We all know someone who has been trying to get their house cleaned but they have so much “stuff” that the idea of moving them seems like a life commitment. Adam Hummel is a native from Lebanon, PA who shared about his business where he literally will take away your mess in your behalf. But before he started his Grade-A-Haul Away business he did multiple jobs not related to junk removal. “I worked for GIANT as a manager out of college, then did sales for a while and eventually got the entrepreneurial bug”said Adam. His journey got him to eventually start Grade A Haul-Away. He did not start alone, one of his best friends from childhood helped him start and get the ground running. Adam’s desired to have a business where he has to be strategic and think about how to improve his business but also physical labor that helps him stay active. His days start at 5 in the morning and end in average 6pm and sometimes 7pm. It is an understatement to say that he is a hard worker. “I literally wake up around 5am and within 5 minutes I am out of my house and on the go” He said. The trash hauling industry can be a lucrative one, according to the US bureau of Labor Statistics the moving, hauling and packaging is a $10 billion dollar industry. This goes in line with Adam’s weekly schedule and the consistent load of work he gets from other people sharing about him and the quality of his brand.
“The amount of garbage that Americans are now recycling each year is just over 34 percent of the total amount put into the waste stream. Increased recycling and composting has helped prevent over 87 million tons of material from being disposed in 2013. This is an increase of 15 million tons over the amount recorded in 1980.”(Junk King). The trash hauling industry has seen an increased in their labor that is connected in the increased consumerism that exists. The reopening of the economy has increased spending by 20% to 30% year over year according to McKinsey and Company, this is due to the optimistic outlook of the recovering of the economy, they mentioned on their website. While there has been an increased in business for Adam there has also been a struggle to keep employees to stay consistent with him and the work they do. “It has been hard to keep people working” said Adam. His issue with keeping or finding reliable employees is a more complex issue.
“A Pew Research Center survey this year found that 66 percent of the unemployed had “seriously considered” changing their field of work, a far greater percentage than during the Great Recession. People who used to work in restaurants or travel are finding higher-paying jobs in warehouses or real estate, for example. Or they want a job that is more stable and less likely to be exposed to the coronavirus — or any other deadly virus down the road. Consider that grocery stores shed over 49,000 workers in April and nursing care facilities lost nearly 20,000.”(The Washington Post). The struggle to find reliable employees, according to the Pew Research Survey has to do with a large group of people reconsidering the type of work they do. This is consistent with the current push to make it a federal mandate to increase minimum wage. Prices for goods and services have been increasing but the minimum wage has remained the same. This problem has not helped business owners like Adam find reliable employees who will be consistent with their work.
A small business owner like him show us that there are many challenges to running a business in a time where uncertainty and increased prices and workforce shortage requires business owners like him to have determination and passion for what they do. To learn more about his business visit his Facebook page or call
(717) 571-5430
Author: Amaury Abreu
