Not every lesson in entrepreneurship comes from a textbook. For freshman Evan Scearce, his moving-tote business started, quite literally, by accident.
The Captain was helping his childhood friend Hudson Williams move out of his residence hall at James Madison University last year when a cardboard box collapsed, sending his friend on a short tumble down the stairs. One sprained ankle later, an idea was born.
“Hudson said to me, ‘There’s got to be a better way to do this,’ and that’s when the inspiration hit for our business, RVA Totes,” Scearce said.
The two lifelong friends got to work brainstorming ideas for their Richmond-based business. The plan wasn’t to offer a traditional moving service, but to make moving easier by providing customers with sturdy, stackable moving totes, the use of a dolly, and drop-off and pick-up services. The goal was to make moving safer, convenient, and more environmentally friendly.
“We spent over a year creating a business plan, securing warehouse space, building a website, an inventory management system, a marketing plan, and an online booking system,” said Scearce. “And of course, we bought totes. About a thousand of them, thanks to start-up funding from our families, which we are incredibly grateful for.
“Purchasing the totes was a really important decision. We did a lot of comparison to make sure we found the right ones,” he said. They had to be sturdy, large enough to hold stuff, but not so big that they’d be too heavy, since most of our customers are doing the job themselves instead of paying movers. The totes also had to be stackable. I have a standard-sized SUV and can fit almost 50 of them in my car.”
Scearce said they deliver the totes to the customer’s door before moving day and pick them up when the job's done. The totes have lids that snap shut so no tape is needed, and every tote is cleaned and disinfected before each rental.
“So far, most of our customers have been people in their 20s to early 30s. We’ve also had some folks moving into retirement homes, and a lot of young couples moving into apartments. Many of them tell us that looking out for the environment is important to them. Our totes are incredibly sturdy and will be used over and over. We’re proud to eliminate the need for one-use cardboard boxes and save trees,” he said.
Scearce came to Christopher Newport with the intention of majoring in Environmental Studies, but he is also now considering Business. He admits that learning how to juggle a heavy academic schedule with the demands of the business is still a work in progress. He and his partner make deliveries whenever they can, but they’ve also been able to hire a few college students from around the state part-time to help with orders that fall well outside the Newport News or Harrisonburg areas.
“We’ve also started commercial rentals, and we’re excited that Realtors have been recommending us to their clients,” Scearce said. “I plan on learning as much as I can about entrepreneurship at Christopher Newport so we can continue to grow the business both during college and after graduation.”