Carey Jones has owned many businesses in his lifetime. His newest – Reliable Rolloff Solutions – is a commercial/residential dumpster service he launched with a dear family friend, Donald “DJ” Jones, in Wayne County in 2016.
Quickly, Jones realized this company’s challenges differed from those he’d launched earlier.
“I’d never owned a business that was growing as fast as this one, and one so capital intensive,” he said. “I needed a second opinion to make sure we weren’t making mistakes.”
So, he contacted David Lewis, area director of the Brunswick Office of the University of Georgia Small Business Development Center (SBDC).
“I was not familiar with David or the SBDC, even with my 30 years of experience,” Jones said. “My daughter, who had started a personal care home, got in touch with the SBDC and started singing its praises. She suggested I try it.”
Lewis assisted Jones with QuickBooks and record keeping. Then Lewis helped Jones do an analysis on using transfer stations versus hauling trash to landfills one truck at a time.
“Carey would send me his numbers, we’d trend them and put them into an analysis,” he said. “Then he’d look for key performance indicators that made sense to him. He used this financial information to make strategic decisions.”
Jones admits he’s a “numbers geek” who enjoys looking at numbers, percentages and trends. “I knew revenues and expenses but didn’t know how to drill deeper. David was able to help us there.”
Their analyses led Jones to buy land, get zoned and open transfer stations in Wayne and Pierce counties. He then expanded services to include portable restroom and toilet rentals.
Reliable Rolloff Solutions has grown from two to 22 employees. Sales revenues grew nearly 10 times the first two years, then doubled from 2020 to 2021.
“DJ and I apply the ‘Golden Rule’ philosophy,” he said. “We hire, raise and promote those who weren’t in the right place, who couldn’t grow, and they stay with us. We’re very humbled and blessed with this company’s growth.”
Jones plans to develop a third transfer station in Coffee County in 2022, doubling the company’s current market area.
“The UGA SBDC should be required for all businesses,” he said. “You may think ‘that’s not what I really need. I have a lot of business experience,’ but that’s not accurate. It’s a very good small business program for all.
