Home Subscriber Only Business Women An opportunity Collinson just couldn’t let go to waste

An opportunity Collinson just couldn’t let go to waste

By

Jennifer Grybowski

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05/27/2021

LIFE OF THE POTTY: Cassie Collinson says she’s learned a lot since starting Cassie’s Cans Inc. six years ago, when she was 19. The South Kingstown company rents portable toilets for construction sites. / PBN FILE PHOTO/ELIZABETH GRAHAM

PBN 2021 Business Women Awards Achievement Honoree: Cassie Collinson, Cassie’s Cans Inc. THINK ABOUT ANY DIRTY, feces-related joke, and Cassie Collinson guarantees she has heard it. “People find out what I do and like to tell me jokes,” she said. “It doesn’t bother me.” That’s because Collinson is the owner of Cassie’s Cans Inc., a

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PBN 2021 Business Women Awards Achievement Honoree: Cassie Collinson, Cassie’s Cans Inc.

THINK ABOUT ANY DIRTY, feces-related joke, and Cassie Collinson guarantees she has heard it. “People find out what I do and like to tell me jokes,” she said. “It doesn’t bother me.” That’s because Collinson is the owner of Cassie’s Cans Inc., a port-a-potty rental company for construction sites, based in South Kingstown. It also doesn’t bother Collinson, or her all-female crew, to work in a male-dominated industry. “It’s truly not a tough world to be in,” she said. “We treat the guys with respect, and they do the same back.” So how does a young woman end up in the port-a-potty industry? “I worked with sewer lines at my dad’s rooter company and got my feet wet with blue-collar work in the waste industry,” Collinson said. “I got the idea I wanted to start a business and my dad and I were throwing ideas around and sort of jokingly said I should start a Porta-John business.” The idea stuck with her, and within a few months, she had secured financing and started her own business. She was 19 and had a couple of portable toilets she was ferrying to some local sites operated by friends. By the time she was 20, she had a full-blown rental business on her hands. “I was trying to understand business and what it means and build it up on paper,” Collinson said. “Who do I buy chemicals from? How do I get a state ID? What insurance do I need? As far as growing a business, you truly only learn in those dark, nitty-gritty moments.” Fortunately, the pandemic didn’t affect her bottom line as much as it did in some industries. “COVID-19 actually gave us a little bit of business,” she said. “Most sites stayed open as long as they were within regulations.” She’s learned a lot over six years. “I’ve messed up in all departments and learned from it in all departments,” Collinson said. “Now I’m in a position where I feel a little more confident with anything that gets put in my lap. If there is a mess-up, I can tackle it. That growth is something I’m super proud of. I would never have pictured myself being able to do it.”