A junk removal business is a good venture to get into. People have junk to get rid of and they need someone to help them do this. Why not become that someone who does this for a living, right?
If you were to look for advice on what to do to start a junk removal business, you will find lots of advice from others who have succeeded. What you won’t find much of are pointers on what to avoid when putting up such a venture. To help you out, here are tips on what NOT to do when starting such an enterprise.
Don’t start without doing your research
Much like any other business, putting up a junk removal enterprise requires that you know what you are getting yourself into. Going into such a business without knowing what to expect and what you have to do to make it work is like getting married to a stranger. You are committed to it but are not sure whether or not things will work out. Doing your research before getting into such a business will help you avoid specific hurdles and increase your chances of success since you will be better prepared for these.
Don’t neglect to check into franchising instead
While it is a good idea to start your own business, a junk removal franchise may be just as lucrative and easier for you. With a franchise, you can get your business started sooner and you can get all the information as well as help that you need for running such a venture. Franchises give their franchisees all the guidelines, equipment, and help that they need. This may cost you a bit more (depending on which company you are thinking of getting a franchise from) and may not be as fulfilling as running your own business, but it is still a very lucrative move.
Don’t hesitate to start small
If you do not have the money for a franchise or a big business, there is no need to worry. A lot of big companies nowadays started small and they did not hesitate to get into the junk removal business simply because they did not have the money for the trucks or for a franchise. You can start by using your own pickup truck to haul the junk other people don’t have time to haul themselves for a minimal fee and work your way up from there.
Don’t scale up until you are ready
If you start small, don’t scale up your junk removal business until you are truly ready for the challenge and the responsibility. It is not difficult to build such a business up since junk and people not having time to get rid of these will always be present. Take time to familiarize yourself with the many aspects of the business and see if you are ready to take that leap. Invest in either a junk removal franchise or your own junk removal business with all the bells and whistles when you are truly ready and see the profits start rolling in.
Who would have thought that removing junk for others can be very lucrative? There is money to be made hauling junk, and this is why more and more people are considering getting into the junk removal business. While not everyone will find such a business appealing, there are a few who look forward to the challenge as well as the earnings that can be made from it.
If you are someone who loves working with others, is not afraid of getting their hands dirty, and is looking for a business that is sure to earn them a steady income, then you should consider a junk removal business. When you decide to hop on this bandwagon, you should know what your options are. You can choose to start your own business from scratch or you can buy yourself a junk removal franchise. Before you decide, here are some of the pros and cons of both options:
Junk Removal Business Cost
The cost of your own junk removal business can create a serious dent in your bank account. This is because you will need to buy your own equipment and you will need to bankroll your operations until you start making money. Of course, the cost can be lowered depending on how you are planning on operating your business from the start. If you are planning on starting your own junk removal business by using only the resources you have on hand (your own pickup truck, friends as co-workers, etc.), then you can lower costs.
The cost of a junk removal franchise may be higher but you will be starting a business that is already established and comes with guidelines as well as operating procedures that you won’t have to come up with. You will be provided the equipment you need, either as part of your franchise investment or as equipment that you can slowly pay off with your earnings. Franchise costs can range from $40k to $200k, depending on what the franchise entails, the reputation and popularity of the company, and other factors.
Business Support
When you invest in your own junk removal business, you basically don’t get much support apart from that you will get from family and friends. You are generally on your own when you run your own business. This also means that you call all the shots and do things your own way without having to ask permission from a higher authority.
With a junk removal franchise, any snags that you come across with your venture can be easily solved with the help of your franchiser. They have solutions to the problems that their franchisees come across because they’ve been through these same problems themselves in the past. They have a support system that enables you to get the help you need when you need it.
While both have their pros and cons, you should know that no matter what you choose, investing in a business that specializes in junk removal is a good thing. You simply need to choose which one suits you best – a junk removal business of your own or a junk removal franchise.
Deciding to invest in a junk removal business may be one of the best decisions you will ever make in your life. This kind of a business is great for those who love solving problems for others, love working with other people, and don’t mind getting their hands dirty. Now, before you start gathering up your life savings and investing in a junk removal franchise or buy equipment for your own business, there is one thing you need to do first. You need to come up with a junk removal business plan.
How do you put together a business plan for an enterprise that revolves around other people’s trash? Here are some pointers that may be helpful:
Assess your target market
Find a location that you know does not have a good junk removal company in it. If all areas have a junk removal company servicing it, find one where people are not satisfied with the service. Find out what people want from such a company and what the current businesses are not offering them. Ask around, hold surveys, and get as much information as you can on the areas that you are interested in. This is to ensure that you get to choose the best locations for your business and you know what to offer your target market to get them to try you over your competitors.
Don’t neglect to do competitor research
With a business that is as lucrative as junk removal, it is not surprising that there will be a few competitors for you to compete with. Find out which competitor is dominating the area you are planning on targeting and what other companies are operating in the same area. Learn about their pricing schemes, what they can and cannot haul, what their marketing strategies are, and what makes them the dominating junk removal business in the area.
Find Out how much such an Endeavour is going to cost you
Of course, you cannot start and run a business without money. Like they say, you have to spend money to make money. When you look into the cost of starting such a business, you will be faced with the option of franchising and starting your own. There are pros and cons to both which you will need to weigh before you invest.
Franchises can cost you less to begin, but you may need to share your profits with your franchiser, apart from paying them a franchise fee. Running your own business, on the other hand, may cost you more given that you need to buy your own equipment and secure all the permits yourself, but you do get to keep everything you earn from it. You also get to call the shots when you own your business but may need to defer to your franchiser for some business decisions when you franchise.
Outline your objectives and how you plan to operate your business
Once you are armed with all the information you need to start a junk removal business, the creation of your business plan (or basically writing it all down) should now be in full swing. You can start by stating your company’s objectives and what you expect to gain from putting up such a business.
You can write down the steps for getting your business up and running, what your pricing strategy will be, how you will market your business, and so on. You will then need to outline the costs of such a venture and where you will get the funds for this. You can also try to project your ROI with this business plan so that you will have something to look forward to.
Not that lots of people recognize that there is cash to be made from garbage. Whether it remains in creating beneficial as well as special things from things people discard or from just offering to get rid of these for others for a charge, you can make loan from junk. Does this mean that installing a business for junk removal in Charleston should be your following undertaking?
Before you begin hauling junk away for others, there a few things you have to take into consideration. Below are a few of the points you require to think of:
Exists a market for such a service in your area?-- This is a question you will should ask, especially if you remain in a location of Charleston that is currently saturated with individuals running the same business. If there are just a couple of business concentrating on junk removal in Charleston, particularly in your component of community, after that this company might extremely well be worth taking into consideration.
Do you have the drive to make such a business prosper?-- Ever become aware of the expression "The mind is ready however the flesh is weak"? Well, if you do not have exactly what it requires to run a company that could be fairly tiring on the body in addition to on the mind, you should consider a few other organisation venture. If you do have just what it takes to make this type of a business be successful, after that you ought to go all out.
Are you ready to find out the ropes?-- Every business has a variety of things that you need to discover in order for it to prosper. In junk removal, as very easy as it might sound, there are really a few conformity certificates as well as training that you could need to go through if you intend to cover all the bases in such a service. You will also should discover ways to run a service that you have and how you can handle people that work for you.
Are you endure sufficient to encounter the ups and downs of a company?-- If you are not worried of dealing with a few obstacles every now and after that, you have exactly what it requires to successfully run a service. Junk removal in Charleston can be really challenging, and also no company ever before rode a wave of success from the get go. If you can ride via the lots of barriers that have running your personal junk hauling service, and also still have the drive to maintain things going, you could be excellent for such an endeavor.
These are just a few of the points you will certainly have to go through your head before you start running a junk removal company in Charleston. Various other challenges you may have to consider when it pertains to such a business include where to obtain individuals for the tasks you will certainly have openings for, where to buy your equipment, and a lot more importantly, where to obtain the resources for such a service. If you have prepared answers for every one of these, then you could safely state that you prepare to obtain right into the junk removal sector in your area.
One of the most common questions we get at JRA is “how can we increase business?” Online advertising is by far your best source of new customers and revenue. However, if you’re a hungry junk removal business owner who wants to squeeze every ounce of business out of your junk removal company, you gotta hustle. You have to get out there and meet people who can use your service. A little-known market segment that frequently needs junk removal service is professional organizers.
Professional organizers are specialists who assist homeowners and business owners with organizing their belongings, their files, their digital accounts, and their lives in general. It is a niche service, but one that is very much in demand.
Organizers are true professionals with high standards. They’re hard to please, but if you do a good job they’ll keep using your service indefinitely.
Organizers are always doing work for people who have trash to get rid of. Oftentimes the organizer will haul the smaller stuff out on their own. However, the larger stuff that will not fit in their vehicles must be hauled by someone else. Some organizers will call donation centers and consignment shops to pick up a lot of items, but even then there is often additional stuff that needs to be junked.
One of the most important things you can offer a Pro Organizer is same or next day service. Oftentimes the Organizer has made great progress with an individual throughout the day. They’ve gotten on a roll and the customer is motivated to keep moving. If that junk sits overnight, the customer could decide to keep some items or that they don’t want to pay more for junk removal. If that happens, the organizer has lost their momentum. Make sure you are able to accommodate same day service.
Organizers are perhaps more particular than your average customer. You must make sure you are on your “A” game when you are working with organizers. They want to see shoes off or boot covers on. They want to know items are being donated and they will check on the donation receipt. They are usually required to conduct an inventory of what goes in the truck as you are loading it. Your team must be at their best on organizer jobs.
To reach organizers, you can visit the National Association of Professional Organizers website (https://www.napo.net). They have a database in which you can find organizers in your area. To start networking, I picked up the phone and called each and every one of them to try to set up a meeting. I would then buy them a cup of coffee, introduce myself, and talk about the services we could provide for them – same day service, clean cut team members, donating and recycling of items, etc. That alone will earn you their business.
Another thing you can do is actually sponsor your local NAPO chapter. They will often allow you to set up a booth once a year, go to their monthly meetings, and make a speech about your service from time to time.
Everyone always talks about working with realtors in the junk removal industry. Realtors are a good source of business, but we have found Organizers to be every bit as good, if not better. Get on the phone, sponsor the chapter, get in front of people, and get known by Organizers. It will pay off greatly for you!
When you are looking for a profitable company to obtain right into, you would certainly never ever actually believe that hauling junk is one of them. Well, shock, shock. Setting up a business that concentrates on junk removal services in Sacramento might simply be the venture you are trying to find to make you rich. There are a great deal of success tales that focus on hauling junk and exactly how people have ended up being millionaires from waste removal, so why shouldn't your tale become part of such a list?
Obviously, intending to set up junk removal services in Sacramento as well as in fact doing it are 2 extremely various things. There are a couple of things that have to enter appropriate order before you could begin raking in the cash money from your junk hauling tasks. How do you begin? Right here are some points that you need to do:
1. Analyze your target audience-- This is the initial step to a lucrative company concentrating on junk removal services in Sacramento. You will certainly should discover who your target market is, what they need, exactly what they want, and also what they get out of a business such as your own. You ought to also think about scoping out the competitors so you will understand whether or not your firm can hold its very own versus others with the exact same organisation version.
2. Compare franchising with setting up your very own junk hauling organisation-- Some brand-new entrepreneur locate it easier to franchise business instead than to start a company from scratch, and also in reality, it is certainly simpler to perform. Business name is established, the methods included with junk hauling as well as removal is developed, and the devices you need is offered. What might not appear to those who go by doing this is that the satisfaction you receive from seeing your own service succeed, and the reduced expense of not requiring to pay for a franchise business, is in fact a far better choice.
3. Created your service plan-- No organisation can prosper without a plan in place. This will assist you set a couple of vital actions for your organisation to take, such as how you can price your services, whether to employ or subcontract laborers, to rent or buy devices, as well as numerous other such decisions.
4. Obtain funded -Unless you have cash-on-hand to use for beginning your junk removal services in Sacramento, you will certainly should safeguard an organisation funding to obtain points rolling. The funds that you obtain will be made use of in the direction of the purchase or lease of junk hauling devices, training for you and also your employees, and other expenses that your brand-new undertaking might require.
5. Secure all necessary documents and permits-- You will certainly also have to safeguard authorizations and various other paperwork necessary to legally run a business that uses junk removal services in Sacramento. Some of the licenses you will certainly have to have, besides a business permit, unique authorizations for hauling particular types of junk, conformity certificates that the EPA might need for the hauling as well as disposal of toxic products, as well as an employer recognition number, if you are intending on hiring a couple of individuals to function for you. You will additionally needto have insurance coverage for your business along with to cover your staff members.
One of the important things that people generate a great deal of regularly is junk. Whether you are in Sacramento, Kansas, or Atlanta, junk is being made everywhere. Among the tasks a great deal of individuals locate rather daunting and also hard to do is the hauling and also disposal of junk that they have. People that hate such a task often attempt to discover a company that could do this for them, and also this is just one of the numerous factors why you ought to consider installing a company for junk removal in Atlanta.
Having a company that focuses on junk removal throughout the United States is considered a rewarding endeavor mostly due to the fact that not that many individuals really want to carry their junk themselves. There is money to be made in junk and also hauling other people's junk can be a good business for you to think about getting into. Certainly, this is not the only reason why you must enter into such a business, although it is possibly the biggest one.
What other reasons are there for you making that large leap right into producing a business that concentrates on junk removal in Atlanta? Here are several of them:
You obtain to help others-- The satisfaction you get from knowing that you were able to assist an additional individual with a job that they could not manage, also if it was for a fee, is an additional excellent reason for you to get into such a biz. Not every person could quickly take care of the type of work included with hauling as well as taking care of junk. Having the ability to do this will give you the possibility to assist people with a demand that they have as well as at the very same time, it likewise provides you a method to make money.
You obtain to help the community-- Nothing is as unsightly as a pile of junk sitting outside a home, waiting to be hauled away and also to be thrown away. As stated previously, not everyone has the chops or the knowledge to effectively do away with junk that people in some cases wind up accumulating. Eliminating junk that produces an instead undesirable mess in front of residences and offices in your area essentially helps the area because you are maintaining the surroundings tidy as well as making your city a far better location to reside in.
You give individuals jobs-- Being an entrepreneur as well as running a junk removal company in Atlanta means that you will require a couple of other people in order to help you with the services that you use. You could not quite possibly accumulate and also deal with stacks of junk on your very own. You will certainly require a team in order to help you with this. You will certainly likewise require staff to help you respond to calls as well as to approve work for your service. When your enterprise expands, you will need even more individuals to do these jobs, which indicates you will certainly offer even more people tasks.
You reach help the atmosphere-- As a company that specializes in junk removal in Atlanta, you should be cognizant that not all types of junk can as well as ought to be thrown away in a singular way. There are various disposal techniques that require to be followed according to regulations established by the EPA and your neighborhood in addition to state laws. As a supplier of such a service, you obtain to deal with the several different sorts of junk you encounter the best means. This aids avoid contamination of environments and you get to assist the earth by recycling junk that can be reused.
Believe it or not, people have become millionaires removing and hauling junk for others in various parts of the US, and you can become one of them by getting in on the junk hauling bandwagon, so to speak. Investing in a business that focuses on junk removal services in Scottsdale can be your ticket to the good life, and all you have to do is to find out how to put together such a business. There is money to be made in junk, and you should take advantage of such a fact.
How, you might ask, can hauling junk be such a lucrative endeavor? Here are some of the reasons why:
Lots of people have become rich with this – It may sound too good to be true, but people have already become rich from hauling other people’s junk and disposing these for them. These include college kids who went into junk hauling for tuition money and housewives who wanted to make extra on the side for their families. Even with fees that need to be paid in order to legally operate such a business, people often end up earning approximately $400 to $500 a day with such a company. That is approximately $100,000 a year, and all because you haul other people’s junk away.
You are providing a valuable service – People don’t mind creating junk. It is the hauling and throwing away of junk that people don’t like. Not all of the junk that people create in their lives can be taken care of by garbage collectors. This is where junk removal services in Scottsdale can come in handy, and where you can come in. You can make money by providing people with a service that helps them save time and effort since you will be doing this task for them. You will be freeing people of the time and effort that it takes to haul their own junk away, and all for a reasonable fee.
There is room in the market for you – You might argue that there are already a lot of people running such a business model, and it is true. There are a lot of businesses offering junk hauling services in Scottsdale. This does not mean however that there is no room for you in such a world. There are more people who need help with their junk disposal needs than there are companies that offer such a service, so why hesitate to get into it? There is room for you in such a market, and this has been proven time and again by enterprising college students who run such a business during their spare time from school.
People are always looking for a good deal – You can compete with other junk hauling services in Scottsdale by offering competitive prices and value-added services to customers. People are constantly looking for a better deal when it comes to anything they have to pay for, and junk hauling is no exception. Create offers that allow people to get discounts, freebies, and other add-ons to what they are paying for to entice them to try your company out. Have a referral program where each referral gives someone cash in exchange for successful jobs that your company ends up getting. This will help increase the number of jobs that you handle and subsequently, the revenues that you reel in.
My name is Lee Godbold and I’m the co-founder of Junk Doctors Junk Removal and Hauling and the Junk Removal Authority. With help from my partner, I built Junk Doctors into a $2 Million-a-year business that can literally run without my day to day input, all by the time I was 27 years old. At the time of this writing we have around 30 truck team members, 10 trucks, a Bobcat, and a dump trailer in operation in North Carolina. We’ve got a great organization full of great people and it has made life great for me. I can focus on building JRA now while still getting a hefty paycheck from Junk Doctors. But where did we come from? I can promise you it hasn’t always been airplanes and nice cars.
Before I started Junk Doctors I was working at a roller skating rink making around $15,000 a year and going to school part time. I was also racing NASCAR style race cars. Every extra penny I made went into the racecar. Even then my car wasn’t good enough to be truly competitive. I would go fast and something would break. I’d fix it and then wreck or it would break again. Eventually I ran out of money and sold everything but my pickup truck.
I have always been very driven and entrepreneurial. Always sure that I would be successful, knowing I would work for myself. I didn’t know when or how, but I knew I would figure it out. I tried many businesses before Junk Doctors. There was a flyer delivery business, a mobile airplane washing business, a mobile paper shredding business, a cleaning service, and more. Each one of those failed and each failure taught me lessons that led to the success of Junk Doctors.
I got to thinking that people have junk, I have a truck, and I’m willing to work hard. Until I figure out what I want to do why don’t I put up some Craigslist ads and flyers about hauling junk? I did just that and within the first day I had my first job scheduled. I was charging something like $50 per pickup truck load. So cheap! But I was making more money than I’d ever made and having a blast. I knew two weeks in that I’d found what I’d been looking for. I was going to be a garbage man!
After about two weeks of hauling using just the truck I got to a HUGE yard waste job. I wound up borrowing a 6×12 trailer from my boss at the roller skating rink. The thing had sides that were maybe 6 inches high! Not to be deterred, I stacked that yard waste five feet high and ran ratchet straps all over the place and hauled it to the yard waste facility. Five loads. I think I charged around $800 or $1000. I couldn’t believe I’d made $1,000 in a day. Little did I know that just a few years later I would be consistently making over $10,000 a day!
After about six months of hauling using that no-wall trailer we decided to take a risk and buy a trailer with 3 foot sides. A $1200 risk. Man we were sweating spending that much money. But we bit the bullet and got the trailer. It instantly increased our productivity and allowed us to hang some signs on our trailer (though not very impressive ones).
After using that trailer for around six months we bought ol’ Number 1 from Jacksonville, FL. When we got that first dump truck our productivity went through the roof. We could do five jobs instead of three in a day and would finish the day feeling refreshed rather than dead tired. When someone wanted a same-day pickup we had them covered. We had enough energy to attack that new job with excitement. After being on truck 1 for about 6 months I got off the truck full time and began working on growing our business instead. I began hiring people, advertising, and selling. Once I got off the truck we again increased productivity.
The following year we began a trend of adding one to two trucks a year as we grew. Revenue would double most years. I always wanted to build a business that could be sold and run without me. I didn’t want to have to shut down operations so I could take a vacation. That goal was met by year three. And now I work about 10 hours a week on Junk Doctors compared to about 60 hours a week for Junk Removal Authority. I travel when I want to and I’m always replacing tasks I don’t enjoy doing with stuff I do. That is the purpose of true business ownership.
Now you know how we made it. We want to take you to the same level. We want you to reach success quicker than we did. By partnering with us you will literally remove years from the process. Call us at 919-466-9322 or email lee@junkremovalauthority.com.
One thing junk removal business owners think about often is whether they should trademark their business name. The answer to that question depends on your long term plans. Do you plan on expanding? Do you plan on starting a junk removal franchise system? Or do you plan on simply operating in one area or at least within your state?
For those of you looking into franchising your business or expanding it into a multi-state operation, trademarking your name is vital. The initial trademark can be around $600 if filed online and if everything goes smoothly. But if somebody disputes the mark you will have to decide whether to pay more in legal fees to continue the process or abandon filing the mark. When we filed a trademark for Junk Doctors it wound up costing over $2,000, as we had to file to have another mark cancelled because the business was no longer in operation.
We’re glad we did though. I mean, just look at that beautiful logo.
Once you have a trademark, that doesn’t prevent other companies from using the trademarked name throughout the state. You then have to defend your mark. If you notice that somebody is infringing on your junk removal company’s trademark you will need to have an attorney send a “Cease and Desist” letter. This will cost you about $200 per occurrence. Then, if the company does not respond to the letter, you have to take legal action against them. This process could easily run into the thousands or TENS of thousands of dollars.
The other thing to consider is that if a company has been using the name you are trying to trademark longer than you have, they have the right to continue using that name in their area. That means you can’t file for a trademark and suddenly demand that a company that has been using the mark abandon it. They have the right to continue using the name in their area. Should you wish to move into their area you would have to attempt to work out a settlement with them.
Now, for those of you choosing a name, I would avoid choosing a name that has been trademarked. If you come across a name that isn’t being used in your area but is being used somewhere else then you need to do some serious thinking about whether you want to use the name. Some things to consider are 1) where in the country is this company? If they are in your state, I wouldn’t use their name. If they are across the country then, then ask 2) Are they professional? If it’s just a pickup truck, trailer, and a couple of guys you are probably safe, assuming they have been in business a few years. However, if it appears to be a well-run and growing machine you might want to hold off using the mark. Having to undergo a name change is an expensive process in terms of both actual money spent and in terms of re-educating your customers about your new name. Lots of goodwill that you have built over time can be lost with a name change.
Lee and Christian started out as Triangle Removal. Making the switch to Junk Doctors wasn’t easy.
That being said, you should thoroughly understand your future intentions before filing a trademark. Yes, it is relatively inexpensive to file one, but then you have to protect it. To effective defend your mark you will either need to periodically conduct an exhaustive search or hire a trademark company to monitor for infringement on your behalf. You will then need to pay the necessary legal expenses to protect the mark. Unless you plan on growing your brand big time, it is likely not worth your time to file a trademark.
Good morning guys. I’m a little bit early to a meeting I’ve got here, so I’ve got a little bit of time. Just recorded a Junk Removal Made Simple episode on the worst mistakes we ever made running our junk removal business. That’s a really great. My hope on it and my goal is that when you all watch that, you’ll avoid making those same mistakes we made. I’d love to know where our business could be if we had avoided those mistakes early on.
When I first reached the point at which I didn’t have to be on the truck all the time, I relished the fact that I had a new freedom to do what I wanted to do. I was making a decent amount of money. I started to settle. I stopped improving the business. I stopped pushing as hard. It only lasted for a month or so, but over just that one month I noticed a decline in business. I noticed I was sleeping in later and I really wasn’t as happy. I went to the beach more and I had more time to spend on my hobbies, but I wasn’t as happy as when I was pushing hard and working towards clear goals.
Growing up, I got into aviation through my dad. Because of the expensive and time-consuming nature of the hobby, most people in aviation are older. As a result, I had the privilege of being friends with a lot of older people. Most of them were in their 60’s when I was a kid. As a grew into a teenager, they grew into their 70’s and 80’s. Many of them have since passed on, but what I remember most about them was their passion and uncompromising determination. These guys were out at the airfield every day, honing their skills and talking about the things they loved and the goals they still wanted to accomplish. Then there was my grandfather.
He had goals and ambitions when he was a younger man. But those days were long past. I began to see the signs as soon as he wasn’t working anymore. Even as a kid, I could tell that the TV had replaced his ambitions. He wasn’t striving for anything anymore. He was retired.
He stopped engaging his mind. He stopped engaging his body. He stopped striving for things that mattered to him. Most importantly, he no longer had goals to strive for. And that’s ultimately what people live for. We’re a species meant to hunger for constant improvement, and though the type and degree of improvement differ from person to person, everyone has to have something to work towards. As soon as we allow ourselves to lose that hunger, that yearning for the thrill of achieving our own goals, we start to lose our purpose.
Without a purpose, a motivating reason to get up every morning, we start sleeping in. Why should we get up when we won’t accomplish anything meaningful? When we start sleeping in too much, we get lazy. Sick. Our energy levels go down. We don’t find joy in the things that once fulfilled us. We’re not happy. Our work, families, friends, and hobbies all miss out on our much-needed attention. We’re still alive, perhaps. But we’re not truly living.
This may seem like an overly bleak or fatalistic outlook, but it’s the truth. Though it may seem like the simplest and most obvious thing in the world, having a purpose for your life is absolutely essential to living a good and enjoyable life. That’s why it’s so important to stay hungry and never settle.
Don’t settle on your income when you hit your target. Set your sights higher – make it five or ten times the amount you’re currently making. Make it a goal that you have to work for – one that makes you a little nervous. After all, if your dreams don’t scare you, they aren’t big enough. Write that goal down once or twice a day at the beginning. I write my goals down at the beginning of the day and again at the end of the day. Long-term goals, short-term goals, goals that you want to accomplish that day – write them all down. Remember them. Want them. Be hungry.
Let’s say your goal was to own a home. Once you buy the home, you’re happy. And you should be – you’ve accomplished a very big goal you set for yourself! Chances are, however, that you settled for something about the home. Maybe it was the neighborhood, the layout, or the funky column jutting into the living room. Maybe you discover that the grocery store five minutes down the road doesn’t stock avocados (which is obviously unforgivable). Don’t settle. Make it your goal to fix that funky column, move to a better neighborhood, or live closer to the grocery store that somehow only stocks perfectly ripe avocados.
This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be happy with your home. After all, if you’re never happy with the life you’re building, there’s no point to building it either. There’s a balance to be struck here. Enjoy the present and remember all the work you’ve put in to get where you are. Just know that as corny as it may sound, life really is about the journey more than the destination. Remember being a kid and staring at the toy catalog for weeks, saving up pocket change and birthday money a little at a time to finally buy it? Oftentimes the excitement of wanting the toy, obsessing over it, and imagining it was greater than the feeling of actually possessing it.
If you’re completely happy with your home and it’s everything you want, do you just stop and rest on your laurels? Of course not! Just find the next part of your life you want to improve. Maybe it’s your vehicle. Maybe it’s your body. Maybe it’s your relationship; that’s the hard one. With everything else going on in your life, you have to make sure you’re not being complacent in your relationship. That you’re not taking the other person for granted. That you’re really pushing hard and that you’re trying to keep the heat in that relationship going. You’re intentionally setting aside time just for that person and for your relationship. When I plan my day out (and I plan the entire day in advance), I plan out the time that I’m going to spend with my wife.
Then there’s your business. I enjoy flying. I enjoyed cars. But growing my business, seeing it flourish, seeing how many people I can help through my work – that’s what gives me the most pleasure in life. So I’ve poured my heart and soul into this business and it’s done wonders for my goals. I achieved my five-year goal a couple years early. I’m on track to hit my ten-year goal by year five. When I hit that, I’ll be setting another ten-year goal. I’ll be doing that at least five or ten times – and hopefully even more than that!
You see, the only reason you ever settle is because you convince yourself that your dreams and ambitions are unattainable. You may have gotten sick and tired of all the disappointments along the way. That’s tough. But disappointments happen all the time, and they’re simply teaching tools; stepping stones on the path to success. There may be hundreds of these little steps, and with so much to accomplish it’s possible to psych yourself out, to start believing that your dreams can’t happen. Break that long-term goal into little pieces and tackle one at a time. Sometimes they won’t go so well. Sometimes they’ll hurt, bad. Disappointment might last days or weeks. But you can’t settle, you can’t give in to the easy way out and give up. Because if you choose to be hungry, to chase those goals and keep pounding even through the really bad days, you’re gonna get there. And you’re going to be at your happiest through it all.
You’re going to feel your best and have the most energy when you’re working towards a goal. As they say at Men’s Wearhouse, I guarantee it. Everybody, have a wonderful day. Don’t settle for a good day. Chase after that great day, that extra one percent. Be hungry. Chase after your ambitions and make all your dreams and aspirations come true. When they do, set more goals. I’ll talk to everybody soon.
Manage your people with kid gloves. Don’t create a high pressure environment. Make sure people leave on time. Pull people up, don’t push them! All of these previous sentences are littered throughout business books. Books written by college professors and managers of large corporations. It’s a bunch of bologna. No if, and, butts about it. It’s crap. You’ve done a great job building your junk removal business by the sweat of your brow. You are now at the point where you got to kick it into the next gear. The only way to do that is to start hiring more people. But it is imperative that you get the same or better results from them as you got from yourself. And, always remember one thing. The reason you hire anybody is for profits. It is to make you or your business partners more money. That is it. Get rid of any pie in the sky mentality that you want to hire people in order to provide needed jobs to people and better your community. Don’t kid yourself. You need people to make your company more money. That’s it.
Here are the keys to managing your people to get them to make you the most Guala Guala.
Understand that you hired them to make you more money: Don’t ever hire someone because you feel sorry for them. That will never turn out well. Instead you will start feeling sorry for yourself that you ever hired them in the first place. You hire people to save you time and make you more money.
Train them to properly do their job: Make sure you have documented training manuals and a well thought out training program complete with checklists to ensure no training is missed. You are setting your team members up for failure if you don’t properly train them. Train them to meet or exceed your well documented work standards.
Monitor them to make sure they are doing their job correctly through meeting and occasional supervision: Once a week have them meet with you or their manager/team and have them outline tasks and deadlines for the week ahead. When they are new check in with them daily to monitor progress. Once they are more established you won’t have to check over them as closely. If they still require close supervision after months of working with your company they might want to find another position or another job. You should have people that can complete tasks and meet deadlines without direct supervision. In the case of truck team members you should ensure they are placing courtesy calls, do customer follow up calls, check over truck cleanliness, make sure they are getting review requests out, etc. Everyone should have firing orders on what they are expected to do and you should be ensuring they are carrying out those tasks completely.
Call them out on anything they are doing wrong: Let them know if anything is not being done correctly. Make sure they know how to do the job properly. Meet with them a time or two. If they can’t fix it then you might want to get rid of them or find them a different position they would be better suited for. Remember, all tasks are important. If you let them slip on one task they could very well slip on another.
Hold regular performance evaluations: Make it clear to them that they know how they are doing and what they need to do to improve. If you aren’t meeting with them they don’t think you care. If they think you don’t care then they won’t care. Not a good thing.
Expect your people to meet deadlines and stay however long it takes: By making it clear that your people are expected to meet deadlines and complete their days tasks no matter how long it takes you will find that people will become more efficient. They will cut out the extra long lunches, the water cooler talks, the extra coffee break, etc. They will still focused on achieving their task. If they have to stay way late all the time you need to look into their efficiency and try to help them get things done quicker so they don’t have to stay late all the time. That isn’t good for their family life. And if their family life suffers. And if they suffer and get depressed their work will suffer. Not good. Also, if they are hourly you are paying them for the extra time. Also, not good. Expect your people to complete their tasks every day no matter what.
Turnover is a good thing: Nothing kicks people into high gear and puts them on their toes than a constant round of hiring. Treat your organization like a college basketball team. Be constantly bringing in the best people you can. Train them up and see how they perform relative to others in your organization. The ones that perform the best get the playing time. The ones that don’t ride the bench or get cut. Management books caution against turnover. I like it. I like constantly bringing people in and kicking people that can’t perform out. Bring em’ in. Kick em’ out. This has been the greatest change we’ve ever made to managing our people. We had guys that just did as little as possible to get a pay check become kick ass team members from this one change. They saw new people coming in and passing them. They didn’t like it and got motivated to perform. Turnover is a good thing. Always be hiring!
Longevity doesn’t matter: Experience matters. Longevity doesn’t. Experience can make you make better decisions. A motivated and experienced team member is worth more than a motivated and inexperienced team member. However, longevity doesn’t matter. The present is all that matters. If you have a two month guy who is outperforming a five year guy then the two month guy should get the PT or the spot. The five year guy needs to pickup his game or leave the organization. If you have a five or ten year guy in your sites and they tell you or act like they deserve it because they have been with you for ten years. Because they have been so good for ten years. Make sure they understand that you appreciate what they did int he past but presents results matter. Either pickup your game or leave.
Everyone, including you, goes lame: All race horses go lame. All employees, including you go lame as well. It is important that when anyone goes lame you try to figure out why. Is it something that can be corrected? Are they simply bored? Can you move them to a different position to get them re-enthused? You will lose interest in doing certain things within your business as well. It is important at that point to hire someone to do the task you aren’t interested in doing anymore. Otherwise your whole organization will suffer.
Don’t allow anyone to get to comfortable: This applies to yourself probably more than anyone else. It is easy for the business owner to get comfortable. He has to self motivate himself. He doesn’t have someone threatening to cut his job if his performance slacks. The only way to not get comfortable is to constantly be setting and achieving goals. Every time a goal is achieved you should be ready to have another go back in its place. Always have something you are working towards or your performance will suffer. And as far as your team members make sure they feel the pressure to perform. If they don’t have the pressure they will start to slack off.
Consider tying peoples pay into performance: I do believe in some types of pull management. Try to motivate your people by allowing them to share a piece of the pie. When they perform better they make more money. Come up with a structure where people are rewarded for the success of the company. DO NOT CAP THEIR PAY. If you set up this structure do not cap their pay once they reach a certain level. The only reason this is done is because of selfishness. You don’t want them to make more than a certain amount. Maybe you don’t want them to make more than you. Do not do this. You want your people super motivated. Once they hit their cap they are going to start being resentful. And the late business is just as good as the early business.
Recognize and reward performance that exceeds expectations: Anytime you get someone who is constantly exceeding expectations recognize and reward them. These people are few and far between. Make sure to take care of the few ones you find. Try to promote them into positions if possible.
Always remember you owe it to yourself to have the most profitable business possible: You’ve taken on risk and devoted your entire life on your business. You are always thinking about your business and working a ton on it. Even with your family you are often thinking about your business. Don’t get caught in the trap of cutting team members slack all the time because you “don’t need the money”. That is a bunch of malarkey. You owe it to yourself and your family to make as much money as possible. And you aren’t doing your team members any favors. Expect them to perform and they will enjoy their job much more. And if they don’t you need to get rid of them.
This whole article is pretty ruthless. Your environment should not always be ruthless. It should be filled with a culture that rewards people who are doing well. You should wish people happy birthday and celebrate their work or life successes. But everyone must know that you expect results in your organization. By expecting and enforcing deadlines and results and by constantly bringing in new people, you will find that an organization will form with a crazy good culture that makes a bunch of money. Every business owners dream.
