Caleb is 19. While a lot of people his age are still waiting for the “right time” to do something with their lives, he’s already running his own business — a dog waste removal service serving families across Hickory, NC.
No big loan. No franchise fee. No years of experience. Just a decision to stop waiting and start building.
If you’ve ever thought about working for yourself but talked yourself out of it because it felt too complicated, too expensive, or too risky, Caleb’s story is worth a few minutes of your time. Because the truth is, what he did is something almost anyone willing to put in the work can do.
The “Someday” Trap
Most people who want their own business never start one. Not because they can’t — but because they get stuck.
Stuck on which idea to pick. Stuck wondering how much it’ll really cost. Stuck on the part nobody talks about: how do you actually find customers? It’s easy to buy a scooper and some trash bags. Figuring out how to get 20 paying families on a recurring schedule is the part that quietly defeats most first-time entrepreneurs.
Caleb didn’t get stuck, because he didn’t try to figure all of that out alone. He picked a proven, in-demand service and plugged into a system that handled the hardest parts for him. That’s the difference between “someday” and “this weekend.”
Why Dog Waste Removal Is a Smart First Business
It’s not glamorous. That’s exactly why it works. Pet waste removal is one of the most accessible businesses you can start, and the numbers back it up:
- Low startup cost. You can get going with basic equipment — gloves, a scooper, bags, and a way to get around. No warehouse, no inventory, no storefront.
- Recurring revenue. This isn’t one-and-done work. Most customers sign up for weekly service, which means predictable income that builds week over week. Caleb charges $19/week per yard, plus $7 for each additional dog — and those subscriptions stack.
- Real demand. Tens of millions of U.S. households own dogs, and a growing number happily pay to skip the one chore nobody enjoys. Busy families, older pet owners, and working professionals are your customers.
- Healthy margins. With low overhead and route-based scheduling, well-run pet waste businesses keep a strong share of every dollar they bring in.
- You’re the boss. You set your hours, your routes, and your pace. Want a weekend side hustle? Done. Want to scale into a full-time operation? Also done.
It’s the kind of business where your effort directly determines your income — and where showing up reliably is most of the battle.
The Hardest Part Isn’t the Scooping — It’s the Customers
Here’s what every “how to start a business” guide glosses over: the work itself is the easy part. The expensive, frustrating, make-or-break part is marketing. Finding leads. Building a website. Setting up booking and payments. Getting people to trust a brand-new operator they’ve never heard of.
That’s where most solo startups stall out — and it’s exactly the part Caleb didn’t have to solve from scratch.
By launching as a Get A PRO provider, he got the pieces that usually take new entrepreneurs months (and thousands of dollars) to build:
- A professional booking page customers can use to schedule in a minute
- Real, local leads from families actively looking for the service
- Done-for-you marketing — branding, online presence, and the systems to win jobs from day one
- A proven blueprint so he wasn’t guessing about pricing, routes, or how to deliver
He brought the hustle. The platform brought the system. Together, that’s a business that books customers instead of chasing them.
Get A PRO vs. Buying a Franchise
If you’ve looked into starting a service business, you’ve probably run into franchise offers. They promise systems and a known brand — but a pet waste franchise can cost tens of thousands of dollars upfront, often with a five-figure franchise fee, plus an ongoing royalty taken out of your sales for as long as you own the business.
Get A PRO is not a franchise. There’s no massive buy-in to purchase a territory, and you stay an independent business owner. You get the turnkey blueprint, the branding, and the lead flow that franchises charge a premium for — without signing away a permanent cut of everything you earn. It’s franchise-level support with independent-operator freedom.
(Always confirm current Get A PRO program details and costs on the official sign-up page before making any decisions.)
If Caleb Can Start at 19, What’s Stopping You?
You don’t need to be young. You don’t need experience. You don’t need a pile of cash. What you need is the willingness to do honest work and the decision to actually begin.
Caleb made that decision. A few months in, he’s serving local families, building recurring income, and learning the kind of real-world business skills that stick for life. There’s nothing special about his situation that you don’t already have access to — there’s only the fact that he started.
The dog waste removal business is wide open. The demand is real, the startup cost is low, and the hardest part is already handled for you.
Start Your Own Dog Waste Removal Business — see how Get A PRO helps you launch fast with leads, tools, and support.
Become a PRO and turn “someday” into your first booked customer.
Your move.
Get A PRO helps aspiring entrepreneurs launch real home-service businesses — dog waste removal, pressure washing, and window cleaning — with done-for-you marketing, qualified leads, and step-by-step blueprints. Get A PRO is a service and lead-generation platform, not a franchise. Earnings examples are illustrative and not a guarantee of income.
