Moving From Friends to Franchises with Omar Soliman and Nick Friedman

10/28/19 • 34 min

Word to the Rise | A Career Advice Podcast

Friends Omar Soliman and Nick Friedman turned a summer junk hauling business into an international franchise. Here's how two "college hunks" built a culture that grew their brand.

It started out like many summer gigs: Childhood friends Omar Soliman and Nick Friedman were sitting around a table, figuring out how to make money while they were home from college.

The duo and their friends had landed on the idea of hauling people's trash in a beat-up cargo van borrowed from Soliman's mother.

"We were drinking beer and throwing out ridiculous, funny names, and my mom said, 'You're like college hunks who haul junk,'" Soliman recalled. "We thought, 'Hey, that's a cool name.'"

Little did they know that this was the beginning of an international franchise, now known as College H.U.N.K.S. Hauling Junk & Moving.

With a brand name and a solid concept, the rag-tag group of college students posted flyers around the suburbs of Washington, D.C. It didn't take long for the calls to start coming in, and the friends spent the next few months waking up at sunrise and driving the van around to haul garbage for local residents. They had earned more than $8,000.

For the first time in their young lives, Soliman and Friedman had found their passion — not moving garbage, but being entrepreneurs.

Noteworthy:

Where To Find Nick & Omar:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/CollegeHunks Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/collegehunks/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CollegeHunksHaulingJunk/ Website: https://www.collegehunkshaulingjunk.com/

Friends Omar Soliman and Nick Friedman turned a summer junk hauling business into an international franchise. Here's how two "college hunks" built a culture that grew their brand.

It started out like many summer gigs: Childhood friends Omar Soliman and Nick Friedman were sitting around a table, figuring out how to make money while they were home from college.

The duo and their friends had landed on the idea of hauling people's trash in a beat-up cargo van borrowed from Soliman's mother.

"We were drinking beer and throwing out ridiculous, funny names, and my mom said, 'You're like college hunks who haul junk,'" Soliman recalled. "We thought, 'Hey, that's a cool name.'"

Little did they know that this was the beginning of an international franchise, now known as College H.U.N.K.S. Hauling Junk & Moving.

For the first time in their young lives, Soliman and Friedman had found their passion — not moving garbage, but being entrepreneurs.

Noteworthy:

Where To Find Nick & Omar:

Previous Episode

Overcoming Perceptions with Shannon Bahrke Happe

Shannon Bahrke Happe knows the meaning of hard work and dedication. Before she became a mother, a successful public speaker and an entrepreneur, she competed in three Olympic Games and took home two skiing medals for Team USA.

It makes perfect sense, then, that Bahrke Happe chose to combine her passions for physical activity and public speaking into a thriving corporate wellness company, Team Empower Hour. With the help of her fellow Olympians, she offers inspiring keynote presentations and team-building activity sessions designed to help employees and leaders become more successful in the workplace.

But Team Empower Hour has another purpose: It's a way for Bahrke Happe to support and give back to the Olympian community.

We spoke to Shannon about making major life transitions, learning how to ask for help and knowing when to walk away from an unfulfilling job.

Twitter: https://twitter.com/shannonbahrke

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shannonbahrke/

Website: https://www.shannonbahrke.com/

Next Episode

From Classroom to Congress to Corporate with Tremayne Smith

Tremayne B. Smith hails from Salisbury, North Carolina where he and his identical twin brother Dewayne were raised by their mother, Patricia Watkins. A 2011 graduate of East Carolina University, he received bachelor’s degrees in Music Education and Political Science. He served for three years as the Head Drum Major of the Marching Pirates and was elected President of the Student Body and member of the University Board of Trustees. In 2016, he was a recipient of the “ECU 40 Under 40 Distinguished Alumni Award”. In 2012, he began as Director of Bands at Rocky Mount High School in Rocky Mount, N.C where he grew the band’s membership by 500% in 3 years. His first year, he was named Rocky Mount Teacher of the Year, Nash-Rocky Mount School System High School District Teacher of the year and received the North Carolina Bandmasters Association Encore Award. He is a 2017 graduate of The George Washington University, receiving his Master’s in Political Management. Tremayne has served in the offices of U.S. Senator Kay R. Hagan, (D-NC), Congressman G. K. Butterfield, (D-NC) and Congressman Conor Lamb, (D-PA). Tremayne is a national speaker for the Jewish National Fund (JNF) a non-political organization that focuses on the nation-state of Israel. Currently, Tremayne is the Special Assistant to the President & CEO of the JPMorgan Chase Institute. Website/social media links for where people can find Tremayne: Twitter: Tremayne_Smith Instagram: Tremayne_Smith