The Tribune: SLO’s Meathead Movers to hire 200 employees at its offices

BY DANIELLE AMES – dames@thetribunenews.com

Meathead Movers of San Luis Obispo is seeking to hire 200 employees by year-end at its four offices — nearly doubling the current staff of 200 part-time and 50 full-time workers. The San Luis Obispo office has about 80 employees, including half who work part-time.

Founded in 1997 by brothers Aaron and Evan Steed while they were students at San Luis Obispo High School, Meathead Movers handles more than 10,000 moves a year, making it the largest independent moving company in the state, it says.

More accustomed to the spotlight than your average moving business, Meathead Movers has been featured on “The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” and honored at the White House as one of 100 companies that impact the economy and can inspire young entrepreneurs to start their own businesses.

Meathead Movers has four dispatch centers in San Luis Obispo, Orange County, Ventura County and a new location in Fresno that opened in March. San Luis Obispo and Ventura County are the most active branches, with San Luis Obispo doing around 3,000 moves a year, the company said.

The company now handles moves nationwide, the result of a non-equity partnership in 2014 with Gentle Giant Moving Company, the largest independent movers on the East Coast. President and Chief Executive Officer Aaron Steed said that the two companies, who share a high standard of quality, made an agreement to help each other fulfill customer requests across the country.

Meathead Movers employs mainly athletes and the company prides itself on helping the students pursue their intended career paths.

“The people that work for us aren’t career movers; they’re destined to do bigger and better things with their life,” said Steed. “The experiences they learn here help them with that.”

Incentives are provided for employees such as on-site gyms, professional massages and various rewards including flat-screen TVs, barbecue grills and vacations. The company also offers flexible work schedules and on-site computer labs for students to do their homework.

The privately held company generates annual revenue between $10 million and $11 million, said Steed, who added that it has been growing between 30 percent and 40 percent annually for the past four years. He declined to disclose profits. Meathead Movers has been on the Inc. 5000 list for fastest-growing companies for the past three years.

Steed attributed the fast growth to several reasons: the way the company promotes from within, the improving economy, new offices that have increased territory, their ability to meet demand, and the quality of their service.

Creating and maintaining authentic connections with employees has been a challenge to the growing company, he said. Steed personally calls every employee when he or she is hired or promoted, and he goes out on a moving job once a month.

Looking ahead, Steed said, Meathead Movers plans to add more offices in California and other areas on the West Coast, as well as add mini-storage units at its locations. It already has a mini-storage unit in San Luis Obispo.

Source: http://www.sanluisobispo.com/2015/07/23/3733511_meathead-movers-hiring-jobs-workers.html