From Social Work to Senior Moves: Justin Hammond on Building Let’s Get Moving

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): The Good Men Project

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/10/11

Justin Hammond is the owner of Let’s Get Moving!, a NASMM-accredited senior move management company based in Tennessee. With a bachelor’s and master’s degree in social work, both with a focus in gerontology, Hammond combines professional training with an entrepreneurial spirit. After entering the moving and downsizing industry at 27, he has grown a team of 15 dedicated staff who specialize in helping seniors and families navigate major life transitions. His company emphasizes trust, emotional care, and precision—whether downsizing a lifetime’s worth of belongings or supporting clients through stressful moves. Hammond’s mission: treat every customer like family.

In this interview with Scott Douglas Jacobsen, Hammond shares how his background in social work and gerontology shaped his approach to senior move management. Hammond explains how accreditation through NASMM (National Association of Senior & Specialty Move Managers) sets his company apart, ensuring ethical and reliable service. He discusses the emotional challenges of downsizing, from letting go of possessions to managing family expectations, and highlights the importance of empathy, organization, and trust. Hammond also reflects on lessons learned in liability and packing expertise, emphasizing his team’s role in turning difficult life transitions into manageable milestones.

Scott Douglas Jacobsen: Today we’re here with Justin Hammond to talk about Let’s Get Moving. Justin, you have a background in social work and a mission at Let’s Get Moving. How does your social work background shape the mission of the company?

Justin Hammond: My background is in social work, with a focus on gerontology in both my bachelor’s and master’s degrees. That background has been tremendously valuable in my work with Let’s Get Moving. Since we’re in the downsizing industry, we work a lot with seniors and the emotions that come with a lifetime’s collection of possessions.

Jacobsen: Senior relocation is going to be an increasing issue in the United States, primarily due to the aging population. This will also be true in many other parts of the world, particularly in the West and some regions of East Asia. How do you differentiate yourself from other senior relocation and move management services?

Hammond: What sets us apart is our accreditation and involvement with NASMM—the National Association of Senior & Specialty Move Managers—which is the leading membership organization for move managers. NASMM was founded in 2002 and has over 1,000 member companies across the U.S., Canada, and beyond. Let’s Get Moving! is NASMM-accredited and listed in their directory; our company was founded in 2005 and has maintained its standing, with our current listing showing a join date of 2008. These standards—ethics, education, and peer accountability—help make our process safer and more reliable for seniors and their families.

Jacobsen: What about supporting families going through significant life transitions or larger milestones?

Hammond: Any downsizing move is a big move, and we try to take into account the many years of collections that have accumulated. Often, sons and daughters aren’t interested in these collections, which can be hurtful to the parent we’re working with. The children may already have full homes and don’t want or need the possessions their parents worked hard to collect and pay for over the years. That can be one of the most challenging aspects—helping people let go and deal with the emotions tied to their belongings. It’s been an enormous learning process for me and for our clients. Most people only go through one major downsize in their lives, so it’s not something you get to practice ahead of time. When it happens, it happens live.

Jacobsen: With so many emotions involved, how do you navigate those challenging moments during the process of moving and downsizing?

Hammond: I have to give a lot of credit to my team. We have about 15 staff members, including four project managers, with the rest focused on operations and packing. They do a fantastic job of being patient with our clients. They’re passionate about working with seniors and approach the process with great care. The way we handle difficult emotions is by being strategic—working room by room, sometimes even drawer by drawer. We rely on checklists, colour coding, and other systems to keep clients organized so they don’t feel overwhelmed. Downsizing from a large home into 1,200 square feet—or sometimes less if it’s assisted living—is daunting. By breaking it into manageable steps, we make it easier for our clients. This helps reduce emotional stress as much as possible. Moving is never easy, but our process makes it more manageable and less overwhelming.

Jacobsen: America is a very diverse country. How do you work alongside such a wide range of clientele—whether it’s cultural, generational, or even just differences in temperament? Some people are easy to work with, while others are more difficult.

Hammond: Sure. As far as age ranges, we have clients across the spectrum. Even though our business is focused on seniors and downsizing, we do encounter some clients in their 40s and 50s who are ready to downsize. Professionally, they’re often at a point where their careers are taking off, and they want less to manage in their personal lives. We see a wide range, from people in their 40s and 50s all the way up to those in their 80s and 90s. As far as temperament goes, we work with all kinds of personality types, and our team reflects that variety too. That’s something we take into account in the initial meeting. We evaluate whether a team member will be a good personality fit with the client and whether the relationship will mesh well during the emotional process of downsizing. The items we handle are deeply personal, and it’s an intimate space—working in kitchens, bedrooms, closets, and attics filled with memories. We have to make sure those personalities align. Sometimes, if a situation becomes particularly difficult or emotionally taxing, we’ll rotate team members out and bring in someone new. That change of pace often helps clients and staff alike.

Jacobsen: Particularly in the summer, we see a rise in natural disasters—fires, hurricanes, and floods. In those cases, people may be forced into impromptu transitions because their homes are damaged or destroyed. Do you ever find your work intersecting with those situations, where your skills and sensitivity are especially needed?

Hammond: Not often. We don’t typically do remediation or emergency recovery work. In Tennessee, the natural disasters we usually face are tornadoes or flooding, which generally result in the total loss of personal property. In those cases, there’s not much we can do directly. However, we do step in for smaller-scale emergencies. For example, if a refrigerator water line bursts and damages the kitchen, we’ll pack out the kitchen, organize everything so repairs can happen, and then put everything back once the work is done. That way, the family can continue their lives with as little disruption as possible. While we don’t typically handle total-loss situations, we do assist families in select case-by-case scenarios where organization and care are required.

Jacobsen: When it comes to your entrepreneurial journey—especially given your social work background—you’ve mentioned that you and your team have learned a lot along the way. What have been the biggest lessons for you personally, and how have you used them to grow the company and strengthen your team?

Hammond: There’s a lot in that question, so I’ll try to cover it all. I would say the most significant learning curve has been realizing how many liabilities exist in the moving world—for the client, for the moving company, and for our team. Moving personal property is a serious responsibility. That has been a primary learning process for us: ensuring clients are protected and properly advised. We’ve turned that challenge into an opportunity by becoming experts ourselves and ensuring clients know that whenever personal property is moved, it has to be protected at the correct dollar value. Many of our high-end clients are collectors of fine art or high-value furniture, and a single truckload can be extremely valuable. We have to make sure their goods are adequately insured before the move takes place in case of unexpected damage. That’s been a massive part of our growth—continuing to refine our knowledge of insurance and liability so we can educate clients effectively. As for our team, we position ourselves as packing experts. Clients often comment, “Wow, that’s a lot of packing paper and bubble wrap,” when they unpack items we’ve packed. But that’s because things were filled correctly. People often underestimate the amount of material required for a safe move. When clients pack themselves, they usually don’t use enough, and that’s when breakage occurs. Our team is trained to use the right amount—even if it’s one more sheet of paper or one more layer of bubble wrap. It’s always better to overpack than to risk damage. Clients are far more forgiving about excess materials than they would be if something broke.

Jacobsen: What happens when people attempt to move on their own without professional expertise? That’s a necessary follow-up.

Hammond: Not every client is right for what we do, and there are certainly opportunities to save money by doing it yourself. Some people want to be DIY movers, and they accept the risks that come with it. You really have to decide which camp you fall into: Are you a DIYer who wants to save money but is willing to take on the risk? Or are you the type of client who wants the protection and expertise of professionals, even if it costs more? For those who go the DIY route, one of the biggest mistakes is underestimating the scope of the project. Moving always takes longer than expected. It’s not a small feat—it’s physically demanding, time-consuming, and exhausting. People often realize too late that they bit off more than they could chew.

Jacobsen: What’s the most disastrous story you’ve heard where a DIY move went completely wrong because someone overestimated their ability to pull it off?

Hammond: Here’s a perfect example—and fortunately, this wasn’t one of our clients. I heard about it from a building that usually refers clients to us. In a brand-new high-rise apartment complex in a nice part of Nashville, someone moving in accidentally hit a sprinkler head while carrying in a large piece of furniture. They couldn’t get the water turned off quickly enough, and it flooded 12 floors down. The damage exceeded a million dollars, and it triggered insurance battles and endless headaches. Something that seems minor—like bumping a wall or scraping a surface—can escalate quickly. In this case, one wrong move caused catastrophic damage, the kind of nightmare nobody wants to face.

Jacobsen: You became an entrepreneur at 27. What has been the most fulfilling part of this journey for you?

Hammond: Every day is different, and that’s been very fulfilling. On a deeper level, everyone has a desire to feel helpful and valuable. For me, it’s gratifying when families ask for help with a project that feels overwhelming to them, or when seniors cannot do the move themselves—whether for health reasons or just because, after 85 years of living, their bodies can’t handle that kind of physical work anymore. Being able to step in, provide a quality service, and take care of them is deeply satisfying. The gratitude from clients makes the job worthwhile.

Jacobsen: Do you have any favourite quotes about moving or life transitions?

Hammond: I’m not really a quote person, so pulling one off the top of my head is tough. But within our team, we often say we try to turn lemons into lemonade. It’s become a daily practice for us. Things will always come up, challenges will always happen—it’s about how we handle them and solve the problems. Problem-solving is what we do every day, and keeping a positive attitude is key. Turning lemons into lemonade has been essential for our team.

Jacobsen: Excellent. Justin, thank you very much for your time today. I appreciate you sharing your expertise. It was great to meet you. I’ll be in touch with your media contact once I’ve drafted the piece. This interview is earmarked for The Good Men Project as a first submission. If it doesn’t run there, I’ll submit it to other publications I have access to—and I also have my own outlet. So either way, your time won’t be wasted. It’s just a matter of where and which audience it reaches.

Hammond: That sounds great.

Jacobsen: Excellent. Thanks so much, Justin. Bye.

Hammond: I appreciate it. Thank you.

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