Now it’s o.k.; the big boys now started in a garage.
It’s now acceptable to start a business in your garage, now that some major companies started in the humble garage. Major companies like, Apple and Amazon, but also for some companies that pre-date Apple: Harley-Davidson (1903), Walt Disney Company (1923), Wham-O (1948), Mattel (1945), Maglite (1955), Yankee Candle Company (1969), and HP (1939). There is even a television commercial about it right now.
Our story
Our story, way back in 2012; on a balmy September night when I opened the garage door. I am surprised by a mountain of multi-colored mountain of wire. Not one spool to be found, just a mangled, colorful mess. When I say mountain, I’m not saying it reached to the ceiling, but if I crawled on top of the pile, I could touch it.
After three rounds of these stinking clothes in the washer and tripling the dryer sheets, the outfit is still with unbearable odor. I did seal them in a plastic bag and tossed them in the trash.
That was the day we started our exciting, stimulating journey of owning and running Urban E Recycling. For Greg, because he started a business in depressed economy, but was somewhat familiar with the industry. And me, although working for someone else at the time, because I love a good challenge. Marketing about an industry that I know little about is an intriguing and appealing challenge.
Greg knew metals.
Greg knew metals. He had worked in the scrap business years ago. I knew he loved the metal scrap business. I was not sure why at the time, but now I get it. He is experienced in scrap metal and knows how to make money within the industry. Electronic recycling is just an evolution of the same; watching the metals market, getting dirty, breaking a sweat before 9:30 a.m., and working on a very small margin. Less than attractive to most, but to Greg, knows the potential in the volume.
I, on the other hand, just love business. An entrepreneur before I even knew the word existed. I always want to build something. Something for good, worth marketing and something that will last.
I did a SWOT analysis and did some strategic planning. The future of the industry looks good and it seems to be a good time to make an entrance in the field.
Money to be made in the trash.
I always knew there was money to be made in trash. (I was made fun of for that statement many times.) This is my turn to make the statement true.
Back to the garage, where there is a pile of wire.
That wire is gone in 24 hours. We pocket a nice little profit and left the seller and buyer thrilled with the transaction.
The picture is of Kyle in the first weeks of our enterprise. We leased a 500 sq ft part of a warehouse. He was our only employee. He is still with us.
Now we have 3 locations and 28 employees.
