FranDev Players: Nick Friedman, Co-Founder of College H.U.N.K.S. Hauling Junk & Moving

Last year was a good year for College H.U.N.K.S. Hauling Junk & Moving, the moving and junk-removal franchisor with 130 franchisees across the country. 

The brand moved more than 100 victims of domestic violence for free. It donated more than 1.6 million meals to Feeding Children Everywhere through cash donations, and helped to deliver meals to those in need. The brand put their trucks to good use helping to transport COVID-19 equipment and supplies where it was needed most.

And oh, yeah: they blew their franchise growth goal out of the water during a pandemic, economic downturns and social strife.

But doing good is what co-founders Nick Friedman and Omar Soliman, who started the company in 2003 while both were only 22 years old, have in mind for this company. Yes, that means both financially and socially. 

1851 Franchise chatted with Friedman about franchise growth development and how a social mission helps the brand grow.

1851 Franchise: What were the early days of College H.U.N.K.S. like?

Nick Friedman: When we first started, we were doing all the work ourselves, you know, we had an 800 number on the back of the truck that routed to our cell phones. People were calling to complain about erratic driving from the back of the truck number and I'd be in the driver's seat answering the phone apologizing, saying, “We don't condone that type of driving, we'll talk to those guys when they get back in the office!” In the early days, we had to fire ourselves three or four times, because we were wearing all the hats. 

1851: How did you get into franchising?

Friedman: As the business evolved and grew, we were able to bring in and attract talents that were subject matter experts in areas like marketing, franchise sales, technology, finance and operations. 

1851: Based on your experience, what are some of the keys to franchise success? 

Friedman: I describe our company as being a purpose-driven, values-based, socially conscious, technology-enabled and results-obsessed organization. The exterior sort of facade of our businesses — the name and the brand is catchy, colorful and playful, but, really, beneath the surface is where the rubber meets the road. It’s where franchise owners and employees find a level of fulfillment and passion behind what it is that we're doing. So I think that's really been the key, long term, to our success.

I know a lot of that sounds cliche to talk about these days, but we truly do mean it and live by our values. As a byproduct, the businesses thrive. But one of the things we also say is, “Without margin, there's no mission.” If we don’t have profit as a business, we're not going to be in business to do the great things that we want to do. 

It’s something that franchise candidates identify with and mention when they come visit us for a discovery day: our brand, our culture and our values stood out for them and resonated with them and was something that they wanted to be a part of.

1851: In terms of growth, how did COVID affect you in 2020?

Friedman: It was a roller coaster — almost like one of those slingshot roller coasters. We started January, February and then the first two weeks of March with a record year. But, of course, nobody could have predicted that there was going to be a worldwide pandemic. That's what happened in the middle of March. My first fear and reaction was, “Oh, goodness, everything we've worked for for the past 15 years is going to evaporate.”

April and May, we were down about 30% year-over-year compared to 2019. Then in June, July, August, things started to sort of flatten out. Since then, we've actually been up about 20–30%, year-over-year. 

1851: Did COVID affect franchise growth?

Friedman: We've actually seen a significant increase in franchise development, not just in leads, but also in deals and broker leads. I think that can be attributed to a couple of things: One, usually when there's some instability in the economy, people start to look at franchising as a more viable means of taking their future into their own own hands. Two, I think, because we're getting more favor from the broker networks because other industries like food, retail, fitness and hospitality have really been more negatively impacted by the shutdowns and distancing requirements. We’ve added roughly 34 franchises in 2020 and we were budgeting roughly 24.

1851: What are some common mistakes you see young franchisors making when they’re trying to grow?

Friedman: Trying to grow too fast, especially being too spread out to support their franchise owners geographically. Also, selling too much territory before a franchise has proven itself. Lastly, not budgeting cash and ultimately running out of capital before the business has become royalty self-sustaining. We made all three of these mistakes in the early days of our business, and it's very common in franchising.

1851: What are your goals for 2021? 

Friedman: For franchise development, we want to add 40 new franchises in 2021. We are also big advocates of quality over quantity. So we want to make sure that we select the right franchise owners for our model and who really fit the culture have potential for success. Within the next three to five years, we want to be over 250 franchise owners around the country, with our existing franchise owners, you know, averaging $3 million per year in revenue.