Waste & Hauling Company

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Executive Summary

Red River Waste Service provides trash collection for homes and small businesses in Shreveport, Louisiana and the surrounding parish. It starts with one rear-loading collection truck and a route of monthly-billed households and a handful of small commercial dumpster accounts, and adds hauling jobs for bulk and cleanout work. Recurring collection contracts are the steady income, and hauling jobs fill gaps. Year 1 revenue is projected at about $248,900, growing to about $626,300 by Year 3. Startup costs are about $156,700.

Company Description

Red River Waste Service is an LLC owned by Karen Walker, who has worked eight years in route operations for a regional hauler. The business operates from a leased truck yard in Shreveport with a small office. Services: weekly curbside trash collection for homes, scheduled dumpster service for small businesses and apartments, and one-time junk removal and bulk hauling. Customers are billed monthly by card. All waste goes to a permitted landfill or transfer station, and the company does not accept hazardous materials.

How we make money. The plan has these income lines: weekly residential collection (per household per month) at about $32 each, about 4,219 in Year 1; small commercial dumpster service (per account per month) at about $150 each, about 440 in Year 1; bulk hauling and cleanout jobs at about $280 each, about 171 in Year 1. Pricing is set so each line covers its direct cost and a share of overhead.

Unit economics. In Year 1 direct costs are about $77,561, a gross margin of about 69% of sales. Pay and overhead take most of what is left, so the plan first shows a profit in Year 2. Prices and volumes are set from the assumptions in the appendix and should be replaced with your own quotes.

Problem & Opportunity

Many neighborhoods outside municipal service areas and many small businesses are served by large haulers that raise prices every year, miss pickups and are slow to answer the phone. Customers want a local company that picks up on the day promised, bills clearly and responds to a missed pickup the same day.

Products & Services

A small local hauler with a published schedule, monthly billing with no hidden fuel or fees and a dispatcher who answers the phone. A missed pickup is fixed the same day. Routes are built tight so the truck spends its day collecting, not driving. Bulk hauling jobs are priced by the load with a written quote.

Market Analysis

Shreveport and Bossier parishes have a large population of homes and small businesses outside city contracts and inside areas where private haulers compete. Demand is steady in every season and does not depend on the economy. Spring cleanout season and storm cleanup add one-time hauling work. Prices are set by what the dump charges and what customers will pay for convenience.

Who we serve first. Homeowners outside municipal service areas, small businesses and apartment properties, and property managers that need reliable pickup.

Competitive Landscape

Large national haulers dominate commercial routes, and a few local haulers run residential routes. We compete on service: same-day missed-pickup fixes, clear pricing and local ownership. We do not try to win the city's contract or large commercial accounts, which need many trucks.

Our strengths and weak points. Strengths: Owner with eight years of route operations experience who knows how to build an efficient route; Recurring monthly billing gives steady income that does not swing with the season. Weak points we plan for: One truck means a breakdown stops service until it is fixed; Landfill fees and fuel are large costs the company cannot control.

Marketing & Sales Strategy

Door-to-door and mailer campaigns in neighborhoods outside city service, partnerships with property managers and homeowner associations, a simple website with online signup and a referral credit for each neighbor who joins. The first goal is 600 recurring households and 20 small commercial accounts. Each new customer on a street makes the route cheaper to run.

The first 90 days. Days 1 to 30: sign the yard lease, buy and inspect the truck and get permits and insurance. Days 31 to 60: mail and knock on doors in two target neighborhoods and sign the first 150 households. Days 61 to 90: begin service, fix any missed pickup the same day and ask every customer for a referral.

Operations Plan

The truck runs one route per day, five days a week, starting at 6 a.m. The driver and a helper collect, weigh loads at the landfill scale and return by early afternoon. Routes are planned by street so the truck never doubles back. Customers receive a text the night before pickup. The truck is inspected before every shift and serviced on a schedule. Waste tickets from the landfill are kept for each load, and the company follows Louisiana and parish rules for permits, truck markings and disposal.

Key resources and partners. Resources: A collection truck, a truck yard, route planning software, a driver and helper and landfill account and scale tickets. Partners: A permitted landfill or transfer station, a truck dealer and mechanic, property managers and a payment processor.

What we measure. Households and accounts on each route, missed pickups per month, cost to collect per household, cost of fuel and disposal per load and cash in the bank.

Risks and how we plan for them:
- A truck breakdown stops service. We service the truck on a schedule, keep a rental truck contact and tell customers the same day if a route will be late.
- Landfill fees and fuel are large costs. Prices are reviewed each year and quotes reflect current dump fees.
- Neighborhood competition. We aim for dense routes and local service, so adding one house on a street is cheap and valuable.
- Accidents and injuries. Drivers and helpers follow written safety rules, wear protective gear and use backing and lifting procedures.
- Rules vary by parish and the state. We confirm permits, truck markings and disposal requirements with the parish and Louisiana regulators.

Customer service and billing. Customers sign up online or by phone and choose a pickup day. Each customer gets a text the night before pickup and a text if the truck will be late. Bills go out monthly by card, with a plain statement showing the service and any extra charge. A missed pickup is logged, fixed the same day and credited if it happens twice in a month. Customers can pause service for a month when they travel. Safety and compliance. Drivers wear high-visibility clothing and gloves, use the truck's backup camera and never ride the back step on public roads. Carts and containers are labeled, overloaded or hazardous items are refused with a note, and every refusal is logged.

Management & Organization

Karen Walker, Owner and Operations Manager, plans routes, handles customer service and drives when needed. A full-time driver and a part-time helper are hired at launch, and a second truck and driver are added once the first route is full. A bookkeeper handles billing reconciliation and taxes.

Hiring plan. Karen runs the business and drives when needed. One full-time driver and a part-time helper start at launch, and a second driver is added when the first route is full.

Outside help. We rely on an outside bookkeeper for monthly reconciliation and tax filings, an attorney for contracts and licensing questions and an insurance agent who reviews our coverage every year. We meet with these advisors at least twice a year and keep notes of what they recommend.

Milestones Narrative

Year 1: sign the truck yard lease and buy the truck, begin service with 150 households in month 2, reach 600 households and 15 small commercial accounts by month 10, revenue about $248,900. Year 2: fill the first route and add a second truck and driver, revenue about $456,800. Year 3: add a third route and a roll-off dumpster for cleanouts, revenue about $626,300.

What the plan's numbers say. Year 1: sales about $248,900, loss about $38,400; Year 2: sales about $456,800, profit about $76,700; Year 3: sales about $626,300, profit about $111,000; Year 4: sales about $750,900, profit about $129,900; Year 5: sales about $850,600, profit about $163,500. The lowest year-end cash is about $67,300.

How we will keep score. Every month we compare real sales to the plan, check the cash in the bank, review the direct cost of each job or product, and look at what customers say. If sales are behind plan for two months in a row, we slow spending and delay hiring until the numbers catch up.

Funding Request

How much we need and how we will use it. Total needed: $214,500. This number comes from the Funding Need Calculator in this plan. It adds up:
- Startup costs of $156,700, listed item by item in the Startup Costs section (the largest are Used rear-loading collection truck $95,000; Working capital reserve $20,000; Residential carts and small commercial containers $12,000).
- A cash cushion of about $57,800. That is the deepest cash dip in the early months plus about three months of bills, so slow weeks do not put the business at risk. Lenders call this "working capital."
- Together that comes to about $214,500 (rounded up to the nearest $500), which is the total we are planning for.
Where the money comes from:
- Owner money: $35,000.
- Equipment financing on the collection truck: $75,000.
- SBA 7(a) loan: $104,500.
Kind of funding we are looking for: Equipment financing on the collection truck: $75,000 at 9.0% interest over 7 years, about $1,207 a month; SBA 7(a) loan: $104,500 at 12.75% interest over 10 years, about $1,545 a month. A loan is money we pay back with interest, and the monthly payments are already included in our cash flow.
How we will pay it back. We expect sales of about $248,900 in Year 1, growing to about $850,600 by Year 5. We expect a loss of about $38,400 in Year 1, a profit of about $76,700 in Year 2, a profit of about $111,000 in Year 3, a profit of about $129,900 in Year 4 and a profit of about $163,500 in Year 5. Year 1 is lower than a full year because routes take months to fill. The lowest year-end cash balance is about $67,300 (Year 1), so with this funding the business has money in the bank every year of the plan.
What we are offering the lender: the equipment we buy as collateral and a personal guarantee from the owner.
A smaller first step, if needed. If we cannot raise the full amount right away, we can start with a smaller used truck and one route, add commercial accounts later and buy carts as customers sign. Duplicate this plan and lower the truck and cart costs to match.
What if sales are slower? We also tested a cautious case where sales come in 20 percent lower every year. In that case the plan shows a loss of about $88,000 in Year 1, a profit of about $41,900 in Year 3 and the lowest year-end cash is about $67,300, so the business still has money in the bank every year.
All numbers in this plan are estimates. We will update them as real results come in.

Appendix Notes

Documents to attach before you send this plan:

- LLC operating agreement.
- Louisiana business registration and parish hauler approvals.
- Insurance certificates for commercial auto and general liability.
- Truck purchase and financing agreements.
- Truck yard lease.
- Landfill or transfer station account.
- Customer service agreement and billing terms.
- Route plan and safety manual.
If you don't have any of this yet, no worries - let's continue.

The assumptions behind our numbers (change them in the Financials section to match your own):
- Weekly Residential Collection (per household per month): about 4,219 units in Year 1 at about $32 each, costing about $9.00 each to deliver.
- Small Commercial Dumpster Service (per account per month): about 440 units in Year 1 at about $150 each, costing about $55.00 each to deliver.
- Bulk Hauling and Cleanout Jobs: about 171 units in Year 1 at about $280 each, costing about $90.00 each to deliver.
- Pay: owner / operations manager $46,000 a year (the same number all five years); driver $38,000 a year (people in Years 1 to 5: 1, 1, 2, 3, 3); helper (part-time) $24,000 a year (people in Years 1 to 5: 0.5, 0.5, 1, 1.5, 2).
- Other yearly costs in Year 1: fuel about $22,000, truck maintenance and tires about $12,000, commercial auto and general liability insurance about $10,000, truck yard lease and utilities about $15,000, route software and phones about $3,000, marketing about $6,000, admin, permits and accounting about $6,000.
- Tax rate: 21%.
- Every dollar amount is an estimate. Replace them with your own quotes and research.

Plain words used in this plan:
- Route: the order of streets the truck visits on one day.
- Rear-loader: a collection truck loaded from the back, common for residential routes.
- Transfer station: a facility that accepts waste before it goes to a landfill.
- Tipping fee: the price a landfill charges to accept a load.
- Roll-off: a large open container hauled by a truck for cleanouts and construction.

Startup Costs