How MTB came to be...
Hello! My name is Chris Jolma, and I'm the founder of this little DC area based moving company, MyTruckBuddy.com. Thanks for visiting! Because you're
probably looking for a guy you can trust, I think it's
fair to tell you a little bit about me.
The creation of MyTruckBuddy.com was a most unexpected development. In the spring of 2007, my wife and I learned of the impending arrival of a little bundle of joy. This was a joyous occasion, but it led to certain complications. For one, my wife was a wine consultant. Part of her job involved testing new vintages every day, sometimes several times per day. (Tough gig, huh?). I was a proposal writer for a small non-profit in Old Town, Alexandria. I had a nice corner office, worked with lots of fun, interesting people, and had a fantastic health care plan.
I was also bored out of my mind.
Anyway, together we made enough to pay the bills, but my wife couldn't continue the wine job with a baby on board. This meant that we had to scramble to find a new source of income. On top of that, we began to realize that we had bought our home at the worst possible time. It's value was plummeting, and we couldn't get rid of the thing. (This is where I give an impolitic hand gesture to all those people who insisted to us real estate newbies that home ownership is an essential part of the American dream, and real estate values in the area can't help but go up, Up, UP!)
I had to think fast -- how was I going to ensure that we could keep our home
when it was suddenly worth less than what we owed, provide for my growing
family, and maintain the flexibility to be a good (and available) husband and
father?
I quickly took inventory of our assets and liabilities. One thing stood out--as a guy with a pickup truck, I was always in demand with my friends to help them with this or that item to be picked up and moved. I was just doing it for pizza and beer, but what if people would pay me for the convenience of having a buddy with a truck?
So, I put an ad on Craigslist just to see what would happen. From that one post, I received more than ten phone calls. That's when it hit me -- in the D.C. metro area, people need a buddy with a truck!
More than three thousand moves later, I now have an official moving company with a great group of guys helping people around the DC area. So far, it's a modest business with modest income, but I enjoy the work very much, and I enjoy helping people who don't want (or can't afford) the outrageous expense of hiring big, professional moving companies. As anyone who's ever used one knows, they rack up the costs pretty fast. A simple move across town can end up costing thousands of dollars! This is ridiculous. All you need is a buddy with a truck, with affordable rates, no hidden fees or deceptive advertising. With me, you get a very fair rate and the absolute assurance that you'll never be hit with surprise or hidden fees -- guaranteed.
My wife and I now have a beautiful three-year-old boy -- and we've since been joined by little Kolbe, our second little boy (pictures coming soon, but you can see a short video here if you're interested). We couldn't be happier with our lives together. What started as a potential crisis has turned into pure joy.
So, that's where I'm coming from. Thank you once again for visiting my site, and if you're interested in my services, please give me a call or shoot me an e-mail. I'll get back to you promptly, and we'll figure out a great price for your move or delivery that everyone's happy with.
All the best,Chris Jolma
Managing Partner
Truck Bud, LLC