Who knew that former New York Giants wide receiver Russell Shepard’s exposure to his family’s long-time profession as a child would cultivate a desire in him to continue their legacy of waste management services and allow him to serve Houston and surrounding areas?
Future planning, key to former NFL Russell Shepard’s success
Russell Shepard, President, Shep Boys Waste Management
Shepard’s father and grandfather unknowingly planted this seed; thus, the newfound business owner transformed his tutelage into Shep Boys Waste Management, a provider of portable restrooms and rentals for events, businesses and corporations of all sizes.
In retrospect, Shepard was a standout high school football player — ranked as the No.3 athlete on ESPN150 for the high school class of 2009. After graduation, he attended Louisiana State University on an athletic scholarship where he earned a Bachelor of Science in business communication in 2012. He was signed by the Philadelphia Eagles as an undrafted free agent following the 2013 NFL Draft.
"I unfortunately went undrafted, but through hard work and dedication I was still able to have an eight-year career and travel all over the world," he said.
During his final season in the NFL in 2019, Shepard had an epiphany that would change the course of his future.
"I was playing for the New York Giants and during practice I had to use a portable restroom," Shepard said. "Unfortunately, it was a horrible experience. To say the least, the restroom was poorly maintained, and no one seemed to know when the next service day would be. From that bad experience, I was instantly inspired to learn more about the portable toilet industry and how we could create a better experience."
The season ended and he went about stepping full-time into his newly formed family venture that included his parents, Russell Sr. and Nikki. According to Shepard, he carefully did his due diligence after talking to hundreds of owners throughout the country — even personally going inside hundreds of portable restrooms. To his surprise, he realized there was a consistent problem, and that was bad service.
"We officially started building the company on January 1 of 2020, and by August 3, 2020, we were able to successfully get Shep Boys Waste Management open during the peak of COVID-19."
What surprised him most about his company’s success and the portable restroom industry as a whole is that service is "everything," he added. He said Shep Boys has been able to grow because of its consistency and dependability through its service and communication.
He also credits Shep Boys’ success to research — learning about the competition and the needs of the industry. As an owner, he said he is heavily involved in every aspect of his business. When he retired from the NFL, he realized he had zero experience within the industry.
"I basically made the decision to be our first service technician. It was extremely uncomfortable at first but ended up being the best decision I ever made, because I was able to better understand our equipment, staff and the needs of our customers. Driving for a year helped us create a culture built on safety and service," he said.
In the almost three years of operation, Shepard and his team have dedicated themselves to giving customers exceptional services while creating a sanitary and safe experience. Shep Boys applied for, and was recently awarded minority certifications. Because it is at least half minority-owned, it now has the distinction of being a minority-owned, women-owned and disadvantaged business enterprise.
Today, with the status of being an NFL veteran, Shepard is proudly exploring every avenue to maintain what his family started, making an impression where he sees the most need.
For more information, visit shepboyswaste.com or call (281) 213-5527.
