Forward Obsessed

Founding Junkluggers With Josh Cohen

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Josh Cohen is Founder and President of Junkluggers, one of the largest franchised junk removal services in the world. Step into the world of making trash into treasure as Josh recounts having his “aha-moment” around a fire with some friends in Australia, starting a company with Bar Mitzvah money and a pickup truck called “Old Rusty,” and the winding road to selling his business in 2022. Josh talks about building a robust culture, the risks of growing a company too quickly, tips on how to franchise your business, and finding strength to dig out of the lowest point in your career. 

OUTLINE:

  • (00:00) - Intro
  • (2:30) - Early years in Australia
  • (8;00) - Nearly going out of business three times
  • (10:50) - Selling Junkluggers on my 40th birthday
  • (13:00) - Making mistakes and learning from them
  • (16:00) - How I became a stronger leader
  • (18:30) - Building a strong culture
  • (22:45) - Pivoting to a franchise model
  • (27:44) - Making mistakes in franchising 
  • (32:24) - Don’t spend too much time planning your business
  • (36:45) - How to franchise your business
  • (42:00) - Using financial transparency to build culture
  • (46:20) - Driving compliance in a franchise 
  • (53:00) - Working with Larry Janesky and Basement Systems
  • (57:28) - The lowest point in my career
  • (1:01:20) - Hitting explosive growth during COVID
  • (1:07:00) - Shopping for potential acquirers
  • (1:10:00) - Junkluggers…after being acquired
  • 1:17:00) - Founding Remix Market

    • EPISODE LINKS:

    • Junkluggers website: https://www.junkluggers.com/
  • Josh’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/junkluggerjosh/
  • Josh’s email: [email protected]

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    PODCAST INFO:

    • Podcast website: https://forwardobsessed.com/
  • Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/forward-obsessed/id1615760781
  • Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2TrkOZ7xL7WSlzc2mrwXuC?si=aa5e7790aca64e05
  • YouTube Full Episodes: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL-ldUUGxQZ5b9WPqVXz_qlfXgK3hHPs4z
  • YouTube Clips: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL-ldUUGxQZ5Yt0LiPml0y6pNUSrqHzWql

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    SUPPORT & CONNECT:

    • Digital Surgeons Website: https://digitalsurgeons.com
  • TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@digitalsurgeons
  • Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/digitalsurgeons
  • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/210497/

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    Forward ObsessedBy Pete Sena and David Salinas