Young men take road to success with EZ Haul truck rental business

Move over U-Haul. There's a new business on the block and it's already making tracks. Called EZ Haul, the truck rental and leasing business is the brainchild of a small group of young men with big ideas. Each with a business degree and an interest in real estate, together they pooled their own funds and raised additional money to finance a fleet of rental trucks and forklifts.

"We started with an idea, one F-150 (heavy duty Ford pickup truck) and we hoped the phone would ring," said EZ Haul Partner Timothy Smith. "It did and we knew we had to grow the fleet if we were going to succeed."

They added flat beds, a trailer head, more trucks and forklifts, enough to be able to accommodate requests for temporary self-drive truck demands. Some of those demands are for individuals who are moving from one home or business to another, but more are for businesses that need to haul goods and supplies and want to lease a truck their own driver can use for a limited amount of time.

"It makes a lot of sense for a business to rent or lease a truck instead of owning, especially if the need for trucking varies," said fellow partner L. Rashad Major. "They don't have to worry about maintenance, insurance, licensing and all the other expenses that accompany commercial vehicle ownership. We provide the truck and eliminate the stress and headache."

A third partner, Danny Lowe, understood the transient need for self-drive trucking.

"As a contractor, I have my own truck, but when we get really busy and we have additional crews on the road, we need more trucks. We also often need additional transportation to pick up materials because we cannot afford to wait on delivery a day or two out. That waiting time could set us back on the project," said Lowe.

"There are other times when we need to haul supplies between jobs or take old roofing materials and other construction debris to the dump. The needs vary with every job and it does not make sense to own more trucks when it is easy to rent for a day or lease for a week."

All the partners are college educated. Smith holds a degree in accounting; Major studied business and law; and Lowe, who speaks Mandarin, studied international business and trade. They all share an interest in real estate, believing the two surefire ways to succeed in The Bahamas are through business and property ownership. Lowe is a licensed real estate agent with MCR Group, Better Homes & Gardens.

Major and Smith expect to be awarded their real estate licenses in January. They've been friends since childhood and started their first business venture while still at St. Andrew's School. After college, they reunited and an idea was born. In September, they opened EZ Haul opposite Battery and Tyre in Centreville.

"We want to encourage other young Bahamians to follow their dreams," the partners said. "The Bahamas is full of opportunities for young entrepreneurs who have a vision, build a business plan, start small and project growth. Funding is the biggest challenge, but with the right plan, you can do it."