Wesley Smith, owner of Smith Sanitation, takes a moment to adjust a waste bin before setting it on the curb. CREDIT ANNIE SMITH BARKALOW
Wesley Smith isn’t afraid to get his hands dirty. The long-time Oxford resident started his own waste management business, Smith Sanitation, in Tiffin three months ago after dabbling in landscaping and business school at Kirkwood Community College. “It’s not rocket science. But not anybody can do it,” he said. You could say waste management is […]
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Wesley Smith isn’t afraid to get his hands dirty.
The long-time Oxford resident started his own waste management business, Smith Sanitation, in Tiffin three months ago after dabbling in landscaping and business school at Kirkwood Community College.
“It's not rocket science. But not anybody can do it,” he said.
You could say waste management is all in the family – Mr. Smith’s father owned a sanitation business while he was growing up.
“I think I was on the back of a truck at the age of seven,” he said, and summers were spent collecting and sorting 5-and-10 cent cans. Eventually, he began driving the trucks and managing routes himself.
After his brief stints as a landscaper and college student, Mr. Smith found himself gravitating back toward the sanitation business, ultimately deciding to branch out on his own.
“It was an easy decision for me when I decided to do it,” he said. “I've always had an entrepreneurial mind. And I always wanted to start my own business, I just didn't know what it was.”
Customer service more than timely pick-ups
When he decided to make the leap, Mr. Smith posted an announcement on Facebook, and it didn’t take long for interest to take off.
“The next two days, I was on the phone all day answering,” he said.
He purchased a compact garbage truck so he could better navigate private roads and HOAs, and said he’s received positive feedback so far from those communities.
Luke Lenoch, Smith Sanitation employee, operates the garbage truck at a stop in Coralville. CREDIT ANNIE SMITH BARKALOW
“People are excited. They like the way our cans look,” said Mr. Smith. “We had to deliver a bunch of dumpsters – and they (customer) said that we did awesome, because when the previous company pulled theirs, we were on it right away.”
But providing stand-out service isn’t just about timely pick-ups, said Mr. Smith; it’s anticipating what the customer needs and responding quickly.
“I wear every hat. So when you have a question, I can answer it,” he said. “When there is a problem, we make sure we fix it right away – same day.”
A typical day begins at 5:30 a.m. and can end mid afternoon, depending on how many pick-ups a route brings. “As we continue to grow, (days are) only going to get longer,” said Mr. Smith. “For me, it’s kind of unpredictable right now.”
He likes starting his day early, however. “It's cool, because you do the same thing every week. But every day is different,” he said.
Cost of running own business 'eye opening'
Currently, Smith Sanitation offers residential garbage and recycling, and commercial dumpsters. In the future, Mr. Smith would like to add construction roll off services and portable toilets, when the company has grown a bit more.
“The cost of everything is eye opening,” he said.
Inflation has increased the price of everything, but Smith Sanitation is in a competitive market, said Mr. Smith, and he wants his pricing to be appealing enough to attract customers, and his service upstanding enough to keep them.
“We want to be competitive in price. And so that's kind of hard starting out,” he said. “But what we're doing is making sure that our service is the best in the area, and that takes time.”
