Company Spotlight: 505 Junk - Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Owners: Founded by Barry Hartman (👈 left) and Scott Foran, who continue to lead the company. Additionally, Alex Elsey, the company's first employee, has become a partner and serves as the Vice President of Sales and Operations.
Services Offered: Full service junk removal
Years In Operation: 14 Years
Unique Selling Points or Specialties:
Pay-by-Weight Pricing: Transparent and fair pricing model with custom diversion reporting by weight.
Eco-Friendly Practices: Strong focus on recycling and sustainable disposal practices.
Customer-Centric Service: Professional, uniformed teams ensuring a seamless customer experience.
Business Development Focus: Commitment to continuous improvement and innovation, both in operations and service offerings.
Website: www.505junk.com
Instagram: @505junk
The Story Behind 505 Junk
What inspired you to get into the junk removal industry?
Barry Hartman and Scott Foran founded 505-Junk with a desire to challenge the status quo of an industry that had seen little innovation for decades. They aimed to make junk removal more transparent, sustainable, and reliable by introducing weight-based pricing, eco-friendly practices, and a customer-first approach.
Can you share the story of how you started your business and what challenges you faced early on?
Barry and Scott met at university after Barry’s professional snowboarding career ended due to a broken ankle. This turning point sparked a shift toward entrepreneurship, where they discovered a shared passion and vision for the junk removal business.
What’s one thing that sets your company apart from others in the industry?
505-Junk’s innovative pay-by-weight pricing model sets the company apart by offering customers transparent and fair pricing. This, combined with excellent customer service, including friendly and professional teams, ensures a trustworthy and hassle-free experience for clients.
What’s the most rewarding aspect of running your junk removal business?
The most rewarding part is helping people reclaim their space and bring order to their lives. Additionally, it’s gratifying to provide meaningful career opportunities, empowering employees to reach their personal and professional goals while contributing to a growing and impactful industry.
How do you balance the demands of running a business with your personal life?
The key to balance is having strong business partners who complement each other’s strengths. Equally important is prioritizing personal growth through counseling, external business coaching, or other development opportunities, ensuring both work and life are managed effectively.
What’s a key lesson you’ve learned that you believe others in the industry should know?
Hiring the right people is crucial. Clear communication of the company’s vision and fostering a supportive, positive workplace culture can turn B-players into A-players, while C-players should be replaced to maintain the team’s momentum and culture.
Can you share a social media strategy or campaign that was particularly effective for your business?
Social media engagement through community initiatives, such as toy drives and shoreline cleanups, has been powerful in building brand loyalty and raising awareness. Promoting these initiatives online resonates with local audiences, showing the company’s commitment to giving back.
What advice would you give someone looking to start their own junk removal company?
Think like a business owner from day one, not just a technician. Create a comprehensive strategic plan, including operations, budgeting, marketing, and branding. This approach will allow you to focus on driving revenue and reinvesting that money to scale the business.
How do you define success for your business, and how do you measure it?
Success is measured not only by financial metrics but by the positive impact on employees' careers. The company values seeing team members grow and achieve their goals, with many staff members having been with the company for 3, 5, 7, or even 14 years. The first employee, Alex Elsey, is now the Vice President of Sales and Operations and a partner in the company.
Where do you see your business in the next 5-10 years, and what changes would you like to see in the industry?
In the next 5-10 years, 505-Junk aims to solidify its position as a leader in North America’s junk removal industry. Through its coaching platform Bolt, the company aims to empower other junk removal businesses by offering coaching, standard operating procedures, and strategic resources. Together, 505-Junk and Bolt are shaping the future of the industry through innovation, excellence, and a commitment to helping others succeed.
Welcome to the Haulers' Edge Newsletter #47!
If your job postings aren’t reflecting your company’s true culture, you’re missing out on the right candidates. Too many businesses rely on generic, corporate-sounding listings, wasting time and attracting the wrong fit.
This is especially crucial when you're building a team that needs to vibe with your vision and core values. A bad hire can set you back months and cost you money—both in time spent searching and in lost productivity when the wrong fit isn’t moving the needle.
But a good hire can move your business forward quickly. So you need to take control of how you present your company from the start.
Today, I'm diving into how to craft job postings that attract the right people and save you time.
How to write job postings that speak your company’s language
The importance of being transparent about your culture
Using qualifiers to filter out unqualified applicants
Let’s d[r]ive in 🚚
Start with the Right Job Posting
When it comes to hiring, your job listing is everything. If you want the right people, you need to show them what it’s really like to work with you, not just follow the usual corporate script.
Most companies create generic, corporate-sounding descriptions that are often copied from others. This rarely attracts the right fit and wastes a lot of time.
If you want the best people, you need to stand out from the start, and that starts with how you present your business in your job postings.
"Great vision without great people is irrelevant." – Jim Collins, Good to Great
Show potential candidates what it’s really like to work with you. Make your job postings different. Make them memorable. Write them in your voice—however you speak, that’s how your posting should read.
Headlines and Hooks Are Everything in Online Copywriting
This applies to digital ads (big time), online articles, email subject lines, and yes—even job listings!
You need to grab the attention of the right person and make them want to click. Otherwise, they’ll just scroll past, unaware of what they missed. Bad, generic copy is like white noise—hardly noticeable and easily ignored. See if you can notice the difference 👇
Yawn, Boring: "Small Truck Driver (No CDL Required)" or "Laborer (Junk Removal)"
Attention Grabbing: “Bad Ass Truck Driver (No CDL Required)” or “Insanely Strong Human 💪”
Upworthy found that a well-crafted headline can increase traffic to content by up to 500%. Headlines drive engagement!
The average human attention span is now just 8 seconds, shorter than a goldfish's. Attention spans are shrinking!
People should know exactly what they’re getting into. Don’t put on a corporate front if that’s not how you run your business. Be upfront and show your character. You want candidates who understand your culture before they even step into the interview.
Culture Starts with You
Important Side note: For those of you just starting out or with only one or two teammates who think this doesn’t apply to you—you’re wrong. The culture of your company is shaped by you, and it starts from day one. Every decision you make, how you interact with customers, how you approach each job, and especially how you handle challenges, plays a crucial role in defining your culture.
People will follow your lead, your vibe, and they will mimic your actions—or inactions. Do as I say, not as I do’ never works—and if you have kids, you especially know this to be true 🤣.
Growing Your Culture as Your Business Expands
As your business grows, so will your culture—but it will evolve organically. New team members, challenges, and service expansion will all shape your culture, but it’s up to you to guide that growth and keep your core values at the heart of your company, regardless of how big you get.
"Culture eats strategy for breakfast." – Peter Drucker
Culture isn’t accidental—it’s a direct result of the actions you take and the environment you create, and it will adapt as your company scales.
Culture is the foundation of any successful business. No matter how great your strategy is, if your team isn't aligned or motivated, it won't matter in the long run.
The Secret to Hiring the Right Fit
When I was hiring internal staff and drivers, I made sure the job posting reflected who I am and how I run my business. I’m no-nonsense and straightforward, and my job listings said just that.
I even swore in one of them because I wanted to filter out anyone who wasn’t comfortable working in that kind of environment.
It's just who I am; I curse like an absolute sailor, although I've cut back significantly now that my 3-year-old is starting to repeat things she hears 😅.
The result?
I got a team that really fits with how I operate. Some of my guys have been with me for years, and my office staff works together like a well-oiled machine. We gel, we get things done fast, and we trust each other—and that’s no accident.
It’s because the right people applied in the first place.
This approach worked just as well when hiring for my digital ad (anti) agency, adimize.com.
The right candidate-job culture fit is everything. You want people who mesh with you and the team, share your vision, and can help move the business forward.
When everyone is aligned, the whole team works more efficiently, goals are met more quickly, customer experience improves, and profits follow suit.
So when you’re hiring, don’t follow the same script everyone else is using. Speak to the character of your company. Show people what it’s really like to work there, and you’ll attract the right candidates from the start.
Use Qualifiers to Filter Applicants
Oh, and let’s not forget to quickly talk about qualifiers. If you’ve ever posted a job on Indeed (my go-to) or anywhere similar, you know you can get absolutely bombarded with hundreds of applications.
Here’s what I do to cut down on the noise.
In the job listing, I ask candidates to do something specific—like email me personally or submit a unique cover letter with certain details.
These qualifiers weed out the people who can’t even follow simple instructions.
From there, I track how quickly candidates respond to my emails—same day, next day, or not at all. If they follow my directions and get back to me within what I consider a reasonable amount of time, I know they're serious and could be a good fit.
These steps save me a ton of time before I ever have to schedule interviews or go back and forth via email.
The takeaway
Make your job postings unique
Cut the corporate crap
Add qualifiers
Stay true to your company’s culture
By doing so, you'll attract the right people who can thrive in your business, and that’s how you build both a great team and a great company 🫱🎤 ✌️
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Justin Hubbard
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