🏁 ROT #4: Stop acting like a big business

I had to laugh the other day when I got a call from a guy asking for advice on getting more junk removal jobs.

I dialed him back, and what do I hear?

A call center operator reading a script.

Yep – the dude had a call center handling his calls for his one-man operation, and he was calling me for tips on how to get business.

The irony wasn’t lost on me.

I couldn’t help but chuckle that he had a whole call center setup but still needed help getting the phone to ring in the first place.

Think about that.

Here’s a guy with just a truck and a dream, already acting like he’s running a Fortune 500 company. This is a classic case of getting ahead of yourself as a small business owner.

I’ve seen it time and again: folks start with just themselves and maybe a buddy, yet they’re trying to play big shot – fancy systems, big expenses – long before they have the revenue to back it up.

News flash 💥 you don’t have a big company (yet), and that’s okay. What’s not okay is spending money like a big company when you’re still small.

Stay Within Your Means

The key is simple: stay within your means. Don’t act bigger than you are. Most of us start small – probably just you, a truck, and your hustle.

There’s zero shame in that.

Every big business out there began as a small one. But if you try to spend like a big business when you’re not, you’re headed for trouble.

Remember, cash flow is king.

A whopping 82% of small businesses fail due to cash flow problems (​uschamber.com). And a lot of those cash flow issues come from burning cash on unnecessary overhead​.

In plain terms: running out of money because you spent it on stuff you didn’t actually need. Don’t fall into that trap. One proven piece of advice is to avoid big expenses in your first year of business​.

Stay conservative and keep things “lean and mean” for as long as possible.

Let me break it down – here’s what you don’t need when you’re just starting out:

• No call center needed.

  • If it’s just you (and maybe a partner) running the show, you do not need to pay for a call center or answering service. Answer your own damn phone. It’s personal, it’s free, and it shows customers they’re talking to the owner. If your phone isn’t ringing off the hook yet, why on earth would you pay someone else to pick it up? Don’t create an expense for something you can do yourself with a cell phone and a few minutes of your time.

• Don’t hire a CPA until you’re making real money.

  • I see newbies bringing on accountants or lawyers before they even have any revenue. Unless you’re pulling in over $500k a year, a full-time CPA is overkill (and an expensive one at that). Until then, use QuickBooks, track your income/expenses yourself, or hire a basic tax preparer once a year. You’ll save thousands. Save the high-priced financial pros for when you actually have finances that justify it.

• Hold off on hiring employees.

  • Hiring too early is a classic way to sink your ship. If you haven’t been booked solid for at least 2–3 months straight, you don’t need to add payroll. Employees mean salaries, insurance, and a bunch of other headaches – all that adds up fast. Wait until you’re consistently so busy that you cannot keep up on your own (i.e. you’re turning down work or booking weeks out non-stop). If you don’t have the data (and bank balance) to prove you can afford an employee, you’re not ready to hire. Period​.

• Forget the fancy uniforms and truck wraps (for now).

  • That stuff is nice eventually, but it’s not what gets you business when you’re just starting. You can hustle in a plain shirt (I rocked a simple black polo and work pants) and drive an unwrapped truck just fine. Your customers care that you show up on time and haul their junk away, not that you have a shiny logo on your chest or a $3,000 vinyl wrap on your truck. No one’s choosing your service because of your uniform. Don’t sink money into looking pretty; make money by doing a damn good job instead.

• Don’t pour money into big marketing campaigns yet.

  • I’ve seen guys blow cash on Google Ads, pricey mailers, even billboards, and then wonder why the phone still isn’t ringing. Truth is, in the beginning hustle > money. You’re better off using free or cheap methods to drum up business. Post in local Facebook groups, list your service on Craigslist and Nextdoor, hand out flyers and business cards around town, shake hands with realtors or property managers – that’s your marketing department early on. Build your lead gen system with sweat equity before you spend big on ads. Once you’re bringing in steady jobs and you know what marketing actually works, then you can reinvest in bigger advertising. Until then, keep it grassroots and low-budget.

Hustle Now, Flex Later

At the end of the day, staying small and scrappy in the beginning isn’t a weakness – it’s your strength. It keeps your costs low and buys you time to figure out what works.

There will come a time to scale up, hire staff, get the fancy wrapped truck, and all that jazz. But that time is after you’ve proven your business model and have the cash flow to support those extras, not before.

Remember: no one ever went out of business because their t-shirt was too plain or their truck wasn’t painted with a logo.

But plenty of businesses have gone under because they spent too much too soon and ran out of cash.

Don’t be that guy.

Stay lean.

There’s nothing wrong with being a one-truck, one-person show at the start. In fact, many customers like knowing they’re dealing with the owner directly – it can be a selling point that you’re a local small business and not a faceless corporation.

So, bottom line – don’t get ahead of yourself.

Keep your operation as lean as possible for as long as you can.

Stack your cash, build your reputation, and focus on getting the work done and done well.

The fancy stuff can wait until you’re truly ready (and you’ll know when you are, because you’ll have the bank balance and workload to prove it).

For now, get out there in your boots and make money before you spend it. Stay scrappy, stay hungry, and keep it real. You’ve got this.

Let’s Get It 🏁🏁🏁