If you’re looking for a business that can make a good profit and that’s always going to be needed (or at least for the foreseeable future), opening and running a scrap yard could be the ideal choice. However, just like with any other business, there is a lot of information you need to know, knowledge you need to have, and insight you need to gain before you can start and hope to be successful.
The best thing you can do is plenty of research before you do anything else – in that way, you’ll have a clearer idea of what running a scrap yard entails, and you can make sure everything’s in place so that once you open, you can hit the ground running. With that in mind, here are some of the things you need to know about running a scrap yard.
Know About Materials
The main profits from your scrap yard will generally come from the materials you find there – if you’re able to discover something valuable, you can sell it, and the more you do that, the more successful you’ll be.
It stands to reason in that case that you’re going to need to know about those materials; otherwise you’re not going to be able to maximize your profits – if you don’t know what’s valuable (or even how much it might be worth), how will you know what to sell? Plus, even if you sell something, how will you know how much you should get for it? Researching the industry and the valuable materials (which could be copper, steel, aluminum, and electronics, for example) means you’ll be able to put a plan in place to make money, which is sure to be your ultimate business goal.
Your Equipment
What comes to mind when you think of a scrap yard? It might be a big outdoor space full of what at first glance looks like junk (but, as we know, could be highly valuable). That’s certainly part of it, but what about the equipment? Every scrap yard is going to need some heavy duty equipment, otherwise you won’t be able to move the scrap around and excavate to see what you have.
This equipment is going to cost you money, so it’s wise to make a list of everything you need, such as car crushing equipment, for example, to understand how much you need to spend. You might not need everything that you find in your research, so don’t rush to buy equipment; check that it’s precisely what you need first.
Your Location
Something else you’ll need to consider when it comes to starting and running a scrap yard is your location. You might not think it’s all that important – does it matter where the scrap yard is as long as it’s run efficiently and you have the equipment you need to do the job well and safely?
The answer is yes – location does matter. Ideally, you’ll want to set up your scrap yard somewhere customers and suppliers can easily get to; otherwise, if it’s a tricky journey or you’re too far away from civilization, they might choose to go elsewhere. Of course, you’ll also need plenty of space, so it can sometimes be a fine balance between being closer to towns and cities but far enough away to have the space you need for the business. Still, it’s worth taking the time to find the ideal location because moving your scrap yard if you find it’s in the wrong place can be a challenge, to say the least; it might even be impossible.
