This 37-year-old grew her side hustle into a successful business earning over $200,000 annually without a college degree.

The Ditching the Degree series by CNBC Make It features women who have achieved six-figure careers without a bachelor's degree and share their success secrets. If you have a story to share, email us at [email protected].

Erica Krupin tried a variety of jobs, including bartending on golf courses and working as an esthetician, before discovering her true calling as a dog groomer.

In Northville, Michigan, a 37-year-old individual owns Kroopin's Poopin Scoopin, a dog waste removal business.

Six years ago, Krupin began working as a side hustle, scooping poop, to satisfy her "entrepreneurial itch" and explore new opportunities beyond her job as a pharmacy technician.

One morning, as Krupin sipped her coffee and watched her pitbull, Java, squat in her backyard, inspiration struck.

""I thought, 'I'd pay good money for someone to clean up after my dog so I don't have to do this every day,' and a lightbulb went off," she tells CNBC Make It."

In August 2018, she started Kroopin's Poopin Scoopin and left her job as a pharmacy technician to run the business full-time in February 2020, just before the Covid-19 pandemic hit the US.

"Krupin describes the timing of his job change as almost serendipitous. He left the healthcare industry, where he would have likely worked longer hours and experienced burnout, for a job that allowed him to work outside and cater to people's pets, which became increasingly popular during lockdown."

According to CNBC Make It, Kroopin's Poopin Scoopin is projected to generate $250,000 in revenue for 2024, based on financial documents reviewed by the publication.

Krupin aims to expand her business by hiring more staff and serving more cities in Michigan as she approaches her seventh year in operation.

Krupin successfully scaled her side hustle into a six-figure business without a bachelor's degree.

Starting a successful side hustle

Krupin was uncertain about her post-high school plans, but all of the careers she imagined had a commonality - they didn't require college.

"School was always a struggle for her," she recalls. "She couldn't imagine enduring another four years of sitting in a classroom."

At the urging of friends and teachers, Krupin took some general courses at Schoolcraft College in Livonia, Michigan, but she found that nothing stuck.

An open pharmacy tech position at the University of Michigan's medical center in Ann Arbor was recommended for her by her aunt.

Krupin was hired in 2005 but didn't complete her license requirements until a few years later, as it wasn't necessary for her role at the time she began working. She spent the next 13 years at the company.

She had a stable career but felt a burning desire to challenge herself in a different endeavor, take risks, and be creative.

Unbeknownst to her, her part-time job in dog waste removal would awaken her entrepreneurial drive and inspire a new aspiration: leading her own enterprise while guiding novice entrepreneurs.

'It's hard to say no to donuts'

Starting a dog waste removal business has a relatively low entry barrier, making it one of its perks.

Krupin invested approximately $1,000 in initial supplies, including a children's gardening rake, trash bags, gloves, a dust pan and disinfectant, as well as an LLC, business insurance, a website domain, a cargo trailer, and a hitch for her car.

Krupin doesn't bring dog waste with her; she bags it and throws it away in the owner's outdoor trash can, so she hasn't had to buy extra waste disposal tools yet.

She created a basic marketing plan by distributing donuts and business cards to pet-related businesses in her neighborhood, which were listed on a map she had printed.

"She recalls driving to various businesses, introducing herself as a local small business owner, and asking, "Can I leave both of these here?" She adds, "It's difficult to resist donuts.""

Within weeks, Krupin had her first 15 customers.

'The Brown Super Bowl'

Krupin delayed quitting her hospital job and fully committing to her side hustle until her annual income surpassed her hourly wage of $20 at the hospital.

She scheduled poop scooping appointments in the mornings and evenings following her hospital shifts, occasionally enlisting her husband, Joshua, for help.

Krupin achieved her first full calendar year in business and hit a milestone at the end of 2019, giving her the confidence to leave the security of a full-time job.

Krupin initially ran the business on her own for the first 18 months, but now she has a full-time poop scooper and a virtual assistant on her payroll. In 2020, she also subscribed to Jobber, a scheduling and invoice software.

Krupin typically works from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on weekdays but is available for last-minute appointments or meetings with new customers during evenings and weekends.

The Kroopin's Poopin Scoopin business model focuses on frequency, with weekly cleanings being the standard level of service. Weekly cleanings cost $87 per month, but the company also offers other packages, such as a one-time clean that starts at $50 and a twice-a-week cleaning that starts at $156 per month.

She strives to schedule scooping appointments on two days a week, while dedicating the remaining weekdays to administrative or accounting duties.

However, the demand for dog waste removal services fluctuates with the seasons.

Krupin's Poopin Scoopin experiences a surge in requests for cleanings in March and April, following the snow melt and the emergence of two-plus months of dog waste that has accumulated in yards during winter. Krupin humorously refers to this period as the "Brown Super Bowl" for his business.

'A really fun job'

Pursuing her dream of starting her own podcast gave Krupin the confidence to quit her job and fully commit to her side hustle.

Since 2022, she has been recording and publishing episodes of "The Scoop With Erica Krupin," with over 100 episodes already released.

Krupin interviews other business owners and provides advice for entrepreneurs to build sustainable ventures on her podcast. She also shares similar content on her YouTube channel, which has 5,000 subscribers. Her growing social media presence has led to some on-off business coaching opportunities.

Krupin's business coaching and paid social media opportunities have generated an additional $22,000 in earnings for 2024, on top of her earnings from Kroopin's Poopin Scoopin.

Kroopin believes that people may view poop scooping as a "gross job" or "beneath them," but she finds running a dog waste removal business more successful than working in a corporate or desk job that might receive "more respect."

"Since starting this business, I've experienced tremendous personal and professional growth, which has motivated me, allowed me to meet many wonderful people and their pets, and contribute to keeping our homes and neighborhoods clean and safe."

Krupin says that working outside while the sun is rising and the birds are chirping, even though it involves handling poop, is strangely calming.

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