Naysayers may have pooh-poohed
the idea before she could get her doggie-doo removal business off
the ground, but as top dog in the business that “ picks up
where your dog left off,” Diane Rossi is getting the last
laugh.
“I’m the doggie doo lady”. People thought I was
crazy when I first started.”
That was four years ago when Rossi quit her job and invested $2000.00
in the poop-scoop (read;Canine waste management) business she dubbed,
Have Doggie, We’ll Doo, which operates out of her home.
The success of the venture that now pulls in about $50,000 a year
is evidenced by a phone call to the business where the answering
machine chimes: “We’re Chicago’s number one service
in the number two business.”
Friends and family may have scoffed, questioning why anyone would
pay to have that done, but Rossi said she took the opposite viewpoint;
Why wouldn’t they pay to have this most unpleasant chore done
for them?
Others might question the rationale of a single mother of two with
a secure job as a sales rep – and with limited business experience
in Jewelry design – chucking it all to scoop doggie doo full
time. Or even part time.
Rossi said her turn as a professional poop scooper really started
as a way of beating the daily grind – and of spending more
time with her son and daughter.
“ I was a single mom trying to figure out what to do, and
I was listening to my neighbors arguing about who was going to clean
their yard. They said they would pay someone to do it for them.”
So, Rossi obliged them. She started the business herself after passing
out about 5,000 fliers advertising it. Since then, the business
of picking up piles has picked up speed, with Rossi doing more and
more “dog runs” – collecting piles outside of
homes and businesses requesting the service.
Rossi now has a roster of about 370 regular customers, many of whom
are seniors, businesses and apartment - building owners. Others
are too busy to pick up doggie doo – or would just rather
not.
“I talk to a lot of people who are very happy we offer this.
When two people work, they don’t have time to clean. They’re
thrilled to have us come here every week. It makes a lot of older
seniors happy. Either they can’t get out, or if they do, they
can’t bend down.
Dog droppings, poochie piles – you name it, Rossi has scooped
it. She might be getting her hands dirty, but she says it’s
worth it.
“Everyone thought I had lost my mind when I first started,”
she said. “But now, the people I tried to borrow money from
to start the business wanted to give me money to get in on it.
Ross – who hopes to earn $2 million each year before the last
pile of doo is scooped – now employs both a part and full
time worker but remains sole owner of the business.
So, what can someone expect to pay for a visit from the poop scooper?
Rossi said she used to charge $43 a month for a weekly service that
includes pickup, removal and disinfecting the area. That price has
now dropped to $36, and Rossi said she’d like to see it come
down further as her customer base grows.
For some people, Rossi said, the cost is well worth it.
“A lot of people only do it every few months, and by then,
it’s so disgusting and heavy, and it takes so long, they don’t
want to do it again,” she said. “They’re just
happy to have someone to do it for them.”
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