🏁 ROT #11: Why most junk removal owners will stay broke

Tony Nava
Jul 14
4 min read

TL;DR: Texas Junkers is expanding to San Antonio after a spontaneous opportunity arose with a Marine Corps buddy ready to dive into entrepreneurship. The move wasn’t planned—but the systems built over four years in Houston make it possible to scale with confidence.

The message: success isn’t luck—it’s preparation meeting opportunity. Systems and structure beat hustle. If your business can’t run without you, it’s not a business—it’s a job.

Key Takeaways:

Be ready when opportunity knocks.
Luck = preparation + timing.
Choose partners for grit, not talk.
Build systems, not dependencies.
Take the damn shot—scared money don’t make money.

Same playbook, new city. Let’s get it. 🏁

What’s up big dawgs?

Texas Junkers is coming to San Antonio.

My plan was never to expand past Houston. To be honest, I always felt like managing a second operation where I wasn’t physically there would be a nightmare.

But sometimes you have to take advantage of the synchronicities life throws at you.

A couple of weeks ago, I was on the phone with a buddy I served in the Marine Corps with. He came to the realization that the 9–5 life simply wasn’t life—and he was finally ready to make the jump into entrepreneurship.

I decided to take that as a sign.

I offered him a partnership. Straight up asked him if he wanted to open a branch in San Antonio and be the head of the operation.

Now let me be clear—this is not something I’d offer to just anyone. But I know what this individual is capable of. I’ve seen it firsthand. I know that if I mentor and guide him, he can make the San Antonio branch extremely successful.

You’ve got to choose people wisely.

Be conscious of the fact that not everyone has what it takes to become a successful entrepreneur. Most people crack under the pressure. They talk a big game, but when it’s time to execute, they fold.

To be honest, I wasn’t nervous.

Like I always say—there’s no such thing as luck.

“Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity.”— Seneca (Ancient philosopher)

And that’s exactly what we are—prepared.

You see, over the last four years of running Texas Junkers, I’ve developed systems and processes that I’m confident I can implement into any junk removal operation, in any city, and make money off trash.

💰 We’ve got lead generation on lock.

💰 We’ve got scripts and SOPs for scheduling, quoting, following up, and closing.

💰 We don’t guess. We don’t wing it.

💰 We run plays.

In other words, all I have to do is plug and play.

And the beautiful thing is, these systems and processes don’t just apply to junk removal.

They apply to other service businesses too.

I tested this last year when I launched Houston Stucco Solutions—a stucco repair company here in Houston.

Within the first month, HSS generated $40,000 in sales. My take-home? Just over 30%.

All I did was take the same backend systems from Texas Junkers and apply them to a different industry.

Same game. Different uniform.

Now I get it—picking up junk for a living is the goal right now. But I’m here to shed light on what’s possible when you stop operating like a hustler and start building like a CEO.

Here’s the truth: If you don’t incorporate systems into your business, your business will just become another job.

Worse—a job that’s fully dependent on YOU.

Your job as an entrepreneur is to build a business that works without you.

To grow it to the point where you can scale and separate yourself from the day-to-day grind.

And you’ll never do that by doing everything yourself.

“A business that depends on you isn’t a business—it’s a job. And you’re the employee.”— Michael Gerber, Author of The E-Myth Revisited (excellent book I'd encourage everyone to read)

Something as simple as a solid CRM will save you time, streamline your workflow, and make your operation more efficient and more professional. You can train anyone to use these SaaS systems.

This is how you grow. This is how you buy back your time.

Do not be afraid to take a chance.

Scared money don’t make no money.

Will this operation in San Antonio work out?

Who fucking knows.

But I know it doesn’t hurt to give it a shot and put my money where my mouth is.

Final Takeaways:

Opportunities don’t wait — Be ready. Be watching. Life doesn’t hand you second chances if you ignore the first one.
Luck is earned — You don’t get “lucky.” You get prepared. Systems win. Hustling blindly burns you out.
Pick your partners wisely — Just because someone wants to own a business doesn’t mean they should. Integrity, work ethic, and grit matter more than ambition.
Systems > Superheroes — If your business can’t run without you, you don’t own a business—you own a job and your boss is a prick.
Take the damn shot — Playing it safe keeps you broke. San Antonio might blow up. It might flop. Either way, scared money don’t make no money.