🏁 ROT #17: two things you should know

Tony Nava
Sep 9
3 min read

TL;DR: Every hauler learns the hard way: failure isn’t fatal — it’s feedback.

Two lessons you can’t afford to skip:

Underpricing kills profit.Stop bidding like a rookie. Walk every job, price for margin, and don’t flinch on your rate. If you’re not hitting 15–20% net, you’re working for free.
Bad routing wrecks days.Poor planning bleeds fuel, time, and reputation. Plan routes, add buffer time, and keep customers updated. Communication saves chaos.

Bonus tools: 📸 Use Haulers’ Edge AI Price Estimator (free for ROT subscribers) — it’ll tell you what you should be charging.📲 Use Jobber for route scheduling and live ETAs.

Mistakes don’t make you weak — repeating them does. Learn fast, tighten your systems, and turn every “L” into leverage. 🏁

2 Hard-Hitting Lessons Junk Removal Pros Learn the Hard Way

What’s up Big Dawgs 🦴

We run on hustle, not hopes. Failure isn’t a loss—it’s data you turn into fuel.

This week on Rich Off Trash, we’re breaking down two heavy-hitting failures in the junk removal game—and how to flip those L’s into future W’s. No BS, straight to the point.

Underpricing and Scope Creep: You Get the Job, Lose the Profit

You’re hungry for the close, so you underbid to lock it in. Feels good in the moment—until you realize once you start, you’re fucked.

Happened to me not long ago. Out of pure fucking laziness, I didn’t fully walk the job. Quoted quick, shook hands, and thought I had it locked. By the time we hit the third load, disposal fees doubled, crew time shot through the roof, and my “profit” was gone.

The Lesson: When you cheapen a job, you cheapen the business. Real costs always show up in the field—labor, equipment wear, dump fees, fuel. If you don’t cover overhead, margin goes out the window. You gotta hit them with the ticket.

Actions to Take

Build a standardized field pricing process: Do a checklist on walkthroughs. Watch for stairs, elevators, and heavy items. Always factor disposal. Don’t confuse the customer with line items—they just want the number.
Set a minimum net margin target: Cover labor, fuel, insurance, admin. Aim for 15–20% net margin minimum. More for complex jobs. Track and enforce it.

👉 Pro Tip: Use the Haulers' Edge AI Price Estimator. Take a couple photos of the job and the AI analyzes it, estimates the price range you should consider charging and shows your costs and spits out profit estimates. First time I used it, it told me to charge more. So I went with it and guess what? The customer accepted and I made more money. Eye-opener. Right now it's free for all ROT subscribers.

Route Chaos and Scheduling Slip-Ups: Shit Rolls Downhill

You’re slammed, and then the phone rings: “Hi, I had a 10am appointment…” It’s 11am. You’re across town... you're cooked.

One slip-up leads to:

Wasted fuel
Idle crew time
Angry customers
Reputation damage

I’ve had it snowball. One late job puts you behind the rest of the day. Then you’re scrambling, cutting corners, and making mistakes that cost more than the job is worth.

The Lesson: Home service business is a logistics game. Poor routing and planning kill efficiency. When the plan isn’t tight, failure compounds fast.

Actions to Take

Proper route & schedule planning: Map it out the night before. Add buffer time. Have a backup plan for traffic or delays.
Communication: Over-communicate with your clients. Keep them in the loop. A lot of people take the day off for this appointment, or if you give a 2-hour arrival window, they’re waiting from an hour before it even starts. Update them often—texts, calls, app notifications. They’ll appreciate the gesture more than you know.
Stay accountable: Use apps for arrival windows. Track on-time pickups. Do a weekly review of missed or rescheduled jobs.

👉 I use Jobber. It sends reminders and live ETAs to customers. Keeps me honest, keeps customers informed and chilled tf out.

Failure isn’t Your Enemy—it’s Your Most Honest Mentor

Every screw-up shines a light on a blind spot. The greats don’t dodge failure; they log it, learn from it, and level up because of it.

The top pros go one step further: they learn from other people’s failures too. That way, they can accomplish the same growth in half the time—without paying the full price themselves.

Turn failures into systems. Turn lessons into checklists. Turn mistakes into money.

Stay sharp. Stay accountable.

C’mon, let’s get it 🏁🏁🏁