I’m warning you now, this weeks newsletter is hot 💩—and not just because we’re talking waste management in the ever-eloquent form of porta potties.
Today in 10 minutes or less, you'll learn:
✔️ How an NFL wide receiver used his rookie salary to start a biz that matched his payout
✔️ Why we love recession biz concepts, especially if you’re planning for retirement
✔️ How to overpower the haters who think their sh*t don’t stink and your biz idea is stupid
✔️ Next Wednesday we are hosting a live, FREE masterclass all about how to buy a biz during a recession. Join us. Space is (truly) limited.
Once upon a time, there was an NFL player.
Born and raised in Houston, Texas, Russell Shepard was a generational entrepreneur. His family’s business of choice? Trucks.
Russell’s dad and grandfather had entrepreneurial chops to boot, and his mother had a background in corporate America managing payroll.
The idea of being an entrepreneur wasn’t always his thing. In fact, Shepard was usually more interested in sports and seeing how far he could throw a football than doing much of anything else as a kid.
Shepard went on to play college football for LSU and was drafted as a free agent by the Philadelphia Eagles.
Before retiring in 2020, he also joined the ranks of the Giants, the Bears, and the Panthers—just to name a few.
Well, funny you should ask. That is the photo of a multi-millionaire, former NFL player, leaning on a special kind of receptacle where you relieve yourself, ifyaknowwhatimean.
When he signed his first NFL contract with the Philadelphia Eagles, he also started Shep Boys Trucking at the exact same time.
Shep Boys v 1.0 specializes in one thing: dump trucks. For the first few years, they worked exclusively with construction companies to haul sand, gravel, dirt, and concrete to job sites.
Russell ends up sinking most of his rookie year salary to buy his first dump truck. People call him nuts, and so the story goes.
Flash forward to 4 years later and Shep Boys has five trucks in their arsenal. Each truck brings in $60k to $120k per month.
Multiply that by their five trucks and you’re looking at anywhere from $3.6m to $7.2m in annual revenue. BTW, at the time, Tampa Bay was only paying him $350k a year.
Not a bad cash flow gig while Shepard is also leading the team in tackles and named captain of special teams.
If I had to guess, he probably paid ~$40k per dump truck, and that’s assuming he bought them new. If they were used, probably significantly less.
As he edges closer to retirement, Russell has to decide what’s next for Shep Boys. At this point, his wife and both of his parents are helping him run the company behind the scenes.
He then goes deep into research mode thinking he should start a sports agency. But after running the numbers, he realizes this isn’t where he wants to be.
Even crazier? At the same time that he’s figuring out what’s next, he’s getting recognized more and more for the “cute little dump truck company” he’s built.
Everyone wants the pages of his playbook, including the ones who called him crazy.
He spends the next year researching business trends in the industry that hasn’t let him down yet: trucking.
Only then does he see The Golden Throne of all business opportunities that has always been there, like the girl next door who’s suddenly hot AF after she takes off her glasses at the end of your fave 90s rom-com.
Here she is: waste management and porta potties.
He picked her because she’s recession-resistant.
Because unfortunately people will always need to number one or number two while on a construction job site.
Now that he’s got over a year in this business under his belt, Russell expects $60k in monthly revenue as a baseline.
Flushing out the numbers
The Breakdown for Your Average Porta Potty Biz
The trick to this biz model is niche-ing down and becoming the go-to potty placer for your industry of choice (think construction, music festivals, wedding venues)
Most companies will charge their customer depending on
1) How long they’re in place
2) How often they’re serviced.
You’re looking at $80 minimum for a one day rental of your standard toilet experience and upwards of $1.5k if you’re looking for the luxury deluxe experience (think weddings and other special events).
You’ll also want to account for hand washing stations or sanitation stations (an additional fee), plus a delivery fee that’s also added on top of the rental (~$50/unit).
The majority of your costs will go toward labor and transportation, plus supplies like TP and that unforgettably blue liquid. You’ll probably spend about ~$40/toilet for a month of service.
One thing that makes this toilet untapped (and how I’d play it)
Say it with me now: CONTENT.
I’ve seen a few people on the internet who have already gotten into this trend with other boring businesses, but none of them with a former NFL football player as a founder.
Since a boring biz like this will likely serve mostly local customers, there’s a ton of value in creating some for of short-form video content (or snipping down longer-form video content and leveraging Facebook.
Step 1: Start your Facebook page and join a bunch of local groups that are relevant to your niche.
Step 2: Offer an incentive or referral fee for anyone who likes your posts. Gift cards and other giveaways in exchange for tagging friends in a post would do well here.
Step 3: Post short-form videos to your FB page about your services and how it all works. Customer testimonial videos would also make great content, especially if it talks about how easy it was to work with you.
Since your services are likely time-sensitive (i.e. someone needs a mobile toilet at a later date) or industry-specific (i.e. a wedding venue needs a local contact for a mobile toilet vendor to refer their clients), it’s more about finding the right people who will need repeatable service than a random one-off job.
If you’re reading this, I need you to know…
We’ve got a few key takeaways from this one Contrarians, so let’s take some notes.
You’ll be called crazy, but do it anyway — Russell comes from a long line of entrepreneurs who KNEW the power of trucking. But venture too far outside the norm and all of a sudden: You’re insane… I could never… That’ll never work… Be prepared for the No’s.
Boring isn’t sexy, but — there are a million opportunities around you, that can help you scale strategically. It may not make you a #influencer, but it may make you rich. Which is the better of the two options anyway, isn’t it?
What do you think? Are porta potties the latest boring biz I should add to my portfolio? Do I dare visit Russell in Houston and post some pretty porta-potty videos to my TikTok account?
Not exactly what I had on my 2023 vision board, but if you want it…I’m in. If you’re here to see it, hit reply and we’ll make it happen.
✔️ Think your 💩 really don't stink anymore? Could it be down to eggflation…
✔️ Yes, your eyes didn't deceive you. Our newsletter had glow up this week. Love it? Loathe it? Hit reply and let us know.
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Disclaimer – This is the “Be an adult” section. Everything mentioned above isn’t advice, just a recount of what I did. That said: This article is presented for informational purposes only. The opinions stated here are not intended to recommend any investment or provide tax advice. Neither are they an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to purchase an interest in any current or future investment vehicle managed or sponsored by Codie Ventures, LLC or its affiliates. All material presented in this newsletter is not to be regarded as investment advice, but for general informational purposes only. Day trading and investing do involve risk, so caution must always be utilized. We cannot guarantee profits or freedom from loss. You assume the entire cost and risk. You are solely responsible for making your own investment decisions. We recommend consulting with a registered investment advisor, broker-dealer, and/or financial advisor. If you choose to invest with or without seeking advice from such an advisor or entity, then any consequences resulting from your investments are your sole responsibility. By reading/sharing this newsletter or consuming our content on our other channels, you are indicating your consent and agreement to our disclaimer.
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