Today we’d like to introduce you to Andrew DePalma.
Hi Andrew , thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
Back in 2016, my father (Andy DePalma) was a maintenance manager at a high rise apartment building in Harrisburg City. They were receiving bad service from a Junk Removal Vendor at the time and he mentioned to me about taking the account over. He let me know there were some really cool items (antiques/valuables/etc.) that were disposed of, and that I might make out pretty well doing this, so I gave it a shot. (I worked a full time job at the time, and would run around collecting scrap metal on the side 3-4 nights a week for some extra money. I also would resell items, that I would find out on my runs through Facebook Marketplace. I actually used to find really good items out on trash collection night!) I priced pretty low to get my foot in the door and let them know that I would be reliable and get the work done! After getting my first commercial client, I would go down 5 days a week after work for 2-3 hours a day (I had to leave when the maintenance guys left) to clean out the apartments. I would rent Uhaul trucks to remove the junk and dump it. After a full year of this, I estimated what I spent on renting uhaul trucks and figured that I could buy a 5×10 trailer. through this account, it would probably pay itself off and I could sell it if things didn’t work out. Being that the apartment cleanouts were sometimes few and far in between, I thought to myself, maybe I can rent this trailer out to people who could fill it themselves, and then I can pick them up and dispose of the waste. I started marketing them on social media and it caught on pretty fast with friends and family. Due to still working a full time job, this is where I ran into the issue of having a full trailer often, but no time to empty it because of my work hours. I made the decision to use my profits to buy a 2nd 5×10 trailer, and continued marketing until both trailers were sitting full in the garage not being able to be emptied during the week. Being that not everyone can drive a vehicle with or tow a trailer, I knew I needed another solution. This is when I bought our first truck, which was a beverage truck. (with the slide open doors on the side) I started checking with my friends to see if anyone would be interested in dumping it in the mornings before work as a side hustle. I also started marketing junk removal then as well since we now needed to manually load the truck. A childhood friend Mike Grier, saw the potential with the company and decided to start helping. This quickly turned into an offer for him to go 2 days per week part time with us, as we continued to gain traction. We ran this way for a year, made a logo, t shirts, hats, etc. and started creating and marketing the AJ’s Hauling LLC brand. We continued to grow the company until I was able to go part time, and then full time, and then pull Mike Grier in full time. At this point, I decided to select core values that we would continue to build this company upon. Values that we would live out both professionally and personally. Our core values are Customer Focus, Honesty, Reliability and Fairness. We also started giving back every quarter to local organizations. We have donated to (including but not limited to) Hummelstown Food Pantry, Humane Society of Harrisburg PA, LCBC, Elizabethtown PA Troop 1, Ronald McDonald house of Hershey PA, Everyone Eats (Feed the Harrisburg Homeless), Pact, TFEC and we just started sponsoring a child in India as of 5/17/26 through the business. God has blessed me with the ability to form and build a successful business and because of that, I/we will continue to give back the fruit that we bear. We now have office staff, 3 trucks and 4 mainstream guys running. I am currently looking to hire more truck help at the moment and we have a solid plan of growth for 2026 and beyond. We will continue to serve our community, and help make a difference out there!
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Bottlenecks: Starting from the ground up with no Loans, Funding or Business Education, meant a lot of trial and error. We started our official growth with all used trucks. This is extremely challenging with mechanical issues and costs, especially when you are focused on providing a Reliable Service and being Fair with pricing. As a growing business we have and still do face the common struggles that all small businesses go through. Honesty and Persistence, help us overcome these obstacles.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
We are a Full-Service Junk Removal Company providing Commercial and Residential Junk Removal, Light Demolition, Shed Removals, Above Ground Pool Removals, Hot Tub Removals, Playset Removals, Carpet Removal, Estate Cleanouts, Yard Waste Removal, Bagster Pickups, etc. We also started offering Garbage Removal and have purchased 2 Yard Dumpsters and Toters for this.
What sets us apart is Fairness, Honesty and Reliability. We offer fair rates, hand over valuables when we’ve found them (we’ve found thousands of dollars worth of gold bars, family heirlooms, Silver, etc. and handed it over). I invest heavily back into the company, the employees, software and equipment so we can provide a great customer experience, and a reliable service.
The brand stands on our core values and giving back. This is our foundation the company was built on and will continue to grow upon!
What quality or characteristic do you feel is most important to your success?
Honesty
Contact Info:
- Website: Info@ajshauling.net
- Instagram: Https://www.instagram.com/aj_shauling101?igsh=bmpuZHV1ZjN3eTl4
- Facebook: Https://www.facebook.com/share/1BJJTXE4f4/
