From Battlefield to Business: Joseph Martinez and Chris Benson on Veteran Entrepreneurship and Franchise Opportunities

Discover how two inspiring veterans, Joseph Martinez and Chris Benson, turned their military experience into a thriving business that empowers fellow servicemen and women. This episode takes you through their remarkable journey from the battlegrounds of Afghanistan to the competitive world of entrepreneurship with Troops Haul Junk. With insights from Joseph, the Chief Operations Officer, we promise you'll walk away with valuable lessons on leadership, resilience, and the unique challenges veterans face when stepping into the business world.

Immerse yourself in the veteran's perspective on franchising and business ownership. Our conversation sheds light on the often unspoken hurdles veterans encounter in civilian life and how Troops Haul Junk aims to bridge this gap by offering franchise opportunities. We talk about the power of community, emphasizing values like integrity and loyalty, and how these create a supportive network that honors their service while helping improve financial security.

We also dive into practical advice for aspiring franchisees and budding entrepreneurs. Joseph shares his story of transition, offering pearls of wisdom on financial literacy, standing out in a crowded market, and the significance of mentorship. Learn how to harness military skills for business success and the therapeutic benefits of camaraderie in a civilian context. Whether you're a veteran or someone looking for inspiration, this episode offers a rich tapestry of insights that can guide you on your entrepreneurial path.

Chapters

• 0:00 Military Broadcast
• 7:01 Veterans in Business Franchising
• 13:42 Franchisee Qualifications and Support
• 28:00 Entrepreneurship and Military Experience
• 37:12 Franchisee Advice and Resilience
• 44:24 Franchise Exploration and Mentorship Initiative

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

Introducing LT Defense Tactical Gear, your ultimate solution for top-notch protection and performance in the field. Our armor bundles provide unmatched safety and comfort, while our battle belts and holsters ensure quick and easy access to your gear. Stay prepared for any situation with our high-quality medical supplies designed to keep you ready for action at all times. Looking to enhance your skills, Our firearms training programs will take your proficiency to the next level. Trust LT Defense for all your tactical gear needs and gear up for success on the battlefield.

Speaker 2: 0:35

This entire military is one cohesive, dedicated force. And the threats to our nations? They don't sleep. They're watching our every move. Iran, russia, china, north Korea, isis, al-qaeda they may be watching this right now. Our military should not be mistaken for our cable news gab fest show.

Speaker 1: 1:02

We don't care what you look like, we don't care who you voted for, who you worship, what you worship, who you love.

Speaker 2: 1:09

It doesn't matter if your dad left you millions when he died or if you knew who your father was. We have been honed into a machine of lethal moving parts that you would be wise to avoid. If you know what's good for you, we will not be intimidated. We will not be intimidated. We will not back down.

Speaker 1: 1:28

It's the war. We don't want war.

Speaker 2: 1:32

But if you want war with the United States of America, there's one thing I can promise you, so help me. God, someone else will raise your sons and daughters.

Speaker 3: 1:47

Military Broadcast Radio, the station that's giving veterans a voice.

Speaker 2: 1:53

Find us on the web at mbradious.

Speaker 4: 1:57

Military. I'm a certified financial social worker. I was in the Air Force for 14 years and then I paid off $20,000 of debt while I was active duty within three years as an E3. So that's kind of like I got really into personal finance and so I've been really passionate about that ever since, and that was 10, 12 years ago now. So since then I became a social worker and now I'm a certified financial social worker. So we kind of get into, you know, dealing with finances but then also kind of dealing with the psychology behind finances, like the you know, the mental side of things.

Speaker 3: 2:38

So Ladies and gentlemen, your battle buddy when it comes to finances. Please welcome the fire social worker, joey Laswell.

Speaker 4: 2:52

All right, man, we are back. It's been a minute. This is Money in the Military, on Military Broadcast Radio, where we're giving veterans a voice, and we've got two special guests here and we do have a little bit of a time crunch. We want to get everything in as much as possible and value everyone's time here. So we already had Chris Benson on a couple weeks ago and he told us a little bit about his story and how he got into vet cars and things like that. But this episode we're really going to focus on franchising and kind of getting a little bit of you know, what does it take to become a franchisee and things like that. So thank you, Chris, for coming back. But then we have someone else here that is also part of your team and your story. So, Joseph Martinez, just real quick, if you could just give us a little bit of a backstory, like what your military background and then how you got into where you are now.

Speaker 5: 3:52

Sure, sure. First of all, that's a hell of an intro. I like it. Second, I'm going to try and keep it real short, right, because Chris and I am long-winded. Long story short. In 2013, I was medaced out of afghanistan, spent the next couple of years in recovery. While in recovery, I was disconnected from my tribe, which is what happens to a lot of us veterans. I was feeling lost. I couldn't find my place in society. I decided to launch a small one-man junk removal operation in stafford, virginia. I continue to build it more like a franchise than just a junk removal business and through the videos that I produce to this point about 600 or so on YouTube, just chronicling the day in the life of a junk removal hauler. Chris saw some of those videos, reached out, liked what I was doing. We joined forces and we created Troops Haul Junk. We joined forces and we created Troops Hall Junk very first exclusively available junk removal service to veterans and first responders only.

Speaker 4: 4:56

And we're very proud of that. Yeah, that's awesome and you know like we mentioned Chris.

Speaker 4: 5:01

That was pretty good. That was nice and short and sweet. So, um, well, it looks like, chris, we can't hear you. So, uh, yeah, I think we might have to. Let's see. Did we lose your, your audio again? Let me see. All right, hold on. I think I heard you then just say something real quick Hmm, all right, give me one second, let me. Yeah, this is, this is live TV, or live broadcasting. This happens sometimes. All right, give me one second. Let me pull you back and you back, all right, so you're muted. Can you unmute yourself real quick? Still can't hear you, okay.

Speaker 6: 5:48

I got you Okay.

Speaker 7: 5:52

So it's playing through my speaker.

Speaker 4: 5:55

Gotcha.

Speaker 7: 5:56

As long as you can hear me, let's roll with it.

Speaker 4: 5:58

Okay, all right. Yeah, I know you got a hard out here in a few minutes, so can you just briefly kind of Chris, if you want to talk a little bit about um, about how you got into troops, all junk and then what? What has it meant for you since you've been part of the uh, the team?

Speaker 7: 6:13

Yeah. So, as Joseph mentioned earlier, he started chronicling his day day in the life of junk removal and he had put out a video at one point looking for other like-minded veterans that wanted to help him grow, expand his mission, expand the brand. We got to talking, got connected. We had a lot in common. We were both infantry, we both served in the Army infantry, both were in Afghanistan. We just connected on a lot of different levels and from there we just slowly created the brand that we have today through. You know trial and error. You know things that worked, things that didn't work, created our operations, manuals, sops, standard operating procedures and so on from there.

Speaker 5: 7:01

You know, joey, a lot of veterans who are leaving the military don't necessarily want to get a job. Many of them are entrepreneurial minded and when they're going through the process of getting out, you know all the debriefing and stuff like that. The military does a pretty decent job of showing you how to build your resume and how to interview and so forth, but they don't do a very good job of tailoring to the entrepreneur, cater to the entrepreneur who really wants to open up his own business, and you know a lot of us. I served 16 years in the infantry. Chris has a number of years as well over 10, I believe and when we got out I felt very disconnected, like I couldn't find my place in society and I really just wanted to be around my tribe again. And what we have created is an organization that you're in business for themselves and create a legacy for their family and hopefully change their financial standing in life. So we're very proud of what we've done.

Speaker 5: 8:19

Like Chris said, we made a lot of mistakes, a lot of trial and error, but our franchisees are going to be able to take advantage of all of the mistakes we made, so they don't have to make them and, to my knowledge, we are the only junk removal franchise system exclusive to veterans, say first responders. I'm talking about firefighters, law enforcement officers, emts, because, as you know, we all wear the uniform when we deploy to a combat zone. As veterans, we're on the front lines. But our hometown heroes, our first responders, are also on the front lines as well. Chris and I look at those individuals as brothers and sisters as well. So we open our doors and welcome any of those individuals to come be a part of our sisters as well. So we open our doors and welcome any of those individuals to come be a part of our family as well. I love that.

Speaker 4: 9:11

So I think Chris had mentioned previously in his last episode that you guys have kind of taken what you learned from other businesses franchises and basically got rid of all the stuff or got rid of all the junk, if you will and then took the good stuff and then you kind of made it your own. So can you give a little bit of insight into what does that look like? What have you guys learned and how do you improve your business that way?

Speaker 7: 9:42

Yeah, for the past I'd say year and a half or so we've been on the franchise trail and that whole time even some of the parts leading up to that point, going through the franchise disclosure process and stuff with our attorney and everything I have always reached out to individuals that I know either run a franchise or have started their own franchise as a franchisor and I like to just, you know, pick their brain. Just have a one-to-one meeting, a sit down, have some coffee, you have a phone call, have a video call like this, and just learn what the process was. You know what their why was, what their mission was, purpose, especially for the franchisees. I want to know how was your onboarding process? How do your franchisors treat you? How was it you know your franchise disclosures? Do they uphold everything that was mentioned to you that you signed in your contract?

Speaker 7: 10:31

I like to know those things because I want and Joseph wants the individuals who come on with us, we want them to know that we're one of them. We're not. You know I don't want to use you know any language or anything like that. But you know I don't want to use any language or anything like that. But there are certain business owners out there that they get too big for their pants and they don't really care. They care more about the numbers, about how many territories they have and how many dollars are coming to them. Joseph and I aren't like that. We're fine if we grew one or two a year. We're fine with that. We're looking for quality over quantity, so I hope that makes sense for that.

Speaker 5: 11:09

Chris brings up a great point. Okay, there are any number of service industry companies around the nation who are franchises and they bring in anyone and everyone into their franchise system and what ends up happening is, one, they give franchising a bad name, but two, the individual who suffers. In our case, right, if we were one of those types of companies, the individual who would suffer would be the veteran. We don't want everybody and anybody. We're very, very selective as to who we want to bring onto into the tribe. We vet extremely well.

Speaker 5: 11:44

We look at several key factors in the individual's life, both personal and financial, in order to look at the whole person concept. It's just like putting a fire team together. You know, you want everyone to be on the same footing to be able to accomplish the mission and not have a wink link within the organization. A weak link in the organization is not going to accomplish the mission. So we're on a track to really create something for longevity, something that can be admired by all of the other junk removal companies in the industry and an example of a company that sets the example standard.

Speaker 5: 12:24

So you know, like Chris said, a lot of these companies, they just they're. They're interested in the dollar signs are interested in how many territories they can, they can create every year. That's not us. You know, we use the core values that we learned in the military on honesty, integrity, hard work, dedication, loyalty and we take these things that we've learned and we apply them to our company. And the funny thing, there's no magic formula about building amazing. It's just you get back to the basics and you implement those basics day after day after day, and they will come, they will contact you.

Speaker 4: 12:58

Awesome. So just a curiosity you know like we have military members from all different walks of like in their journey, so they might be either active duty right now or they're transitioning, or they're already veterans, so maybe could you speak to what would make a good perspective franchisee from your guys' perspective. Can't hear you, chris, you're muted.

Speaker 7: 13:32

Chris, am I still muted? You're good now Got me.

Speaker 5: 13:40

Yeah you're good Okay.

Speaker 7: 13:42

The franchisee that we're looking for, as Joseph mentioned. I mentioned earlier about the quality of a quantity that we're looking for. As Joseph mentioned, I mentioned earlier about the quality of a quantity we're looking for the franchisee that possesses the leadership skills, that wants to be a member of a team, wants that camaraderie that they've missed, wants to be a part of the brotherhood, wants to have someone that they can consider as a battle buddy.

Speaker 7: 14:02

If you will Consider us as someone that you can call text, you've got some problems going on. I guarantee you that one of us have been through it or someone else within our organization has gone through it.

Speaker 6: 14:14

So you're never alone.

Speaker 7: 14:15

As Joseph mentioned, be. You're in business for yourself, but you're not by yourself. We're looking at things like not just everybody, like a franchise, any franchise would just take anyone they got two feet in the heartbeat and the finances to do so. That's not us. We're looking for the individuals that you know. They, they, we take a look at your credit, we take a look at your finances. We, we want to make sure you have, you know, that three to six month buffer because we're going to be real with you.

Speaker 7: 14:41

You can have this awesome branding, you can have these awesome guys that have all this experience to lead you, but at the end of the day, there are no guarantees and in business in general, within the first or two years, those are a pivotal point of any business that you start, no matter what it is. You have to know that your company can sustain. Without you, you may not make anything the first year. That may go back towards the resources, the assets, equipment, things like that payroll to get people, all that stuff, marketing efforts, you name it. So we want to make sure that individual is is, you know, steadfast, strong. They've got, you know, financial resources already to do so. There's I, you know, out of maybe 100 people. We've only moved forward with just a handful of individuals that are still in the pipeline. Due to these reasons, we're not just looking for anybody, we're looking for the cream of the crop.

Speaker 5: 15:43

We're looking for an individual and this is cliche, but really an individual. Yeah, we're looking for an individual and this is cliche, but really an individual. Yeah, we're looking for an individual, even though it is cliche. An individual who works well as a member of a team right, because you can go into business for yourself. But when you do that, it's just you. You have no one to call on, no one's going to check on you. No one's going to check on you, no one's going to advise you or mentor you.

Speaker 5: 16:06

When you become part of a franchise, you are tapping into a network of individuals who are at different stages in the development of their franchise location, but also you're able to tap into, in our example, the experience, the combined experience that Chris and I have amassed over, I'm going to say, 10, 12 years in the junk removal industry.

Speaker 5: 16:29

You know, junk removal is more than just picking up a piece of a widget and putting it in your truck and trailer. Anybody can do that. Where individuals run into problems is they don't have the mentorship and the guidance regarding taxes, regarding how to maximize capital purchase, regarding local laws and regulations, and just little things that you run into every day that are either going to make you or break your junk removal company. So when an individual taps into a franchise, we like to say they're in business for themselves, but not by themselves, but really they're tapping into the resources of a vast team of individuals. We have publicists, we have marketers, we have writers, we have photographers. We have a list, a long list of individuals who can be called on to provide anything that our franchisees need.

Speaker 4: 17:24

So we're just looking for an individual who can work well as a member of the team okay, yeah, because I've, you know, I've been a little starting my own entrepreneurial journey and I've I've always heard that it's a very lonely journey. So I really like the idea that you're you're incorporating a team element, you're bringing back that military mindset of you know, like you said, being on a, you know, a squad, being, you know, part of a team, a fire team, and I really I really liked that. I think that really appealed to a lot of veterans too, like you said, who are maybe struggling with, you know, reintegrating back into the civilian world, which can be very tough, you know, losing that sense of mission, losing that sense of camaraderie and team dynamics.

Speaker 5: 18:06

you um you lose your sense of purpose. You know, as males, as male, uh, as a male species, um, we tend to. As men, we tend to identify who we are with what we do. Right, that's a big hang-up that that males have. And when we've served X number of years in the military, we're in the uniform, you know, proudly being a soldier, sailor, airman or marine every day, and then we're no longer a soldier, sailor, airman or marine because you know we left the military. We lose ourselves, we lose our identity and you know, within our troops haul junk family. I speak to individuals on the team regularly and every day, and not just about business matters. We talk about family. They might have a challenge that they need advice on. You know we are mentors, we are guides, we're also franchise developers as well.

Speaker 4: 19:04

Yeah, I really love that level of support. Yeah, I really love that level of support. Um, it sounds like that's um, that's pretty huge that you don't get in normal entrepreneurial or journey um. So, um, I'm just curious. Um, you know that we kind of talked a little bit about the what makes a good, uh, franchisee, but, uh, you know, are you able to give any kind of like, uh, general numbers to like if, in order to be successful, you might need to have this kind of capital to start out, or is that kind of something that you do on like a onboarding call?

Speaker 5: 19:39

Yeah, we take our candidates through a very long development process and it begins with the first telephone call they reach out to us. We tell them just a little bit about what we're doing and the mission that we're on. Usually it's typically a 30-minute phone call. We'll give them a couple of weeks to kind of digest and research what we've spoken about. At that point we'll meet up again on a second phone call if they're interested. On the second phone call things are going to get a lot more serious. We're going to talk about some of their goals and what they hope to accomplish. You know how long have they wanted to be in business? You know, is the family on board with them getting into business? And after we've had that discussion you know we'll have another discussion a few weeks later We'll bring those individuals that are important to the candidate to make that decision, important to the candidate to make that decision.

Speaker 5: 20:30

And we'll get into more in-depth, like their background as far as finances, their military history, their credit report, background checks and so forth. And after we've gone all through the process and we've been able to determine that these individuals meet the minimum requirements, minimum being as far as capital, we like to see an individual that has at least three to six months of operating capital in reserve. Now that figure of three to six months is going to be different for everybody who comes to the table, because an individual may be ready to join the team and he already has the equipment necessary, like a truck, a pickup truck or a dump truck, maybe some trailers, but it's going to be more for an individual who comes to the table without that stuff. So it varies and we take it on a case by case basis as far as working capital to cover three to six months, but at a minimum good credit, honorable discharge, honorable service, clean background, absolutely no criminal history or whatsoever anything like that.

Speaker 7: 21:35

Nice, okay, any good, I guess nuggets of wisdom that you've learned on your journey and that we make a part on some listeners that might be interested in jumping ship and jumping on board with you guys. We have had individuals and I won't say any names or brands or anything like that but we do have some individuals that we know of that are unhappy where they're at. They, some of them, have made the wrong decision but they're kind of stuck in that decision and of course you know, obviously, if they find a way out of that once, once they find their way out of where they're at, then we, you know they can potentially become a candidate of ours, obviously that to meet our qualifications at the time, how they are now or at the time they are in the future. So I would just say, think of Troops, all Junk, as a mentorship, guidance, brotherhood. We're bringing back the camaraderie. We're bringing back the owners of the company, our boots on the ground with you.

Speaker 7: 22:44

We both own our own junk removal companies. We're on the ground within our outfits every day. Our own junk removal companies. We're on the ground within our outfits every day. We come to you, we train you on site, the owners that you're talking to right here. You don't call a 1-800 number when you need support or speak to someone in India or Canada or wherever they might be. You speak to us, you have our personal line. You speak to us, you have our personal line. You know that you can. We can get back to you within a day or less, sometimes within the hour, wouldn't you say, joseph, some franchisees or employees or anybody will reach out. We're usually back to them within an hour, but 24 hours at the most if it's an email or something like that. But we are very responsive, we are dedicated and that's just the way that Joseph and I both want to run things.

Speaker 7: 23:29

We don't like the way that I tell a lot of people that a lot of the reasons I got into starting this franchise is because I don't like franchises. There was a lot of negatives when I wrote down the pros and cons. There were a lot of cons to franchising, so I felt, you know, I don't think I could fit in with any other model that's out there currently. So why don't we just start our own and make it the best we can make it? And if anybody brings up any you know key points, any mentions, anything that might be better, joseph and I are all ears. It's not our way or the highway. We're definitely open to whatever is going to help grow everybody. If it's not going to hurt us and it can only help well, then we're all leaders. Nice, you don't get that nowadays.

Speaker 4: 24:14

Yeah, no, that's very hard to find these days. Well, it's top of the hour. I know you said, chris, that you might have to jump off. We're going to have to take a quick break, a musical break anyway. So I appreciate you. Are you still going to jump off now, or are you going to be able to?

Speaker 7: 24:35

stay. Oh yeah, I'll head out the break. That's perfect. I do appreciate you bringing me back on. I know a few weeks ago we mentioned veteran cards and I know you're happy with yours as well. Absolutely. That's great Thanks, and I know you're happy with yours as well. Absolutely Thanks for having me. I'll let Joseph take it from here.

Speaker 4: 24:52

You're in good hands, like all states, all right, so yeah, we'll take a quick break and then, when we come back, we'll continue the conversation with Joseph Martinez. Have a good night.

Speaker 5: 25:00

Awesome.

Speaker 3: 27:03

See you, chris, thank you, thank you.

Speaker 1: 27:07

Military broadcast radio, the station that's giving veterans a voice find us on the web at mbradious opinions expressed in this program are those of the speakers and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of any entities they represent find us on the web at mbradious.

Speaker 4: 27:32

All right, we are back. That was a little musical interlude from our good friend Noah Peterson, marine Corps veteran out of San Antonio. He's been on the Military Broadcast Radio network before. So we always like to highlight, you know, veteran musicians. So you know, if you're an aspiring musician, a veteran, you want to get your stuff out there, then hit us up, let us know and we'll try to get you on the air.

Speaker 5: 28:00

Funky very entertaining.

Speaker 4: 28:02

Yeah, I saw you dance in the background. I must have hit a nerve for you, but that was good. Oh, you saw me, I did. Yeah, I saw you dance in the background.

Speaker 5: 28:07

I must have hit a nerve for you, but that was good oh you saw me.

Speaker 4: 28:09

I did. Yeah, I could see you in the background, but that's all good. I won't share the video with anyone else.

Speaker 5: 28:14

We weren't going to share that right.

Speaker 4: 28:16

All right. So yeah, we're back here with Joseph Martinez, so your official title is can you kind of give us what your official title is at Troops All Junk.

Speaker 5: 28:29

Sure, I'm the Chief Operations Officer of Troops. All Junk Brands our franchise.

Speaker 4: 28:38

Awesome, okay. So yeah, before we went off to break, you and Chris were talking and I did want to I was hoping that, since this is money in the military and you know like it's, it's, it's, you know we're we're talking about finances, obviously, entrepreneurship is, is, uh, is it costs money. You know, you gotta have money. So, uh, I was going to ask uh, you know from, oh, it looks like we lost him. Um, all right, well, we'll give him a second to come back and let's see. I guess in the meantime, we will just be patient. But, yeah, what I was going to actually ask him about was, you know, like, what are some good financial tips for getting into the franchisee space? So, we'll give him a second to come back.

Speaker 4: 29:39

This is a live broadcasting for you, you know, um, it's, uh, it's, it's, uh, it's always an interesting experience. So, um, well, while we're, while we're waiting, um, let's see. Well, while we're waiting, let's see. So, we did have Chris on here and that's his second interview, so we're excited to have him back and maybe we'll have him on again. But let's see, let me see if I can reach out to him and see if he's, because we did have some issues earlier. But yeah, things are oh, here we go, got him back. All right, so we lost you, but we got you back. Sorry about that. Like we said before, we got on, every once in a while there are some glitches that happen live broadcasting.

Speaker 5: 30:37

When you're live right. It just happens.

Speaker 4: 30:39

Yes, it just happens. You actually have a background. Actually, before we were on there, you were talking about your military background. Can you give a little bit of what you actually did while you were in the service, or well?

Speaker 5: 30:53

yeah, I spent yeah, yeah, go ahead. I spent the majority of my time in the infantry US Army, 11 Bravo and then I spent a number of years in recruiting command three years as a recruiter and another three years as a recruiter and another three years as a recruiter trainer. I thought being a recruiter was my own hours. As long as I made my mission, I was able to go fishing. So in 2013, I was medevaced out of Afghanistan. I was honorably discharged, medically discharged, 100% from the US Army and I began my journey of healing. And you know, for the first two to three years of my healing process, I was in a funk. I looked at going back to work. It just wasn't free, it just wasn't for me. I had a few jobs here and there and I just experienced that lack of camaraderie, just the lack of doing things the way that I was used to doing them serving in the Army. So you know, I've always been All right.

Speaker 4: 32:00

Well, it looks like we lost him again. I think he was saying his Wi-Fi is a little spotty, but we'll take another quick break and hopefully when he comes back we'll be able to keep him on for a little while. All right, so stand by and we will be back with Joseph.

Speaker 6: 32:20

Martinez. Yes, since I'd seen his face, not much had changed, just a different time, different place. When I shook his hand, I knew something had changed. This was a different man from the one I knew back then alright, looks like we got you back.

Speaker 4: 33:15

I was started the song, but I figured we'll you know, since time is of the essence, we'll get you back on the broadcast. I'll continue, just in case there's another break.

Speaker 5: 33:23

Long story short. I figured. Well, you know, since time is of the essence, we'll get you back on the broadcast. I'll continue, just in case there's another break. Long story short.

Speaker 5: 33:28

I live in a military town. I live right outside of Quantico United States Marine Corps base, so I'm surrounded by Marines Joy. I had a neighbor who was a Marine, who was being reassigned, and she knew I had a truck and trailer and asked if you know, if I wouldn't mind helping her out. So I did, and then I had a light bulb, I had an epiphany, if you will. And then she also asked would it be okay if she put my number out to her Marines who needed help with moving junk and trash from their home to the landfill? And at that point I knew I was onto something and initially I began advertising on a very small scale locally. But it just exploded on its own.

Speaker 5: 34:14

I branded my company as a military-owned and operated junk removal company. So our trucks are camouflaged, our uniforms are very strapped. We maintain military-style haircuts. So our trucks are camouflage, our uniforms are very strapped, we maintain military style haircuts. So you know, anyone who's interested in succeeding, you have to stand out from the ocean of, in my case, junk haulers in my particular area and we stand out, we get noticed. And you know it's not only getting noticed, it's about going above and beyond what the customer expects, and that's what we do.

Speaker 5: 34:46

I had a client recently who, when we completed the junk removal project, they said that we didn't have to sweep up. And you know my guys said well, it's our pleasure to sweep up, and that's what we do. We want to go above and beyond our customers' expectations. The customer was blown away, and that's what we do. We want to go above and beyond our customers' expectations. The customer was blown away. So it's just the little things these days that will set you apart. If you walk into a Walmart, for example, I dare you, I challenge you to find a sales associate to help you. They're not available. And if you do find one, they're not interested in helping you. They're not available, and if you do find one, they're not interested in helping you.

Speaker 4: 35:30

You know we've brought back customer service and that has been one of the major keys to our success and growth within the junk removal industry. Nice, that's awesome and I mean, like I said, that is. It is hard to find these days actual good customer service. And then I think most people would prefer to give their business to a veteran owned business anyways, you know, just because it makes them feel good, you know, helping out a veteran business. So so it's kind of one of those, like you know, mutually beneficial, like people feel good about it, and then you know you're gainfully employed as well. So before we were having issues, I would, I wanted to see if you could give us maybe some financial tips or some things that you learned along the way when you were just starting out, transitioning out and starting this business, and maybe when you started to scale up. What are some good nuggets that you learned about just personal finances or business finances that you might could share with our audience personal finances or business finances that you might could share with with our audience.

Speaker 5: 36:27

I have two. One of them is always charge what you're worth, right. You can't grow a company if you're competing on price. You know, if I price a junk removal job at a very low rate, that I know I'm undervaluing my services. Let's say $200, right. And then the customer calls one of my competitors and she says hey, troops, all Junk, quote me $200. Well, my competitor says $175. And it's just going to go like a ping pong ball and everyone is racing to the bottom.

Speaker 5: 36:58

You know you're in business to provide a valuable service, but you're also in business to charge what you're worth, right. So that's my first piece of advice charge what you're worth. My second piece of advice is maintain accurate books, pay your taxes right. Read books, pay your taxes right. Do everything by the book. Because in the process of growing your company, if you are taking payment under the table, if you're not maintaining adequately capitalized business account, right, if you ever decide you want to sell the business, how much is your business really worth if you can't testify to its worth on paper? Right?

Speaker 5: 37:46

And that's the mistake that a lot of individuals make. You know I talk to and mentor a lot of haulers within my industry all across the nation and you know these guys are posting photos of their brand new 2024,. You know Dodge Ram 2500 fully decked out and they got a boat and so forth. But they're not running their business properly. And when you build a business improperly, you're building your business like a house of cards and just as soon as you're able to make it, you can lose it all very quickly.

Speaker 5: 38:20

And that's one thing that Chris and I decided to do from the very beginning. We asked ourselves how can we bulletproof our business, right? Well, we're going to create operations manuals because, guarantee, you talk to 10 out of 20 businesses and or you talk to 20 businesses and 10 of those guys or more don't have operations manuals. You know they don't have standard operating procedures written down, um, and they're just not doing it. They're not building their business in the correct manner. They're not building for longevity. I can lay my head down at night and know that I did everything by the book today and that I know that we are a very attractive option for an individual who's looking for a solid company of which to begin a business relationship with. So those are my two tips Charge what you're worth. Build your business by the book.

Speaker 4: 39:20

Awesome. So if you were talking to don't know, in the air force we had taps. I don't know if you guys did, you guys have taps when you separated um.

Speaker 5: 39:28

But uh, you know, I know a lot of people complain that transition assistance like it's like a a um a module trend where they help you with transition assistance and so forth, uh, resume writing, interview skills and so forth right, yeah, they have that when I left the military.

Speaker 4: 39:44

Okay. So if you were to speak to those people who are literally about to transition out of the service and let's say they were interested about becoming a franchisee but maybe their finances were not quite there yet or maybe they don't have a business background and they're not sure how to start, and you mentioned, and Chris had mentioned, that you guys do a lot of mentoring. But would you say that someone who's just separating is an actually good candidate for jumping in with you guys? Or would you give them some homework and you know some reading to do and, like you know, go to Boots, to Business or anything like that that you would recommend to kind of get the ball rolling for them so they can jump right into your guys' business? Did I lose you?

Speaker 5: 40:44

I'm still here. You're coming in broken and distorted.

Speaker 4: 40:48

Okay, so we lost him again. All right, so it looks like we're having some regular issues here. Let me see, all right, here he's back. All right issues here. Let me see, all right, here he's back, all right. Um, yeah, so uh, I don't know how much you caught of what, uh, what I was saying, but basically, if you were to give a briefing to those people who were just about to transition out of the service, what kind of advice you know like financial advice, or you know motivational tips would you give them if they're literally just starting their franchisee journey?

Speaker 5: 41:28

Believe in yourself, right? That's a lot easier to say than it is to do, but in practical terms, learn to cut out the static, learn to ignore the static in life. If you want to develop your own business right, if that's what you have in your heart, if that's your goal to be the captain of your destiny you're going to have to develop a skill that prevents you from absorbing all the negative comments. You know your friends and family are going to try to deter you from risking and going into business for yourself. You know those individuals that are closest to you are the ones that are probably going to tell you to not start that business because they care about you, right? But you have to understand that most of those types of comments come from a place of fear and if you're fearful, you will never accomplish anything of substance in your life.

Speaker 5: 42:29

You have to take a risk, you have to believe in yourself and if you continue to train yourself to cut out that static, to not listen to those negative comments, to keep focused and keep moving forward, one day will eventually reach your goal. But you know there's so many individuals who've never done it and they're going to tell you you shouldn't do it either. Don't listen to those individuals you know. Do your due diligence. Research the franchise that you're interested in getting involved with. Research the business that you want to start right, become a subject matter expert and develop all of those skills that one must learn to be successful in business. But first and foremost, you have to learn to ignore the static.

Speaker 4: 43:14

I like that. That's definitely something that I've come across as well. But, yeah, I appreciate you saying that. You know I've definitely something that's come, I've come across as well, but uh, um, but yeah, no, I appreciate you you saying that and I hopefully that resonates with uh, with some listeners out there who might be, you know, struggling with you know that that next step or maybe, like like chris was saying, he's like he knew early on that he wasn't going to be, he was going to have another boss, like he was. Like he knew that early on and um, and that was what one of his driving, driving forces um, he started small. It sounded like you know the same thing with you started small and then kind of eventually scaled up and and uh, kind of went from there, um, but I am curious about it it's easy to stay motivated when the phone is ringing, when customers are calling you.

Speaker 5: 44:04

When the phone isn't ringing and you're all by yourself and you're doubting yourself, what do you do then? Right, that's when you have to rely on these skills that you've developed. You have to be resilient. Be resilient, okay be resilient.

Speaker 4: 44:24

Okay, so if somebody were interested in let's say they heard this episode and they wanted to go ahead and jump in headfirst, what would you recommend? How would they get the process rolling with you guys and what would those first? I know you mentioned like a phone call, but how would they reach out to you?

Speaker 5: 44:46

Sure, yeah, very simple. You have a website troopshalljunkcom and they could visit that website, click opportunity tab and then they'll be required to fill out what we call a request for information. It's just basic information. Chris or myself will receive that information. We'll reach out either via text or by telephone call or email, requesting a time. That's most convenient.

Speaker 4: 45:15

Looks like he jumped off again. Well, let's see, we'll give him a few seconds to come back. He's been coming back in pretty quickly, all right. Live broadcasting people, it's always an adventure there. He is All right, we're back.

Speaker 5: 45:38

It's a winner tonight, huh.

Speaker 4: 45:42

It's all good. It's all good, it's all good but?

Speaker 5: 45:44

but to continue, you know it all starts with a phone call and um, and you know, individuals don't need to be intimidated about making that call. Sometimes we, we take a call from an individual who reaches out. You can tell they're kind of nervous and all that. Look fellas. Um, I didn't score very high on the asvab, hence the reason they put me in the infantry. You know, I I like to think I'm a smart guy, but I'm just an average guy.

Speaker 5: 46:04

We're looking to spread our message to the right individuals. If you're interested in owning your own business, if you're interested in the franchise model, if you want a kick-ass brand with awesome support, awesome resources and infrastructure that's just starting out at the ground level, right now is the time to make that call. You know you may not like what we say, but we're going to give it to you bluntly, we're going to give it to you truthfully. The highest level of respect that one person can have for another is to give you the truth right here, right between the eyes, so that you can move forward and make decisions that are best for you and your family. Visit troopsalljunkcom. Fill out that request for information.

Speaker 4: 46:49

We'll reach out and we'll take it from there. Okay, and you had mentioned that you guys were or you're looking at doing a podcast. Is that correct? Is that something that's on the horizon? Yeah?

Speaker 5: 46:58

I am. I'm looking at developing a podcast because business has always been my first love. My second love has always been mentorship. In 2021, I mentored 118 individuals at no cost to them. Every Sunday morning for three hours I was on the telephone with several individuals, to the detriment of my family. My wife got a wife got a little upset, you know so when I scaled down the mentorship, she was happy about that.

Speaker 5: 47:28

But through podcasting I want to inspire other veterans, not just to get into our franchise or any franchise, but to get into business for themselves. You know, when I was lost as a newly medically retired veteran, like I said, I couldn't, I didn't find my spot. But when I began hauling junk hauling junk was not my purpose, but my purpose was feeling as if I had a purpose again. Junk removal was just the vehicle being able to connect with the many veterans here right outside of Quantico. You know, I always say you can put two veterans together who don't know each other. Put them in a room and within five minutes we're going to find common ground. It's very healing, joey, absolutely.

Speaker 5: 48:18

When I meet a veteran that I hold junk for right, it's not just a junk removal service but also experiencing something that I call junk removal therapy. It's that feeling that you're doing something worthwhile, you're on a mission, you're part of a team once again, and that's one of the main things that we talk about with individuals who call us. You know many individuals. They don't know they're missing the team. They don't know they're missing being part of the tribe, but when they find out what we're all about. They want to be part of our tribe once again.

Speaker 4: 49:14

That's beautiful, and so with this podcast you're kind of still in the early stages, or do you have, like, a launch date or anything planned?

Speaker 5: 49:23

You know, organization was one of my greatest skills. Right, I'm the kicking the door down kind of guy. I'm not the creating the operations order kind of guy, so I'm playing it by ear. I have a couple of individuals lined up already. I'm looking at launching by November no, december one and really I just want to talk to individuals who are veterans, who are in business to have impart wisdom on my viewers, inspire my viewers and let them know if they can do it. If I can do it, you can do it as well.

Speaker 4: 50:00

I love that, and then that's actually a big thing. You know, on military broadcast radio, like you know, we have tons of different you know shows and different genres and you know. So I mean, I don't know if you're interested, but you could, you could always be part of MBR and, you know, basically use us as a platform to kind of do some of the heavy lifting for you. But but if you've already got something in the works, that's fine too. It's just, you know, MBR is kind of unique in the sense that you know we're a nonprofit and you know the whole mission is to basically help veterans create podcasts. So that's how I got started in this whole thing. Wow, I didn't know that?

Speaker 5: 50:40

Yeah, I'm definitely going to tap into your into your resources for sure.

Speaker 4: 50:48

Okay, absolutely yeah, cause it sounds like, uh, you know, if you're you're in that early stages of the you know the cause, like the logistical side of you know the podcast industry is is a lot to kind of unpack. So, um, yeah, like MBR has been really helpful in that sense. So we can talk about that offline if you want, and I can introduce you to Joel and he's kind of like the head honcho and yeah, we could do something from there if you want. But yeah, I mean really, you know, as soon as I heard about Chris and then he was talking about you, I was like you know, this is the kind of story that I want to tell.

Speaker 4: 51:24

I heard about Chris and then he was talking about you. I was like you know, these are, this is the kind of story that I want to tell and, and your guys's you know vision, for you know, you're not just, you're not just running a business, you're helping other veterans. You know, run the business and I really like that. And then I mean I'm sure that trickles down to where other they're hiring other veterans too, like their buddies, and they're like that trickles down to where other they're hiring other veterans to like their buddies and they're like you know, so it kind of it's, it's creating all these positive ripples in in the um, in the community. So I really I really love that and resonated with you guys as uh, um story, uh and so um but um, but yeah, I mean um. So, with that being being said, we're actually getting close to time. Is there any last minute, last words of wisdom, any words of inspiration that you have for the MBR audience and any aspiring franchisees?

Speaker 5: 52:16

Definitely, once again, believe in yourself. Right, you have to believe in what you're doing in order to succeed. But above and beyond all of that, you have to understand that there is absolutely no guarantee that anyone will succeed in any business, regardless of the mentorship, the branding and so forth. So franchises have a bad name Because a lot of bad people ran franchises have a bad name because a lot of bad people ran franchises in the early 60s when franchising really hit the mainstream. So, regardless of what business one looks into, and specifically franchises have a good understanding of how a franchise system works, and we always suggest to every one of the individuals who we speak to that speak to an attorney, have the attorney look at our franchise disclosure documents to ensure that they're legitimate.

Speaker 5: 53:10

And for those of our viewers who don't know what franchise disclosure documents are commonly referred to as FDDs every franchise, whether it's a McDonald's, a Baskin Robbins or a Troops Hall junk, will have a document that has 23 different subsections and it tells you everything about the franchise system what's expected of you, what's expected of the management, what the fees are, the term and duration of the contract. It's easy enough to understand, but we never want to take for granted the fact that we, as someone who isn't an attorney, can understand a franchise disclosure document in regards of how simple it is. So we always suggest to individuals to take the time to take those FDDs to an attorney and let a qualified individual review the documents before you sign anything, because it's a contract and when you are involved in a contract, well, we're all big boys here. We're supposed to do our due diligence to ensure that we know what we're getting ourselves into. So, chris, and I highly suggest just to check out really indepthly what you're thinking about getting involved with I love that.

Speaker 4: 54:22

Do your due diligence, cross your t, dot your I's and all that stuff so well, joseph, I really, I really appreciate you taking the time out to tell your story, to tell us about your business and to give us some really good advice for any, any aspiring franchisee. So with that we're going to. We're going to end the stream, but I just want to thank you again. Thank you for your service and I will look forward to getting your podcast out there or at least helping in any way that I can. So I appreciate everything and we'll catch you guys on the next stream.

Speaker 5: 55:02

Yeah, joey, pleasure meeting you. Thanks for allowing me a few minutes to spread my message on your show. Thank you, absolutely.

Speaker 4: 55:08

All right, you guys take care, thank you.

Speaker 3: 55:12

Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for tuning in to Military Broadcast Radio. As we wrap up today's show, we want to remind you that the podcast of today's episode will be available right after we go off the air, so if you missed any part of the show or want to listen again, be sure to check it out. And remember we're here to support and honor our veterans. Your stories and experiences matter and we are committed to giving you a platform to share them. That's right. We're here to give our veterans a voice, so don't forget to catch the podcast and stay connected with us Giving our veterans a voice.