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Molly Lindsay_Community Compost Co.pptx
- 1. Building a Resilient Business Molly Lindsay Director of Operations
- 2. Resilience
- 3. About Us Established in 2013 - 10 years of CCC! 5.5+ Million Lbs. Composted
- 4. Building a Resilient Business 1.Diverse Business Model
- 5. Multiple Revenue Streams Collection Services | Compost Product Sales | Tipping Services
- 6. Food Scrap Collection Residential Door-to-Door - Pick up service for residents; subscription based Drop Spot Programs - Municipal sponsored - Subscription based Commercial Collection - Food service, schools, institutions; subscription based
- 7. Compost Product Sales Bulk Product - Home gardeners - Farmers - Land stabilization Bagged Product - Compost (1 cu ft, 8 qt) - Worm Castings - Plant Jolt New Products - Liquid amendments - bulk and packaged - Blends
- 8. Tipping
- 9. Building a Resilient Business 2. Adapt & Pivot as Needed
- 13. Building a Resilient Business 3. Building a Strong Team
- 14. Building a Strong Team
- 15. Building a Resilient Business 4. Incremental Growth
- 17. Capacity
- 19. Building a Resilient Business 5. Building Relationships
- 20. Random Acts of Compost
- 23. Building a Resilient Business Challenges
- 24. Challenges Manage moving parts of diverse business model Equipment intensive relative to size Economy of scale especially with growth Inconsistent labor market Ready to pivot and adapt
- 25. Keep in Touch! Molly Lindsay Director of Operations molly@communitycompostco.com Phone: 845-787-3478 x3 Websites: Collection: communitycompostco.com Soil Products: hudsonsoil.com @communitycompostco @hudsonsoil
Editor's Notes
- What does it mean? We think a lot about resilience in terms of the environment but that concept also translates to our business model. Today I’m going to talk about some ways that our company had been able to adapt and pivot and our methods of building a resilient business
- -Established in 2013, we’re celebrating 10 years of CCC! -NYS WBE founded by Eileen Banyra (board member USCC) -Compost everything we collect -Based in Hudson Valley with operations in Northern NJ -Systems approach
- Since the start of CCC, we have had a diverse business model with multiple revenue streams
- -Our 3 revenue streams are food scraps collection, finished compost product sales and tipping -Breakdown: 67% / 28% / 5%
- -We started with food scrap collection. Within collection we offer drop spots, residential door-to-door and commercial. -Offering services to a different clientele has created resilience in unforeseen circumstances such as Covid
- We sell and donate our finished compost products and this is an area of our business we are also working to diversify. -Our primary product is our finished compost -We sell this in bags and bulk -We started incorporating supplemental products in 2021, worm casting blend, Plant Jolt, 100% worm castings and creating liquid extracts -We’re looking to expand our product line to blends and other innovate products that aren’t available in our region.
- -Smallest revenue stream– due to our location, pretty rural, but well situated in our county -Tipping relative to location -Quality of feedstock - we are certified for organic use so can’t take compostable products -Hope to expand this and take more material from other orgs and haulers
- As a business that’s been around for almost 10 years, we’ve done a lot of experimenting, pivoting and adapting to changes in the market and region.
- -Because we were frontrunners in the industry in our region -Federal and public outreach hadn’t come out yet like Drawdown, Kiss the Ground, etc that have helped bring it more into the mainstream -For example drop spot programs -We started with drop spots and had our first municipal partnership with Hoboken in 2015 and Jersey City in 2016 -Catalyst to start door-to-door, we still use it in this way -Little interest re: new, required a lot of eduction as no public knowledge of composting at the time -Something we always championed due to the environmental benefits of aggregating material -Brought back unmonitored drop spots back in 2019 with subscription based and municipal partnerships -Much more general interest in composting and food waste reduction and government buy-in has grown the opportunities -Adapting to changing interests and climate for services/products
- -Covid: lost 35% of commercial business -Pivoted to focus on finished compost sales (people home, cooking, gardening) -Drop spot and residential programs grew -System redundancy -Trucks and equipment breakdown - back up plans -Staff out sick- back up drivers and cross training
- -Due to developing interest, we’ve started teaching composting -Backyard composting workshops in Jersey City -Building 3-bin systems -Community garden composting workshops -Community events -Expanding services based on public interest
- -People that are passionate about the mission -Have a diverse skill set -Team player and able to crossover into different tasks -Generalists -Hired people that are the right people for the company without a job opening -People who can grow with the company
- Our method of scaling our business has been to grow incrementally. It has allowed us to build capital as a business and for the movement to catch up with the company
- For a lot community composters, you start however you can with equipment that you have or that is accessible -With our equipment, we started using vehicles that were gifted to the company – 1990s era pick up trucks with liftgates. -We finance new equipment as the company has grown. -Tradeoff with using old equipment - time & money with repairs and breakdowns -This also goes for screening equipment for our finished compost. We’ve upgraded our screening methods over the years with growth and were recently able to finance a Komptech screener -Same goes for bagging equipment
- Our 2nd site, but the first site that we operated ourselves was part of a start up farm business program. We had a 2, 20 ft long ASP pipe 3rd site, while still small at 1.5 acres, ASP, 2 Wh L & able to produce approx. 5000 CY (our projection for this year)
- -Grown our product line over the years as interest and demand in the market changed. -We have grown a quality compost, gain momentum and established brand recognition in the communities that we sell our product in -We’ve also established great relationships with home gardeners and farmers -Integrating new products
- -Giving compost back -Different community orgs. and urban gardens each season, fall & spring -Growing food for the community
- -Highlight our longstanding municipal, business or community partners -Champion your business and help you grow -Helps market your business among the larger community
- -Open houses to invite clients to our site to see what we do, understand the process more fully -Concept of composting spreads through residential composting - which is why we have always done door-to-door
- -Under or over-equipped -Economy of scale- difficult to achieve too small is too small - finances support the equipment that you need - cut costs where you can, buy in bulk, building up production gradually -Cost of losing a person training a person -Multiple back up plans because you may need them