Blake Gordon founded JunkCo+ in 2020 after he saw a need for junk removal services in his community.
Shortly after the COVID-19 pandemic hit the United States in early 2020, JunkCo+ President Blake Gordon saw a need for junk removal services in his community.
“At that time, I sold my lawn and landscaping business and was fully devoted to the junk removal and demolition side of things,” Gordon said.
The company takes anything except hazardous materials, Gordon said, and differentiates itself in the junk removal space by offering demolition services as well. JunkCo+ then sorts through the contents to donate or throw away items.
“Anything from a refrigerator to a complete hoarder house that hasn’t been touched in 20 years—Our guys will go in, they will provide the service of removing and extracting all the contents,” he said. “Nothing needs to be done by the customer.”
Belfor Franchise Group—which owns 1-800 Water Damage, ChemDry, Hoodz and other home service brands—bought JunkCo+, a junk removal and demolition company.
“We basically can do just about anything on the property, from restoring cabinets to cleaning carpets to patching holes in walls,” said D’Wayne Tanner, Belfor’s senior vice president of franchise sales. “One of the gaps that we thought we had was with the notion around junk removal.”
Coinciding with the deal, JunkCo+ launched franchising opportunities. The company has one corporate location in Louisville, Kentucky.
The junk removal sector has some prominent franchisors, like 1-800-Got-Junk?, College Hunks Hauling Junk, Junk King and The Junkluggers. In 2022, Canada-based 1-800-Got-Junk? did $528 million with 172 units in the United States, Australia and Canada.
In its current market, JunkCo+ can often send someone to a job the same day or next day. “We’re kind of like the Amazon of junk removal,” Gordon said.
D’Wayne Tanner is the senior vice president of franchise development at Belfor Franchise Group.
With just one territory open, JunkCo+ has a lot of white space available.
“The entire country is our opportunity for growth,” Tanner said. “Blake has done a fantastic job proving out the model.”
Franchisees can’t be afraid of getting dirty, and an entrepreneurial mindset is a must. Employees don’t need experience in the field, but it’s a bonus if they do.
“You’ve got to be able to have the people that are willing to be able to stay late, get dirty, get in there and get the stuff out,” Gordon said. “A good mindset and attitude is what we’re looking for, for employees and for our franchisees.”
Sometimes employees luck out and find their own treasures in other people’s junk, he said.
“They find stuff all the time that, once we say it’s OK, they can take it and use it for themselves, whatever it may be,” Gordon said. “It’s kind of like a treasure hunt for them every day.”