The Story of Wildcat Moving

A Ford Bronco and Motorcycle Trailer

Constitutional Victory

You’re 8 years old on summer break from school, and one sunny weekend while going for a walk around the block, you notice the neighborhood kids have a lemonade stand with a long line of sweaty customers. Thirsty, you patiently wait your turn with 50 cents in your pocket. However, when you finally make your way to the front of the stand, the neighborhood kids tell you it’s $5/cup. You’ve waited this long, and although everyone else seems annoyed by the price, this is the only Lemonade stand you’ve seen in town. With no other option, you begrudgingly buy a cup, only to notice that the lemonade is warm, the cup only half-filled, and the taste off-putting. You scowl as you walk off; you’re only 8 years old, but you know it shouldn’t cost $5 for a poor attempt at lemonade. Then suddenly, you get an idea.

The next weekend, your parents help you set up a table in the front yard with a sign selling lemonade for 50 cents — a fair price based on how much it costs you to make. You make sure it’s made fresh with plenty of sugar, that it stays cold with ice, and you fill the Styrofoam cup to the brim. Throughout the day, more and more people stop by, buying cup after cup and telling you how great the lemonade tastes. Things are going great, until later that afternoon the neighboring lemonade stand kids and their parents stop by. They tell you that you’re not allowed to have a lemonade stand in their neighborhood without their approval. Even worse, they tell you that if you don’t stop selling your delicious lemonade at a fair price, they’re going to take away your lemonade stand altogether. They’ve even done this before.

As you know, we don’t sell lemonade. But the story above is a powerful analogy for the unfair (and un-American) treatment Wildcat Moving encountered when opening its doors for business in 2010.

Before RJ started Wildcat Moving in 2010 there was a high demand for moving, but a low supply of professional movers. The cost of moving had become artificially high, and unfortunately, provided a low quality of service — the lemonade was not only expensive, but distasteful. When Wildcat offered a solution to the community through fair pricing with a focus on customer service, the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet threatened to shutter its doors for operating without a “certificate of necessity” — the neighborhood kids didn’t give Wildcat permission to open a lemonade stand.



In true Wildcat fashion, RJ decided to fight back against the antiquated, anti-competition Kentucky law. With the help of the Pacific Legal Foundation, a two-year battle ensued. The result? A Federal judge ruled the certificate of necessity practice unconstitutional. In the years since the landmark ruling, numerous other moving companies have entered the marketplace to bolster fair competition — lemonade stand bullies no more!