How Speedy Scoop Grew to 300+ Customers and Rebuilt Its Google Reviews After Losing Them All

How did a 7-year-old start a pet waste removal business in Indianapolis?

Speedy Scoop started in July 2020 because Cathi’s son wanted money for Legos. He was seven, home during COVID, and watched from his window as someone scooped the neighbor’s yard. Cathi had never heard of the service. “Well, I could do that,” he told her.

They put an ad in the HOA and customers came right away. Cathi went with him to every yard. Not knowing what to charge, she looked at one company’s pricing and matched it: $20 per dog. Within three months he had 25 weekly clients.

What happened when the state said he could not work?

Speedy Scoop nearly ended there, and instead it doubled. The state called after an anonymous report and said a seven-year-old could not be seen working on a property in Indiana. Cathi asked whether she and her husband could take over if they removed their son’s name and picture, and was told yes.

They emailed every client, attached a photo of the letter, and offered to keep serving them. Clients called it ridiculous, stayed, and told other people. The business doubled within a month, and the story landed on a local TV news station. That forced the grown-up steps: an LLC, a business phone number, and a CRM in place of notebook paper.

How did Speedy Scoop grow past 300 customers?

Slowly at first, and around family life. Cathi had a one-year-old, a three-year-old and the seven-year-old she was homeschooling, so she scooped two or three afternoons a week while relatives watched the kids. She still listed Monday to Friday hours and told people the routes were full on days she could not go out. When her husband began working from home, she could go out full time, and the business tripled. The first 100 customers took six to eight months.

What moved it along:

• Facebook groups. She belongs to more than 100 local community, mom and pet groups and posts every week on the same day.
• A CRM at about 50 clients. Until then she texted every customer from her personal phone at every stop. Sweep&Go was her first experience of automation, and she was hooked.
• A truck and haul-away. For years she drove a car with magnets, double-bagged the waste and left it in customers’ cans. It took three years to find a spot for a dumpster. The truck and a new logo followed, and haul-away was added at no extra cost to customers.
• Paying for ads. She was afraid to spend and says she burned money boosting posts. A set daily budget on Facebook was what finally showed a return.

Today Speedy Scoop has a little over 300 customers and two full-time staff. Her husband, who went to business school, handles operations, routes and accounting while still working his own job. Her biggest mistake, she said, was not listening to him sooner: “I’m my own bottleneck.”

What happened when Google removed the Speedy Scoop profile?

One December morning, the Google Business Profile the company had kept for four and a half years was gone, with no warning, just as the busy season was picking up. Every review went with it. “No one could find us. No one knew we existed,” Cathi said. She asked customers for Facebook reviews just to have some proof that the company was real.

An appeal went nowhere. After two and a half to three months of waiting, the Google profile specialist they were working with built a new one from scratch. In all, the profile was down for four months. The new one passed the old review count in under a month and now has more than 100 reviews. She has not touched the listing’s address since.

How does Speedy Scoop compete in a price-sensitive market?

With a free first scoop and a promise to come back for anything missed. Newer competitors were advertising a free first clean right next to her ads, and Cathi says local customers will switch for a dollar. So last year Speedy Scoop made the first scoop free too, as long as the customer signs up for recurring service with a card on file.

She also works the local network: groomers, vets, pet sitters, dog walkers, and a partner who hands welcome bags to 160 to 200 new homeowners a month.

The goal is 500 to 800 customers by April. A third truck is ready and a fourth is planned. For winter and spring cleanups she will put two people in each truck. “I don’t care about efficiency. I want my staff happy,” she said.

What would Cathi tell an owner who wants to quit?

Do not quit on a bad day. The year before was her worst, in the business and at home, and she was ready to wave the white flag. Other owners in Facebook groups told her it would not last forever. “I’m so glad that I did not give up,” she said.

Her reason to keep going is the same one that started it. Her son, now 12, is a year and a half from being able to work in the business legally. The plan is for her husband to leave his job for Speedy Scoop full time and to open more locations around Indianapolis.