Build your ice empire
Estimated Reading Time: 5 minutes
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We’re going out on a limb here with this article today. It probably isn’t feasible for most of this audience to start, but it just goes to show the type of business opportunities in the non-tech space.
We’ve all walked by a construction site and seen the big cement mixers pouring sidewalks, foundations, etc. It seems pretty simple, you take concrete mix, add water, mix it around while you drive to the job site, pour concrete, smooth it out, and you drink a beer while watching it dry.
But if you’ve ever actually poured concrete then you know that is all a lot easier said than done. It’s an art to have the forms set up perfectly and the right consistency to get your cement to set. Part of having the right consistency is making sure the mix is the right temperature. If the concrete mix is too hot it can lead to cracking, shrinking, or setting too quickly. Contractors will often add ice to their mix to make sure the concrete is the perfect temperature before pouring.
Herein lies the opportunity. There are large flake ice and liquid nitrogen plants that make ice for huge dams and government projects, but that’s not our style. Our target market are the local subcontractors who just need some plain old bags of ice for their foundation pours.
The great thing about working with contractors is they won’t care if you drive a sketchy box truck or even a home depot rental moving van.
We’re going to start out with a very simple MVP, a rented van, a Costco card, and a whole bunch of phone calls.
Call every contractor you can find in your local area and ask them where they get ice for their concrete pours. Put your sales hat on, convince them that you can provide convenient cooling so they don’t have to waste their time.
Land a job. Ask how much concrete they are pouring and calculate how much ice you will need. Use these fancy charts.
Go to Home Depot and rent a box truck. Hit Costco for a glizzy and soda, then buy every single bag of ice you can get.
Deliver to the job site.
Your first few deliveries are not going to be super profitable. You are working out the kinks while building up your customer base. Remember, start small and scale up from there. Reference this previous newsletter for more information.
Knock a door, save a life
One of the biggest hurdles to starting a local service business is coming up with the cash to buy the right equipment. Then there’s the risk. What if I start this business and it doesn’t work? What if I waste all my savings on these assets? The answer is to start with a MVP.
After you have earned a few recurring customers and nailed down your strategy, it’s time to make this more profitable.
Buy your own industrial ice maker and an ice chest. A few thousand dollars investment will take out your main cost, buying ice from Costco.
Get your own truck or van to haul ice around in.
Upgrade Your Whip
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Eventually there comes a point where you can no longer operate your business out of your crappy car anymore. At some point you will need to level up your business and come up with something more presentable and practical. These days buying a vehicle is sketchy at best. It’s almost impossible to get a new van from a dealership because of supply chains. Tr…
Once you’ve reached this scale you are cruising. Exactly how much can this business make?
Let’s do some math.
Average concrete pour is 25 cubic yards.
50 pounds. of ice per cubic yard.
25 yards * 50 pounds = 1,250 pounds of ice.
$1 per pounds of ice * $1,250 pounds = $1,250 per delivery
$1,250 per delivery * 20 deliveries per month = $25,000
Now that’s not all profit, but that’s a pretty solid month of revenue.
Should you go out and start buying 1,250 pounds of ice at costco? Probably not, but there are opportunities out there wherever you look. All you need to be willing to do is work hard.
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