This hustle requires you to get out of the house and go talk to people! It’s not hard, and in a way you will have to sell yourself and your services, but in the end it’s pretty easy.

As the world continues to grow, more and more people are filling up our cities and metropolitan areas at alarming rates. This is both a good and a bad thing: more people means more traffic (yikes!), but it also means more opportunity. When people inhabit cities and towns, they need something to do during the day, and we usually call that work. Well, not a lot of people enjoy working outside, so companies build or lease buildings where their employees can do their work efficiently.

Simple so far eh?

Well, in these office buildings are a collection of companies, and generally companies compete against each other in order to make more money, so they have to safeguard their company information. However, some of this information gets outdated, and needs to be destroyed, but many of these buildings lack the facilities to do this efficiently. And yes, this is indeed where you come in:

Offer to destroy — or shred — sensitive company documentation for office buildings!

Yes, you may think that big companies are already doing this job, and some of them are, but there’s a reason why I gave you the whole story about growing cities and towns. First, because we are growing so rapidly, oftentimes the existing companies cannot keep pace with the growth, and cannot keep enough employees on staff to efficiently handle the workload. Just think about your favorite grocery or department store during the peak times of the day. Don’t you remember wishing that the store had more employees manning the checkout lanes so you could get out faster? A lot of times, it’s not the lack of a decent salary that’s stopping them, it’s the lack of a willing workforce. Because of this, you are able to fill the gap by providing a needed service while getting paid what you feel you are worth.

Secondly, people LOVE options. There may be a big conglomerate that handles most of the shredding for the whole town, but that doesn’t have to stop you from getting in on the action! Even though Coca-Cola is the big-dog amount soft drink companies, that didn’t stop Pepsi from creating and successfully selling a competing formula. McDonald’s may be the king of burgers, but Wendy’s hasn’t filed for bankruptcy, and neither has Burger King.

Not down and out by a long shot.

Thirdly, people LOVE the underdog. Think back to when Mike Tyson was in his prime. Love him or hate him, he was a force to be feared. People just KNEW he was going to win the fight, no matter who was lined up on the fight card. But people would still bet on the underdog, and would get paid BIG TIME if their man won! Buster Douglas and Evander Holyfield know quite well what it’s like to be the underdog, and that never stopped them from going the distance. Don’t let the big man on campus stop you from giving local companies the OPTION of having you handle their shredding services!

Okay, so we’ve talked about the thoughts and feelings that would prevent you from moving forward, and I’ve tried to dispel any myths about making this hustle work. Now lets talk about what’s needed to make some money! As I’ve said before, the main thing you need is drive. I cannot give this to you; it’s something that you have to feel on the inside. But along with drive, there are a couple of other things you will need:

A shredder

A big trash can

A lock

A razor

Trash bags

Contracts and policies

So now that you have the required items, here is the procedure:

Step 1: Approach the manager of the office dwelling in question. Chat them up a bit; don’t come right off asking to put a big trash can in their place where people can drop their unwanted documents.

Step 2: Establish a price for the services. I will not put any kind of pricing information here, because each locale is different and the dynamics of competitors, tenants, and proximity to the sun will all vary. Do your research, and you may have to engage in some trial-and-error before you feel totally comfortable. This step is also where you’ll utilize your contracts and tell your customer that they will also receive a Certificate of Destruction each time you pay a visit.

Step 3: Find a suitable location for your big can to go, then line it with a trash bag, pull the top down, and lock it. Also, if you haven’t done so, take out your razor and cut a hole in the top of the can so only documents can fit through it, big enough for about 15 or so at one time. If you can actually make a phone call with your razor, um, you have the wrong kind for this hustle!!

Step 4: Establish a schedule for picking up your new trash. This may be slow at first — people have to have time to get accustomed to this new service — but rest assured they will use it again and again as time goes on, and you’ll have more frequent return visits (which consequently means more cash flow).

Step 5: Actually perform the shredding, and provide your client with a Certificate of Destruction on your next visit.

Probably the most difficult part about this hustle is the shredding part, because it is essentially a type of manual labor. But just think about the dollars you’re making doing something so simple, put on some music, and shred away!

Get that cheddar!