Good morning, haulers ☕
Let me take you back about six years to a time when my business was still finding its footing. Back then, we were subcontracted to pick up those green Waste Management Bagster bags.
If you’re unfamiliar, Bagsters are these portable dumpster bags that people can pick up at Home Depot, fill with junk, and then call Waste Management to haul them away.
Waste Management didn’t even operate in our area directly. Instead, they contracted local haulers like us to handle the pickups. For a few years, we worked that contract and must have hauled away thousands of those bags.
But here’s the thing—we didn’t have roll-off dumpster trucks at the time. Just one dump truck. So, we got creative. We rigged up a winch system to the back of the truck, lowered ramps, and used that setup to pull the Bagsters onboard.
It was a lot of work. Definitely not glamorous. But it kept our trucks moving while we were building the business.
The Lessons in the Work
I didn’t know it at the time, but those long days of picking up Bagsters were teaching me lessons that would shape the future of my business.
First, I got a crash course in customer behavior. Some people followed the rules perfectly, packing their bags neatly and staying under the weight limit. Others… let’s just say they saw the limits as suggestions.
We’d haul bags stuffed with everything imaginable, well beyond what they were designed to hold. It became a game of averages—some jobs were quick and easy, others were back-breaking. Over time, it all evened out, and the contract was profitable.
Second, I learned the importance of efficiency. Whenever we had a truck scheduled to pick up Bagsters, I’d look at our other jobs for the day. If we had a same-day request along that route, I’d reroute the truck to handle both. Those small, strategic adjustments added up, pushing our profit margins higher and keeping us on the road.
The Spark of an Idea
But as I worked those routes, one thought kept nagging at me:
“Why couldn’t I do this? Why couldn’t I create my own version of this bag?”
We’d talked to thousands of customers who used the Bagster. Their feedback was consistent:
The bags were too small for bulkier items.
The material wasn’t durable enough for heavier loads.
Customers felt like they weren’t getting enough value for the price.
Armed with these insights, I went back to the drawing board and started designing my own dumpster bag.
Building Something Better
I started small. The first step was testing. I ordered a batch of bags from a manufacturer in China, copying the Bagster’s design to ensure the quality of the materials. Once I was confident in the production, I began tweaking the design based on the feedback I’d heard for years. Here's a video of my bags being labeled by the manufacturer 👇
Here’s what we changed:
Size: We made the bags over twice the size of the Bagster to handle bulkier items.
Durability: Reinforced the loops and used tougher materials.
Value: Customers could now get more for their money, addressing one of the most common complaints.
Convenience: Instead of making customers go to the store to buy the bag, we rolled the bags up and packaged them in rectangular, tube-shaped boxes that could be shipped directly to their door.
Local Drop-Offs: Since we already had trucks running routes daily, if a customer’s house was near one of our pre-existing routes, we’d have the driver drop the bag off right at their front door—saving them a trip entirely.
The Grizzly Bag, ready to be shipped via USPS 👇
Once the prototypes were ready, we rolled them out on a small scale, gathering feedback as customers used them. The response was incredible. People loved the improvements, and we kept refining the product with every batch.
All in all, it took us three separate orders to perfect the design for both our customers and our operations. The added specifications made it easier for my trucks to pick up full bags, which can weigh 1,000 pounds or more, while keeping the routes efficient and streamlined.
Striking the right balance between what customers love and what keeps the business efficient and profitable is key.
The results spoke for themselves. I ran the numbers and realized that selling just one-third of my own bags could generate the same profit as picking up 100% of Waste Management’s bags.
Less work.
Less wear on our trucks.
And a much more sustainable business model.
Here's a look at the finished product 👇
The Advantage of Being Small
Looking back, I realized that as a small business, we had advantages that big corporations like Waste Management couldn’t touch:
Speed: We could test new ideas and make changes quickly without layers of bureaucracy slowing us down.
Direct Feedback: I had countless conversations with customers, listening to their frustrations and ideas—insights no focus group could match.
Agility: We could experiment on a small scale, minimizing risk while staying flexible enough to pivot when needed.
These advantages allowed us to not only compete with a giant like Waste Management but to carve out a piece of the market for ourselves.
Why This Matters for You
The lesson here is simple: just because a big corporation is doing something doesn’t mean you can’t do it better. The frustration you feel in your day-to-day work might be pointing to an opportunity hiding in plain sight.
Here’s how you can apply this to your business:
Listen to Your Customers: Their feedback is a roadmap for innovation. What are they frustrated with? What would make their experience better?
Start Small: Don’t overcommit. Test your idea on a small scale to see how it performs and minimize risk.
Iterate Quickly: Use customer feedback to improve and refine your product or service.
Leverage Your Agility: Your ability to move fast is a huge advantage over larger competitors.
Your Next Big Idea is Closer Than You Think
My journey from picking up Bagsters with a modified dump truck to creating my own dumpster bags didn’t happen overnight—it was years in the making.
It was the result of countless small steps, learning from the work in front of me, and acting on the insights I gained along the way.
What about you?
What frustration in your business could hold the key to your next big idea?
Look closer, listen carefully, and don’t be afraid to take that first small step.
Until next time, keep building smarter and looking for opportunities hiding in plain sight. ✌️
Justin Hubbard
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