With all of the discussion about valet trash companies, here’s a question you may be considering: “Is valet trash a good business to start in my state?” Consider these statistics from a 2016 report released by the National Multifamily Housing Council:

• There are 18.6 million apartments in the United States

• 37% of U.S. households reside in rental housing

• This equates to 43.7 million families

• 52% of these families live in multi-family complexes

• The most renters in any state live in New York at 24.23% of the state population

• The least percentage of renters in the U.S. reside in Idaho at only 4.70%

• There are 1.6 million more renters than there were 6 years ago

• Recycling at apartments is in the “Top 5” of most desired renting amenities

The most important takeaway from this data is that of the 43.7 million families, each one of them creates garbage. No matter how much we try to reduce our garbage output, it is always there. This means that 43.7 million families have garbage to take out to the dumpster and these families reside in each of the 50 states.

Researching

The above study demonstrates that every state has the demand for valet trash services. You should still do you own research to find out exactly how many renters live in your state and might have the need for this service.

Research the Competition

Don’t rule out a basic search engine query about valet trash companies in your city. Remember the Yellow Pages? Not many people have a printed book in their homes anymore, but Yellow Pages has a website that allows you to search for businesses in any area. There is also Angie’s List. Granted, this site is typically used to research contractors before hiring, but it is also a fantastic way to research the trash valet providers in your local area of interest. The info you glean from your foundational research will tell you if valet trash is a good business to consider for your area, or if your city is already rife with valet trash companies.

Research the Prospects

As for rental units that may need your valet trash services, nothing beats a drive through neighborhoods that fall into the radius of the service area of your valet trash business. There are also websites that help you find rental communities in any location. These sites can show you the rent amounts for each community as well. Knowing what the monthly rental costs will help you when determining what costs will be relevant when preparing a proposal for a property manager.

Choosing a Market

Once you have done the legwork of research, you can start the process of choosing a market for your valet trash business. Choosing a market is an important step to creating a niche for your company. Maybe you feel that the apartment complexes near you are inundated with valet trash services and you have a better chance servicing senior housing communities. Or, maybe your business is still small enough that focusing on the lake resorts in your area are just the right size for your company.

It may be worth your time to investigate the income demographics of certain towns or cities. The higher the income bracket, the more likely your services will be sought after. Try ESRI’s zip code lookup tool to give you a breakdown of median household income, age, and population density.

Benefits

Luxury amenities are on the rise with the increase of renters. Amenities like valet trash services are in demand along with other full-service amenities such as dog-walking, personal valets, grocery shoppers, and package concierge.

Valet trash benefits the residents of rental communities by providing a safer, worry-free method to trash disposal and…

valet trash gives the property managers benefits such as providing cleaner common areas and less crime due to a valet trash employee being on-site during the evening hours.

These are just some of the examples of valet trash benefits to get you started, but there are certainly more!

Remember, no matter the state you reside in, there will always be rental communities of every kind and each one of them will have garbage to throw away. Is valet trash a good business for you to start in your state? We think so!