How to bring in $4MM a year in sales hauling junk with Casey Walsh

Introduction

In this section, Nick introduces Casey Walsh and his business, Stand Up Guys Junk Removal. They discuss how Casey got into the junk removal business and his background.

Casey's Background

• Casey grew up in a family of entrepreneurs.

• He struggled in high school and was almost a dropout but eventually graduated.

• He worked odd jobs before getting into junk removal.

How Casey Got Into Junk Removal

In this section, Casey talks about how he got into the junk removal business.

Getting Started

• A stranger recommended "Think and Grow Rich" by Napoleon Hill to him when he was 19 years old.

• After reading the book, he decided to start his own business.

Starting Stand Up Guys Junk Removal

• He started with just himself and a truck.

• He focused on providing excellent customer service to differentiate himself from competitors.

• He expanded to multiple trucks and employees as demand grew.

Growing Stand Up Guys Junk Removal

In this section, Casey discusses how he grew Stand Up Guys Junk Removal from one truck to seven branches in six cities.

Expanding to Multiple Locations

• The first expansion was opening a second branch in Atlanta.

• They opened new branches by finding employees who were interested in running their own branch.

• They provided training and support to help new branch owners succeed.

Keys to Success

• Providing excellent customer service is key to success in the junk removal business.

• Building a strong team is crucial for growth and success.

Stand Up Guys Junk Removal Today

In this section, Casey talks about the current state of Stand Up Guys Junk Removal and his plans for the future.

Current State of the Business

• Stand Up Guys Junk Removal has seven branches in six cities with 56 employees.

• They are on pace for $4 million in sales this year with an 18% profit margin.

Future Plans

• Casey plans to continue expanding Stand Up Guys Junk Removal by opening more branches.

• He also wants to focus on building a stronger brand and improving marketing efforts.

Starting a Business and Getting Sober

Casey talks about how he started his business while getting sober at the same time. He shares how he saved up $4,000 to buy a pickup truck and used it to haul junk.

Starting the Business

• Casey decided to start hauling junk as a business because he had done it on the side in high school.

• At 19 years old, Casey started his own business with $4,000 and built it into a successful enterprise over 13 years.

• Casey was drinking and partying a lot when he decided to start his business and get sober at the same time.

Getting Sober

• Casey decided to get sober while starting his business.

• He found it better to go through both challenges at once rather than separately.

• The business gave him something to focus on during this difficult time.

Early Days of the Business

• Casey bought a pickup truck with $4,000 and wrote a check for everything he had left in the bank.

• He parked cars at night and put out signs advertising his services early in the morning.

• He would spray paint old signs from Realtors' dumpsters with "junk removal" written on them.

Finding Customers

• Casey did this routine for about a year before being able to make enough money to stop parking cars.

• When customers called, Casey answered the phone unprofessionally until one customer corrected him.

The Importance of Learning and Adapting

In this section, the speaker talks about the importance of being open to learning and adapting in order to succeed in business.

Learning and Adapting

• The speaker emphasizes that they do not pretend or think that they know everything, which leaves them open to learning at any point.

• They stress the importance of shifting, learning, changing, and taking advice from whoever will give it to you.

• The speaker explains that there was no book out there that could tell them how to take specific steps in their business to get to a certain point. Instead, they had to figure it out as they went along.

• They mention that all branches are corporate-owned because they did not franchise.

Growing the Business: Employees and Revenue

In this section, the speaker discusses how they grew their business by hiring employees and increasing revenue.

Hiring Employees

• The speaker acknowledges that employees are the toughest part of any business.

• They explain that after making a revenue of $82,000 by themselves, they hired an employee who took over driving the truck while they focused on finding more work for the business.

• After three or four years of working alone on a truck, they stepped back and put an employee in charge. This allowed them to focus on sales and working on the business instead of just working in it.

Increasing Revenue

• The speaker mentions making $82,000 in revenue by themselves before hiring an employee.

• They explain how stepping back from working on the truck allowed them to focus on finding more work and increasing revenue. This led to the business growing from two trucks to four in just three years.

Working on the Business, Not in It

In this section, the speaker emphasizes the importance of working on the business instead of just in it.

Stepping Back

• The speaker explains that every time they feel too busy, they take a step back and give tasks to someone else. This allows them to focus on sales and working on the business.

• They mention that taking a step back allowed them to realize that their business had outgrown them. They stress the importance of putting systems and processes in place so that your business doesn't become too big to manage.

Knowing Your Weaknesses and Hiring for Strengths

In this section, the speaker talks about how he realized that he was not as special as he thought and that someone else could do a better job than him. He emphasizes the importance of knowing your weaknesses and finding people who can complement your strengths.

Hiring for Strengths

• The speaker assumed that no one could do his job as well as him until he realized that someone else could do it just as well or even better.

• One of the biggest lessons in business is to know your weaknesses and find people whose strengths complement them.

• Being good at everything is not necessary in business. It's better to focus on your strengths and hire others to handle your weaknesses.

Growing the Business by Hiring a Salesman

In this section, the speaker talks about how he hired his first employee in 2011, which allowed him to focus on growing the business. He also discusses how hiring a full-time salesman helped him overcome his weakness in sales.

Hiring a Full-Time Salesman

• The speaker hired his first employee, a truck driver, in 2011.

• About a year later, he realized that sales was not his strong point and took a big risk by hiring a full-time salesman on salary.

• The salesman focused on selling to property management companies, businesses of all kinds, realtors, and events.

• The risk paid off quickly because within three weeks, the speaker knew it would work out.

Starting and Expanding the Business

In this section, the speaker talks about how they started their business with two trucks and expanded to four or five trucks with an office. They hired someone to manage the day-to-day logistics while they worked from home. The speaker then decided to expand their services and service area by moving to Tampa Bay.

Starting Small

• Started with two trucks and expanded to four or five trucks with an office.

• Hired someone to manage day-to-day logistics while working from home.

Expanding Services and Service Area

• Decided to expand services or service area since Marietta was about tapped out.

• Instead of expanding in Lawrenceville, decided to move 500 miles south to Tampa Bay.

• Employee expressed interest in managing a branch, so the speaker asked where he wanted to go, and he picked Tampa Bay.

Moving to Tampa Bay

• Drove down with zero leads, one truck, and almost no money.

• Rented a house for $1000/month from a property management company they worked for in Atlanta.

• Lived together for the first year while building up the business again from scratch.

Lessons Learned

In this section, the speaker talks about lessons learned during their experience in Tampa Bay.

Starting Small Again

• Applied lessons learned from starting small again in Tampa Bay that took three years before only took 18 months this time around because of what was learned previously.

Writing Down Lessons Learned

• Wrote down every step taken in Tampa Bay to apply it again and not just go off the hip.

Expanding to a Third Branch

In this section, the speaker talks about how they opened their third branch.

Employee Expresses Interest

• An employee from Atlanta expressed interest in managing a branch.

Opening the Third Branch

• Opened the third branch in 2015.

Starting and Expanding the Business

In this section, Casey talks about how he started his business and expanded it to multiple locations. He also discusses the importance of having trustworthy employees.

Starting the Business

• Casey started his business in 2011 with a truck and a trailer.

• He learned from his first expansion into Nashville that he could do it remotely.

• The company has since expanded to Raleigh, Dallas, Lawrenceville, Sarasota, and is looking at two or three more cities in the next couple of years.

Importance of Trustworthy Employees

• Finding employees who are willing to uproot their lives for a new business can be difficult.

• Casey emphasizes that finding good people was crucial to building his business.

• Having loyal employees who have stuck by him has been one of the most satisfying aspects of running his business.

Importance of Employees

In this section, Casey talks about how important his employees are to him and how they have helped build his business.

Employee Buy-In

• Casey is proud that he now has over 50 employees who are making careers for themselves through his business.

• Although managing hourly employees can be challenging, they are also the best part of running the business for him.

• Finding people who were excited about the vision was key to getting them to buy-in.

Building a Dependable Business

In this section, the speaker discusses how being dependable is crucial in building a successful business. They emphasize that dependability starts with the owner and trickles down to employees.

Dependability is Key

• Being dependable as an individual is crucial when working in a small business.

• The owner's trustworthiness plays a big role in gaining and maintaining employee trust.

• Making decisions together as a team helps build trust and dependability.

• Doing the right thing yields long-term results and builds employee trust.

Challenges of Growing a Business

In this section, the speaker talks about the challenges they faced while expanding their business to new cities. They discuss cash flow as one of the biggest challenges they encountered.

Cash Flow Challenges

• Bootstrapping the entire business without taking any loans or partnerships was challenging.

• Cash flow was a major challenge when expanding to new cities.

• Sleepless nights were common due to cash flow concerns.

• Getting paid on time for services rendered was critical for survival.

Importance of Good Employees

In this section, the speaker emphasizes the importance of having good employees and shares his experience with bad hires.

Importance of Good Employees

• Building a business with people who don't care is hard.

• The speaker has had many bad hires who didn't show up on their first day or didn't care about causing problems for the business.

• Good employees are essential to building a successful business and mean a lot to the speaker.

Dealing with Nightmare Scenarios

In this section, the speaker shares a nightmare scenario he had to deal with and emphasizes the importance of being prepared for all possible scenarios when running a business.

Nightmare Scenario

• The speaker was working for a property management company and was supposed to clean out a house. However, they went to the wrong address and broke into someone's house by mistake.

• They threw away all of the personal belongings in the house before realizing their mistake.

• Despite this nightmare scenario, the speaker emphasizes that any problem can be solved if you do the right thing and fix it.

Being Prepared for All Scenarios

• Entrepreneurs should think about all possible scenarios that could go wrong when running a business.

• There will always be reasons not to start something, but there is always one good reason to do it. Just do something.

Taking Action to Overcome Anxiety

In this section, the speaker discusses how taking action can help overcome anxiety and lead to success.

Taking Action Leads to Success

• The speaker believes that taking action, regardless of whether it is right or wrong, is important for success.

• Taking action helps get rid of anxiety and creates momentum towards a goal.

• The speaker shares his personal experience of doing whatever work was available in the beginning stages of building his business.

• Saying yes to opportunities helped the speaker build his business.

Making Hard Decisions as a Business Owner

In this section, the speaker talks about making hard decisions as a business owner and seeking guidance from others.

Seeking Guidance from Others

• The speaker's employees have to tell him when to say no because he has trouble turning down opportunities.

• The speaker bounces ideas off of his employees and values their input in decision-making.

Balancing Business Growth with Personal Life

In this section, the speaker discusses balancing business growth with personal life and finding motivation to continue growing.

Finding Motivation for Continued Growth

• Despite achieving financial success, the speaker does not feel like he has "made it" yet and wants to continue growing his business.

• Having a family puts things in perspective for the speaker and makes problems seem less significant.

• The speaker enjoys building his business and hopes to retire early but does not want growth to stagnate.

CEO Role and Responsibilities

In this section, the speaker talks about his role as a CEO of a company with 55 employees. He explains how he manages his team and removes obstacles that get in their way.

Managing the Team

• As a CEO, he manages five people who are making decisions for him.

• He lets them make decisions and tries to remove any obstacles that get in their way.

• He holds himself accountable to his employees and puts pressure on himself to keep the wheels moving.

Starting a Business with Grit

In this section, the speaker talks about how he generated four million dollars in one year through grit and hard work. He emphasizes that you don't have to be special or have an amazing idea to start a business.

Starting a Business

• You don't have to be special or have an amazing idea to start a business.

• Just make decisions the best you can and work at it.

• Use good people and create good systems to build your business.

Advice for Young Entrepreneurs

In this section, the speaker gives advice for young entrepreneurs who are afraid to take the leap. He encourages them to take risks and figure out how to land along the way.

Taking Risks

• Take risks and figure out how to land along the way.

• No one's going to let themselves crash and burn.

• There's money everywhere, so come up with a simple idea and run with it.

Entrepreneurship Mindset

In this section, the speaker talks about his philosophy on entrepreneurship and how to approach it. He emphasizes the importance of defining success for oneself and making decisions that align with that definition.

Defining Success

• Success is unique to the individual.

• It's important to sit down and decide what success means to you.

• Every decision you make should lead you towards your own definition of success.

• Success can change over time as you reach new goals.

Sacrificing Today for a Better Tomorrow

• The speaker sacrifices today and tomorrow for a year or more in order to achieve his goals.

• His current definition of success includes having employees who can also live a good life.

Risky Business

• Being booked out too far is risky because it can lead to offering lower quality service.

• However, taking risks can lead to doing something special that sets one apart from competitors.

Final Thoughts

• Define your own success and let it be your North Star.

• Don't just try to get through another day; think about where you want to be in five years.

The Joy of Helping Employees Grow

In this section, the speakers discuss the joy of helping employees grow and move on to bigger and better things.

Helping Employees Grow

• As a business owner, there is no better feeling than seeing an employee move on to bigger and better things.

• One manager started as a hauler on the truck, became a crew leader, then a manager managing an entire branch. He used this job as a stepping stone into his desired career.

• It was hard to watch him go but it was also rewarding to see him move up in his career.

• The speaker feels that this job can be a big stepping stone for young people.

Contacting Casey

• To contact Casey, you can find his phone number on the website or email newcats@standupguys.biz.

• Casey is also available on Instagram but prefers being contacted through the website or phone number.