In case you didn’t know, I absolutely love the junk removal business model. This is a simple to operate service business that works well in any large market as proven the founder of Brian Scudamore who founded 1-800-Got-Junk? generated $234 million in revenue in 2016. The company specializes in hauling trash that people don’t want and getting paid for it. Helping people get rid of hard to dispose of materials can make you a lot of money.

This post will help you write a business plan for a dump truck services business similar so you can plan the operations of your own junk removal company. The beauty of this business is while there’s the opportunity to grow scale a highly-profitable national brand into the hundreds of millions of revenue, while offering the flexibility to start on a small scale with a minimal budget.

trash container

Businesses and individuals will pay for trash removal.

If you’ve got access to a truck, insurance, and a valid drivers license you have everything you need to start the business. If you’re scrappy and willing to put in the work you can build a really big company as explained by Casey Walsh who built a $4 million dollar per year junk removal business that’s still growing. This episode is required listening if you’re considering this type of business.

Spoiler alert: Casey put out some ghetto real estate signs around different neighborhoods with his telephone number on it to get his first clients. Check out more interviews like this one at the SweatyStartup.com.

At this point you might think there’s not much to learn about the dump truck business. Buy a truck. Pick up junk.  It really can be this simple, but it can be much more than that with some creativity.

  • You could help remove trash from hoarder houses where the fees for cleaning up can quickly reach over $10,000 per job.
  • You could allow people on a fixed budget to load your truck with trash and haul it away after a couple days or a weekend. You can often get paid a few hundred bucks for dropping off a truck and driving it away later.
  • You could purchase equipment that allows you to specialize in a certain type of junk removal. For example, you could invest in a shipping container for waste removal at construction sites. And it’s always a pain to get rid of old appliances like washers and dryers.

Like every other new business venture out there, one should be able to understand how it works and what it takes to be able to run a business like this. To organize your thoughts and concepts, you need a business plan.

We’re here to help you start on a dump truck business plan so you’ll get all those details in your head down on paper so you don’t forget them.

Business plans discuss what you need to prepare such as documents and licenses, your target customers, marketing strategies, and financial plan. But most importantly, with a dump truck business plan, you’ll know whether it’s going to be a success, how much to save up to start on it, and what to expect when it comes to profit and expenses.

What is a dump truck business?

dump trucks

You don’t need expensive commercial dump trucks to get started.

Before we head to the business plan, here is a little explanation of what a dump truck business is all about.

Owning and managing a dump truck business means being hired to do moving jobs such as hauling construction materials or debris from one place to another. You may include other services but moving large and heavy objects, may it be in a construction site or clearing trees on the road after a storm examples of why this is a businesses.

As the baby boomer generation continues to age, we believe there will be even more demand for these services too. The older you get, the less you want to complete tasks like lifting or bending. You can provide a much needed service to the community while being paid handsomely for your effort.

Here’s an outline of the dump truck business plan so you can navigation to each section: 

Executive Summary

Business plans start with an executive summary that includes the introduction of your dump truck business, a brief company description of your operations, the services your business will offer, and your customer focus. These are short sections to gain insight as to what your business does.

Why is it important, you may ask? For one, you’ll want to understand in detail how much it will cost to start this business. You’ll want to create an operations plan or guidelines for when you’ll be open and how far you’re willing to drive for a pickup in advance of opening. Finally, you’ll need to determine a fair price to charge for services that leaves you some profit at the end of the day.

Executive summaries are like that wherein they help prepare the readers what to expect before they dive in to the specifics and technicalities of it.

Introduction

garbage containers

The world can be a messy place.

Introduce your dump truck business in two to three sentences. Include the name of your business, whether it’s a small one with two or three trucks or a large business with a fleet to offer several services at the same time. Be sure to include your service area as well. Here’s how your introduction might look:

Hauler Bros is a dump truck business located in Austin, Texas. Run by brothers Jim and Larry, Hauler Bros offer services such as transporting materials and dump truck rentals. The business, along with their team of licensed drivers, will be using a standard dump truck to open the business. 

By reading through the introduction, you have already answered your reader’s interests on the following:

  • The business name
  • Location
  • Type of ownership
  • Types of dump trucks used

It may just be a brief description but it’s enough to get you started. You’ll be able to expand on the business further in the next sections.

Company Description

Briefly describe how your business came to be along with who the owners are. Describe their roles just so your readers can distinguish who will be doing the managing side of the business and who will do the accounts.

You can also get in a little background history to show how long your business has been in the making.

Services

What services will you be offering to your clients? Is it hauling construction materials, yard waste, or old appliances? Describe them all here in the services section.

But do keep in mind that this is still part of the executive summary so you’ll only need to briefly put it down. You’ll be able to write a more detailed description in the Product Line and Services section of the business plan.

You may think that you will haul away anything, but that’s probably not the case. Do you have the capability right now to haul a car? Nuclear waste? Be clear on the type of services you want to provide as that will determine the equipment requirements for the business.

Customer Focus

What group did you have in mind for your dump truck business? Are these private construction firms, government agencies, or people in your neighborhood? Again, there is no need to explain in detail. Rather, you can just list these down for now so you can get a sense of who your ideal target customers will be.

Related Reading: 101 Profitable Long Haul Trucking Company Name Ideas

Mission Statement

Businesses that follow a mission statement helps lead them to success. Think of it as that shiny plaque on the wall where everyone can see so they’re reminded of their goals. The mission statement will serve as a guideline for you and your team so that every decision the business makes revolves around this statement which will lead to success.

Here’s an example mission statement for Hauler Bros:

Hauler Bros’ mission is to become the preferred choice of haul and material transportation service in Austin, Texas. Our dedicated team of licensed drivers will see to it that the job gets done in the least amount of time possible. Hauler Bros is committed to offering services that are reliable and safe.

Company Concept

niche junk removal

You can earn more by developing a junk removal niche.

Remember the part in the Company Description that you weren’t able to explain in detail? This is where you can finally write them all down. Is your concept more on offering your services to construction sites? Or is your concept just a rental for your dump trucks for everyone who needs it? Will you be open to buying and selling dump trucks as well?

Describe it all in detail so whoever reads your business plan will understand what your dump truck business concept is.

Market Analysis

Dump truck businesses are an essential service since they help in construction sites and in other fields that require the hauling of heavy materials. Doing a market analysis where you finalize your target market, research on the industry, and check out the competition is important so you can really weigh the pros and cons of setting up your dump truck business.

Target Market

Think of this section as the detailed part of your customer focus. List down all the customer groups you aim to cater to and set limitations. For example, for Hauler Bros, they can list down that they aim to serve construction sites that decide to operate within Austin, Texas only seeing as they’re only a small business and have a limited number of dump trucks.

Industry Analysis

nuclear waste

Nuclear waste is one example of specialization in this industry.

Study the dump truck business industry so you’ll know what you’re up against. By doing so, you’ll be aware if you need more dump trucks as originally planned and what kind so you can cater to the usual construction demand in your area.

The waste removal and junk hauling industry is a massive $52 billion per year industry according to reports. Most of this revenue is generated through weekly garbage pickups and residential and businesses. You will likely play in the small niche of larger waste pickup in the early days of the business. There’s opportunity in your market if you’re willing to invest sweat equity!

Competitive Analysis

You will have competition and you will need to study your potential competitors. This is so you can fill in what they’re lacking and keep up with what the customers are looking for.

To make things easier, list down each competitor’s strengths and weaknesses, and then add in what you think is your own business’s strengths and weaknesses. By doing this, you can get a clear picture of the service you’re offering and how to better improve it.

Management Structure

If you’re just starting out, you’ll probably be working as a team of one. Answering customer phone calls, driving the truck, and lifting the trash. This is a great low-risk way to start in the early days, but you won’t want to remain at this level forever if you ever want to take a vacation.

Eventually, you’ll want to find a few staff and drivers to help. When you do, you’ll need to describe the management structure that goes on in your dump truck business in order to set clear roles for each personnel. Here is a list of personnel that often work in a dump truck services business:

  • The Owner (You can also act as an admin staff if the business is small)
  • Customer service rep – Will answer phone calls, respond to emails, client concerns, and schedule appointments.
  • Logistics Manager – Overseas the operations, communicates with the owner and employees, and solves complex customer service issues.
  • Licensed Truck Drivers – They drive the trucks and dispose of garbage.

Product Line and Services

List down the services your dump truck business will offer. This could be the following:

  • Transportation of heavy-duty materials
  • Transportation of agricultural materials
  • Transportation of waste materials
  • 24-Hour Pickup (Increased fees for speed of service.)
  • Weekend Rentals
  • Buying and Selling of dump trucks

Remember to always check whether you have the capacity and manpower to cater to certain services. If you think you can handle more jobs and can afford to hire more people map these out as options.

Sales and Marketing

sales plan

Build a marketing plan and then take action.

How will you be getting your dump truck business out there? There’s no doubt already dump truck companies operating in your area so do your research and try to find out what they’re doing from a marketing perspective.

Here are some basic approaches to drumming up some business for a junk hauling business. All of these are low-cost or free to do:

  • Put up road signs or bandit signs in neighborhoods you think would have the ability to pay for this service. Older and wealthier neighborhoods in your town are a great place to start.
  • Hand out flyers on the doorsteps of residents in these same communities above. Might as well tackle two marketing initiatives in the same afternoon!
  • Post a listing on CraigsList for your city offering your services.
  • Open up a free Google My Business listing to help promote your service locally. This is free.
  • Get involved in local Facebook communities. Let people know the type of service you offer.

Another marketing approach you can try is partnering up with construction companies in your area. By doing so, you can be assured that whenever someone signs up with that certain company, you are instantly in charge of the transportation of materials. Prepare a proposal for this and draft a contract should the company agree with your partnership terms.

Don’t waste your time spending money on local radio, newspaper or television ads. These are expensive and are unlikely to deliver ROI. You can keep this option in your back pocket for the future though after you grow.

Financial Plan

According to an article by Trux, new dump trucks cost between $100,000 to 150,000 while used models range from $30,000 to $40,000. Judging by these numbers alone, you’ll have to draft a financial plan to know how much money you’ll need exactly to start on your dump truck business.

In this section of the business plan, discuss where you’re going to get your funding and the expenses you will make so you can do a detailed financial forecast.

Funding Request

Keep in mind this is the type of services business you shouldn’t need a lot of funding to get started. Use your personal time to haul junk (sort of free outside of the time investment) and buy a commercial truck to get started. If you’re not able to afford a truck right now, you can always rent one from Home Depot or Lowe’s when needed. At the time of writing, commercial auto loans are also at historically low levels making this another viable option.

This is also the reason why owners make a business plan. This will document will help you access how much money it will cost to get started. Then you can weigh the pros and cons of getting a commercial dump truck, a flat-bed pickup, or renting in the early days.

In order for them to borrow money, the banks will need to read a detailed plan of your dump truck business, why you will need the amount of money you stated, whether it’s profitable or not, and when to expect you’ll reach break-even. If you’ve got decent credit, you can usually get a truck loan without providing a business plan.

Financial Forecast

Listing down all your expenses is an organized way of forecasting your finances. These will include:

  • Purchasing of dump trucks whether used or new
  • Certification and permit expenses
  • Insurance
  • Rental of office space with a wide parking lot for your trucks
  • Marketing materials including the setup of a website
  • Office equipment
  • Operational costs which include salaries of employees

Just by getting all your expenses down, you can calculate how much to charge for your services and how long you can reach break-even.

Operational Plan

To set things in motion, draft up a timeline of your operational plan. Here is an example you may follow:

Date Plan
[Insert Date Here] – Process all the certifications and permits needed to operate your dump truck business. Make sure to apply for insurance as well.
[Insert Date Here] – Start purchasing your used or new dump trucks and have them checked for maintenance.
[Insert Date Here] – Hire your staff and train them. Start advertising your dump truck business.
[Insert Date Here] – Start operations.
[Insert Date Here] – Reach break-even.

Appendix

There is a lot of documentation when it comes to setting up a dump truck business. File them all in this section as well as the photos, permits, and certifications you have.

Download Templates

Here are dump truck business plan templates you can download and use for free.

Bonus Tips

  • Licenses and certification are basic requirements to get for your dump truck business so apply for these first.
  • Get insurance for your business that covers your drivers. The type of work that your business caters to is prone to accidents whether it’ll be on the road or the job site. It’s best to be prepared and secured for any outcome.
  • To gain more experience in this type of industry, try to apply for a job in a dump truck business. You’ll be able to see the workflow and how they’ll manage logistics.

With this guide in writing a dump truck business plan, you’ll be able to start finalizing your ideas and put them into action in no time. We wish you success in your future venture!

Want to start your own food business?

Hey! 👋I’m Brett Lindenberg, the founder of Food Truck Empire.

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