Recent college graduate turned junk heaps into gold mines with Chantilly hauling company 123Junk

You might say Collin Wheeler has cluttered up his life with junk. Heck, it’s an accusation to which he’d happily plead guilty as charged.

But while some might dub antiquated elliptical machines, cathode-ray television sets and faded couches from another decade as junk, Wheeler sees hidden treasure. Or shall we say, revenue.

In fact, those things have led him on a most unlikely course to become founder and CEO of 123Junk LLC.

Since its founding in 2008, the Chantilly-based junk removal company has grown from basically a one-man shop pulling in $89,000 a year to a small enterprise with seven full-time employees on track to haul in at least $625,000 this year thanks to a viral word-of-mouth approach to marketing.

Oh, and by the way, Wheeler is just 27 years old.

“One day I just decided to, as I tell people, take off the shirt and tie and start my own company,” he says. “Ultimately, we’re kind of a needs-based business. Regardless of the state of the economy, what we’re dealing with are people who are in a transitional phase.”

Read the rest of the story at The Washington Business Journal.