What Is This Article About?
Justin Perez built Perez Moving Co. in Valdosta, Georgia after serving 18 months in state prison. Starting with less than $10,000, rented U-Hauls, and two trusted employees, he grew into one of the highest-rated moving companies in his market. This post covers his full story, the mentor who shaped his business fundamentals, and what it actually takes to build a moving company from zero. Pulled from his interview on the Heavy Lifting Podcast.
Justin Perez got released from prison on April 1st, 2020.
April Fools' Day. Right as COVID was shutting the world down.
He had a felony record, less than $10,000 to his name, and a job at a pecan factory doing 12-hour shifts. He didn't plan to start a moving company. He didn't even know he was going to end up in the moving industry.
Today, Perez Moving Co. is sitting at 4.9 stars on Google with 99 reviews, and Justin is one of the most recognizable names in Valdosta, Georgia. His black wrapped trucks with the logo you can't miss are everywhere in town.
This is not a rags-to-riches cliche. This is what happens when someone who genuinely has everything to lose decides to not lose it.
I had Justin on the Heavy Lifting Podcast and if you're a moving company owner who's been told the deck is stacked against you, you need to hear this story.
The Beginning Nobody Would Script
Justin didn't grow up chasing entrepreneurship. He grew up in Valdosta, played sports, had a good family. Then he veered off. Drugs, wrong crowd, in and out of trouble. Then one court date went differently than expected, and his probation got revoked.
18 months in state prison. Not a misdemeanor. Not a close call. Prison.
He came out with a felony record, got placed in a transitional center, and ended up back in Valdosta working factory shifts. When he got out of the transitional center, the factory felt like a dead end. He reached out to someone who knew a guy who ran a moving company. The company's owner was skeptical. The general manager, Mr. Gary, flat out didn't want to hire him.
They hired him anyway. But not without conditions.
"You get zero chances. If you're late one day, you're fired. If something goes missing at a job and it's not even you, you're fired."
Justin's response: put his big boy pants on and go to work.
What Two Years Under Mr. Gary Taught Him
Gary Palmer is a retired Pepsi regional salesman who came out of retirement to work at the moving company. Old school doesn't cover it. He came into the office with COVID and had to be physically sent home. He doesn't hear excuses. He doesn't believe in them.
At first Justin didn't like him. By the end, Gary was the person he'd call whenever something in his own business went sideways.
What Gary taught him wasn't just moving. It was systems. Document everything. If you're stuck in traffic, take a picture and note the time. When quoting a job, don't just estimate how long the couch takes to wrap. Ask whether it's going to the third floor. Ask if the dresser has a mirror on it. Think through every variable before you give a number.
That granular thinking is why Justin can quote accurately today. It's why his crew gets in and out without surprises. It's not magic. It's what someone with 40 years of experience teaches you when you're willing to listen.
Justin rose from mover to assistant lead to crew lead to GM in about two years. When Mr. Gary retired and walked out with three phones in his hand, telling Justin "here you go, you got it," Justin was suddenly running a $1.5M moving company he didn't own, with 28 employees and five trucks running daily.
He wasn't ready. He did it anyway.
How Perez Moving Co. Started: Overnight, With Less Than $10k
The company Justin was running started going under. Trucks getting repossessed. A diesel tank disappearing. Then one morning he showed up and there was an eviction notice on the warehouse door.
Eight customers had paid deposits for moves that were never going to happen.
That same day, Justin went home and told his wife: we're opening our own company.
He had less than $10k. No trucks. No inventory. Just two guys he trusted from the old company and a Facebook post with a muscle arm logo and the words "Perez Moving Co."
He called every one of those eight customers and told them the truth: the company shut down, their deposit is safe, we're doing your move. He rented U-Hauls. He drove them himself. He parked them in his yard. He and two guys met up at 6:30am and went to work.
That's how you start a moving company. Not with a perfect business plan. Not with a full fleet. With two guys you trust and the work you already know how to do.
The Turning Point: Investing in Marketing
For a while Justin was doing it old school. Flyers. Word of mouth. Phone calls. In a small town like Valdosta, that gets you somewhere. But it has a ceiling.
Austin Griner, the owner of the moving company that Justin eventually bought a truck from, kept calling him. Griner had shut down his own moving company in Tallahassee after dominating the market, then started a marketing agency. He was telling Justin the same thing over and over: let us get you ranked number one on Google.
Justin resisted. He didn't understand SEO. He didn't know what a CRM was. He thought it was too expensive.
He eventually went for it. Within a year, Perez Moving Co. went from ranking fifth or sixth on Google to first or second.
More than the rankings, the CRM changed how his leads worked. Every call from Google, the website, social media, all routed to his phone with full contact info attached. He picks up, he has everything he needs. Clean, simple, no lost leads.
The trucks got wrapped too. Big black trucks with a logo that pops. He thought it looked corny at first. Now he watches people's reactions when they pull up to a job. "That's so cool." Every truck is a rolling ad.
What 4.9 Stars at 99 Reviews Actually Means
Ninety-nine Google reviews at 4.9 stars is not luck. It's not just a nice crew. It's a specific culture Justin has built with his guys.
He calls them his kids. They call him Papa P. On the job it's "here comes boss man" while they pick at each other.
Mr. Mike Frazier joined recently, a guy with 41 years in the moving industry who told Justin he wanted to help build something before he retired. He's been showing Justin things that Justin said he hasn't seen in a long time. That willingness to bring in someone who knows more than you, and to actually listen, is what keeps a company improving.
A 4.9 out of 5 with close to 100 reviews tells a potential customer everything they need to know before they pick up the phone. In a small market, that's your marketing doing its job 24 hours a day.
Small Town, Big Lessons
Valdosta is not Miami. It's not Austin. It's a small market where everyone knows everyone, where word of mouth is either your best asset or your biggest liability.
Justin has turned it into an asset. When he opened, people already knew him as the face of the company he'd been running for someone else. He had relationships built before he even had a company to put them into.
If you're operating in a smaller market, that's your edge. National chains can outspend you on ads. They can't out-local you. They can't have the same community relationships you have.
Justin's next move is Tallahassee. An hour away. A bigger city with multiple universities, consistent moving demand, and someone he trusts who already built a winning moving company there and knows the market.
That's how you expand smart.
The One Line That Tells You Everything You Need to Know About Justin
He's had business partners who've taken advantage of him. A previous owner who left him holding a sinking ship. Situations where he could have cut corners, walked away, or made it someone else's problem.
He didn't.
"You can mess me over all you want. I will never do that to you."
That's not a business strategy. That's character. And in an industry where customers are trusting strangers with everything they own, character is your product.
Justin went to prison. He came out, worked his way up from $10/hour, learned everything about the moving industry from someone who demanded he get it right, and when the company he was running went under, he stood up and made sure eight customers didn't lose their money.
That's who you want moving your stuff.
Watch the Full Episode
Justin's full story is on the Heavy Lifting Podcast on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Podcasts. We go deep on how he handles operations in a two-truck company, what it looked like inside the company that fell apart, and what he's doing now to prepare for Tallahassee.
If you're in the St. Pete or Tampa area and need a mover you can actually trust, reach out to Justin and the Perez Moving Co. team.
Running a Moving Company in a Smaller Market?
If you're operating in a city that isn't a major metro, the marketing playbook looks a little different. Google is still your foundation, but how you build reviews, how you position locally, and how you sequence your channels matters more when your market is tight.
We work with moving companies of all sizes, from two-truck operations to multi-location companies. for the free version, or book a call with us if you want to talk through your specific situation.
We only work with movers. We've been in your shoes.
Frequently Asked Questions
How did Justin Perez start Perez Moving Co.?
Justin Perez started Perez Moving Co. after the moving company he was managing shut down overnight. With less than $10,000, two trusted employees, and rented U-Hauls, he honored deposits eight customers had paid to the previous company and built from there. He announced the new company on Facebook and used local word of mouth in Valdosta, Georgia to get his first clients.
How did Perez Moving Co. get 99 Google reviews at 4.9 stars?
Perez Moving Co. built its 4.9-star rating over several years by prioritizing customer experience above everything else, maintaining a tight-knit crew where accountability and care for customers are non-negotiable. Justin also invested in SEO and a CRM system that routes all leads to his phone, ensuring no customer inquiry falls through the cracks.
What marketing does Perez Moving Co. use?
Perez Moving Co. uses SEO (currently ranking first or second in Valdosta), a CRM system that routes leads from Google, the website, and social media to one place, wrapped trucks for local brand visibility, and word-of-mouth referrals. They maintain an active Facebook page and are expanding to TikTok.
How did Justin Perez get into the moving industry after prison?
After being released from prison in April 2020, Justin Perez applied for a job at a local moving company in Valdosta, Georgia. Despite resistance from management due to his record, he was given a chance under strict conditions: zero tolerance for mistakes. Over two years he rose from mover to general manager, learning the business from a veteran salesman named Gary Palmer.
What is the best way to start a moving company with no money?
Justin Perez started Perez Moving Co. with less than $10,000 by renting U-Hauls instead of buying trucks, keeping his crew to two trusted people, taking on moves that were already pre-booked (from the company that shut down), and relying on local Facebook posts and word of mouth for his first clients. He bought his first truck on a payment plan from a connection in the industry.
How important is SEO for a small moving company?
For Perez Moving Co., investing in SEO moved the company from fifth or sixth on Google to first or second in Valdosta within a year. Combined with a CRM that centralizes all inbound leads, SEO became the foundation of their new business pipeline. For small moving companies in local markets, ranking on the first page of Google for terms like "movers [city name]" is one of the highest-ROI investments available.