The Life of a Junk Removal Franchise Owner
Early Mornings = ADVICE: Learn to love coffee
They say the early bird gets the worm, well that couldn't be more true when running a junk removal franchise and it took me awhile to learn that this isn't the industry for a night owl. I was night owl for the better part of my life before I started Trash Can Willys and had to change to make this work. I struggled the first few years, so to save you frustration and your time (what a true franchise owner should do for those looking to invest in this business), you must be at least willing to become a morning person to be successful. Your removal crews will need to be dispatched between 7am and 8pm depending on your local dump's operating hours. This means you getting to the office an hour earlier (6am-ish) so you can be prepared and on-point when your junk removal crews start showing up and are ready for their morning meeting that you need to lead.
Be Comfortable Leading Real Men / Women
You need to have some experience leading. The more experience the better. You must be comfortable in your own skin, convey confidence, and be able to communicate effectively in-front of a group. This is after all, a real mans job, the guys that work for you will need to contend with all forms of weather, dirty dank basements, spiders, mice, nasty hoarding houses; they'll need to lift heavy, awkward pieces throughout the days, and be ok mending scratches and bruises at night when they get home... they need to be tough guys / gals, as will you if you are going to be successful leading them and gaining their respect. This is if you are planning on starting with 1 to 3 trucks. If you are blessed with starting with more than 3 trucks than you may not need to be a "tough guy" but you will still need to be able to lead men with confidence. If you cannot convey confidence doing this you will need to hire a great foreman or general manager that can do this.
PPPPP - Proper Planning Prevents... yada yada
When you need to find your keys or wallet does this send you on a wild hunt through your house with pillows flying and sweating beading up on your forehead? Wonder if it was 7 pairs of truck keys, 7 credit cards, and 7 routes with 5 stops on each AND if you dont have all this ready when you need to then you will risk losing money, your crews respect, looking unprofessional, and find your way to an early grave due to crazy stress 🙂 I think you get the point right? You have to be organized to do this job effectively. Sure, we will show you our processes, but to a degree you need to have some organizational skills and be willing to take the time to set up your day up efficiently and for success. So, if you are good at being organized as well as taking the time to prepare for when you need to be organized then you are a step ahead of where I was when I started hahah. I just wish the weight stayed off...
"Lets get physical, physical, I want to get physical..."
If you will be starting your franchise branch with 1 to 3 trucks there's two possible ways you will be involved in daily operations = either running a truck or answering the phones. If you are running one truck you will be on said truck (see real men paragraph above again) which entails a lot of lifting, carrying heavy items, and running a lot of stairs. I was lucky enough to be in fairly decent shape when I started the business so it wasn't too bad for me, but if you are a little soft or haven't been to the gym in years expect to 1. be aching physically for the first few weeks to months and 2. you will be the strongest you have ever been in your life after 6 months in. So kind of a trade off - the good with the bad. Either-way you will need to expect a lot of physical aches and strains in the beginning, but remember no pain, no gain!
Mental Cartwheels
The other side of being physical is being able to do mental backflips in that if you are lucky enough to be starting with 2 to 3 trucks you may not have to go out on the trucks, instead your day will be a day filled with mental calisthenics fielding 20 to 60 phone calls for customers looking to learn more about your business, services, and scheduling appointments for estimates or to remove their junk. If you are handling the phones it really will help if you are a good communicator and don't mind sitting in an office 4 to 6 hours a day. I found this phase of growing the business more difficult as I would get antsy. I was used to being on the truck for 2 years and to go from always moving around to being sedentary in front of a computer screen for that long, I would get really anxious. However, the good thing is you also have to do estimates, so many days I would schedule my day with two estimates to break the day up and get me out of the office so I wasn't climbing the walls lol. Oh, also keep in mind someone still needs to be answering the phone while you are out doing estimates, luckily I had a good bluetooth system in my car and would record the call to schedule it if I was driving then simply replay the call and enter the appointments into the computer when I would get back to the office. The cool side to this? I would make all my friends jealous as hell taking a "work call" out on my boat while fishing with all of them envying my "work day" of scheduling 5 jobs while bagging 3 killer bass!
You Need to Have The Hunger of A Starving Dog to Succeed
Are you driven with a fire in your belly and mind to succeed no matter what curve balls life can throw at you, no matter how much the odds seem stacked against you, no matter how tired you are? You need to be determined and envision your success. There is zero failure in your mind, so much so, you can't even comprehend failing. I worked for others for almost 18 years, made others a lot of money, took a lot of crap while working in corporate, and dealt with many thinking I was a loser or just "rough around the edges" that finally at the age of 34 with 3 little girls relying on me I decided one day I was better off working for myself and there was no one or anything that would stand in my way or stop me from reaching my own level of personal success. I proceeded to work day and night, endless hours, and gave blood sweat and tears for years and years to finally achieve that personal success just a few years ago. Now, I want to make you a success. I have that same fire to make US a success together. To give back to someone and help them succeed. Can you bring this kind of dedication and fire to succeed? Are you driven? How bad do you want it!? Will you fight for what's rightfully yours? If so, then maybe, just maybe we are right for one another.
When You Hear "Apple!" Do You Instantly Think Someone Is Offering You A Fruit Platter?
Yes, its a fruit but it's also a massive technology company and being comfortable with most mainstream technology and applications like Microsoft office will really be a non-negotiable in this industry. You wouldn't think so, but like any business now a days computers and phones play a huge role in daily operations and you have to be fluent working with both, especially Microsoft Office.
So that really does it as far as personal traits, If you can do all of the above then you are on the right track in considering running your own franchise with Trash Can Willys. Now lets explore the idea of your future.
"Magic Mirror On The Wall Who Is The Best Junk Removal Franchise Of Them All?"
Running a junk removal franchise is completely amazing! Don't get me wrong, there is a ton of work and time to put in building your business but once you reach the level of having 4 to 5+ trucks on the road daily you can really start gaining control over your schedule and your life as a whole. This brings me to the most valuable benefit franchising offers and why I recommend it for everyone with the capital, FRANCHISING SAVES YOU THE MOST VALUE-ABLE ASSET YOU HAVE - YOUR TIME. In just a few years you can accomplish the same financial success as the franchise owner and you can do it in just 1/4 of the time. That's it. That is the grand daddy benefit. With our systems and guidance you should be able to achieve the same successes we have had in 1/4 of the time.
We have been in business now 13 years, our goal would be to have you at a similar level of success in just 3 to 4 years using our system and the processes that evolved through trial and error and lost money all to now ensure you do not have to fight the same battles. We have fought those battles for you, understand the pitfalls, the traps, and the decisions that can cost you time and money and if you can learn from our successes and follow the systems we have in place, there is no reason at all you can't have all the time, success, and money you need to live any lifestyle you so chose in as soon as just 3 to 4 short years.
