A Fresh Perspective: Fresh Bloom Bins

Summary

The Unshakeables: A Fresh Perspective with Fresh Bloom Bins

Episode Title: A Fresh Perspective: Fresh Bloom Bins
Release Date: December 3, 2024
Host: Ben Walter, CEO of Chase for Business
Guest: Tia Johnson, Founder and CEO of Fresh Bloom Bins
Co-Guest: Desmond Bryant, Vice President of Government Relations at the Columbus Chamber of Commerce

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Introduction

In this compelling episode of The Unshakeables, host Ben Walter delves into the entrepreneurial journey of Tia Johnson, the visionary behind Fresh Bloom Bins, a Columbus-based company specializing in the cleaning of dumpsters and trash cans. Joined by Desmond Bryant from the Columbus Chamber of Commerce, the conversation unpacks the hurdles faced by small business owners and the resilience required to overcome them.

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Identifying the Problem and Initial Inspiration

Ben Walter kicks off the episode by highlighting how some of the best business ideas stem from unserved needs. He introduces Tia Johnson, whose frustration with dirty trash cans at home ignited her entrepreneurial spirit.

Ben Walter [00:07]:
"Some of the best business ideas come from an unserved need. You have a problem and you come up with a solution."

Tia Johnson [00:26]:
"I get outside and the trash can is disgusting. It has all of the flies, the maggots in, the odors."

Her firsthand experience with maintaining cleanliness and the challenge of motivating her teenagers led her to recognize a broader market need. Tia approached her local representative with a pilot program proposal, which the city accepted, awarding her a contract to clean trash cans and dumpsters across Columbus in the spring.

Tia Johnson [00:47]:
"I would honestly say after getting that contract, I absolutely thought the company would be successful. Like, how can you lose?"

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Facing the Unexpected Setback

As winter gave way to warmer weather, Tia awaited an update from the city. However, the news was not what she had hoped for. During a Zoom call, she was informed that her contract was being canceled, leaving her without the primary source of revenue.

Tia Johnson [01:08]:
"Just thinking about it makes me relive that moment and all I could think about is, I can't let them see me cry... I got off the Zoom and I bawled my eyes out because I had no idea where our next dollar would come from."

This devastating moment marked a critical juncture in Tia's entrepreneurial journey, testing her resolve and determination.

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Discussion on Mentorship and Support Systems

Ben introduces Desmond Bryant, who emphasizes the importance of mentorship and support for small business owners facing challenges.

Desmond Bryant:
"When a small business owner has this seed of an idea, it's important they seek out as much advice and mentorship as they can... there are a slew of things that the chamber does." [07:06]

Ruby, another co-host, adds insights on effective mentorship and the fluctuating nature of government budgets, which can impact pilot programs and contracts.

Ruby [08:27]:
"In Tia's situation, I'm happy that she was able to acquire that contract... when it comes to landing a contract with the government, yeah, they're going to ask you from various questions..."

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Resilience in the Face of Adversity

The COVID-19 pandemic further strained Tia's circumstances, causing her business revenue to plummet as her teaching roles were disrupted.

Tia Johnson [08:40]:
"2020 hits, right? School shut down and I lose 60% of my revenue because it was all in person."

With limited options, Tia revisited her Fresh Bloom Bins concept with renewed determination.

Tia Johnson [08:56]:
"I will never let anyone kill my dreams again."

She swiftly pivoted her business model from targeting single-family homes to focusing on government and corporate clients, leveraging the increased emphasis on sanitation during the pandemic.

Tia Johnson [09:06]:
"Everybody's talking about cleaning and sanitation right now."

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Securing the Truck and Scaling Operations

One of the pivotal moments in Tia's journey was acquiring a specialized truck essential for her service. Despite initial financing rejections due to her lack of experience in the trucking industry, Tia secured an investor who believed in her vision.

Tia Johnson [11:56]:
"Each truck is about $120,000. They deny me financing for this truck... He actually gets my truck financed. I go to Arizona, catch a flight, I have a CDL driver come out there with me."

After transporting the truck from Arizona to Ohio, Tia met her project deadlines by November 2020, successfully executing the cleaning services and securing additional contracts.

Tia Johnson [13:03]:
"We started at the end of the year. So it's November, the temperatures are starting to drop... we killed it. Like they loved it."

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Navigating Contract Cancellations and Finding New Opportunities

Despite initial successes, another setback emerged when the city of Columbus decided to discontinue the pilot program due to funding reallocations, leaving Tia's business in jeopardy once again.

Tia Johnson [14:23]:
"Can you fix this problem? Yes, I'm gonna fix it... we have to move forward... due to funding, we're no longer moving forward with this project."

Feeling defeated, Tia grappled with financial instability, as her only contract was abruptly canceled.

Tia Johnson [16:48]:
"It was the only contract that I had at that time, and I had no idea how I was going to survive."

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Bouncing Back with Strategic Partnerships

Refusing to succumb to adversity, Tia sought out new opportunities by reaching out to a waste hauler facing negative publicity. Her proactive approach led to a crucial demonstration that revitalized her business prospects.

Tia Johnson [23:22]:
"We go out, we do the demonstration... He says, will you guys travel? And I say, yeah, we travel."

This strategic partnership resulted in cleaning over 3,000 trash cans within a year, significantly boosting her revenue by 300%.

Tia Johnson [24:26]:
"We cleaned over 3,000 containers that year with that particular waste hauler... increase our revenue by 300%."

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Expanding and Diversifying the Business

Building on her initial success, Tia expanded Fresh Bloom Bins to include trash can delivery and composting services. She also focused on community engagement by hiring individuals from vulnerable neighborhoods, including those who were formerly incarcerated.

Tia Johnson [27:58]:
"We work with London Correctional... inmates... turn it into compost... sell it to the community for community gardens."

Her commitment to social responsibility not only strengthened community ties but also provided meaningful employment opportunities.

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Lessons Learned and Advice for Entrepreneurs

Reflecting on her journey, Tia shares invaluable lessons for aspiring entrepreneurs:

1. Embrace a Balance of Naivety and Research: Tia advises being "a little naive, but not blind naive," advocating for thorough research to build a sustainable business foundation.

   Tia Johnson [31:12]:
   "Be a little naive, but not blind naive... do a little homework... digging to make sure that you can build something that you can be proud of."

2. Know Your Numbers: Understanding financial metrics is crucial for business viability.

   Tia Johnson [31:42]:
   "Know your numbers. I don't care how passionate you are about the cookies, the cakes, the pies, the trash can cleaning... understand what questions to ask."

3. Resilience and Adaptability: Persisting through setbacks and remaining adaptable to changing circumstances are key to long-term success.

   Ben Walter [32:14]:
   "A mentor of mine once taught me that revenue is vanity, but profit is sanity."

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Final Thoughts and Future Prospects

As the episode wraps up, Ben Walter highlights the continued growth and diversification of Fresh Bloom Bins, emphasizing Tia’s commitment to community and environmental sustainability. He also teases the upcoming second season of The Unshakeables, promising more inspiring stories from small business owners across America.

Ben Walter [32:30]:
"We have so many more incredible small business stories from across America and I can't wait for you to hear them."

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Conclusion

This episode of The Unshakeables serves as a testament to the unwavering spirit of small business owners like Tia Johnson. Her story underscores the importance of resilience, strategic partnerships, and a deep commitment to community values. For aspiring entrepreneurs, Tia's journey offers both inspiration and practical insights into navigating the unpredictable landscape of small business ownership.

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Notable Quotes:

• Ben Walter [00:07]:
  "Some of the best business ideas come from an unserved need."

• Tia Johnson [01:08]:
  "I can't let them see me cry... I bawled my eyes out because I had no idea where our next dollar would come from."

• Desmond Bryant [07:06]:
  "The chamber... connects, communicates, and convenes to support the business community."

• Tia Johnson [31:12]:
  "Be a little naive, but not blind naive... do a little homework."

• Ben Walter [32:14]:
  "Revenue is vanity, but profit is sanity."

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Join us next season as we continue to uncover the unshakeable stories of small business heroes shaping their communities every day.

Transcript

[Ruby]

Ruby.

[Ben Walter]

Some of the best business ideas come from an unserved need. You have a problem and you come up with a solution. For Tia Johnson, that problem was dirty trash cans in her house and her struggle to get her teenagers to clean them. She realized that if she had that problem, everyone else did too.

[Tia Johnson]

And I get outside and the trash can is disgusting. It has all of the flies, the maggots in, the odors.

[Ben Walter]

She knew she could fix the problem, so she contacted her local representative and pitched a pilot program. The city liked the idea and offered her a contract to begin cleaning trash cans and dumpsters all over the city in the spring.

[Tia Johnson]

I would honestly say after getting that contract, I absolutely thought the company would be successful. Like, how can you lose?

[Ben Walter]

So winter ended, the weather was warming up, and Tia was waiting for a call from the city. And she got it. But when it came, it wasn't the update she expected.

[Tia Johnson]

So we eventually schedule a Zoom call. And that's when I received the devastating news. Just thinking about it makes me relive that moment and all I could think about is, I can't let them see me cry. And I said, okay. And I got off the zoom and I bawled my eyes out because I had no idea where our next dollar would come from. It was the only contract that I had at that time, and it was just taken away.

[Ben Walter]

Welcome to the Unshakables from Chase for Business and Ruby Studio from iHeartMedia. I'm Ben Walter, CEO of Chase for Business. On the Unshakeables, we're sharing the daring moments of small business owners facing their crisis points and telling the stories of how they got through it. This week, we're in Ohio with two incredible folks. Tia Johnson, founder and CEO of Fresh Bloom Bins, is joining us today. We'll also hear from Desmond Bryant. Des is the vice president of government relations at the Columbus Chamber of Commerce. Des.

[Ruby]

Hi, Ben. How you doing?

[Ben Walter]

Thank you for being on the show and thanks for having this conversation with us today. He's helping small businesses every day, supporting them as they navigate opportunities within the community and advocating for policy, policy changes that will support them as they grow. On today's episode, Fresh Bloom Bins from Columbus, Ohio. I just gotta say, I have a soft spot for Ohio. Much of my family is from there, and we have one of the largest Chase offices in the country in Ohio because we know how great it is to do business there. Great people, affordable amenities, and a pro business government. So I was thrilled to be speaking with a Columbus based business owner. Tia, it's awesome to have you. Thank you for being on the show.

[Tia Johnson]

Thank you for having me. It's awesome to be here.

[Ben Walter]

The name of Tia's company is Fresh Bloom Bins. And I'm not ashamed to say I did practice saying it before we spoke. I'm going to see if I can say it three times fast. Fresh Bloom bins. Fresh Bloom Bins. Fresh Bloom Bins. All right. It's a little bit of a tongue twister. The core of Tia's business is cleaning dumpsters and trash cans. And we dove into the conversation how she first got into sanitation. What excites her? But it was the numbers that caught my attention.

[Tia Johnson]

It's the unsexy part about business, right? Like, it's when you know all the cans are cleaned and you're going through the numbers.

[Ben Walter]

I love this. I mean, this is what's beautiful about this podcast. One of our clients just said to a banker, the unsexy part of business, of the business, is all the numbers. The sexy part is cleaning the trash cans. Now, no one's ever said that before, so that's great.

[Tia Johnson]

That is the fun and sexy part.

[Ben Walter]

It's not every day someone thinks cleaning trash cans is sexy, but Tia does. It's also not every day that inspiration for a business like this just pops into someone's head. But that's what happened to TIA in 2019.

[Tia Johnson]

It all started on a hot summer day. I went to go take the trash out, and it was filled with flies, maggots, and odor.

[Ben Walter]

Yum.

[Tia Johnson]

So I know, right? I told my teenage son that he had to clean the trash can when he came home from school. And of course, he gave me all of the teenage attitude, don't nobody want to clean no trash can as he stomped down the hallway.

[Ben Walter]

I mean, he's kind of right. I mean, I know, like, I don't want to clean a trash can.

[Tia Johnson]

Nobody does, but it has to get done every now and then. And I'm like, shark shoulders. My mom card has been pulled, and you're cleaning this, right? Like, I was sitting on the couch, and I'm like, nobody wants to clean the trash can. But it's one of those things that just have to be done. And I'm like, I'm gonna solve this problem. So I stay up all night researching on the Internet how to build a trash cleaning machine and trash can cleaning.

[Ben Walter]

Not that many people actually clean trash cans. And at the same time, neither did Tia. Her career up to that point had nothing to do with sanitation at all. She'd worked At Verizon Wireless for 10 years, then taught personal finance to girls and young women in schools. It was around that time that she had the initial spark of inspiration for fresh bloom bins. She kept exploring the concept in her downtime.

[Tia Johnson]

As I was talking to more people, I was like, oh, wait, this is bigger than what I thought it was. Like, this is a real business, and I could do this.

[Ben Walter]

So she started to tell people she knew about the idea.

[Tia Johnson]

And it was going into that, like, telling people about it, right? Like, hey, I think I want to do this trash bin cleaning thing. And they're like, what? You're crazy. Who cleans trash cans?

[Ben Walter]

But Tia had a woman she called her entrepreneur mom, who she knew would support her no matter what. And tia was right. Her entrepreneur mom loved the idea.

[Tia Johnson]

She calls me and she's like, I want to invest in this. Sit down and talk about it. And, like, tears just start flowing from my eyes because I'm like, I can't believe she believes in me like this. We go over, we have this meeting on, like, you know, what I want to do and my plans. She's like, okay, I'm going to think about it, and I'm going to get back to you. And I'm like, okay. She gets back to me, and she says, I love the concept, but you don't know enough about trash. So I'm out. Oh, I died. I die in so many different ways.

[Ben Walter]

So, des, I want to bring you in here. What a pivotal moment in Tia's journey, You know, one that lots of entrepreneurs face. She believes in an idea, but others around her don't. Talk to me a little bit about mentorship. You, I mean, you work for the chamber of commerce. Is that somewhere small business owners can go for support? And where else can they go?

[Ruby]

So when a small business owner has this seed of an idea, it's important they seek out as much advice and mentorship as they can. But it has to be the right advice and the right mentor. You want to find your. Yes, people who are going to be realistic but supportive of your idea. It's unfortunate Tia's mentor didn't see the opportunity in her idea, but maybe it comes down to timing. And in a twist, maybe Tia's time wasn't then, it's now. I've been with the chamber for almost four years now, and I will tell you what was embedded in my head when I came here was what we categorized as the three connecting, communicating, and convening, where we connect folks to networking opportunities, opportunities with respect to Job growth, mentorship opportunities. When it comes to convening, we have about, I think this year, 67 plus events where we bring folks together through panel discussions, maybe one on one discuss. We establish places for folks to convene, meet, network, so on and so forth. Now, when it comes to communication, we push out and disseminate all types of information, whether it's about something that will impact your business directly or indirectly. And so when it comes to being a resource for the business community, there's a slew of things that the chamber does.

[Ben Walter]

Okay, so back to Tia's story. With her trash dreams dashed, she went back to her day job working in schools, and that was that. Until something unexpected happened and her business took a hit.

[Tia Johnson]

2020 hits, right? School shut down and I lose 60% of my revenue because it was all in person.

[Ben Walter]

Now, with nothing left to lose, she jumped headfirst back into that brilliant idea.

[Tia Johnson]

And I said, everybody's talking about cleaning and sanitation right now. I will never let anyone kill my dreams again.

[Ben Walter]

From that point on, in Tia's own words, it was pedal to the metal. She dredged up all that research from her all nighter, and in order to literally put the pedal to the metal, she needed to get her hands on a truck.

[Tia Johnson]

I was talking to the builders on timelines getting the truck, and of course there was a lot of unknowns at that time. And they were like, oh, we can probably get you a truck in like six to eight weeks. And I'm like, okay, I'm gonna start selling for the next six to eight. And I had really thought about doing single family homes, so going to individual homeowners with like a door to door sales model.

[Ben Walter]

But again, this was during the big COVID lockdowns.

[Tia Johnson]

I'm like, I don't think that that's the best market for me right now. So I quickly switched to government. I said, wait, I'm going to go after corporate and government clients. Like, they are getting funding. They're looking for ways to clean stuff. Trash cans are nasty. Everybody's throwing away all this PP gear. So I started to pitch to some of the city council members. I eventually get in front of the director of trash and he's like, I have a problem. We have these trash cans that have been out 15 years, 20 years, no one's ever cleaned them. They're disgusting, they're nasty. People complain about them all the time. Can you fix this problem? Yes, I'm gonna fix it. Right. I'll figure it out later. We give them a timeline on like when we can start and you know, it's all laid out, I get the po, I get the contract.

[Ben Walter]

First of all, just for everybody's benefit, you don't have a truck, you've never done this before, and you go out and you get a not so small US municipal organization to give you a contract.

[Tia Johnson]

How I always tell everyone, now that I can look back on it, the trash gods was in my favor. One of the skills that I really tried to lean on, to lean into as a small business owner was sales. And part of that was the relationships. So I had a lot of healthy relationships in the community that supported me, put me in the right direction, was able to get me in front of the right people or give me feedback so that I could really make this thing come to life. Outside of that, it was really the.

[Ben Walter]

Trash gods, well, you know, you take help from anywhere, so. So you land this contract, you place an order for this truck. Where's the truck?

[Tia Johnson]

In Arizona.

[Ben Walter]

Which is, as I'm sure you've realized by now, not Ohio. And now I'd like to share a short story with you. It's called How I Got the Truck by Tia Johnson.

[Tia Johnson]

How I got the truck. I'm telling you, my belief system is in a whole different place. So I'd never been in trucking before, right? Each truck is about $120,000. They deny me financing for this truck and said, based on your background, I don't think this is a good fit. So I get connected to an investor and I tell him I have the contract, the truck is being built, I just need to be able to get the trucks. And he said, well, that's easy. He's been in the box trucking industry for 10 plus years. So he actually gets my truck financed. I go to Arizona, catch a flight, I have a CDL driver come out there with me. But yes, we drive this truck from Phoenix, Arizona to Ohio in like November.

[Ben Walter]

Now that the truck was back in Ohio, Tia now had to use the truck to make her deadline before her contract was up.

[Tia Johnson]

So we were expecting to start around like August or September and that was cool. We started at the end of the year. So it's November, the temperatures are starting to drop. We had a three man crew. We have to buy all the gear for the staff. We were able to get the routes. We initially start by following the trash trucks after the trash is collected and we just started rocking and rolling and we killed it. Like they loved it. Admins came out from the Department of Refuge, seen it, they were like, blown away. We were able to get a second part of the contract completed indoors, and that was, like, the ultimate win. I would honestly say, after getting that contract, I absolutely thought the company would be successful. Like, just based on my experience in working with, like, government contracts, they normally don't have, like, a swift turnover. Right. Like, you're normally in there for a while. And based on that, I felt comfortable of going out and continuing to build.

[Ben Walter]

In case you didn't know, you can't power wash when the temperature is below freezing. So this was November of 2020, and the clock was ticking. Tia ended her first year with a huge win. And based on the pilot program's success, she also had a new contract in hand that would resume work with the city of Columbus in the spring when it was warmer.

[Tia Johnson]

Well, the weather starts to break. We're asking about, you know, like, next steps and. Oh, you know, we have a lot going on right now. Yes, we're still moving forward. We're just looking at how to move forward. So now we're right around, like, April, May, and haven't heard from them in a while. And it's always been a good, quality conversation, and now it's just starting to get very, very weird. There's this conversation that is scheduled for a meeting, how, like, what next steps look like. So we're all on Zoom, and they say, we decided, due to funding, we're no longer moving forward with this project. The municipality actually decided that those containers that we were anticipating cleaning on a scheduled basis, they were removing them from the entire city. So I had this truck that's designed to clean this container. I had no money coming in, and I had money going out. And I was like, this is scary. How am I going to overcome this? I felt very, very, very, very defeated in that moment. Like a failure in one part of it, broken in another part and angry in other areas. Very angry. Because this is the area of my life I can control. Right. Like, in business, I win. I set a course, I set a destination. I know what direction this boat is rowing in. So I would say during that call, I was just so broken, and I could feel myself saying, I can't let them see me cry. There was this dryness in my throat that I let him speak, and I said, okay. And I got off the zoom and I bawled my eyes out because I had no idea where our next dollar would come from. It was the only contract that I had at that time. I had no idea how I was going to survive.

[Ben Walter]

And my guess is in Your head. You'd spent some of the money, Right? Like you. You were counting on that revenue.

[Tia Johnson]

I was counting on that revenue. That was, like, the base I was naive to believe, like, oh, I got this government contract, and we can scale from here. Right. I really had thought. I thought it out, but it didn't work out like that.

[Ben Walter]

Yeah. And then the rug got pulled out.

[Tia Johnson]

Yes, the rug got pulled out.

[Ben Walter]

Des, you heard Tia's story. She was participating in a pilot program, and she counted on that revenue as the basis for her business. And then that pilot was canceled, and that revenue evaporated. Is there a specific lesson in that, or is that something people should always be aware of?

[Ruby]

Yeah, I'm glad that you asked me that. In Tia's situation, I'm happy that she was able to acquire that contract. But I think the lesson that should be learned from her particular journey is when it comes to the government, their budgets fluctuate. Let's be honest. Budgets from a governmental standpoint are gonna be tightening. So when it comes to pilot projects, when it comes to spending, they start scaling those things back, and they start reevaluating. What can we use and what do we need not to use? With respect to Tia's service that she was providing, what if we just hired someone to do the work that she was providing to us? It might be cheaper, it might not be, but we're gonna evaluate that. But in Tia's case, it would have been to ensure that she leveraged that contract, for lack of a better term, as an endorsement of her product and or service. And she can go into different rooms and say, the city believed in me. They believe, and they're utilizing my service. You should, too. And a lot of folks will say, well, heck, yeah, the city said you're good. Then, yeah, let's talk business. Because you never know with the government what's going to happen with their budgets or their spending or their desire to continue to do business with you. Or you might have someone competing with you, and they might outbid you.

[Ben Walter]

Yep.

[Ruby]

So there's all types of things that can happen.

[Ben Walter]

I think a lot of our listeners either do business with governments or would like to. How should small businesses think about working with particularly state and local governments? The federal government's a whole different animal. But state and local governments, where do you even start?

[Ruby]

Most of your larger municipalities and even smaller have a procurement office that handle the purchasing of various products, supplies, whatever it may be, and even services. So when you're thinking about cleaning services, when you're thinking about supplies, like office supplies, things. As simple as that, there is someone within those agencies that are purchasing things from companies like ts. That's where you want to start. Now prior to engaging the government, you want to ensure that you have your in house things together as well. And what I mean by that is that you want to ensure that you have what they call a capability statement. It's very simple. What is your business? How long has it been founded? Are there other clients or other customers that you have? Who are they? How long have you had them? What products and or services have you provided to them? What kind of products do you have? What kind of services do you offer? I highly encourage it be one page. And so when you're getting started, again, capability statement, business plan and relationship building with I would categorize them as targeted staff, those procurement officers. Now it doesn't hurt to have or engage elected officials as well. So when you're talking about the mayor's office, when you're talking about maybe the small business chair of city council, just letting them know they're not going to guarantee you a contract or anything of that nature. But at least again, relationship building, that's what a lot of these contracts are garnered off of, is do I know this person? Can I trust them? And if I can trust them, I can more likely trust the product or services that they're providing.

[Ben Walter]

So Tia's story in that way was unusual, right? Because her first contract was with the government. That is not what most people should expect.

[Ruby]

And that's why it was a pilot program. Right, because they wanted to ensure what she was offering was quality. Right. And so I look at that pilot program that they offered her as just a test. Hey, let's see if what service you're providing is applicable, Is it successful? Can it work? And I trust you, I trust your business. And so we're going to give you a temporary placement to do some business and we're going to see how well you do. And in her case, she did well.

[Ben Walter]

But a pilot is far from a guarantee is what you're saying.

[Ruby]

Oh, absolutely, absolutely.

[Ben Walter]

Got it. So does how should people think about the actual process? Sometimes there's RFPs, sometimes there's open calls for vendors. I'm guessing that it can be a bit paperwork heavy, a bit process heavy, but maybe I'm wrong or does it depend?

[Ruby]

It depends. However, it can be a bit of a lengthy process. It's accountability. More than likely this government agency is going to purchase your products and or services with tax dollars. So they have to ensure that what you say you are and who you say you are and the product and or service that you're providing is what it is. And so when it comes to landing a contract with the government, yeah, they're going to ask you from various questions, they're going to wonder if you're a minority owned company or a veteran owned company or a woman owned company. They're going to ask you questions to verify that status. What I tell folks that are going through that process is just to be resilient, get it in. There are resources out there that can help you navigate the complexities of those documentations you have. Here in Columbus they have the MBAC office, the Minority Business Assistance center that they will help you with those different types of certifications. So don't think that you're doing this alone. I hope that if you do get through that process that it will be well worth it for you at your particular enterprise.

[Ben Walter]

So it's interesting you mentioned programs that lots of governments have for minority entrepreneurs or women owned businesses. One of the things I've heard from clients over time is you still got to put your best foot forward and you still have to deliver a compelling value proposition for the government. They're not going to hire you just because you're a minority or women owned. You got to be good at what you do.

[Ruby]

That is absolutely right. And at the end of the day you have to deliver your products on time, you have to do good work and you have to be patient as well. And so I'm encouraging folks large and small, mid sized businesses that are out there, if this is your first contract with the government, whether it's a small contract, a subcontract opportunity, take it. And I'm telling you, if they enjoy or they like the product that you're providing, you will see more, you will see more opportunities.

[Ben Walter]

It was Now April of 2021 and TIA is pretty leveraged at this point. She was losing money and she put everything she had into this company. She didn't have a backup plan. She had to find something, anything to keep moving.

[Tia Johnson]

At the time there was a waste hauler that was here that was getting some really bad press. So I had reached out to their marketing department. I sent them an email and I was like, hey, we need a feel good story. You know, like you guys are getting some terrible reviews. Can we work together in some capacity? Maybe you offer a free cleaning service. And they said no. But they were interested enough that they invited one of the executives from another city to come here to Columbus and see A demonstration. So we scheduled the demo. I think I gave us like, a week maybe. I'm like, we gotta be out here practicing. Like, we did it a million times. They're cleaning the same trash cans over.

[Ben Walter]

If that seems like overkill, Remember, Tia hasn't had income for almost six months. At this point. She's supporting her staff, living off the little bit of money she made on the first pilot program contract. There was no way she was going to mess up this demo.

[Tia Johnson]

So we go out, we do the demonstration. We even have a hiccup at the demonstration. And he's like, oh, I've seen enough. So he says, will you guys travel? And I'm like, yeah, we travel. He says, I have about 3,000 trash cans two hours from here that need to be cleaned. I said, heck, yes. Like today. And we cleaned over 3,000 containers that year with that particular waste hauler. We were able then to renegotiate our service agreement with the local municipality as well. That allowed me to turn around and increase our revenue by 300.

[Ben Walter]

Wow. So you basically, like, just when you thought, how am I gonna do this? A whole bunch of stuff starts to come through.

[Tia Johnson]

Just when I thought I was gonna die and the guy was gonna have to, like, just take me away.

[Ben Walter]

And so do you still work with that trash hauler?

[Tia Johnson]

I do.

[Ben Walter]

So now the business starts to really scale, right? Now that you've gotten over that hump and you start have to really hire people and build it out, right?

[Tia Johnson]

Oh, my gosh, yes. The business started to scale project going with cleaning trash cans. By 2022, we got into delivering trash cans and then still had to run my operations here in Columbus with the bin cleaning and the trash can removal services.

[Ben Walter]

Wow.

[Tia Johnson]

So I was stretched. I've learned so much about myself during that time. I got to know me personally.

[Ben Walter]

And what did you learn about yourself? What did you discover?

[Tia Johnson]

I jumped into an industry slightly blind. Slightly. What's the best word I can use?

[Ben Walter]

Naive, maybe.

[Tia Johnson]

Naive. Very, very naive, thinking I could do this. But there was a lot more to the industry that I needed to learn. There was a lot more skill sets as a leader.

[Ben Walter]

One of the things you said is that you were a little naive when you got into this industry. I mean, you're out there trying to sell. You're honest about that, but, you know, nobody's going to buy from someone who says, well, I don't know what I'm doing. So tell me more about that.

[Tia Johnson]

Some of it's borrowed confidence. I borrow confidence all the time. Other people are already doing it. What are you so afraid of? I'm very comfortable with sales and asking my customers, what is it that they want from me. They weren't looking for experts. They were just looking for people who could show up. Also partnering with other people that are really good at what I'm not good at. I don't need to know everything. I need to know enough that I can get the job done and then just ask a lot of questions. I stay very curious in learning and continue to grow.

[Ben Walter]

Beyond trash, Tia is now involved in composting. She acquired a composting company.

[Tia Johnson]

We work with London Correctional here, where the inmates actually take the material that we bring to them and turn it into compost, and then we take that material and we actually sell it to the community for community gardens and things like that.

[Ben Walter]

Tia mentioned London Correctional specifically here, but she often works with folks who were formerly incarcerated from all over the city.

[Tia Johnson]

I decided I want to make this bigger than trash can cleaning. I had to sell the bigger picture. So I was really selling this idea of supporting a female business owner and how they can help grow and be part of something. I want to ask how we can show up for our community. So when we started cleaning trash cans, we actually started cleaning in some of the most vulnerable neighborhoods. So we were retaining talent from the neighborhood, saying, hey, we're going to be out here. We're going to be helping keeping your community clean. We were able to offer them employment without necessarily looking at any of the blemishes on their record. That would be a positive impact on the community.

[Ben Walter]

Q From our last episode also makes it a point to hire formerly incarcerated individuals. So I wanted to ask Tia a little bit more about that. What makes it challenging at times, but also makes it rewarding.

[Tia Johnson]

So there's a level of compassion that just in me and wanted to be able to become an employer that recognized that at some point in our life, we all can have made a bad decision, and that decision for others looks different. And how can we offer an employment where we didn't have that stereotype or stigma of this is who you are, simply because this is what you've done? Is there an opportunity to show that I can do something different and I can do something better and I can be part of something?

[Ben Walter]

It would be helpful, Des, if you could talk to us a little bit about Ohio itself. I mean, are you a native?

[Ruby]

Yeah, I am a native. Akron, Ohio. Born and raised in Akron, Ohio, home of LeBron James. You gotta say that it's like a.

[Ben Walter]

Law somewhere Yeah, I know it is a law, but that's okay. Someday he'll come home again for the third time. So can you talk a little bit about why Ohio is a great place to do business, what you love about doing business there, and why small business owners should consider Ohio?

[Ruby]

I would say Ohio is a continuously growing state. We have companies like Intel, Amgen, we have aws, Amazon, Meta. We have all of these folks that are coming to this state. So that is additional jobs. Right. We have some of the best institutions, universities here, some of the best primary, secondary school districts in this state. And so when you're talking about the new workforce, folks that are graduating from these wonderful universities, they need a place to work. And so if you're a business owner, you got some talent coming out of these amazing, you know, universities and colleges. So that should be appealing to you when it comes to land use and the availability of land, the costs associated with that particular land, resources, talent, land. Yeah, I mean, we have it all.

[Ben Walter]

I want to end with a question that I ask of all of our guests on this show, which is a lot of people who listen to this show are either small business owners or aspiring small business owners. What's one piece of advice you would give them?

[Tia Johnson]

Oh, my gosh. Be a little naive, but not blind naive, right? Like maybe do, you know, a little bit more research? I think once you get excited about an idea, like, you just want to take off with it, do a little homework, a little bit of that digging to make sure that you can build something that you can be proud of. I have 10. Like, wait, I'll give you a bonus one.

[Ben Walter]

You can have one more.

[Tia Johnson]

Okay, so a bonus one. Know your numbers. I don't care how passionate you are about the cookies, the cakes, the pies, the trash can cleaning. We all get into business for a reason, and that's to generate revenue, get you a good cpa, a bookkeeper, and understand what questions to ask. I focus a lot on revenue, and that's why our business struggle with profits, because we weren't necessarily doing it the right way.

[Ben Walter]

Yeah. A mentor of mine once taught me that revenue is vanity, but profit is sanity. And yes, doesn't matter how big the revenue number is. If it's not profitable, it's just not going to work. Tia, thank you very much. It was terrific to meet you.

[Tia Johnson]

Yes, thank you so much.

[Ben Walter]

Thanks so much for listening to this episode of the Unshakeables and to Tia Johnson and DEZ Bryant for speaking with us today. If you liked this episode, please rate and review it. It'll help us find more listeners. This is usually where we mention what our next episode will be. Today, though, I have an update. We'll be back in early 2025 with season two of the Unshakables. We have so many more incredible small business stories from across America and I can't wait for you to hear them them. In the meantime, if you know someone who may like the series, please tell them about it. I'm Ben Walter and this is the Unshakables from Chase for Business and Ruby Studio for My Heart Media. We'll see you back here soon.