Noon Rotary had a special guest speaker at its weekly club meeting last month.
Nick Friedman, president and co-founder of College Hunks Hauling Junk and College Hunks Moving, made a presentation to the packed room at the John R. Trinkle Center.
Nick has been recognized in many magazines and websites as a top 30 under 30 entrepreneur for starting the largest and fastest growing junk removal and moving franchise opportunity in the United States.
“College Hunks Hauling Junk began with a van, a small savings account and a really good idea,” Friedman said. “We saw that people had a demand for junk removal, and we turned our idea into the profitable company you see today. We started back in 2005.”
Friedman launched the company in college with his childhood best friend, now business partner, Omar Soliman. From a beat-up, old van to 50 franchise locations nationwide, the company has gained the attention of the business world and press, including CNN, MSNBC, CBS, NBC, FOX News, and has appeared twice on the Oprah Winfrey Show.
His advice to young entrepreneurs:
“Image Is Everything. The first step is to have a stunning logo and package around your business. This is something that a lot of solopreneurs omit, they just put a name on a business card and just start handing them out. You need to put some thought into your image as well as packaging for yourself and employees. One way to add that bigness is to put out a press release along with your newly put together image on a newswire like Cision or PRNewswire.”
But his success didn’t come without struggles.
“The fast-paced growth tends to be problematic in that it forces existing team members to stretch their time and talent to meet the new demands that arise daily,” Friedman said. “Without the right team members on board to work through the growing pains associated with expansion, a company can easily lose its footing. Nevertheless, the way College Hunks has and will continue to overcome this challenge is by hiring the right people who believe in the Four Core Values of the company.”
Rotarian Bill Hughes was able to secure the illustrious millionaire as a speaker. Friedman is one of his clients.
“I’ve had a front row seat watching College Hunks Hauling Junk & College Hunks Moving grow,” Hughes said. ” Nick’s enthusiasm and attitude are contagious, and I knew he would be a great speaker for Rotary.”
Friedman came with his wife, even though his wife was just days away from delivering their first child.
Comprised of business leaders in Plant City, the Noon Rotary took away some valid points from Friedman.
“Nick pointed out some frightening yet helpful statistics about the failure rate of new businesses, but he also went into detail about how to avoid becoming one of those failures,” Hughes said. “He also discussed the impact several books have had on him and his company, and that they inspired his decision to write his book.”
Did you know?
Friedman calls his employees “Hunks” and “Hunkettes.”
