One Man's Trash is Josh Cohen's Treasure

Josh Cohen, the 30-year-old founder and CEO of The Junkluggers, has made a business based on the old adage “one man’s trash is another man’s treasure.” One night sitting around a campfire, while studying abroad in Australia, Cohen heard a friend say that he made $100 for hauling away a neighbor’s old refrigerator. When he came back to the U.S., this idea stuck with him. “When I returned home as a cash-strapped college student, I remembered that discussion and thought it would be a great way to earn some extra money,” said Cohen. “I started using my mom’s SUV and provided part-time junk removal services for friends and neighbors. I only earned $90 on my first job, but I knew I was on to something.” In 2004, as Cohen hit the streets handing out homemade flyers all around town, The Junkluggers business began. As demand for his services increased, Cohen built up the business in his home state of Connecticut, where he transitioned from the SUV to a trailer, and eventually, a full-sized truck. [caption id="attachment_9781" align="aligncenter" width="440" caption="Josh Cohen, founder and CEO of The JunkLuggers"][/caption] As he expanded his operations, business became strong enough to allow him to leave his full-time career as a commercial real estate agent to focus on expanding The Junkluggers. Over time, Cohen hired his own staff, added his own branded trucks to his portfolio and moved the business to midtown Manhattan. “Over the years, I had to learn effective ways of managing people, supporting them and keeping them happy,” Cohen explained. “Also, since we grew pretty quickly and spread across a large geographic area, it was challenging to stay in contact with every employee in our areas. To fix the problem, we supported the staff with regional care time managers so we can better oversee operations, and we also hired a logistic manager to improve communication.” For Cohen, what differentiates The Junkluggers from every competitor and what has attributed to their success is their eco-friendly concept. “We sort through every item of every haul to see if we can recycle or repurpose anything, and if an item is in good condition, we donate it to charitable causes such as Goodwill, Salvation Army and Helping Hands” explained Cohen. “Essentially, our green model lets us simultaneously decrease our carbon footprint and support people in need. It was important to me when founding the The Junkluggers to help the community in that way and give back.” [caption id="attachment_9786" align="aligncenter" width="421" caption="The Junkluggers are committed to a green mission of recycling and donating usable items"][/caption] Cohen has made it his mission to save the Earth, one piece of junk at a time. “By 2016, we aim to donate and recycle 100 percent of all items we remove, setting the standard in the United States for eco-friendly disposal practices,” he said. Nine years since the company’s inception, The Junkluggers reported sales of $2.3 million in 2012 and has hauled more than 4,500 tons of junk. Cohen wanted to take business to the next level and knew that franchising would be the perfect way to grow, expand and reach that next big step.  At the beginning of 2013, Josh signed the first Junkluggers Franchisee, Francis Hill, in Long Island. They now have five franchisees in their system who are spearheading the growth of the eco-friendly concept throughout the east coast.