In the summer of 2015, a conversation with his brother-in-law helped Jake Still realize that he was not happy in his current career. “He asked me what I really wanted to do, and the answer was simple,” said Still. “I have always wanted to be an entrepreneur and create something from the ground up.”
Of all the odd jobs he had in his life, Still said working for a junk removal company in college was his favorite. “I really loved the idea of building a white-collar business in a blue-collar space,” said Still. “This meant taking a gritty manual labor business and applying better business practices to provide a new amazing experience for the customer.”
Two weeks later, he and his brother-in-law became business partners and a year later, their trash-hauling license was approved. Still jumped in after his medical sales position was dissolved and adopted the motto to be “All In or All Out” as a co-founder of Junk Rescue LLP.
Junk Rescue LLP focuses on junk removal, dumpster rentals and demolition labor assistance with a mission to build powerful and scalable systems to help develop homegrown heroes and deliver superhuman client experiences.
Since its inception, the company has grown to own 15 trucks, 30 employees and double the 5-star reviews of any company in the region. The long-term plan is to scale the business model nationwide starting in 2025. Still’s business model relies on a strong recruitment strategy. “You can’t just hire laborers,” he said. “The crews run each truck independently and run each truck like their own small business. Therefore, in order to ensure quality and an outstanding experience each and every time, you must be a great leader of people and at developing people.”
Still said the firm also invests heavily in technology and systems. “We are building for the future and our employees’ futures,” he said. “The goal is not success; the goal is an empire for our people to thrive within.”
In today’s world, leaders now have endless access to content, resources, mentors and everything in between, said Still. “Great leaders must be able to block out the noise and focus on their core values and key principles that led to their success in the first place,” he said. “We can do anything but not everything.”
If Still had to pick a superpower, he said it would be grit. “Without grit, we would have crumbled multiple times over,” he said. “Entrepreneurship is the most exhausting and rewarding rollercoaster you’ll ever ride. To quote Rocky Balboa, it’s not about how hard you can hit, it’s about how hard you can get hit and keep on going – that’s how winning is done.”
