We caught up with the brilliant and insightful TJ Rutherford a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, TJ thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?

I grew up doing farm work and working for local businesses from childhood into adulthood. I have plenty of work experience with small businesses and Government Agencies, but I never stayed away from manual labor. The dream to own my own business never died. As the “guy with the pickup truck” of my various groups of friends, I stayed busy always helping them move or hauling things to the dump for them.

The idea to start a junk removal business came up time and time again but I never felt confident enough to execute it…except that one day I responded to an Marketplace as from someone to remove a bunch of items from a home they were remodeling. It became a weekly side-hustle for me that I thought would be a cool experiment but had no idea where it was going.

I was easily pocketing good money every weekend and I truly enjoyed being my own boss. The feeling was riveting! But every Monday, the dream was over and I was back to fielding calls and emails that reminded me of a perpetual hamster wheel.
One day after getting an email summoning me to my 8,007th meeting that had nothing to do with me, I drafted a well-thought-out email stating that I’d be leaving in two weeks. Ever since that day I have worked, harder, longer hours and spent more money than ever, but I am happier because I have the freedom to choose who I work with, mainly because they choose me!

Over 200 tons hauled, 100 tons recycled, hundreds of properties pressure-washed, and 25+ landscaping projects completed, I can still say that I am happily my own boss. I’m living my dream!

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

I’ve been doing work as a farmhand ever since I was old enough to carry a shovel. As a farmhand, you have to be able to do a little bit of everything and do it well. I learned most everything about hard work and doing business from my Dad, local business owners and farmers. Simply put: When you give someone your word, keep it; Treat everyone with respect whether you’ve known them five minutes or five years; Always make sure you do everything you can to make sure the job is done right.

Not everything I do in the Tampa Bay area is akin to farm-work but the same principles of business apply. My main functions are junk removal, dumpster rentals, pressure washing and landscaping. These all require hard work and are constantly being performed to help the varying needs of my clients all over this region.

I’m extremely proud that my business Farmhand Hauling and Property Maintenance has become a staple in St. Petersburg and the surrounding areas! I do post plenty of soothing, satisfying pressure washing videos on social media, so people outside this area love what I do too, apparently!

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

Hard work and customer service, are two of the most bold bullet points of my business. Without, them, I wouldn’t be a staple business in the communities I serve. I also wouldn’t be able to brag about how 90% of my business is completely word-of-mouth.

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

I have purchased stickers, t-shirts, banners, buttons and flyers locally. Each of these has my social media handles on them. for all of my various platforms. I post a lot of Before and After photos and videos but the favorite of my audience are the pressure washing videos. I’m still working hard to build that audience. I think the most important thing is the genuine engagement with followers on social media.

One thing I always do for new clients is ask if they can give me a review of their service on my various platforms. I have 100+ Five Star/A+ reviews over six different platforms just by engagement and genuine interaction. I may not be constantly viral, but I’m consistent and have meaningful interactions with those who follow me.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.farmhandhauling.com
• Instagram: @farmhandhauling
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FarmhandJunkRemoval
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC1HOdwNsIUS_zOel7XZL67g
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/farmhand-junk-hauling-st-petersburg?osq=farmhand

Image Credits
EyeReyes Photography