“This was perfect because we could run it from home. It was a trash business and everything was outdoors,” says Sperry.
Swansea, Illinois — A late-night call to Rachel and Taron Sperry with an urgent question from a New York contractor. Can your company provide her 12 trash cans within two hours to clear debris from her tornado-damaged Amazon delivery station in Edwardsville, Illinois?
December 2021 marks nearly a year since the couple began operating the redbox+ Dumpsters franchise in Metro East County.
Mr. and Mrs. Sperry immediately answered yes.
“Our driver was able to jump in and get on the site and remove a large piece of debris,” says Rachel Sperry. “They were still looking for survivors at that point. The 12 trash cans she kept in use for two to three months until they were cleaned up.”
Sperry said it was a “very sad time” with the loss of six lives at the delivery station, but the couple and their employees “proved us that we could actually do the job.” It was also an opportunity to do.
The Sperrys are an example of small business owners who not only survived, but thrived to some degree, in pursuit of their entrepreneurial dreams during the Covid-19 pandemic. From pre-pandemic 2019 to his 2021, he saw a 53% increase in applications to start a business in the United States, according to Census Bureau data. From 2020 to 2021, business applications increased by 16.7% in Illinois and by 20.3% in Missouri, according to the seasonally adjusted Census.
Originally one truck and one driver, the Sperrys now have three people each, one of whom is also the general manager. The fourth employee is the office manager. According to Sperry, the number of trash cans they own has tripled to nearly 120. They declined to release any revenue figures, and according to the company’s website, trash can rentals for up to seven days cost him $399 to $599.
They admitted that the trash business is not “attractive.” A big selling point is that in addition to regular trash cans, there is also a trash can that rolls off a flatbed truck with two portable toilets attached, making it a form of one-stop shopping for construction sites.
“People stop us at the scene and say, ‘Wow, why hasn’t anyone thought of this before?'” Sperry said. “It’s a unique product because it’s patented. Nowhere else in the U.S. does anyone put out a toilet like this. A man flips the (portable toilet) over when someone is inside it.” I like it because they’re kind of masculine. You can’t turn this around, so it’s also for safety.”
They added that their decision to choose the trash bin proved to be accidental. said those options would have been hampered by the pandemic.
“This was perfect because we could run it from home. It was a trash business and everything was outdoors,” says Sperry.
Taron Sperry said he and his wife also chose Trash because they have a background in logistics. Deputy Director. He plans to retire in September 2023 and work full-time with his wife.
For more stories, visit the St. Louis Business Journal website.
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