Going Green in the Moving Industry

Share Your Story: Unique Entrepreneurial Businesses & What Makes Them Successful

From AshSud, 

 

Why is your business unique and what's your pitch? 

ZippGo was created to solve the problem of excessive waste created during the moving process. ZippGo rents a reusable moving box made from 100% recycled plastic to replace the conventional cardboard box. Each of the ZippGo boxes can be used 500 times each where as cardboard boxes, even if reused, can be used a maximum of 3 times. ZippGo rents our green moving boxes to people relocating to a new home or office. An estimated 43 million people move annually in the US, which creates an opportunity to significantly reduce the waste created during moves and also create a sustainable business that does good by the planet.

What led you to start the business? 

The concept behind ZippGo was born intuitively while I was managing an award winning organic grocery home delivery company I founded in 2001. My company used reusable green plastic boxes to deliver organic fruits and vegetables to homes and businesses around the San Francisco Bay Area. We reused these boxes over and over again nearly 400 times a piece.

During this time, I moved residences a couple of times and found that using the same green boxes was an excellent solution to pack my belongings in and use to transport to my new home. After I merged the company with another organic home delivery company in 2008, I was embarking on another move within San Francisco and because I no longer had access to the green boxes, I was forced to buy cardboard boxes. After the move was complete and the boxes empty, I had the daunting task of having to dispose of the boxes. I didn't feel right having to throw away new cardboard boxes after using them only once, and I was sure other people felt the same way.

I decided to create a business around the concept of renting reusable green moving boxes to people and businesses that were moving. After studying the impacts of cardboard on the environment and realizing how much waste could be eliminated, I launched ZippGo and haven't looked back. Every single customer we have delivered to has absolutely loved our service. They tell us how much easier it made their move and that they will never go back to using cardboard. We don't spend much on marketing because all of our customer's become evangelists for our products and we are growing by positive word of mouth.

Lessons Learned

·         I think the biggest lesson is that there will be new challenges everyday of every week of every year. An entrepreneur has to remain focused and continue to be passionate about the work they are doing. There are times when things may seem insurmountable, but I've always believed that success is just around the corner. As long as you know what you are doing is having a positive impact on the people you serve, then keep working at it.

·         I think changing your mindset is the most important thing. Believe you can do it and you will be right.

Source:  http://entrepreneurs.about.com/u/sty/casestudies/UniqueSmallBusinesses/Going-Green-in-the-Moving-Industry.htm

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