Mandatory Questions –
• Kindly give our readers an introduction to your business. Please include what your business is all about, in which city you are located and if you have offices in multiple locations/ cities.
◦ Scapers opened January 2009 in St. Louis MO as a landscape construction company. In 2011, we bought our first 3 dumpsters and our first truck for our own stuff. In 2012 we started renting them out to other companies. In 2013 we ordered my first brand new Kenworth, hired our first full time driver, and really started to add boxes. In 2014, we moved into our Baumgartner Road facility. In 2016, we were completely out of landscaping, hired Brandy to run our office, and became a full fledged dumpster rental business.
• Kindly give us a brief description about yourself (it should include your brief educational or entrepreneurial background and list some of your major achievements).
◦ Kyle Kraft earned his Bachelors of Science in Agricultural Business from Southeast Missouri State. Kyle brings an out-of-the-box mindset, problem solving skills, and a willingness to take risks to Scapers. His dynamic personality, passion, and encouragement bring out the best in the Scapers’ team.
• What inspired you to (start a new business venture) or (to make significant changes in an existing business)? How did the idea for your business come about?
◦ Scapers actually began as a landscaping business. While growing the business, Kyle struggled to find a reliable roll-off dumpster service to deliver and pick up at his job sites. Kyle realized that there was a strong need in the marketplace, so Scapers transformed into a full-scale dumpster service • What three pieces of advice would you give to budding entrepreneurs? ◦ Be Kind. Be Resourceful. Never Quit.
• What would you say are the top three skills needed to be a successful entrepreneur?
◦ Hard Work. Commitment. And hard work.
• How many hours do you work a day on average?
◦ All of them. Trash never sleeps.
• To what do you most attribute your success?
◦ Our overall service mindset. Our goal is complete satisfaction through communication and proven performance.
• How do you go about marketing your business? What has been your most successful form of marketing?
◦ We didn’t really have a traditional marketing plan. We dabbled in google ads and SEO, but noticed a friendly competitor in Atlanta absolutely killing the game. Facebook ads, social presence, google ads and listings, search, all of it, along with a stellar website that allows online ordering. We approached the owner and asked how he’s doing it, and he referred us to Harbinger Marketing. Our marketing efforts have taken off since then!
• What is the best way to achieve long-term success?
◦ Again…Hard work, commitment, and hard work.
• Where do you see yourself and your business in 5 – 10 years?
◦ Continued growth should allow for an ever expanding stable of trucks and dumpsters.
• Excluding yours, what company or business do you admire the most?
◦ ADM Rolloff
Recommended Questions –
• How important have good employees been to your success?
◦ Our employees are the backbone of our success. Without the team at Scapers, we’d never be able to do what we do every day.
• How do you build a successful customer base?
◦ Customer retention comes through service. Clear communication, meeting or exceeding expectations, and treating people the way we’d want to be treated ensure that our first time customers become long time customers.
• What is your favorite aspect of being an entrepreneur?
◦ Pride of ownership. Seeing something that I built grow, and support so many great employees.
• What kind of culture exists in your organization? How did you establish this tone and why did you institute this particular type of culture?
◦ The goal was to change expectations and build a completely different type of roll-off company. At the core, the mission of Scapers is to be responsive to customers, easy to work with, committed, reliable, respectful, and professional. We are proud to be the support our clients need to maximize their productivity and achieve their goals.
Optional Questions –
• What are your hobbies? What do you do in your non-work time?
◦ Off the job, Kyle enjoys driving side x side ATVs, going camping, and eating BBQ.
For More information visit us at https://scapersllc.com/