We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Tony Nava. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Tony below.

Hi Tony, thanks for joining us today. We’d love to have you retell us the story behind how you came up with the idea for your business, I think our audience would really enjoy hearing the backstory.

In order to answer this question, I have to take you back to 2020 when I decided to quit my well-paid job overseas. I was tired of working the routine 9-5 and decided to try my luck at being an entrepreneur. Fast forward to early 2021, I have tried and failed at different endeavors, it’s the height of the pandemic, and I have my first child expected in the next couple of months. The pressure is on. As other entrepreneurs may have experienced, I find myself deep in YouTube University late at night and find a page where they make money picking up trash.

I quickly saw that trash services were essential to maintaining stability in our society and ecosystem. If trash stopped being picked up, the world would stop in its tracks. This led me to finding myself creating a business to solve a well-known and everyday problem. Trash is everywhere and I was determined to be a part of the solution.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

My name is Tony. My background is military. I did 5 years in the Marines and after I left active duty, I did three years as a contractor overseas. I hold no higher education. I started a business out of pure need to succeed. I needed to find a way to provide for my family and I found that owning a business was the only way I could satisfy my duty and desire to win.

Our business solves our customers trash problems. Whether you have trash at your construction site or inside your home, we are there to solve all your trash needs. We find ourselves set apart from the competition because we’re fully transparent, and we truly stive to help our customers. We are family owned and operated, and we make our clients feel like they are a part of our family too. From the first phone to the final goodbye, we listen to our customers’ needs, and we do our absolute best to make sure they are 100% satisfied.

I am most proud of not just helping our customers but by helping other aspiring entrepreneurs by providing FREE tips and education on all our social media platforms. I want my followers to know that I am just like them. I started from the very bottom with no money and no help. I am proud of what I have created with our business and glad that I am able to provide consistent work to my team.

Any advice for managing a team?

I attribute a lot of my leadership skills to my time in the Marine Corps. I run our business with the same small unit leadership that the Marines have. This means that everyone has a responsibility, from our lowest employee to our highest. I find the best way to maintain morale is by incentivizing team members through the company’s success. For example, if we have a great week, the team sees that reflected in their paychecks. We also educate our team on the process of the company. They are able to see how we generate leads, and how our processes work. We are training them every day to move up in the company and hopefully expand our brand in other parts of the state. In simpler words, they are part of our growth and they see themselves as part of the company.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

We had a marketing agency that helped take us to the next level. We were extremely satisfied until we were not… We saw a major decline in returns, lead generation and customer service overall. This continued for two months, and we definitely felt in. It was at this time, I decided to make a decision to ensure the survival of our business. We decided to cut ties with the company we were comfortable with, the company that took us to the next level, and start with a marketing agency that we had no relationship with. This company ended up taking us to an even higher revenue bracket and I saw that my pivot led to positive growth within my business.

I’ve learned that in entrepreneurship, you must solve problems quickly before they become a bigger issue. You must act rationally rather than emotionally.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.texasjunkers.com
• Instagram: @texasjunkers_