Student entrepreneur turns trash into cash
This story was originally published by the Minot Daily News and is printed with permission. To view the original, please see the Daily News WEBSITE.
By Charles Crane, Minot Daily News
MINOT, N.D. – With the winter snow vanishing and the weather finally doing more than just flirting with spring, Minot residents (were) looking ahead to the City’s spring cleanup weekend starting on May 8. Unfortunately for those who live in apartments or aren’t directly patrons of the Minot Sanitation Department, participating in the biannual opportunity to unload unwanted furniture or other clutter on the curb is not an option.
Logan Weber, a Minot State University business management major, took notice of this gap in the market and decided to throw his hat in the ring with his new business Minot Dump N’ Go, which he hopes to be a solution for those who just don’t have the time or the ability to make a run to the dump.
“In the last year or so I’ve kind of flipped a switch and changed my mindset. I don’t want to take the normal route of going out and getting a job, but with a business degree I wanted to use mine to start my own and work myself so I could use this first one as a building block to other businesses,” Weber said, “I had seen people in other areas online doing it, and they talked about how great it was. There are other companies that do dumpsters and stuff, but a lot of them don’t advertise much for coming to pick it up.”
After toying with the idea for a few months, Weber decided to put some other concepts to the back burner so he could research the market and get his ducks in a row. His first steps after forming an LLC were rolling out a simple website for payment processing and securing a trailer and other equipment. The hard part for all startups local or large is getting your name out there, but it wasn’t long before Weber was getting calls for jobs as simple as picking up a busted couch from an apartment complex to larger gigs of clearing out a graveyard of scrap wood for a local business.
“The first month has been very busy. People have a lot of stuff, and if you throw a price at them and they realize it could be gone that day, you know, who wants to spend money to get a trailer and take the time to go pick stuff up? You’ve got to be ready for anything,” Weber said, “This has been a major project, but I have been halted by rain and the trailer breaking down, so it’s been interesting.”
Other than the occasional friend hired on to lend a hand, Weber is a one-man operation for now, but that may change as spring planting season begins.
“I’m still going to college at the moment and farming at the same time, so this is a pretty busy time of year, especially since starting this,” Weber said, “People message me on Facebook, my website, or hit me with phone calls. I just put them down and fit them in when I can.”
About Minot State University
Minot State University is a public university dedicated to excellence in education, scholarship, and community engagement achieved through
rigorous academic experiences, active learning environments, commitment to public service, and a vibrant campus life.
Published: 06/01/23
