100. How He Makes $1.25M/Month Scooping Pet Waste?!

The UpFlip Podcast

E.J. McCoy saw a gap in the home services market for pet owners: poop scooper service. He started Scoop Soldiers in 2010 to meet that need, and has built this concept into multiple home services brands with more than $25 million in combined revenue. We’ll learn how he started and grew his businesses in this episode.

Like many kids, E.J. mowed lawns for extra money when he was growing up . He had his own lawn care business by the time he was in high school, founding his first business, Emerald Lawn and Landscaping, in 2006. He’s continued to add brands and expand his business in the years since, expanding to include pest control, fertilization, junk removal, window washing, and other complementary revenue streams. Along the way, he’s also expanded with franchise opportunities to grow beyond his Texas community.

With Scoop Soldiers, E.J. offers something unique: a pet waste removal service–in other words, something most people don’t want to do themselves. We’ll learn how he launched this business, along with his other brands. While lawn care and maintenance are easy businesses to start, they’re not without their challenges. E.J. will share the setbacks he faced and how he overcame them to build an 8-figure empire.

Resources:

• Scoop Soldiers - Learn more about the company on their website
• E.J. McCoy - Connect with E.J. on his website
• Executive Lawn Care - E.J.’s lawn mowing and maintenance company
• Chorbie - E.J.’s home maintenance and handyman service brand
• The 7-Figure Cleaning Business Blueprint - Step-by-step guidance to start and grow a cleaning business
• UpFlip HUB - Get actionable advice to start and grow any business on the UpFlip HUB
• White Picket Team Management - Consulting firm for founders of home services and skilled trades franchises
• The Everything Store - book by Brad Stone that explores how Jeff Bezos built Amazon
• Amazon Unbound - follow-up to The Everything Store that digs deeper into how Jeff Bezos founded a global empire

Connect with UpFlip:

• On Facebook
• On Instagram
• On Youtube
• @UpFlipOfficial on Twitter

For more insights to start, build, or grow a business, check out the resources on UpFlip.com or head to the UpFlip YouTube channel to see more interviews with business owners and experts.

Thanks for listening!

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1. 100. How He Makes $1.25M/Month Scooping Pet Waste?! (00:00:00)

2. Background & Inspiration (00:01:18)

3. Startup Costs (00:03:39)

4. Biggest Challenges w/ Pet Waste Removal Startup (00:04:45)

5. Profit Margins (00:09:01)

6. Marketing and Getting Customers (00:10:35)

7. Social Media and Home Services (00:12:37)

8. Getting the 5 Star Ratings from Clients (00:17:17)

9. Pricing Strategy (00:19:36)

10. Fan Blitz Questions (00:21:20)

11. Finding Employees (00:22:50)

12. Franchising (00:25:38)

13. Expansion and New Territories (00:26:58)

14. Valor Service Dogs (00:34:19)

15. Where can You Connect with EJ (00:38:07)