on an offenders list home. So we are definitely doing those background checks to make sure that everything is as safe as possible
Collin 07:48
well. And that's definitely a question in this, in this day and age, where it's it's hard to find people for your business. I know a lot of people talk about this. They they have complaints, and they moan about, you know, I can't find good workers for somebody in the poop business, What's that process like of finding and attracting quality people who actually find it or have a passion for that?
Erica K. 08:10
So I've, I've struggled with this myself. I actually just recently had to let go of my long term employee because there was some vehicle issues. There was another car accident where the vehicle was totaled, so I had to let her go. So I was thrown back into having to hire. And I was thinking about that in the sense of, like, you have to speak to the person that you're trying you're trying to hire, so you have to get really clear, who do you want? What's your core values as a person like our core my core values at the business like, you need to be punctual, you need to be professional, you need to be organized, and you need to be Oh, I forget the other O. I'll come back to it. But the acronym spells poop, P, O, O, P, why? Drawing a Blank on the other one. And so, so when I'm writing an ad and I'm putting that out there, I'm thinking about like, how am I going to attract this person? How is this going to speak to this person? And so I've been doing a deep dive into this personality profile. It's called disc, D, i, s c, and it has the four quadrants. You have your your DS like your dominant, your I is your influence, and then S C, I can't, I can't exactly remember what those stand for, but you want, like for a scooper. You want an S C, because those personalities, they're going to be loyal to you, they're going to be intentional with their time. They're detail oriented, and they they're nice, but they're not going to be super social, so they're going to be focused. I'm a DI so that that's the reason why I'm a business owner. I'm very dominant. I take charge. Page, but the I softens me, it allows me to do podcasts like this. A Di isn't necessarily the best when it comes to scooping, because I get, I get distracted, you know, like I want to do something else, like, I'll complete something to like 90% and I'm like, Alright, I'm bored. Let's move on. So learning about people's personalities, learning about like, who would be a good fit for it, and then making sure that you're paying, well, I'm not going to be able to get somebody in that's going to have a license, somebody that has a good record, somebody that's going to be dedicated and motivated and pay them 13, $14 an hour. I need to pay good money. It's going to be $16 $18 $20 an hour, plus some bonuses, plus tips, plus words of affirmation, plus I'm going to provide their shoes. And how am I able to do that? I need to have the proper price point to be able to accommodate that. So it's just it's a lot that kind of goes into creating an environment that would attract a a good person. And I just hired this new guy named um Charles, and he's loving it like he he wants to be respected. He wants to be communicated with, which I'll I'll respect you. I'll communicate with you. And he wants to be able to do his job and have the freedom. And I said, as long as you're doing a good job and you're following the guidelines, like we're good, I'm not going to be all over you. Don't worry about it.
Collin 11:29
Yeah, and you're right in stating, and I'm glad that you did about the reason you're able to make some of these decisions, to pay well, to do these things, to buy those boots, is because of your pricing. You've mentioned that a couple times of just that's the core of the business. Our businesses don't function if we don't have money to do things, right? And if we're not priced accordingly. A lot of people think, Well, what does that actually mean? Right? It means not just, are you making money, but do you have money to do business, things in your business, and that at the core of that, you've got to make revenue. You've got to be generating that on a consistent basis, because if you don't have that, you're not able to do these other things. Yeah,
Erica K. 12:07
and it's, it's very true, especially, like, you know, when there's a lot of competition and there's a lot of people that are doing, like, you know, bottom of the barrel work, and they're trying to charge little to nothing. You know, when other people ask, they're like, well, this company will do it for this. And I'm like, I understand, and if you are you're solely focused on the price, then go with that company. But if you're focused on a company that pays their people a livable wage, to where they're happy to come to work and they're happy to provide service, they're in a vehicle that is provided for them, and it is safe, it has air condition, then we're the type of company to go with, because we're going to be here two, 510, years from now. We're looking long term. We're not just looking to make a couple bucks and then shut down like we want to be with you for the extent of your your pet's life,
Collin 13:02
yeah, going this is, if you're wanting that consistency, and that's a big thing for people, it's it's difficult to change companies. And I think we often forget that of just the stickiness of being a business, of once people go through hoops, once they get into your business, once you become integral to their life. You know, people depend on that, and they don't like jumping from person to person to person to person, so playing into that little bit of pain point of like we are in this for the long haul again, notwithstanding any major disasters or health things or whatever, whatever. But like, I have every full intention to showing up every time you schedule me. Can you say that for the person who you've who might be skimping out and not providing this stuff?
Erica K. 13:37
Yeah, and you we're pricing right? We want to show up like we want. We want to get paid. And, you know, also going back to, like, creating a good experience, like we have a CRM where we put in information and notes, so if somebody does leave us and they end up coming back, you know, I'm able to greet them like, hey. Jane Smith, thank you for so much for coming back. Do you still have this dog, this dog, this dog, and you still live at this address? And then they're like, Ah, you remembered me. And then we're, once again, we're creating that good rapport.
Collin 14:16
Yep, software is wonderful because it's like, yeah, I know. I didn't remember you. I used the search feature in my software and found you. But, but people love that. They love being known and seen. It's amazing to know. Like, you can watch this when you see people, like a client, who you might not interact with a lot, but you see them out at the grocery store and you say their name, or you mentioned their pet, they get really excited that you remembered something about them, like, it's that very personal, like, I know you, and I've worked with you, and I have a connection with you.
Erica K. 14:48
No, it's true. I will say, though that I could not pick 90% of my customers out of a lineup, but I do know what their dogs look like.
Collin 14:57
Yeah, I usually just say people like, oh. Your Baxter's dad, hi,
15:03
funny, so true.
Collin 15:05
And you know, you mentioned, one of the things that you mentioned about your building your team, you've talked about a truck, and I am really interested to know how this is working for you. And kind of, when you started doing
Erica K. 15:16
this, oh, getting the trout, the vehicles,
Collin 15:18
yeah, yeah. And how you kind of, and how you manage that too, because I know in the pet sitting world, we talk about this a lot as far as like, do we provide things to our employees and and how to what's the break even between me doing mileage reimbursements versus renting, doing trucks or whatever for them?
Erica K. 15:34
Okay, so I, I've had five company. Vehicles are all together. I have two. I have two left because a one has gotten, gotten to an accident, and then two have been totaled out, and they were company vehicles that were wrapped and they were totaled out by the same and the same employee. And the reason why I like providing the vehicles is because all of my employees are w2 I don't have any 1099, because I I run my business a certain way, and I want them, I want my staff to be a part of their, part of the culture, and operate the way that I want them to operate, because I've proven that it works. I've proven that I'm able to satisfy the customers, they're happy. They leave five star reviews. Like, I, I have almost 400 like, five star reviews. Like, we're at like, 370 or something. So like, I know, I know what works, and I like to keep it simple. And then with the vehicles I'm able to have, I have two Hondas, and then a truck I'm I'm able to set them up the same exact way. So it doesn't matter if a technician is using this car or this car, everything's set up. The bucket is in the same place, the rake is in the same place, the first aid kit, the bags. So then it's almost like repetitive motion, like you just memorize where everything is. So you're able to from Start to Finish, finish a yard within 15 minutes, because it's just like clockwork. And then also, like the branding, I like to have the branded vehicles, like that hot pink color with who we are, what we do, how to get in touch with us. So when we're out and about, like I'm it's a moving billboard, which is super beneficial, but The con of it is like the liability with the accidents and the wear and tear on the vehicles, and so it's just all, it's all really just a part of business at the end of the day, I just, I just, I work it into my prices, and then the customer is who pays for it.
Collin 17:39
And that's a really great perspective, right? The business isn't paying for this. The customers are through the services that we're providing them. And you mentioned, you mentioned the efficiency aspect too. That is something that I wasn't considering of as you were talking, I was reminded of a conversation I had with a friend of ours who who is a firefighter, and them talking about, yeah, we've got two different trucks, and everything's in the exact same way, and we train on them. So we can just hot swap one in for the other, if the engine's down, if we've got to go into something else, if one's already out, we can go in. And they can do that in the dark, and not even have to have any lights to know where things are. And I'm just imagining your crew out there going, Yeah, I don't have to remember, oh, did I put the bucket in the back seat or in the trunk of my car, and was it behind me, or was it here because it's already laid out, and they go back where they're where they're supposed to
Erica K. 18:23
when they're done. Yeah, everything, yeah, everything is exactly where it needs to be. And the Honda HRVs, because I have the cars too, they it's a hatchback too, so there's plenty of room. And then as for the truck, I'm the one that pretty much drives the truck. It's just me, and then I have it set up the way that I want to. I don't actually have that one as efficient as the cars, but the cars are way more efficient, but still, like, I know where everything is, because I'm working out of it. I'm working out of it a little less now, because I did, I do have a new hire, which is super nice, but I do, I do want to ask the new hire which? This just got me thinking. I'm going to ask him which vehicle he prefers scooping out of, because he's been scooping out of both, like he toggles between because on Wednesday, there's two people that go out and because I'm down a vehicle because of the accident. Um, he He scoops in my truck on Wednesday. So I'm going to ask him, like, what do you like better?
Collin 19:20
I love you using new employees for that, those fresh eyes on a business right of going like, Hey, we've been operating like this for a little while. Do you have any input on this? Like, It's fine either way, because I want to make sure that I'm doing it the best way possible.
Erica K. 19:33
I'll tell you what. Nothing makes you realize inefficiencies in your business than hiring a new person that doesn't know what's going on, because you really because think about it. You're in your business every day. You start to memorize notes. You start to just memorize things where you don't even have to think about it. Then you bring somebody on and they're like, Well, why do you do this? Or what's going on over here? And you're like, huh, you're right. I need to document this. So we. Rinse and repeat.
Collin 20:01
Have you heard of time to pet Chris and from raining cats and dogs? Has this to say?
20:05
Becoming a time to pet client has been a game changer for us. We can give our pet services clients real time, cloud based information they never imagined they'd be interested in. And most importantly, to me, personally, I can better manage my company and look forward to more and not a small thing. Time to pet is responsive to my request for new features and modifications to existing ones. If you're
Collin 20:30
looking for new pet sitting software, give time to pet a truck. Listeners of our show, take 50% off your first three months by visiting hindsight.com/confession we I had that happen where I was just training somebody, and I went, Oh, and we do this. And they were studious, and they were reviewing the notes, and they had, I have walked through videos and stuff, and they went, Oh, well, where's that? And I did, I mean, I trained seven people on this, and it finally hit me where I went, oh, oh, it's me. I'm the only one that really knows. Oh no, oh no. Like if I were to go, if I were, you know, in an accident, or if I were a mobilizer, I couldn't be out here or contacted, that information goes away with me, and I cannot have that that okay now and now then it was a okay. I gotta go through and I gotta think through all these things that look at those notes and actually detail those instead of what my brain does is I just fill in the blanks with what's not there, with what I know in my own experience.
Erica K. 21:27
Yep. And so that's exactly what I was going through because I abruptly, like, had to let go of my main scooper. So I've been going through all of the notes, and just like updating them to the point I wanted him to be able to go into a backyard without even talking to me, and feel confident like he knew what the house looked like. He knew if there was an aggressive dog or not. He knew where the fence was located, he knew where the trash can was located, and he would know if it's big or small dogs. And he said the notes were great because he worked for another scooping company, and he said they would tell him aggressive dog the address, and literally, that was it. And so he's like, This is amazing. Like, I feel so prepared.
Collin 22:09
And again, that goes to not just efficiencies for the company of now, now that that person can spend the optimal time there, but it also makes them feel comfortable. Nobody likes walking into situations going well, I don't know. I don't know, like, what's the house? Like, like, who knows Where's, you know, where's the gate? I don't know. I'm just gonna wander around that. Nobody likes that. So being able to have them walk in with confidence really changes that experience for the for the for the for the employee. Yeah,
Erica K. 22:34
and that also helps with, like, attracting and retaining staff members. Because it's like my husband was telling me he does tree work. He said he has never worked outside and worked in a company vehicle that had air condition, never had air condition. And so you think about that with a lot of these jobs where, you know, they are working outside, it's hot, so I want to put them in the good vehicle. I want to put them in the company uniforms where they look professional and they're being treated with respect. I want to make sure that their jobs are set up the way that it needs to be so they're not struggling. Because if they're all frazzled and they're nervous and they're worried, are they in the wrong backyard, how are they going to be able to like focus and be able to provide that excellent customer service that we want them to provide. So it's really important on my end to take that mental load off of them so they can do what I've hired them to do. And
Collin 23:28
as a business owner, we really can overlook that the comfort that those systems and processes give to other people, because we got into a business and created something that didn't have any of that right. We built it from a whole cloth, so whether it exists or not, we're fine. I don't need a PDF to walk me through this stuff. I built it, but to know that we're hiring people who want that structure, they're actually expecting there to be some organization here. They're expecting, when we were first hiring and bringing people into our company, like when they were asking about, well, what's the time off request policy? I was like, the time off request, what? Oh,
Erica K. 24:04
five years. What are you talking about?
Collin 24:08
Like? Alright, I Oh, let me get back to you really quick. And, you know, typey, typey, type here it is. It's like they, they want that. They want those systems to live and breathe in and to abide by and do a good job, because they're looking for that guidance, and we as the employer is going, I need to provide that, because then I can't get mad when they don't follow the thing that doesn't exist, because that's kind of silly.
Erica K. 24:29
Yeah, and creating an employee handbook, it's overwhelming. When I first was like, Oh, I don't know what to do, just little by little, document by document. And if we can circle back to the company vehicle, for anybody that's going to provide a company vehicle, you have to have a company vehicle policy. You have to and you need to have them the person that you're assigning the vehicle to sign it, if you want. I could even. Provide one for, like, if you want one, yeah, like a PDF for people, because I don't know how much I'm allowed to say, but I'm going through the process of somebody filing for unemployment, for termination, sure, and I have to, I have to provide my company vehicle policy that states that if you crash my vehicle or damage it, you could be terminated. Yeah, you know. So it's really important for all of that stuff, like you have to have your rules and have your your boundaries and your guidelines, so people understand where your values are and how to follow the rules and and what will be the consequences if they don't follow it? So if termination does happen or something, they're not like, Well, what do you mean? You blindsided me. It's like, no, it's, it's very clear, black and white, and you signed it on this date,
Collin 25:53
yeah, yeah. That, that word that comes up a lot, is going what recourse do I have? What as a business owner, what legal recourse do I have? And because that's the level that we're in right now. I have taken on the responsibility of legally hiring this person operating as an employer in a legal sense. Now I should, and I do have recourse to take action if policies and procedures not followed, and there are precedents and that you need to talk with a good lawyer about making sure that those are all in alignment with record and not just super crazy and illegal like that. Again, talk to a lawyer, but also knowing, like, that's, that's part of this, too, of me going, No, this is what I'm to follow. And if you don't have it written down, well, you don't really have a leg to stand on. And that's that can be very frustrating when you realize, oh, I didn't, I didn't cover this. And sometimes we just have to learn from experiences, but also talking with other business owners to go, what's standard, right? What is, what do I include in the vehicle policy, like, what? What is, what do other industries do? And talking with other people about
Erica K. 26:51
that, yeah, we it's mainly like driving safely, keeping the vehicles clean. This is going to sound really nasty, but no urinating or defecating in the vehicles, because when people drive a lot weird things happen. Weird things happen. So that is needs, something that needed to be written in the policy not unplugging the company cameras, because we have company cameras in the vehicle that record in and out. Don't unplug those. So that's some of the stuff. There's like, 17 or 18 things that I have, you know, written in there. But a lot of it is stuff that has either happened to me or stuff that has happened to other business owners that we've talked about, and I just kind of compiled that. So, like, you said, it's really, it's good to talk to other people, because you can figure out, like, what other crap has other people gone through to where, like, you wouldn't even think a person would do something like that, right?
Collin 27:53
Yeah. Again, I'm always, I've always taken back to middle school shop class, where the shop teacher, we were learning about all the different equipment in there, and he held up a can of spray paint, and he was showing us the warning signs on it. And there was one, it was like, do not put in drill press. And he was like, now the reason that's on there is because somebody did it. And you're like, why would they? Because I don't know but, but this is what, this is the liability. And now as a business owner, going, I have to have this in there. Why? Because somebody did it at some point or another, business experience that. So this is just part of it, and this is why these agreements get so long. Because we just, we learn, we add, we grow and adapt.
Erica K. 28:31
Yeah, it's true. And if you don't adapt, it's going to be a very painful process after,
Collin 28:38
you know, since we've last spoken, I know you've you've grown, you've expanded a couple different services, service areas and such. How are you? How are you? How are you marketing your services and your business these days?
Erica K. 28:50
So I still do a lot of marketing on Facebook and Google. Those are like my two lead sources. I also post in the next door app on. It's online. It's just called, like, the next door app, because it's local. So if you can kind of get in with that, if you have somebody in your area that would post a recommendation for you, like one of your customers, that's always a really good lead source. The wrapped vehicles are really good lead source. Like, even though it's, like, it sucks. They're expensive. I spent $3,200 on the recent rap just for the vehicle to get totaled and the insurance not to cover it. But during the time that I did have it, created a lot of brand awareness. So with that, with people seeing us on Google, people seeing us on Facebook, and then yard signs, we asked, yeah, we asked every single one of our customers if we could put a yard sign in their yard. And we really just leaned into we're trying to create route density or create awareness in your area to better serve your community. And for the most part, a lot of people, they. Want to help other people. They want to help a small business owner grow and flourish. And then you have some people that are like, what kind of discount can I get? Then, you know, then you have that conversation to figure out what can happen. But all, all of that kind of together, it's a lot of manual work, because I don't, you know, reinvesting back into the cars like that was a lot of money that I reinvested wrapping. I wrapped three vehicles within a month, half or two months of each other, so I didn't have a bunch of money to spend on Google. So it's just like a lot of manual, basic, intentional work.
Collin 30:32
Are people finding, like when you look at your website analytics? Are people or you know, or do you know, when people, are they searching for Poop Scooper near me? Or are they searching, searching for your company by name?
Erica K. 30:44
So that's the issue, is I, I don't know my analytics. I need to find somebody that knows how to do that, sure, but when I do look like I've looked at like the ads that I posted, and so like the major things that are typed in is like somebody to scoop dog poop? Or is there a company that scoops dog poop? Yeah, so it's really, just honestly, for pooper scoopers is creating awareness, awareness that the service is available, then staying in front of them and top of mind. Because I do feel that everybody is a potential customer, because either they have a dog and they scoop the dog poop and at some point they don't want to, or they can't, they can hire us, and somebody that doesn't have a dog might change their mind and decide they want to have a dog. It's like anybody, anybody really could become a customer. So that's that's and
Collin 31:42
at any point too, I know you also offer some, like, spring cleanups and some seasonal kind of services. But the key there is going, yeah, it could take any random day that ends in a Y. Somebody could just be like, Well, I'm done scooping poop. I'm fed up with this. And then they start looking for help. And if you're not there as a company, right? If you're not waiting for them, you miss that opportunity.
Erica K. 32:05
It blows my mind the amount of quote requests that come through at like 1:45am 2:45am like, they're just laying in bed. They're thinking about that dog poop. They're like, I don't want to do it. So then they start looking online, and then they put in a quote request. And it just so happens I have virtual assistants, and I'm, I'm fairly confident that some of them are in the Philippines, which is fine because we're on different time zones, so they're pumping out the quotes in the middle of the night, while I'm sleeping, yeah,
Collin 32:37
especially in order to serve them there again, because that person has a need. They need an answer. They may cool off. They may go to bed and wake up the next morning go, Well, you know what? Never mind. That was, that was crazy. And then you try and come in with a quote, and they're like, Yeah, I'll say this for later, or a phone call. And to be as, I have that immediate response back to them, whether it's through a virtual assistant, whether that's through an AI chatbot that you have trained on your website to be able to get information to people when they need it, because that really is a client expectation these days, of being able to have access to yes or no or get access to these questions right when they need it,
Erica K. 33:14
and yes, like sending the quote or even answering the Phone, if you guys, if you guys that are listening, and you're a business owner, you should do an experiment, look up like five companies that are your competitors in your area, and call them and see how many of them actually answer the phone. And if you want to set yourself apart from them, literally all you have to do is answer the phone.
Collin 33:44
I'm so serious, yeah, no, you say that, and I'm actively laughing, because the number of times I've, I've answered the phone, and people go, Oh, are you? Oh, hi, I wasn't expecting you know, it's like, because people, they want that, because they they're on their website, and sometimes they're they just have that burning question that they're just like, I'll just call like. That is an instinct that a lot of people have,
Erica K. 34:07
especially with their pets, that's very intimate. That's their babies. They want. They want to hear a person because they want to see if they have that connection. Yeah, they
Collin 34:17
want to start seeing, okay, I'm going to let you, you know in my backyard where my pet is, I'm going to let you about the safety, making sure you're you really are going to latch the door. You're not going to try and break into my home and rob my house while I'm not there. Really let me call and talk to you, because people want to get that sense. Is this somebody I can trust? Is this a professional level service? Are they going to have the answers the kind of things that I want, and we have to be ready for them.
Erica K. 34:44
Yeah. And that you mentioned latch the door, we actually part of our policies and procedures is we take a photo of the closed gate upon exit and upload it to the customer profile, and then it gets emailed to them with a timestamp. Yeah. Yeah, yeah,
Collin 35:01
I love that Erica. I mean that you talk about what's again, that's you sitting down going, what's something that may be nagging at that client, they may have never even spoken to you, saying, I'm really stressed about the about the gate. It's like, No, you don't even have to tell us that you're worried about this, because we're going to take care of it. And here's our proof to you and yes, is it a it has two aspects, yes. And I tell all of our staff to resist when we're training them for pet sitting. It's like, do we take photos for covering our butt? Absolutely, that's just what we have to do. But also, do those cover butt photos help the client feel better when we send them to them? Absolutely they do. So it's we get both, if both, both of those taken care of with one photo,
Erica K. 35:42
yeah, and creating that peace of mind, which in turn creates that wonderful customer experience when they trust you, they'll spend money with you.
Collin 35:52
Do you have no you have different like, like packages where you come over more or less frequently? Do you have other ways where you can, that you can add that, you know, add on services while you're there at the client's
Erica K. 36:03
house. Yeah, so we could offer deodorizer, and that's something that I have been wanting to launch. I just, I haven't done it like I have the service available, and I just have not promoted it. And this is something I'm actively thinking about, because I've been thinking about, like in our industry, they talk about how many visits you can do per day, like 25 versus 30 visits. Versus 35 some technicians can do 40 visits. And I've listened, I'm like, I just don't understand how they're able to move so quickly. Because here in Michigan, it's just, it wouldn't happen. Like, it's just can't, we can't move that quick. And literally, the other day, I was sitting there thinking, I was like, why am I so focused on the amount of visits? We should be focused on the dollar amount. Yeah, how much? How much money should each car, truck, let's say truck be, be producing per day. And how can we make every customer more valuable? And so, if you like, if you can add, add on services. And the only thing that I can really think of right now that's still in aligned with what we do is adding that, that deodorizer,
Collin 37:16
you said that phrase, make more valuable clients right to the company. I that really changes how you perceive who's coming in the door. Because you're right. I can grow my business through acquiring new clients, but they're costly, aren't they? They're really costly to get in through the door. How many more things I'm going to have to have wrapped, how many more yards I'm going to have to put out, how much contacts I'm going to call, how many more in home consultation I'm going to have to go through, versus if I have people who already know like trust and love my services, I'm their favorite bill to pay. Well, would I still be their favorite bill if it was five extra dollars and they got something else on the side, probably, right? Probably, and that that all of a sudden now you really start dealing with compounding numbers of like, wow, I can really grow this and scale this a lot more without the added complexity of extra stops or extra visits and that that makes it that keeps it simple, right? That keeps your business simple and streamlined. Yeah,
Erica K. 38:04
because I was thinking about it, actually recorded a video earlier, because I was thinking, I was like, How do I get the business to a million dollars in recurring revenue? I was like, Okay, how does this work? And I'm thinking about all the different variables. I'm like, how many staffs do we need to do? I'm like, No, we need to break this down. Break this down. So if I want to get to a million dollars in reoccurring revenue, I need seven trucks running five days a week, and they need to be producing, I think it's like $143,000 a year. Okay, I'm like, what does that break down to per month? That's $12,000 per month. What does that break down to per week? $3,000 per week. Then what does that break down to per day? $600 a day. All right, cool. So we want to do 25 stops, which 25 stops is very doable in an eight hour shift. What does that look like for an average ticket price? We're gonna have an average ticket price of $24 per stop. So I think that equates to like 100 like $104 a month, if you take 24 times 52 divided by 12, yeah, I give you, like an average ticket price of 100 and $104 $104 for a luxury customer service where somebody's taking so much burden off of you. It's, it's really, it's not that much money. And it, honestly, if $104 is going to make it to where you can't feed your family, then you really aren't the ideal customer for my business anyways. And so I like, I'm not a good fit for you. Yeah, that's kind of, that's my mindset is. And sorry, that was like word vomit, but that's literally what's on top mind right now. I'm like, how to get to a million? It's pretty simple. It's all mad,
Collin 39:49
oh well. And then going, okay, and I love you, basically backed into what's my monthly package pricing right there. Going, okay, that's my goal. Now I need to either i. To make that package of $104 I need to make it worth it to the client and make sure they understand that real value. And then I need to execute on it, and I need to show up and perform the best every time. Because when you're talking about doing 25 visits a day, well, you know is that, is that 25 individual clients, you know, especially, are they coming over once? Especially if you're on like, you know, once every week. Are you doing those scoops, or how many of those clients are made? You can get into that kind of stuff. But just the basic math works out to going, I can back into these numbers to make this business decision, decision for myself. So I know. How do I make these what? How do I move forward in this right? And going, this is what I want. If this is a goal that I have, I need to then design, craft, organize, and then execute on this, yeah, and just
Erica K. 40:45
coming up with the plan, and if it's like, okay, well, if $104 really isn't working, just for scooping, what if I was able to put in a deodorizer once a month, right? You know, you deodorize the patio, the hot spots, then, boom, you're able to do it and hopefully achieve your goals. I think with me, like the hardest thing was trying to figure out, like, I just over complicated stuff too much. And I don't know if it's just my brain maturing, I don't know what happened, but literally, the other day, when I was in a backyard scooping and I was like, it's really not that serious. You've already been able to full fill a truck. You've already been able to fill another truck and then partially fill a truck. So literally, you just need to rinse and repeat, rinse and repeat till you get to, you know, seven. And the reason why I want seven because I'm trying to get out of the field. I'm trying to hire an operations manager, and that's what I need to hire. Hire what I need.
Collin 41:44
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Erica K. 42:58
right, so residential, that is where you're going to homeowners houses, you're taking care of the dog poop. And commercial is where you service, say, an HOA community, and the HOA is paying you. You're either scooping or deodorizing the green space, or you're servicing those dog waste stations that have the little dog bags. You can install those, and you can also maintain those. And with commercial, they require a level of insurance. You need to have general liability, you have to have workman's comp. And with all that, that's great. That just means that their ticket price is going to be much higher. Yeah, oh, yeah.
43:36
So,
Erica K. 43:39
so for, um, commercial, like, what is it? Commercial, green space scooping. My price point, it toggles between 135 and 165 per acre. And an acre would usually take an hour, like, usually a max, to scoop that, depending on the amount of dog waste that there is. So it's like 135 to 165 per hour. And the thing is, with commercial is there's a lot of opportunity, but it's very much so relationship based. So you have to get in there, you have to communicate, you have to rub elbows, you have to go to the meetings. You have to connect with the people. Your residential is more of like posting on social media. They see you, they hire you. But commercial, you really gotta, you gotta get in there.
Collin 44:25
So how are you? How is the When did you? When did you go into to commercial space? Was that and how did you make that decision?
Erica K. 44:34
The Well, my first commercial space found me. So basically I was just keeping my head down and really focused on building up my Google reviews. That's really what I wanted to do. Because at the time, like I had seen that a lot of the companies in the area, they they're just Google reviews, were very like, there was none, there wasn't a lot of them. So I was like, Okay, how am I going to set myself apart? I'm just going to dominate the Google. Cool, yeah. And when the landscapers or the maintenance guys at this one community that I was servicing in a very affluent neighborhood, they did some research, they seen my reviews, they called and I answered the phone.
Collin 45:15
Hey, look at that.
Erica K. 45:17
They answered the phone, and I got back to them right away, and at that time, I had never serviced any type of commercial, but I was like, I'm just going to fake it to make it. I started calling on my pooper scooper friends that would answer. I'm like, how much are you pricing these stations? I got 17 of them. And so I asked a couple people. I made my choice of what I was going to do. I put together a professional looking quote, like, as professional as I could make it at the time, I sent it over, and they that, you know, they approved it. And one thing that I learned with commercial is they don't pay right away. It's like a net 30, net 4560, so you have to be able to float that. So it's, it's important to make sure that you have some residential you have that reoccurring cash flow coming in so it's able to float that commercial that isn't coming in right away, so you can make payroll and make everything spin properly. Yeah,
Collin 46:12
well, and that's a great thing to remind ourselves of, is that just because we have our processes in place doesn't mean that other businesses are going to have their processes in place to go along with it, because they may have review processes. They may have to wait for account balances. They're doing other things. They've got those payment things. And if we go into it expecting to get paid either beforehand or immediately when we're done, that's that's just not how that's going to operate. And if we're not, we have to decide, is that, is that okay from for me? Am I willing to put that, to put
Erica K. 46:41
that together? Yeah, and I totally was, because my one account's like, 600 bucks a month, and I go there either four or five times a month, and it takes me, I don't know, like, an hour or so. I'm pretty quick with it, because it's 17 stations and so, yeah, it's, it's definitely worth it. I do wish that I would get more, like, referrals or recommendations for them, and that might be on me, like, I may need to dig a little deeper and be like, Hey, who do you know? Yeah, who can you in touch with? Um, and then, in order for commercial like the Chamber of Commerce could be pretty good too. Like reaching out to them to see who their connections are with property managers. I'm still working on that that's like the next goal of mine is to really expand that side of the business, but I needed to really take a step back and learn how to become a leader, and really start to learn how to invest in my people and speak to them the way that they need. Because I with this recent situation, I just had to take a long look at like how I operate versus how the staff operates, and how to pour into them, and I see why my business hasn't been able to grow the way that I wanted it to. I was blocking it. I was just just blocking it because I was trying to do too much stuff on my own and dropping too many plates. That's
Collin 48:07
that's a hard thing to realize, especially if we're been in business for 567, 10 years. We think we got our stuff together, and then to be kind of faced with that moment of going, oh, oh, it's me, right. Like I I did that, and that never feels good in the moment. But what's important to them is go, Well, what do I do for the next decade? Or what do I do moving forward? How do I make this better? And that's, that's really where that difference comes in, is to know, okay, well, that didn't work. What do I do now? And that's kind of why we're all business owners and entrepreneurs, because that's that's part of the process, including how we work with ourselves,
Erica K. 48:44
yeah, and knowing that making the decision that we're in this for the long haul that in that kind of coincides with, like, the pricing, like, Yeah, our prices are higher because we plan on being for this in the long haul. Because business is good when it's good, but when it is bad, it is it's one of those feelings where you feel like you're a loser, you feel like you can't do this anymore. You feel like, why am literally, why am I doing this to myself and to my family right now, I could go get a job anywhere else and just have to deal with this anymore. And so you have to make it worthwhile, and then you have to think about the bigger picture and understand that this season will pass. But you also have to be super intentional with what you're doing so you're able to get past it and you can grow from the situation. Because two Sundays ago, I was going to give my whole business up. I was just going to give it away. I said, I'm done. I'm not doing this anymore. This is stupid. This is the crazy. But then my husband was like, why don't you try to hire somebody? And then Charles came to me, and it's beautiful. And now I'm trying to grow my business to a million dollars. So you know
Collin 49:58
what I have found for me? Personally Erica, is that I am really good at writing the highs. I'm really good at writing highs, which means, guess what, I'm also really good at writing the lows. Like, I, I swing back and forth so hard, just like, and I, it's a it's absolutely I'm on top of the world one day, and then the next day, it's like, This is it. This is all over. Who? Who wants the list, right? Okay, pack it up. Sorry. Everybody. Bye. Good, good run. And then we literally the next day, like, well, here's my seven plans, and here I'm gonna do and it's on us, right? To go. I who I got. How do I even heal this? How do I? How do I, how do I wuss on these moments? How do I take a step back? How do I modulate myself a little bit better, so that I can still be the and like you, Eric, you're going you still need to be the visionary for the business. You still need to be the one leading the charge, super excited, getting the ideas, leading people forward, while also not being dread down in those really deep, dark moments, and having good people around you to support that when that does happen is critical, so that you have that and you know, okay, well, I'll just try again tomorrow.
51:02
Yeah.
Erica K. 51:04
And so this is like new for me, talking to my husband about it, because I had been really, really bad about communicating with him and the bad times, because I just kept it to myself, and I would talk to my therapist about it, and prior to last year, I would drink. I would drink a little here, I drink a little there. I drink Drink, drink just to, kind of like, chill out. And so last March of, like, last Yeah, last year, I just, I decided I was done, like, I was done drinking after this wedding. And so I had to, like, go through the emotions and learn how to deal with the ups and the downs and all of that. And I decided I wanted to become, like, completely, completely sober, which I've done. It's been, like, a year and a half. It's been great. That's awesome. Thank you. Um, but then recently, my husband, he quit his job, and he we started a tree service, like, abruptly. And I was like, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, what do you mean? Like, we don't have anything going on. Like, you make really good money. Like, what do you mean? You just quit your job? And so we started this business very, very quick. But then my husband was like, realizing, like, the stress and the emotional toll that it takes on your body. And so he's like, do you feel this? I'm like, Yeah, dude, like, every day. And he was like, I didn't know. I had no idea that you went through this, and so we had some pretty deep conversations. And so he says he went back to his job. He's happy there. We're still growing his business on the side at more of, like, a respectable, manageable rate, to where he can, like, learn how to become a business owner and not be like, super stressed out. But I'm being more intentional, to communicate with him, to just let him know, like the ups and downs, so he kind of knows what's going on, and he can, we can bounce ideas off of each other, because I realized what I was doing is I was internalizing a lot of things, and then he would be like, Hey, you want to hang out? And I'm like, No, I got this. I got this. I got this to do. And I just was becoming unpleasant,
Collin 53:01
and that's hard to go, yeah. Like, people don't know if they don't know. Like, I, turns out I run into this all the time too. Of going, Oh, no one else is a mind reader. That's That's crazy. I Oh, if I don't tell my employee that they're not doing a good job, and here's how they can improve, they're never going to if I don't tell my best friend Why I'm short with them today, they're never going to know and that that is, again, part of that it takes us being vulnerable in that moment to go. I got the people a little bit in here so I have the support that I need, so I can have my cheerleaders alongside me, and knowing that's really
Erica K. 53:33
important, yeah, and so that's why I kind of like show Josh that vulnerable side of me, and then he was able to kind of walk through it with me and talk me off the ledge. And it was really good. It was good for us. And, you know, then you think back, and I was like, I can't believe I was just going to give my whole business up. Like, that's
Collin 53:51
crazy. Who was that person get them out? You know, Erica. One of the things I know about you, and it's even on your website, is you talk about giving a crap. When you talk about giving a crap about everything that you do. And I did want to know kind of here in closing, what does that mean to you, and how do you execute that?
Erica K. 54:13
You know, I've heard, what is it the what is it how you do one thing is how you do everything, and it's really important to even though we're picking up dog poop, just going all in and doing the best that you can. Like, I embody being the poop scoop lady. Like I live it, I breathe it, I have my nails are pink. Like, I'm totally on brand. Because when you're when you're into it, you can, really can do a good job for the customers. And at the end of the day, like the customers, is the one that pays for they pay for everything. They pay the employees salaries. They pay my salary, they pay all of it. So it's like we have to give a crap. We have to we. If you don't, we're not going to do a good job. We don't go do a good job. We're not going to have customers. And if we don't have customers, we don't have a business.
Collin 55:06
It turns out that's kind of important, isn't
Erica K. 55:11
it super important. And I'm sure, I'm sure you've noticed, if you go out to out to eat, or if you've hired contractors, there's just so many people out here that just they, they just want to take your money, and they don't care about the quality, they don't care about your experience. They it's just it's not good and, and I really think that it's important to show people that there still are good contractors, there's still good business owners out here, and that
55:41
they can trust us. Eric, I
Collin 55:43
really want to thank you so much for coming on the show today and for sharing us and encouraging us in that way to give a crap and to take pride in our own work and to tell other people about it as well, and to try and find ways to make our business work for us so we can achieve those goals. I know there's a lot here and that you You talk a lot about this, and you share a lot about this as well. So how can people get in touch with you and follow along with all that? Whoo,
Erica K. 56:07
I'm everywhere. Okay, so if you want to follow me on YouTube, Facebook or Instagram, look up croupins, poopin, scoopin, and you'll find my social medias. But if you wanna follow the podcast, you just look up the scoop podcast with Erica croupin on Apple podcast, Spotify and audible. And you can keep in touch with me. I do try to drop a podcast every single Monday. I'm going to drop my 91st podcast this Monday.
Collin 56:36
That's awesome. Round of applause, that's, that's, that's really, really cool Erica. That's awesome. That's awesome.
Erica K. 56:42
Definitely come and hang out. I talk, I do talk about the dog waste removal industry, but I also talk about mental health. I talk about being a female business owner, and most recently, because I have given my my heart to the Lord, I've been talking a lot more about faith. I'm not preaching. That's not what I'm here for. I'm just sharing my experience and how, how the Lord has been impacting myself, personally, my marriage and my business. And so I just wanted to be like a safe space, because we this, this world is getting crazy, and sometimes we need to, we need to reach for a higher power to to to figure things out and have a sense of peace come over us and make sure that we're walking a good path. Absolutely,
Collin 57:31
I 100% agree. It's now, now more than ever necessary. I agree. Well, Erica, I will have those links in the show notes so people can get connected right to you, and they can follow along with all that and start hearing some good stuff. So thank you so much for coming on today. I really, really appreciate your time. I know you got a lot going on.
57:47
Yeah, you're very welcome. Bye.
Collin 57:51
My two biggest takeaways from my conversation with Erica. The first one was when she talked about making a more valuable client, making more valuable customer to her business. It's really hard to get to the point where you are scaling and adding so many brand new clients than having the structure and the support and everything necessary to take them on. When we look at growing our businesses, we often overlook the single biggest factor, which is helping our clients more. So they give us money in return for that finding ways to Yes, upgrade services or add new things to what we do to make those prices increase per client will allow us to grow our business and scale our business without having to multiply the number of clients that we need. It's a way more powerful way of doing that, and something that we each need to take into account when we look at what we want our business to do. And then my second biggest takeaway with Erica is what it means to give a crap in this business. What are we willing to do, what are we standing for? Why are we in business? And then, how do our decisions flow downstream from that? How does that impact what we do and how we do it, and making sure that we bring everybody along for that journey in our business, whether it's our clients or our employees, if we have them, when we do that, we know we're running an amazing business dedicated to serving others and serving them well, we want to thank today's sponsors. Time to pet and the peaceful pet. Music, calm music for pets. YouTube channel for making today's show possible. But we really want to thank you for listening. Thank you for taking your time and listening to this episode. We hope it's been beneficial, and we'll be back again soon.
59:34
Thank
