Dartmouth’s Jared Holmes, 22, and Bridgewater’s Sean Burns, 23, met for the first time back when they attended the same fifth grade class in Bridgewater. 

Though Holmes moved away and eventually graduated from Dartmouth, the two remained good friends and now they run a business together. 

SJ Hauling & Junk Removal, a home services and junk removal business, got its start back in April when Holmes found himself laid off and Burns was dealing with cut hours.

“He ended up buying a truck, which is what started us off and we just went from there,” Holmes said. 

The two added walls to the bed of the truck and completed jobs that way for about four weeks until they were able to purchase a trailer. Doing 20 to 25 jobs a week on average throughout Massachusetts, Holmes said they celebrated their 100th Google review on July 18 — just three months in.

Holmes said the initial idea was to do home service jobs, such as picking up scrap metal, pressuring washing and gutter cleaning, in addition to junk removal, which they say is “by far our favorite and it was the most profitable for us.”

Some jobs have been easy driveway pick ups, while others pose more of a challenge. 

“There’s some things you wouldn’t expect to see that you know could happen,” Holmes said, noting the time they tossed some items into a truck only for a mouse to come “flying out.”

“[Also] getting put into very dirty spots, like a garage that hasn’t been opened in years — it’s super dusty and mouse nests everywhere — basements fully loaded with cardboard, furniture, clothes, you name it,” he said.

Though they have come across some interesting items, including a Coca-Cola fridge and a bunch of boxed G.I. Joe’s from the 1990s.

Holmes said to get the business started, Burns’ brother offered advertising and social media help, launching them on Facebook and other platforms. 

They began reaching out to people seeking their type of services and within a few weeks, people were reaching out to them instead.