Meet Charlie Packard of Germantown, Nashville

Today we’d like to introduce you to Charlie Packard.

Hi Charlie, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstories.

Charlie and Laura, co-owners of Binfresh LLC, decided to “dump” the corporate world and start their own residential and commercial trash bin cleaning service here in the thriving city of Nashville, TN. The question is why we decided to put our talents towards a small business after all the years in corporate and why Nashville?

Charlie: I worked in corporate sales and management my whole career; big pharma, biotech, surgical sales, etc. After I signed on with a start-up and moved my family to the companies headquarters in Ashville, NC February 2020 to serve as the National VP of Sales, I obviously, like the rest of the world did not anticipate what was about to hit us all. Funding dried up and I found myself unemployed at 50 due to the inability to raise capital during COVID. My story is nothing new. So many people lost everything. My wife finally said to me, let’s just start our own business, work for ourselves for once, and can possibly employ those who need jobs. A business that also beautifies communities and is eco-friendly, as well. A new venture that means something. We knew we wanted to start the trash cleaning service, but where?

Laura: I’m Southern. I love the South and never wanted to leave the region. But I thought of Nashville immediately; the exponential growth, all the eclectic and gorgeous neighborhoods that surround downtown, the wonderful people who are a diverse blend of so many cultures and identities who take care of one another. It just seemed the perfect fit for us, as well as our new business. It’s a city that seems like a small town.

Charlie: So we were sold and moved again. The experience has been phenomenal. Everyone has been so kind. Plus, they cannot believe trash bin cleaning is a REAL thing!

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Laura: I don’t believe there are ANY smooth roads starting your own business. Especially, when we starting the due diligence and business plan in November with a launch at the end of March, and those supposed smooth roads were a foot deep in snow and ice with the worst snowstorms in decades!

Charlie: Yes, true! But we were fortunate to have a friend in Florida with his own bin cleaning service that offered invaluable advice to help avoid the pitfalls he has incurred starting out.

Laura: But Jacksonville differs from Nashville. Oh, the alleys! Even if you clean your bin, your neighbor is right next to you will still smell and have flies and rodents. But we are counting on word of mouth, having a presence, and flyers to get the word out down the alleys so they smell clean and sanitized while customers are having a BBQ, walking their dogs, and the kids are people in a clean environment.

Charlie: Marketing is tricking, and we did make some mistakes upfront like underestimating the startup costs to get the word out. It’s difficult to grow quickly while figuring out how wide a net to cast for advertising. There is an old saying when it comes to marketing, 50% of marketing costs are effective, 50 % are not. The challenge is figuring out which 50% is working.

Laura; WE believe the biggest goal for success in this business is awareness of the service. 99.9% of our customers don’t have any idea that this service even exists! In England, where this industry began, 25% percent of the population use the service. In the US, it is less than .01%. One of the reasons we wanted to be a part of this industry is the huge growth potential. Our goal is to increase the awareness of this industry in Nashville.

Charlie: But there are unforeseen problems that directly impact being effective in maintaining our goal. A big one is an increase in the price of gas. Also, as our business continues to grow, new sets of problems arise. For instance, trying to be as efficient as we can by driving from neighborhood to neighborhood increases time management and gas. But we have seen by being in certain neighborhoods, people seeing us there cleaning, word of mouth and advertising leads to increased customer base. so, as we have grown, we are able to route more efficiently and save time and money.

Laura: Thank goodness for technology! We are definitely running more efficiently!

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
Laura: Artist here. Newspaper humor columnist, freelance writer, and poet. Learning the business every day. But first and foremost, I am a mom. Our two girls, now 18 and 20, grew up on Saint Simons Island, GA, and spent their summers on Lake Winniespsaukie. The environment and especially the preservation of our waterways are the most important to me and future generations. Our business uses 200-degree water at high-pressure steam which kills ecoli, strep, staph, basically any bacteria that resides within your trash can. Even more to my passion is if you clean your trash can you use 150 -200 gallons of water compared to our trash bin cleaning which uses less than ten gallons. Also, we do not use chemicals like Clorox that will spill into our groundwater and into our rivers and streams. To me, it’s a win-win. Cleaner communities, water conservation, and fewer toxins leached into our waterways.

Charlie: I am proudest of my family, and my positive attitude to change the future. Yes, I spent my career in pharma/biotech and I am entering into a new stage in my business life. I am proud of the work I did for Gillead Sciences and launching the once-a-day AIDS drug to change a deadly disease into a manageable one. No matter what I do I always look to leave the world better than I found it. I also love a challenge!

Before we go, is there anything else you can share with us?
We are thrilled to be a part of the Nashville community having started our local business here. We hope to help to continue to make Nashville one of the greatest cities and communities in the south. As we grow, we also hope to give others the opportunity to join our organization and to help support Tennessee clean water initiatives. Thank you for welcoming us with open arms.

Contact Info:

• Email: [email protected]
• Website: binfresh.com
• Instagram: @binfreshllc
• Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/binfreshllc/