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'Mr. Poo's' business not quite picking up
By JANEL STEPHENS ST. PETERSBURG -- Jeff Voegeli had to think fast. His steady income as a camera company representative soon would be cut in half and his family's bills were due. The father of two started a lawn care service, which brought in some money but not enough. He became a KFC mystery shopper, rating restaurants as far south as Miami, but he quit because he had to pay for his own gas and other out-of-pocket expenses. He turned to shock jock Howard Stern for inspiration. He remembered a radio show that featured a retired Army veteran who started a business removing dog feces. Worried and desperate, Voegeli decided to give it a try. He christened himself "Mr. Poo" and distributed 250 fliers in pet stores and grooming offices. On the flier is a sketch of a muscular man, holding a garbage bag with the letter "P" on his chest. His wife and children created three-dimensional refrigerator magnets with dog piles crafted from modeling clay. For $10 per visit, the flier reads, "We will remove pet waste from your yard as often as you like." Above Voegeli's phone number 323-2167 is his slogan: "Your dog's poo is our bread and butter." So far, he's received two calls, neither serious. Someone wanted him to follow a dozen dachshunds in a parade and clean after them for free. "My reaction was 'Oh man, I'm getting disrespected already and I haven't even gotten a customer yet.' " Voegeli, 44, said he has spent hours ridding his backyard of droppings. The family has three dogs: a standard poodle, Buddy, 3; a miniature pinscher, Lu Lu, 2; and a giant schnauzer, Rosie, 4. "I thought there's probably people out there who would pay to have somebody do that," he said. Voegeli has worked in the camera industry for 29 years. He started at 15, working at a local camera store for school credit. At 29, Voegeli became a camera representative selling equipment to independent merchants in south Florida. In 1988, Voegeli had a client base of 140 accounts in south Florida. Today, he covers the entire state and has 40-45 accounts left. Voegeli said consumers don't really need specialty stores when they can use the Internet to get the best deals. "Instead of going into a camera store, you can just go online," he said. Voegeli anticipates his income this year will be $35,000, less than half of what he earned as a representative for Tamron, a company that produces lenses and professional cameras. "It's hard on the ego because they speak very highly of me and they like me at the company, but the problem is that the numbers aren't there," Voegeli said. "But . . . I'm the main bread winner. I've got my wife and two children that I have to think about." Voegeli doesn't expect to make a living out of Mr. Poo, but he says once he puts more effort into the business, he will see a profit. He plans to target affluent neighborhoods to gain customers that would rather have someone else clean up their dog's mess. That goal may be harder than Voegeli anticipates, said Irene Hurst, director of the University of South Florida Small Business Development Center in Tampa. "I would probably have talked him out of starting something like that," Hurst said. She said that oftentimes people get the idea to start a business because they know they will use it. But Hurst said, "do not assume that other people are willing to use it." She also said it's difficult for small businesses to tap into social markets they're not affiliated with. Before starting a business, Hurst said, you should conduct a market feasibility test to ensure there's actually a client base for your business. That can be done through a formal questionnaire with a random sample of people, Hurst said. In Voegeli's case, Hurst suggests, asking neighbors with dogs whether they'd be interested in his services. Then, she says, as a trial have them sign a contract for six months to a year, paying for his dog manure removal services.
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