Phil Garner is an Army veteran, former Department of Defense contract specialist, owner of a JDog Junk Removal and Hauling franchise, and the founder of Garner’s Garden, a natural skin care products business.
What led you to go into business for yourself after a career with the Army and the DOD? Since I was a child, I have always been into thinking of new and fun ways to make money. So as I got to adulthood, I really wanted to fulfill that dream of mine to open a business one day. JDog is the second business that I currently own and operate, and I am loving every single day of it.
There are so many franchise options. Why JDog Junk Removal? JDog really hit on all the points that I was looking for in a business. I liked the fact that it feels like a band of brothers or a fraternity, all throughout the country — I feel like I am a part of something that does good in the community. Everything about JDog and what they stand for really set this franchise apart from the competition and is what ultimately attracted me to it.
How do you support other veterans through your JDog franchise? We hire as many veterans as we can. We also seek out veterans that may be in need of household items. So when we find usable items in good condition, we try to donate them to people.
There’s the old saying, “One person’s junk is another person’s treasure.” Have you discovered any treasures through JDog? Yes! Lots of cool items — fur jackets from the 1940s, pinball, arcade machines, comic books, you name it — we have found a lot of cool stuff.
But that’s not your only business. What is Garner’s Garden? GarnersGarden.com is a natural skin, hair and oral care manufacturing business that I started in my basement nine years ago while I was living in Fort Washington. We did really well in 2020. We were able to ship out 54,000 packages from my warehouse in White Plains, Maryland, to customers all over the world. We pride ourselves on completely natural personal care products. The success of this company helped me purchase the JDog franchise. Both companies are doing well, and I love each one the same.
You founded Garner’s Garden in 2012 with one thing in mind, “to make 100% affordable natural skin care products,” per your website. What was the inspiration? The inspiration came from not having access to completely, 100% natural personal care products. Back then, I would find that the products that claim to be natural sometimes were not. Then you have products that are actually natural, and they are very expensive. So as I started manufacturing my own products, I realized the high-priced natural products in stores, the pricing doesn’t have to be a barrier for some consumers if companies would just offer better lower-cost pricing for the products. That is what I set out to do. My mission is to “heal the world,” not just the rich people!
What was your first job? My very first job was my own landscaping company while I was in high school. After building it into something larger than what I could handle on my own, I started employing other kids in the neighborhood to cut and take care of my customers’ lawns. I also had a job selling windows and siding door to door while growing up and living in Fairfax. I think these two experiences led me to find and follow my passion — owning a business and sales. I love marketing a product, idea or concept and selling it to people. That is my true passion.
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