Today we’d like to introduce you to John Hancock.
John, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
My wife, a Realtor, saw that a company in Canada was doing what we now do, and found it a great idea, especially as she has consistently had ecological concerns. We contacted the company, and they weren’t interested in franchising down in Texas, so we thought that we could do it ourselves, and we have. We hired a local art student to design a logo, bought some boxes and wardrobes, put a magnetic sign on my truck and started up. It was quite slow at first, as not only were people not familiar with us, but also they were not familiar with the concept – as most still are not. We stay busy these days mostly by word of mouth. We also hired someone to help with SEO, and she has helped quite a bit also, and this was a concept we were unfamiliar with when we began.
Has it been a smooth road?
Certainly, the road has not been perfectly smooth. First off, I’m an ex-English teacher, not science, and I was not aware how majestically our containers would fly off the back of the truck were they not battened down well. Several of the methods of our getting our name out there have done not been successful while being costly. And as I’ve mentioned, the service we provide is still not well-known throughout the Dallas-Fort Worth area.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
What we do is deliver rentable, reusable moving supplies throughout the Dallas-Fort Worth area. We’re ecological, economical, and easy. The way it works is order is placed by phone or online, we deliver, the customer packs moves, and unpacks, and then we pick up at the new address. To give an idea of cost, a three-bedroom package for a two-week rental is $120 for 75 plastic boxes with affixed lids – extra weeks being only $30. Many of our customers have stated that using these boxes took an hour off their move, so if you’re paying the moving company by the hour, they help pay for themselves. While we’re aware that most moves contain some anxiety, we do our best not to be the source of it, so we take to heart consideration for our customers.
One thing we noticed immediately is that it is too much to ask most people to pack, move, and unpack in one week, so we provide two weeks of rental at the old cost of one. We also do not “fraction” our customers. Regardless of the length of rental, we give six extra days if wanted – if you don’t use an entire week, we don’t charge you for it. Though it’s nice to have a warning, we have been able to provide supplies to people on the same day they order. One nice aspect of not being a franchise and being a small family business is that we get to make up the rules as we go along. If we have the capability to accommodate someone, we will do it. And we’ll travel to do it. At last count we have been to 63 cities in the Dallas – Fort Worth area – we’ve been everywhere, man!
Is our city a good place to do what you do?
Dallas is easily a great place to start a business like ours. Just look at the moving vans out on the road. And the people of the city are open to new ideas, especially those that make their life easier and help them feel good about contributing to the welfare of our environment.
Pricing:
- Packages begin with the one-bedroom, which brings 35 boxes for two weeks for $80. Extra weeks are $15.
- Wardrobes are $10 for the duration of a rental.
- Dollies are also $10 for the duration of a rental.
Contact Info:
- Website: elephanttrunk.net
- Phone: 214-755-4675
- Email: john@elephanttrunk.net
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/elephanttrunktx/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/search/top/?q=elephant%20trunk%20moving%20supplies&epa=SEARCH_BOX
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/elephanttrunktx
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/elephant-trunk-moving-supplies-plano
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