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

Eliott, appreciate you joining us today. Alright, so we’d love to hear about how you got your first client or customer. What’s the story?

Getting our first ever move was definitely one of the most memorable events to happen after our company’s inception. I had just finished developing our logo and launching our self-made website: https://www.eliottsmovingcompany.com/ in the hopes of beginning to acquire any moving jobs within our reach. I knew getting the ball rolling would be difficult at first, but that business would pick up with time. However. I wanted results as soon as possible. In between working a part time job and learning and applying SEO to my website, I began mapping out different houses that were for sale in the neighborhoods around me. I’d start the tracker as soon as I entered a new neighborhood, and drive around visiting homes for sale while leaving my business card on their door. I would then rinse and repeat the process all over while combining all the maps to ensure I was covering every home on sale. I think it took about 20 homes before one of them contacted me so they could get rid of furniture and other things that they did not want. Although not officially a move, I took the opportunity to show off my skillset, emptying out their home and disposing of the belongings that they did not want. Little did I know that a week later I’d get a call from the home owners to help them empty out their huge PODS container and move them into their new home. This was our first initial move, in which one of my long time friends and employee, Kevin, helped me complete in record time. Not only did we secure a 5 star review, but we also left our business cards throughout the neighborhood. Through this method we secured two more jobs in which we used a rental truck to move the families. All this resulted from that first move which we only obtained through being willing to take the smallest of jobs and completing it in the best way possible.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I initially got into the moving business after working with Einstein Moving company while studying at the University of Houston. It was during my Junior year that I got to experience all types of moves while learning packing and moving techniques as well as proper job estimates and other things. With time I quickly became one of, if not the fastest mover on their team with zero damages under my name. Eventually though, I got to a certain point where I wanted more than just becoming one of their lead movers. I saw that I put a lot of effort into their jobs and that I had several ideas on how to improve their moving speed and safety. However, I knew that I would never be happy with improving someone else’s company instead of creating my own and scaling it. So once I was close to graduating, I learned SEO and marketing techniques, I got the necessary moving equipment, I created my company name and developed my logo, and got to work. It was and has been a very challenging year with many ups and downs, but I am proud of just how much I have done on my own. Initially SEO marketers that reached out to me to work on my website told me I would never reach the front page of google, but I managed to do it despite their doubts. According to clients, I even managed to be faster with the movers I trained than other moving companies. Although these are good accomplishments, I really believe that my company can do so much more. My goal is to take what we already offer (moving and packing services for Houses, town-homes, apartments, offices, and more in the Houston area and its surrounding cities) and scale up to being able to take on out of state moves and continue to expand our name. Eventually everyone will hear about our company and our motto “Don’t Move A Muscle” as they watch their move look easy in our hands.

Can you talk to us about how your funded your business?

Starting my business and getting the capital necessary to run marketing campaigns and ads as well as obtaining our own moving vehicle was the first obstacle I had to face in order to succeed. As a DACA recipient, I have to apply for a work permit every two years, and during the first few months of me working on my business I had planned to work a regular job to fund any foreseeable expenses. Unfortunately there was an 8 month delay on my work permit, which meant that I couldn’t work a regular job to purchase a moving vehicle. So I decided to proceed with plan B: rent out UHAUL vehicles and take on any jobs ranging from one bedroom apartments to 4 bedroom houses while at the same time having short to average driving distances. This way, I ensured that I would be maximizing my profit while at the same time limiting how much I spent on gas. Through estimates I would give out to people calling me through google and through our website, I continued to take on jobs of varying sizes. Sometimes I’d profit $300 from a move while other time it could be upwards of $3000 at a time! By saving and being wise with my expenses, I was eventually able to afford the equipment I needed for my moving company.

Where do you think you get most of your clients from?

My best source of clientele has easily been google. Through SEO, I’ve managed to rank in the top 10 or even top 3 for several keywords people may search for when looking for movers. SEO is definitely not easy, and it takes a lot of practice before truly beginning to even understand it. On the other hand, it’s pretty expensive if you decide to pay someone to do SEO for you instead. I chose to tackle SEO myself, and by putting it into practice on my website, I got to watch as more and more people began to run into my website. The number of calls and quote forms I received also correlated with the traffic I saw come to my website through google. Overall, google has slowly become my best friend. Besides that I would definitely say that creating partnerships, creating good relations with customers, and doing your best to advertise yourself in person are other great options!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.eliottsmovingcompany.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/eliottsmovingcompany/
• Facebook: http://facebook.com/EliottsMovingCompany/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/eliott-s-moving-company/about/?viewAsMember=true
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/EliottsMovingCo

Image Credits

All images were taken by Eliott’s Moving Company (By Eliott Flores or Kevin Orlando)