“Back in 2002, we would be happy when we sold 100 boxes in one day. Today, most of the transactions we do are via the 53 ft tractor trailer!”

Interview by Mike Sullivan of Sully’s Blog

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In 2002, Marty Metro gathered his 10 years of experience in Corporate America and left to create a quirky business that buys and sells USED cardboard boxes!  Metro had an MBA from the University of Arizona and graduated Cum Laude from the University of Maryland.  He had worked for almost a decade, as an enterprise technology consultant for some of the world’s largest organizations.  So, when he told his family he was going to make a career of “selling used boxes” he got quite a laugh.  They thought he might have gone “off the deep end”.  Today, Metro does most of the laughing!  Metro runs a national, venture funded eco-friendly company called UsedCardboardBoxes.com (UCB), which guarantees the delivery of eco-friendly moving kits to any address in the continental US in just 1-2 days, and this included free shipping!  Metro’s company is one of the few companies (especially eco-friendly ones) that is growing at a pretty fast pace, in this troubled economy.  Metro is making an impact on this world – not just a financial impact… but an environmental impact.  He’s helping consumers and large companies make choices that save money AND save the environment.

Success didn’t come easy, which is true for most entrepreneurs… and maybe even more so the green entrepreneurs.  Metro originally FAILED when building his first green business and incorporates that process into helping others SUCCEED in the world of business today.  He loves sharing this story of failure (and success) and giving detailed recounts of the hard lessons he learned. Marty is on the Board of Entrepreneurs Organization (EO) in Los Angeles, chairs the Technical Council for Reuse for the California Resource Recovery Association (CRRA) and is a member of the Wal-Mart Sustainable Value Network for Packaging.  Metro is passionate about his work and loves talking about the green movement as well as what it’s like to run a business with purpose.

UsedCardboardBoxes.com is a national, earth-friendly technology company based in Los Angeles, but operating nationally. The company is venture-funded and one of the few for-profit, ECO-FRIENDLY companies that is growing fast in this economy. UCB  mainly works with large manufacturers, distributors and retailers to “rescue” quality used boxes from within their supply chain, rather than having them simply be recycled or even worse, thrown away. The company then takes these once-used boxes and sells them to other companies, or packages them into “eco-friendly moving kits” so consumers have a low-cost, earth-friendly way to move. UCB offers free delivery to any residential address in the nation within 1-2 business days and part of the proceeds are donated to treepeople.org, an organization that plants trees and offers educations programs to help protect our environment. Offering a convenient, online-ordering process and a simple way to help our environment, UsedCardboardBoxes.com strives to Save Time, Save Money, and Save Trees!

MO:
You clearly have a passion for the environment and for business.  Typically, when you think about “green” or eco-friendly, you think of non-profit.  What is it like to be a for-profit, eco-friendly business that’s really making an impact?

Marty:
Well, let’s see….  As a famous frog/puppet always says, “It ain’t easy being green!”  Not only is that true, but I don’t think Kermit had to pay for rent, payroll, insurance, advertising, technology, etc.  So, it’s hard work.  Our goal is not to just “make money”… but it’s to “make money the right way”.  So, it’s really hard, to be quite honest.  As well, no one (at least no one we know) has successfully done a national business like this, so it’s not like we can learn (copy) from other successful models.  We’ve had to figure it out along the way, making a lot of mistakes and focusing on continuous improvement.  It has not been a walk in the park, but we are making it happen through blood, sweat and some tears.  However, there is one great thing:  Every dollar we make means that we are having a positive impact on the environment and that means a lot.  Its motivating and what helps us get up early in the morning, and stay late at night when most people would go home.  It’s extremely rewarding work, even though it’s REALLY hard!

MO:
With the volume of cardboard boxes you rescue and resell, do you have any idea of the actual impact you’re making on the environment?  Is it measurable?

Marty:
Back in 2002, we would be happy when we sold 100 boxes in one day.  Today, most of the transactions we do are via the 53 ft tractor trailer!  We process millions of boxes and that means that millions of our boxes are being REUSED and not just recycled.  Because we are reducing the amount of demand there is on new boxes (we are just a drop in the bucket, but we are getting there) we are reducing the number of trees that need to be cut down to make those new boxes.  For every 1 ton of boxes that are recycled (or reused) it saves about 17 trees from being cut down.  There is a LOT involved in understanding the full environmental impact of reusing boxes (there are lots of factors involved, including freight, baling, gas, emissions, etc. ) but we are glad to see the impact is being made, and we are constantly working on accurate measurements and reporting.  Good news is, it’s ALL positive improvements!

MO:
Many companies tout their involvement in “going green” citing things that they are doing to help the environment.  Can you provide any insight on the overall eco-friendly movement?

Marty:
Ugh.  Don’t get me started!  I see “green realtors” and “green plumbers” and even “green accountants”.  I’m not saying these companies aren’t green.  I’m just starting to see a lot of mileage coming out of the word “green”.  I think it all boils down to corporate and personal responsibility… and being smart with your resources.  If we ALL were responsible for the assets we manage and the waste we produce…. and we all took active steps to be efficient with our assets and waste, I think we would ALL be “green”.  We wouldn’t have to advertise that we were green.  That would just be the norm.  In a lot of ways, it’s frustrating to see so many companies “claiming” that they are green and I’d really like to see some regulations in place.  Somewhat of a “truth in advertising,” so to speak.  In another (somewhat demented) way, I think it’s great that everyone says they are green.  Why not let EVERYONE promote being green, whether they are or not?  I’d rather everyone spread the word and inform/educate people… than not.  As long as they aren’t lying and charging MORE for “being green”.  That’s a no-no, in my book!   The reality is, green should cost less!  No one should pay more to be green.  Companies should strive to be green, simply because it makes sense.  Customer should demand LOW COST green solutions.  Someday, I hope that all companies are green (simply because they are efficient with their assets and waste) and there will be no reason to “advertise” that you are green, as it would simply be silly if you were not!

MO:
Marty, you took a shot at this once previously and ended up with over $300,000 in personal debt.  What made you decide to give it another shot and what did you learn from the first round that made the difference?

Marty:
After closing up Boomerang Boxes, I went into the darkest period of my life.  I lost everything I had, and then some!  I couldn’t figure it out.: I was a pretty smart guy (self-proclaimed, at least), I had an amazing business idea and I had the energy and enthusiasm that any entrepreneur would love to have.  I had customers, got press and everyone was happy!  At the same time, money was going down the drain faster than I could track it.  Hundreds of thousands of dollars.  I kept saying to myself, “what am I doing???  How do other people do this?  It feels impossible and I can’t figure out why I keep losing money when I am selling so much!”  When Boomerang Boxes was gone, I had some time to think.  I had to go out and get a day job (in sales), but I couldn’t get my mind off of boxes.  I KNEW there was a way to do this.  There just had to be!  I just knew that I had not yet figured it out yet.  I knew I needed help.  So, I started asking for it.  Funny…. when you ask for help as an entrepreneur… almost ANY retired (aka unemployed) executive will tell you they can help you (for a fee).  It’s the ones that will help you WITHOUT a fee that really provide you with the value.  Whether its advice, introductions or just a shoulder to cry on (trust me, I needed a few of those)… entrepreneurs should not have to pay some “gray haired guy” a monthly fee for it.  So, I turned a lot of “help” down and kept pitching my ideas.  Finally I found some people that truly believed in what I was doing… didn’t ask for money (not up front, at least) that I did not have… and were willing to “share the wealth” once we were successful.  Those are true partners and those are the type of people that inspired me to try again.  So, I put a new plan in place with new people, and, guess what?  This time, it worked!!!  Now, I have a great business model, great people (that have been with me since the start) and a great future in which we will ALL share the wealth.  When I say “all” I mean our employees, our investors, our customers and our suppliers.  We have built a business model where EVERYONE wins, including the environment…. which is pretty darn cool.  So, I’d have to say THAT is what motivates me to keep going.  We’ve built something that is truly win/win/win and everyone gets a piece of the success!

MO:
You also speak at conferences and events.  What message do you bring and what is the impression you are hoping to leave on others that you have the opportunity to speak to?

Marty:
My message is simple:  I want to inspire people, motivate people and get people to THINK and ACT.  The reality is… green is not a “buzzword” and you don’t have to spend money to be green (I take that back.  You SHOULDN’T have to spend money to be green).  The mantra is “Reduce, Reuse, Recycle”.  However, for some reason, the third (recycle) has become more famous than the others. The reality is that “recycling” implies the breaking down of one material to create another.  However, why do we have to break EVERYTHING down?  What about REDUCE and REUSE?  My presentations talk about easy (and cheap) ways to actually PROFIT from reuse.  I work with Fortune 500 companies to implement reuse programs that create immediate value.  My presentations talk about those programs and how ANYONE can implement profitable reuse programs.  Most of my presentations end with “five easy ways to profit from reuse”.

MO:
How can other entrepreneurs keep the eco-friendly concept in mind when building a business?  Do you think it makes for a better business?

Marty:
It TOTALLY makes sense for ANY company to be “efficient with your resources”.  And, when you are “efficient with your resources” you will save money.  So, yes, that makes sense for ANY business.  It doesn’t just make sense… when you are an entrepreneur, you HAVE to be efficient with your resources.  The cool part is, when you are efficient with your resources… guess what else happens?  YOU WILL BE GREEN!  And, when you are making money AND being green… you have the most amazing thing.  A SUSTAINABLE MODEL that can keep going!  Try it the other way and you have a “green” business model that lasts a few weeks… and you are out of business!

That’s my story… and I’m sticking to it!  :)

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