How to Start a Pooper Scooper Business: 9 Tips From an Expert

Survey pet owners

Talk to pet owners in your neighborhood, at dog parks, or in pet stores about their pets and how they manage pet waste removal.

Browse on social media

Join local Facebook groups for pet or dog owners. Keep your eyes peeled for any pet waste-related talk (complaints or questions about pooper scooper services). You can also post directly to the group and start a conversation about pet waste removal services.

Research other pooper scooper businesses

Check out the websites of other pooper scooper businesses in your area. Look at what services they currently offer and how they market their services to dog owners. 

Decide whether to offer residential or commercial services

We aim for 70% residential and 30% commercial jobs, but find a balance that works for your business. Your service area often determines whether you should focus on commercial or residential clients. 

For example, targeting condos and apartments can be a great commercial opportunity if you’re planning to operate a business in a downtown neighborhood. On the other hand, if your business is situated in a suburban area with many houses, you may want to prioritize residential jobs instead.

Residential pet waste removal services

If you’re looking for a more personable relationship with your clients and their dogs, residential services are the way to go. These jobs are often smaller in scale, so we charge less but receive payment right away. The quick payments help keep our money steady and consistent.

Commercial pet waste removal services

Commercial jobs are larger in scale—both in area and number of pets—meaning you’ll have fewer visits but spend more time at each site. For example, we work with HOAs (Homeowners Associations) to scoop and sanitize common areas where dogs do their business, plus clean and sanitize dog waste stations.

Commercial jobs are more labor-intensive, but they provide good money in return. This also means there are more moving parts, such as:

• Setting contracts – Clarify what type of services you’ll offer, how much you’re charging, and outlining the payment terms (i.e., net 30 or 60 days)
• Securing insurance – This will protect your business from any accidental property damage or personal injuries that might happen on the job

Business name registration

When naming your pooper scooper business, I recommend picking a business name that’s unique, easy for clients to remember, and highlights your services.

Once you have a business name, you need to protect it. Here are four ways you can register your business name in the United States:

1. An entity name can protect your business name at a state level. Visit your state government office on rules about registering your entity name.
2. A trademark can protect your business name and services at a national level. It prevents others in the same (or similar) industry from using your trademarked name in the U.S. Visit United States Patent and Trademark Office to apply for a trademark.
3. Register your domain name if you want to launch an online website. Once registered, no one else can use it, and protects your brand presence online. Check out these accredited registrars to register your domain name safely.
4. Doing business as (DBA) name doesn’t provide legal protection on its own, but some states will require you to register a DBA name depending on your business structure. Visit a local government office or website to register a DBA name.

Pro Tip: For state-specific information on how to register your pooper scooper business, visit the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) website.

Choose your business structure

When I started Kroopin’s Poopin Scoopin, I registered as an LLC (Limited Liability Company) as it worked best for my needs and helped protect my business.

Your goals might be different, so here’s a breakdown of available business structures you might consider:

• Sole proprietor/sole trader – You’ll choose this option if you work on your own.
• Partnership – You’ll partner with another person and run the business together.
• Limited liability company (LLC) – Reduces risk and protects your personal assets in case of any legal trouble.

Double-check with your local government on the registration procedure of your business structure.  

READ MORE: Why and when should I incorporate my business?

Register for taxes

If you plan on hiring employees, you’ll need a number to help you file taxes accurately. As we operate out of the U.S., we call it an employer identification number (EIN), which you can get from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). 

Depending on where you live, it might be called a registration or business number. Reach out to your local tax office to ensure you register your small business for taxes properly.

Licenses and permits

Get any required business licenses or permits to legally operate your business. Operating without proper licenses or permits could result in fines or even a shutdown. 

Licenses and permits will depend on where you’re located, but here’s a general idea of what licenses/permits you may have to register for if you’re in the U.S.:

• A license/permit from your local/state government to operate and run a small business.
• An occupational license from your local/state government to access public property and do your job. This is needed if you do commercial jobs like cleaning public parks and community spaces.
• A license to transport waste and waste removal materials provided by the Department of Transportation (DOT).
• A permit to handle waste and waste removal provided by  the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

Liability insurance

Small business insurance can protect you from any surprises that happen on a job, like accidentally leaving a gate open, resulting in a dog running away. Chat with an insurance provider to build a policy that covers your business needs.

Look for other ways to reduce risk on the job. For example, we use job forms in Jobber. Whenever we finish a job, my team receives a trigger reminder to snap a picture of closed gates before we close a job out. This gives both my team and clients peace of mind.

Having a standard operation procedures document is another excellent way to reduce risk.

Optional pooper scooper tools

As you build your business, you can start investing in better tools to enhance your service. Here are some optional pooper scooper tools:

• Deodorizer. If you plan on offering deodorizer services, invest in a deodorizer to eliminate odors caused by pet waste and urine. This can be sprayed on the area to kill the bacteria.
• Dumpster rental. We double-bag everything and throw it away in the homeowner’s home. However, if you want you can haul the waste away and to a dumpster. Reach out to a local dumpster rental company to see how much it’ll cost.

Invest in pooper scooper business software

In addition to your tools, invest in software to manage your business efficiently, stay organized, and control your entire operations in one place. It’s a bigger investment than tools, but the time and money saved not manually managing business operations is worth every penny.

Here’s how Jobber helps me run my pooper scooper business efficiently:

• Keep client details all in one place – All my client details are always up-to-date and easily searchable using the desktop and mobile app.
• Schedule jobs faster – Assigning a job to my team is only a few clicks away. Not only is it more efficient, but I can fit more work into my team’s schedule with little effort.
• Send automated appointment reminders – I can send automatic “On My Way” messages or emails to remind clients about their upcoming cleaning service.
• Generate multiple invoices and get paid automatically – My clients are automatically billed on the first of the month, which has been a huge game changer for me as I’m not chasing payment.
• Two-way text messaging – Allows me to start and carry on a conversation with my clients while managing it all in one place.

The pricing strategy that works best for our business is a tiered pricing model.

That’s because we realized there are more variables that go into a job. For example, the size and number of dogs, the size of the yard, and how long ago the yard was cleaned. Plus, what service the client wants, like a standard weekly clean-up, spring cleaning, or deodorizing service, just to name a few.

To provide clients with an accurate quote, we use Jobber’s quote request form on our website. Here’s what that looks like:

Pro Tip: Use Facebook to connect with prospective pooper scooper clients. It’s a low-cost and easy-to-use marketing tool for anyone. Plus, in my experience, a lot of our older clientele (who tend to have more disposable income) already actively use Facebook. 

Hiring and training employees

At Kroopin’s Poopin Scoopin, we look for detail-oriented, hard-working, and efficient workers. 

Recruit reliable team members who reflect your business’s values and do the job well. You don’t want to risk a callback because a job was poorly done, as this can negatively impact your small business. 

Hiring a solid team isn’t overnight, so don’t worry if it doesn’t come together as expected. In fact, my team is still constantly learning and growing regarding hiring. 

Paying employees

How much you pay your employees will change depending on your team’s experience and the size of the business. In the U.S., the average hourly pay for a Pooper Scooper is $14.64 an hour.

My team includes two part-timers (myself included) and one full-time employee. I pay my employees $18.50 per hour with the hopes of increasing that number to $20 as we continue to expand and grow. 

Scheduling your technicians 

With our experience, location, and high demand for poop-scooping services, one technician can scoop an average of 125 homes a week. 

We work Monday through Thursday and use Fridays as an overflow day due to schedule changes or bad weather. There are a lot of moving parts to keep track of, so we use Jobber to make scheduling jobs easier. 

Here’s a typical poop-scooping day with Jobber:

• At 8 am, our clients get an automated message saying, “Hey, today’s your scoop day”.
• Our team opens the app and checks the schedule to see who’s working for the day.
• Technicians gather their tools and drive to the job site.
• As we approach the area, Jobber lets us send messages like “Hey, we’re on our way to scoop your yard”. 
• We arrive at the property, scoop, move to the next property, and close out for the day. 

Your work schedule might look different, but using scheduling software can help you keep track of upcoming appointments, send reminders, and avoid double bookings.

Our business doesn’t scoop on weekends or holidays because family and kids are often home. But if you find a part-time employee to work weekends for you, that could be a selling feature or open up additional revenue for your business. 

Roll up those sleeves and start your pooper scooper business

There you go! Nine essential steps to start your own pooper scooper business. 

Grab your tools, and tell everybody and anybody who will listen about your new business. Starting a pooper scooper business might be a “crappy” business, but it’s a fun business!

To learn more about what it’s like running a pooper scooper business, tune into my episode on the Masters of Home Service below.