Dirty Jobs: Disgusting Businesses That Make Big Money

High-tech hygiene

No one ever said owning a business was glamorous. But there are plenty of dirty jobs out there that need to be done. The willingness to get involved in “down and dirty” businesses that address real customer needs can be a profitable formula for success. BusinessNewsDaily interviewed five business owners who told us how they put their entrepreneurial spin on solving these age-old — and rather unappealing — problems. The word bidet may conjure up images of commodes in upper-crust European society. But, you might be surprised to know that not only have bidets gone high-tech, their demand is alive and well, even in America. (They even have their own Facebook fan page!) <a href="http://www.brondell.com/" target="_blank">Brondell, Inc.</a>, located in San Francisco, is one business prospering from the “bidet boom.” Co-founded in 2003 by David Samuel and Scott Pinizzotto, Brondell’s product line includes a bidet called the “Swash 1000,” which the company describes as a “highly functional toilet seat that provides users unparalleled comfort and personal hygiene.” Inspiration for the company came after a chance encounter by Samuel in a Japanese restaurant bathroom, according to Steven Scheer, president of Brondell. “Out of curiosity, [Samuel] pushed one of the buttons [labeled in Japanese], and got a nice soaking before heading back to his table with a wet shirt and pants. Ever since then, he was intrigued with the product and later on started Brondell, along with Scott,” Scheer said. When Samuel and Pinizotto dug into the numbers behind bidets, they found that 70 percent of Japanese homes currently have a bidet, compared with just 14 percent of American homes that were “bidet-equipped” in 1992. With such a rapid adoption rate, the opportunity in the U.S. was obvious, they said. Brondell’s core market focus is North America, but they also distribute internationally and through various partnerships. “The target audience is the end consumer homeowner and there are various niche audiences that the bidet seat appeals to,” Scheer said. Samuel and Pinizzotto started Brondell with $350,000 in seed money. In 2005, they raised approximately $1.3 million in investments, including an investment from Mark Cuban (tech entrepreneur and owner of the Dallas Mavericks basketball team).

Hair today, gone tomorrow

For Jeannie Bush, certified professional electrologist and owner of <a href="http://www.amenityelectrolysis.com/" target="_blank">Amenity Electrolysis</a>, in La Crosse, Wis., making business personal is the secret to her success. After struggling with extreme, unwanted facial hair for more than 15 years, Bush was finally diagnosed with a hormone disorder, and sent to an electrologist for treatment. As it turned out, the meeting changed her life in more ways than one. Aside from finally providing a solution to her embarrassing problem, the electrologist convinced Bush, who was a dental hygienist at the time, to “become master of her own fate” and enter the field of electrology. With less than $12,000, Bush started her business in 1999, purchasing state-of-the-art electrolysis equipment and furnishing the space with “repurposed dental furniture.” After meeting with three separate banks who would not provide a loan of less than $50,000, Bush finally found one that advised using home equity to fund the loan. She did just that, and today, Amenity Electrolysis serves clients in Wisconsin, Iowa and Minnesota. But, for Bush, the real success in her business isn’t about money — it’s about her customers. “Business is really about relationships. Relationships with your guests, your colleagues, your community, your professional trade associations. People may not remember what you tell them, but they will always remember how you made them feel,” Bush said.

For the love of dogs

Until 2005, Geoffrey Bodle had worked as a consultant for more than two dozen Fortune 500 companies. A desire to step outside of corporate America to see if he could start his own business without risking his day job led to the launch of his company <a href="http://www.poop911.com/" target="_blank">POOP 911</a>. “Who the heck really wants to pick up dog poop?” Bodle said. “It's not fertilizer and just kills people's grass.” Bodle was willing to take on the job, recognizing that dog poop is a fact of life for any dog owner. With a start-up investment of less than $5,000, Bodle initially operated POOP 911 as a weekend-only outfit until he could gauge the company's real money-making potential. Thanks to publicity, customer referrals (which account for 20 percent of his new business) and simply driving his POOP 911 vehicle around town, the much-needed service and recognizable phone number got people’s attention. Today, his Orange County, Calif.-based company services more than 5,000 yards each month and has grown into a franchise model, servicing 23 major metropolitan areas across the country. Bodle credits the success of POOP 911 with two factors: word of mouth and his <a alt="((CONLINK|350|franchise))" href="http://www.businessnewsdaily.com/350-for-many-small-business-owners-franchises-are-the-answer.html">franchise</a> business model. “When we'd even mention our name or phone number....people would just buckle over laughing,” Bodle said. “We've even had comedians that we don't even know randomly talk about our company during their act without solicitation. They say such things as 'you guys aren't going to believe what I saw pull up next to me at the stop light today.'" Thanks to all that free PR and marketing, Bodle is laughing all the way to the bank.

One man’s trash

Longtime friends Michael Andreacchi and Brian Reardon launched Junk King in 2005 to provide environmentally friendly junk hauling services. What initially began as a service offered to family and friends quickly became much more when they realized the potential in the market. Today, Junk King currently operates 19 locations nationwide. Headquartered in San Carlos, Calif., <a href="http://www.junk-king.com/" target="_blank">Junk King</a> removes junk of all shapes and sizes — ranging from old furniture, appliances, tires, yard waste and practically anything in between. While Junk King’s business idea may not be new, its perspective on how junk impacts the environment has been key to its success. According to Dennis Mulgannon, director of franchising for Junk King, their approach to junk hauling has saved nearly 2.3 tons of waste from local landfills by recycling up to 60 percent of what is collected from customers. And it’s not only the environment that benefits. "By recycling most of what we collect, we end up going to the garbage dumps less, which allows us to manage more jobs per day and generate more revenue per truck," said Mulgannon. Andreacchi and Reardon began Junk King with their own personal investment, but potential franchisees can own and operate their own exclusive Junk King territory for $90,000 to $150,000.

They ‘bean’ business

For Joe and Linda Smaldore of Springfield, Va., necessity really did breed invention. Noticing that their new grandson had crusty patches on his scalp (an ailment commonly known as “cradle cap”), they sought a product that would help remove the dry skin. Cognizant of his tender scalp, they searched for a product that that did not contain harsh chemicals or toxins that might harm him. To their shock, no such product existed. As a result, they created their own solution: <a href="http://www.bean-b-clean.com/" target="_blank">Bean-B-Clean</a>, a scalp massaging brush that helps combat cradle cap. With a $35,000 initial investment that came from a second mortgage and a 401K loan, their company, Smaldore Associates, was born in early 2009. Their initial investment went toward product development, including art and packaging, licensing fees, attorney fees, sending samples for testing and their first trade show. The couples’ best tip for other business owners and entrepreneurs is to hire a proven PR and <a alt="((CONLINK|38|Web%20firm))" href="http://www.businessnewsdaily.com/38-how-to-build-your-business-website.html">Web firm</a> that specializes in your target market. They also swear by the power of sampling. “We recommend biting the bullet, if you can, and giving out as many samples as is feasible for your product,” the Smaldores said. “For us, word-of-mouth proved to be the best advertising coupled with consistent results from our PR firm.”