Journelism

The Scrap Man Can!; Experienced Recycling Entrepreneur Shares the Ups and Downs

Over 40 years ago Allan Blum started his own paper recycling and scrap brokerage business in the city of Detroit. He reminisces about his long and eventful journey that includes nearly going out of business, making $6,000 a year as a real estate agent and the effects of bringing his son into the company.

Growing up in Metro Detroit, Allan Blum dreamed of one day becoming a successful businessman.  As one of three boys in a middle-class family, he never knew exactly what that would lead to, but got to work early to realize this dream by dropping out of college during his senior year to start his own scrap company.  Taking advice from his uncle, Allan started to collect used paper and office supplies from local businesses.  This was in the sixties, more than a decade before the huge recycling boom of the eighties, but Blum had a feeling his scrap business was going to go someplace.  He remembers his first sale vividly – he picked up a carload of computer cards from a local radio station and drove them across town with the rear of his car scraping against the asphalt.

Blum admits that in those early days, he had no idea what he was doing.  When asked by a potential customer how many pounds in a ton, he could only reply, “I don’t know.  Let me get back to you.”  That’s how he learned one of the most important lessons of his career: “Unless you’re 100% sure the other person doesn’t know the answer either, never bluff.  You will never make it in life by BS’ing your way through.” In the early 1980s Allan, fell on some very difficult times, he recalls that things got so bad he was down to his last dollar.  Quickly thereafter he tried his hand as a real estate agent.  One-hundred-hour workweeks, sleepless nights, two young children and a wife to support… yet his efforts yielded $6,000 in his first year.  At that point it was time to go back to the drawing board; with two children and a mortgage he took a leap of faith and opened a restaurant – Croissant, Croissant – with a good friend.  Allan describes his stint in the restaurant business as an unbelievable experience as he learned a tremendous amount and had a great time.  He openly admits with a laugh: “We originally thought we were going to open up a restaurant, sit in the corner at a table, drink coffee and smoke cigarettes.” Allan quickly learned the food-service industry is just the opposite.  Fortunately, by providing a great breakfast and lunch menu in a prime location, he was able to sell Croissant, Croissant to a large supermarket chain three years later.

Following all of the early-morning baking, combined with the pungent smell of oil and butter infused into his pores, Al decided to give one last shot at the scrap business.  It wasn’t long before Blum became an expert in the field.  He started out buying and selling any scrap he could get his hands on – paper, computer cards, you name it.  At this juncture, he received the best piece of advice from his great-uncle, who was a successful businessman and owned movie theatres throughout the Detroit area.  As Al focused on recycled paper, his great-uncle asked the simple question, “What happens if paper goes bad?”  There was a blank stare accompanied by several moments of silence… elism”>“Take it one day at a time.” His persistence has helped him land some of his biggest accounts, build a successful business and realize a lifelong dream.  When asked what he is most proud of,he replies without hesitation: “Instilling your values into your children and seeing them succeed based on those values.”

Health, family and wealth…the epitome of the American dream.