Entrepreneur Anthony Jones successfully closed a deal with two Dragon’s Den investors on the November 20, 2013 airing of the show. Jones, thrilled at the outcome, explains how he lived out of his half-ton truck when he first started, to build the business literally from the ground up.

“I remember waking up from the sound of the engine running in my half-ton truck at 5am after a night of sleeping in the back seat. I would park every evening at the local truck stop and I would prepare the back seat with the two “large doggy pillows” that I had scrambled for the cash to purchase, (my reason for the doggy pillows was that they are packed with hay and insulation so not to create dampness and humidity,) lay down my sleeping bag, put on my sweatpants, hooded sweater, 2 layers of socks, turn up the radio and fall asleep. When I woke up, I would climb into the front seat and drive to the local YMCA, use the facilities, shower, gym and bathroom – I would get cleaned up and would head off to work. I would buy food that didn’t have a shelf life and would only eat when I needed because I was more worried about having enough money to purchase fuel to stay warm…that was my priority. After a long day’s work I would repeat the same routine.”

Jones is no stranger to business, in fact, prior to starting “Hunky Haulers” he successfully ran a commercial sub-contracting construction company at the age of 19, with $600 to his name. By the time he was 29, they were up to $20 million in labor contracts ($300 million in labor and supply signed contracts to fulfill.) As a result, Jones moved his operations outside of Canada and set up his business in the United States. Unfortunately, in the fall of 2008 when the recession hit, Anthony had to liquidate this business in order to ensure he could make payroll due to uncollectable receivables. By January of 2009, he had to lay off over 200 union men and women employees and start from scratch.

“When I lost my business in 2009 after the recession – I remember thinking, now what? Now it’s going to get hard, what do I do? I started Hunky Haulers in March of 2011 based on an idea to be in a business that would allow me the opportunity to serve the community and give back, I wanted to create something that changed the way people looked at the service industry – the way the service industry looked at the community and the way we empowered businesses, people, churches, charities, ideas, sports programs – around us” said Anthony Jones, CEO of Hunky Haulers. “When I received the email from the producers of CBC’s hit show – Dragons Den, I immediately was excited but was nervous and scared because I didn’t know how I could afford to get there –I mustered up the courage, the little money I had and started driving, didn’t look back and the rest is history. The most important thing that I learned from this experience is that EVERYTHING that is most important to you – that matters the most, WILL fit into a half ton truck, everything else in life is trivial…”

About Hunky Haulers
Hunky Haulers® offers a full-service Clutter Cleanup Crew that has an edge on the market.

They aren’t your average junk removal company; they don’t look at their community neighbor’s items as “junk.” There are memories associated with every item, so they like to consider what they do as “Clutter Cleanup” and creating a fresh start for these items. They offer a NO OBLIGATION on-site free estimate and are proud to be able to give our customers 100% satisfaction and service at more than 15% – 20% cheaper rate than their competition.

Hunky Haulers® corporate culture and policies are centered around social awareness and being a community leader. They work with a number of local, national and international charities.

About Dragon’s Den
Launching a business is no small task. No matter how big an idea you think you have, it still takes a lot of work and a ton of cash. Enter the Dragons’ Den, where aspiring entrepreneurs pitch their business concepts and products to a panel of Canadian business moguls who have the cash and the know-how to make it happen. They’ve all been there themselves, so you better not enter the Den unprepared. It takes more than passion to convince these boardroom barons that your idea is worth their investment. The Dragons are ruthless and rightly so – it’s their own personal money on the line.

DRAGONS’ DEN is filmed at CBC and airs Wednesdays at 8 p.m. (8:30 NT) and encores Sundays at 9 p.m.

If you are interested in speaking to any of the Dragons or host Dianne Buckner, please feel free to contact Erin Richards at CBC, (416) 205 7994, Erin.Richards@cbc.ca.

Contact Details: Website: www.hunkyhaulers.com
Toll Free: 1-855-438-4865
Direct: 604-355-4865
anthony@hunkyhaulers.com
Mail: Suite 205 – 17750 Hwy10
Cloverdale, B.C. V3S1K4 Canada
The Hunk Quarters: Suite 469 – 604 Columbia St.
New Westminster, B.C. V3M1A5 Canada

For more information about this topic, Hunky Haulers Corporate Giving Strategies, or to schedule an interview with Anthony Jones, CEO of Hunky Haulers, call (778) 549-3419 or email Marco Pasqua, Director of Corporate Giving and PR at marco@hunkyhaulers.com