Jason Hoerter has a dream.

He dreams of owning and operating his own successful waste disposal business and someday passing it on to his two daughters, Jasmine, 6 and Julia, 4.

While some may thing it's far-fetched, Hoerter has spent the last three weeks investing nearly all his time and energy in starting his own company, Triple J Disposal, Inc. Though he's still unpacking boxes, assembling furniture and purchasing office supplies, his number of clients has already swelled into the hundreds.

"We need to grow a lot more residentially, but the commercial part has grown way beyond my expectations," he marvels.

A native of Austin, Hoerter has lived and worked in the Twin Cities area since graduating from the University of Minnesota-Duluth with a degree in business and marketing. He spent the past eight years working for Dick's Sanitation in Lakeville and helped it grow from a company with 25 waste disposal trucks and an annual revenue of $4 million to a company with 54 trucks and revenues of $12 million a year.

However, Hoerter has wanted to own and operate his own company for several years despite a comfortable position with Dick's and finally decided a little more than a month ago that there was no time like the present to go for his dream.

"Dick and I are on really good terms and I want to model this company after a lot of things he did. He treated his employees with extreme respect … he still drives a truck, he works 10 to 12 hours a day, he wears blue jeans to work, he drives a 1996 Ford Ranger even though he could buy a Mercedes. You'd never know he owns the place," he says. "My goal is to turn it into a very respected and profitable company and give back to the town as much as possible."

So far, the future looks bright. "I didn't plan on leaving Austin for six months, but come August 1, I'm going to be driving to Lyle. Eventually, I want to go to all the little towns around here. I don't foresee going over to Albert Lea, but certainly the towns in Mower County," he says.

While people are interested in a locally-owned waste disposal company, they also are cautious. "The biggest obstacle has been convincing people that I'm not going to sell," Hoerter says. "People have said 'oh, you're just going to be in it for two years and then you'll sell it,' because they've seen it three times. I'm not a fly-by-night."

Hoerter's father, Dan Hoerter, a financial adviser with American Express in Austin, also is now certain his son is dedicated to his dream. Though Jason is funding Triple J completely on his own, his father has helped him meet people and businesses and seeing Jason in action has convinced his father that it will work. "A month ago, you would never have convinced me that this was going to work. Over the course of the last month, though, after seeing him actually in business and hearing comments from customers, I think he's going to do well," he says.

"He has a natural way with people. He's very easy to get along with and he has a good rapport with people. He's been in this industry for 12 years and has worked in just about every aspect. He started out selling garbage trucks and then he was working in management at Dick's, driving truck, writing manuals, hiring and firing," Dan says. "He knows what he's doing and he's not afraid to get his hands dirty and in a business like that, you have to be willing to get out there and work. I have complete confidence he'll be here for quite a few years."

Jason says he plans to build his company and make sure Triple J lasts by being loyal to customers. He admits he won't be able to offer significantly lower rates than any other waste disposal company in the area, but "I will do everything for the customers. When I was in the cities, people knew they could call me personally on my cell phone if they were having an emergency and I'd jump in the truck and go take care of it. I plan to do the same thing here," he says. That commitment towards the customers even includes assisting them in canceling their old waste disposal service.

"I really want people to know that they shouldn't hesitate. It they're thinking of calling, they should call now," he says.

Triple J Disposal, Inc. is located at 111 North Main St., Suite 111 and can be reached by calling 434-3555.

Amanda L. Rohde can be reached at 434-2214 or by e-mail at amanda.rohde@austindailyherald.com