The $20 Mistake That Cost My GM His Job
You don't prevent theft by hoping it won't happen. You prevent theft by building a business where it's hard to get away with it.
Originally sent in From the Desk of Justin Hubbard on December 7, 2025.
The short version: At some point, somebody on your team is going to steal from you, so build breadcrumbs: before-and-after photos, GPS on every truck, receipt requirements, daily reconciliations. My GM handed in $100 from a scrap run that paid $120, and a receipt check caught it.
Here's something every small business owner knows in their gut but doesn't like to say out loud:
At some point, somebody on your team is going to steal from you.
I know. Don't read that line again, it hurts too much.
It won't always look like stealing cash out of a register, either. In this industry, it shows up in quieter ways: time theft, taking the long route, showing up late and clocking in early, disappearing on the job, slipping in extra breaks… it's all theft.
It all hits your margins the same way. It's just disguised as "no big deal."
And then you have the real money leaks.
When the customer pays for a ¾ truck and your guys report a ½ load so they can pocket the difference.
When they run a scrap metal drop-off and keep the cash.
When they take items for resale without ever telling you.
When they make little decisions that benefit them and quietly cost you.
You can't be on every job. And you shouldn't be on every job!
At some point you're going to trust a team to represent your business without you standing over their shoulder, and that's exactly when these things can creep in.
And no, it's not paranoia.
And it's not unique to junk removal, either. Retail literally tracks a number called "shrink" in their financials, and internal and external theft together make up nearly two-thirds of it. They expect it. They prepare for it. They build systems around it.
That's the lesson for us here: you don't prevent theft by hoping it won't happen. You prevent theft by building a business where it's hard to get away with it.
I've seen enough to know how creative people can get when money's tight or when addiction, resentment, or desperation gets involved.
I had a guy once, someone who worked his way up to general manager, running a few trucks, managing half a dozen guys. Smart. Capable. Reliable. A guy I trusted.
And in the end, drugs caught up with him. When he needed money fast, he stole from the one place he thought he wouldn't get caught.
He ran a scrap load one day and handed in $100. No big deal. Happens all the time. But when we asked for the receipt, he said they didn't give him one. That was the moment my gut told me something was off.
Most owners would let that slide. You got $100 handed to you. You're happy.
But when you're serious about your numbers (really serious) you don't let a breakdown in a process go unanswered.
I called the scrapyard myself and had them send the ticket.
Sure enough: the payout was $120.
He stole twenty bucks.
Twenty freakin dollars cost him his job.
It wasn't the amount of money he stole. $20? Who the heck cares. But it was his decision to steal that I cared about. And it exposed something bigger behind the scenes.
I tell that story because it shows two things:
- People will absolutely steal if the system allows them to.
- They will also expose themselves quickly if your system checks their work.
Your job as an owner isn't to chase every truck around the city or babysit grown adults. (And let me be the first to tell you, if you have to do this, you already have your answer… replace them!)
Your job is to create breadcrumbs. Failsafes. A trail that makes dishonesty inconvenient and transparency the default.
- Before-and-after photos.
- GPS trackers on every truck.
- Receipt requirements.
- Daily reconciliations.
- Clear expectations.
- Consistent follow-up.
Stuff like that.
None of these things make you a "paranoid boss." They make you a smart one.
And honestly, these guardrails help the good employees more than anyone. Good people want structure. They want fairness. They want to know they won't get blamed for someone else's bad behavior. Failsafes protect your culture just as much as your wallet.
Here's what I've learned after more than a decade in this industry:
If someone wants to steal from you badly enough, they'll find a way. And so your job isn't to build a perfect system.
Your job is to build one where it's easy to spot the wrong people early, and hard for them to do real damage.
You're never going to be able to eliminate theft completely. But you can try to minimize it, catch it fast, and create an environment where the right people thrive and the wrong people exit themselves.
That's how you protect the business you've built. That's how you keep your margins healthy. That's how you avoid getting blindsided later.
Put the failsafes in place. Make "big brother" visible enough to matter. Let systems do the heavy lifting.
And build a business where honesty isn't optional. It's automatic.
— Justin
Related: How to fire a problem employee in a small business · Building business systems for home services · How to retain employees in home services