Twin brothers Stephen and Matthew Westerman have spent their entire lives building things together, both literally and professionally. From building homes in high school with their father to managing moving franchises in college to running a bathroom remodeling business, the two have shared just about every chapter of life. Now, they’re turning the page to their next big adventure: launching TWO MEN AND A JUNK TRUCK in Fort Walton Beach, Florida. With deep operational knowledge of the brand and a bold vision for growth, the Westermans are bringing trusted junk removal services to the Gulf Coast — with plans to scale even further.
1851 spoke with the duo to learn more about their backgrounds, their collective path to franchising and their plans for the future with TWO MEN AND A JUNK TRUCK. Here’s what they had to say:
1851 Franchise: Frame your personal story for us. What do you want us to know?
Stephen Westerman: We’re twin brothers — grew up together, been best friends our whole life and share most of our life experiences. We went into business together 12 or 13 years ago, starting with a bathroom remodeling business. We were looking for areas to explore and started looking into TWO MEN AND A JUNK TRUCK. We’ve been working together our whole lives — we both went to college at the same time.
Matthew Westerman: We always wanted to work together, and that really started back in high school when we were building houses with our dad. After we got separate jobs post-college, we decided we really wanted to open a business together.
1851: What was your perception of franchising prior to becoming a franchisee, and what do you want people to know about franchising now that you are in it?
Stephen: We both got our master’s degrees and ended up getting jobs as movers at TWO MEN AND A TRUCK. We worked with them while getting our degrees — did that for about two years — and eventually moved through almost all the positions at that location, up to general managers. We stayed there until we opened our bathroom remodeling business. We always liked the franchise system with that brand. When we decided we wanted to add another business line, we didn’t immediately think of franchising, but we were open. When we realized there was a junk franchise connected, we thought it might be the right concept.
1851: What made you pick this brand? What excites you most about this company?
Stephen: What sold us on this franchise was our experience with TWO MEN AND A TRUCK. We were already really drawn to the junk industry, and when we saw that TWO MEN was behind this too, we knew they had the strength of the corporate office. Once we saw the team behind it, we realized it was a really brilliant team for support, and that made us a lot more comfortable moving forward.
1851: What do you hope to achieve with your business? What are your plans for growth?
Stephen: Our intention is to turn this into a multi-million dollar franchise. But our most important goal is just customer service — to serve the Gulf Coast and help remove stress from people’s lives by removing the junk in their spaces. Hopefully we’ll open two more franchises.
Matthew: Our end goal would be sweeping the Gulf Coast — that would be about three franchises total.
1851: What advice do you have for other people thinking about becoming franchise owners?
Stephen: Life is risky. Don’t be afraid of risk. The only real risk in life is taking no risk at all.
ABOUT TWO MEN AND A JUNK TRUCK:
Headquartered in Michigan, TWO MEN AND A JUNK TRUCK is a full-service junk removal company that is committed to conquering your clutter. The company handles furniture pickup, appliance removal, debris cleanouts, and more, offering a hassle-free experience for residential and commercial customers. With over 70 locations across 23 U.S. states, the brand operates as a franchise-based business, and each location is independently owned and operated. TWO MEN AND A JUNK TRUCK is part of ServiceMaster® Brands, a leading franchise provider of needs-based residential and commercial services in the restoration, cleaning, moving, and bioremediation industries. ServiceMaster was founded as one of America’s first franchise businesses and does business under seven brands today across 50 states and nine countries that generate more than $3.5B in system-wide sales. TWO MEN AND A JUNK TRUCK is the sister brand of TWO MEN AND A TRUCK, a trusted moving company founded in 1985, which operates 430 locations in 48 U.S. states, as well as in Canada, Ireland, and the United Kingdom.
TWO MEN AND A TRUCK
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After years of working side by side — from house construction with their dad to managing TWO MEN AND A TRUCK locations — the Westermans are launching their next venture with TWO MEN AND A JUNK TRUCK.
Twin brothers Stephen and Matthew Westerman have spent their entire lives building things together, both literally and professionally. From building homes in high school with their father to managing moving franchises in college to running a bathroom remodeling business, the two have shared just about every chapter of life. Now, they’re turning the page to their next big adventure: launching TWO MEN AND A JUNK TRUCK in Fort Walton Beach, Florida. With deep operational knowledge of the brand and a bold vision for growth, the Westermans are bringing trusted junk removal services to the Gulf Coast — with plans to scale even further.
1851 spoke with the duo to learn more about their backgrounds, their collective path to franchising and their plans for the future with TWO MEN AND A JUNK TRUCK. Here’s what they had to say:
1851 Franchise: Frame your personal story for us. What do you want us to know?
Stephen Westerman: We’re twin brothers — grew up together, been best friends our whole life and share most of our life experiences. We went into business together 12 or 13 years ago, starting with a bathroom remodeling business. We were looking for areas to explore and started looking into TWO MEN AND A JUNK TRUCK. We’ve been working together our whole lives — we both went to college at the same time.
Matthew Westerman: We always wanted to work together, and that really started back in high school when we were building houses with our dad. After we got separate jobs post-college, we decided we really wanted to open a business together.
1851: What was your perception of franchising prior to becoming a franchisee, and what do you want people to know about franchising now that you are in it?
Stephen: We both got our master’s degrees and ended up getting jobs as movers at TWO MEN AND A TRUCK. We worked with them while getting our degrees — did that for about two years — and eventually moved through almost all the positions at that location, up to general managers. We stayed there until we opened our bathroom remodeling business. We always liked the franchise system with that brand. When we decided we wanted to add another business line, we didn’t immediately think of franchising, but we were open. When we realized there was a junk franchise connected, we thought it might be the right concept.
1851: What made you pick this brand? What excites you most about this company?
Stephen: What sold us on this franchise was our experience with TWO MEN AND A TRUCK. We were already really drawn to the junk industry, and when we saw that TWO MEN was behind this too, we knew they had the strength of the corporate office. Once we saw the team behind it, we realized it was a really brilliant team for support, and that made us a lot more comfortable moving forward.
1851: What do you hope to achieve with your business? What are your plans for growth?
Stephen: Our intention is to turn this into a multi-million dollar franchise. But our most important goal is just customer service — to serve the Gulf Coast and help remove stress from people’s lives by removing the junk in their spaces. Hopefully we’ll open two more franchises.
Matthew: Our end goal would be sweeping the Gulf Coast — that would be about three franchises total.
1851: What advice do you have for other people thinking about becoming franchise owners?
Stephen: Life is risky. Don’t be afraid of risk. The only real risk in life is taking no risk at all.
ABOUT TWO MEN AND A JUNK TRUCK:
Headquartered in Michigan, TWO MEN AND A JUNK TRUCK is a full-service junk removal company that is committed to conquering your clutter. The company handles furniture pickup, appliance removal, debris cleanouts, and more, offering a hassle-free experience for residential and commercial customers. With over 70 locations across 23 U.S. states, the brand operates as a franchise-based business, and each location is independently owned and operated. TWO MEN AND A JUNK TRUCK is part of ServiceMaster® Brands, a leading franchise provider of needs-based residential and commercial services in the restoration, cleaning, moving, and bioremediation industries. ServiceMaster was founded as one of America’s first franchise businesses and does business under seven brands today across 50 states and nine countries that generate more than $3.5B in system-wide sales. TWO MEN AND A JUNK TRUCK is the sister brand of TWO MEN AND A TRUCK, a trusted moving company founded in 1985, which operates 430 locations in 48 U.S. states, as well as in Canada, Ireland, and the United Kingdom.
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