The Story Behind Get Simple Box: Our History & Core Values

  • August 11, 2026

At Get Simple Box, we specialize in the rental, sale, modification, and delivery of high-quality shipping containers for residential storage, commercial job sites, and local moves. But if you look behind our fleet of clean, storage containers, you will find a story built on family, hard work, continuous learning, and a simple core belief: People Matter More than Things.

Here is the story of how a 17-year-old student’s senior project grew into a multi-state portable storage company serving communities across the West.

Table of Contents

1997: High School Dream & Storage Beginnings

Ross Black founded the business in Lynden, WA as a senior high school project, securing an $11,000 loan by putting up his 1968 Ford Mustang as collateral.

Get Simple Box  started in 1997 with a high school senior named Ross Black. Encouraged by his dad, Dave, Ross wanted to build a real business with recurring cash flow that excelled in customer service and allowed owners and employees to use their time, talent, and treasure to make a positive difference in the world.

Ross had been working since age 13, washing dishes, doing janitorial work, and running a small festival concession stand, saving enough money to buy his dream car: a 1968 Ford Mustang Fastback. When his senior class project allowed him time outside of school to build a business, he drafted a business plan to convert an empty downtown Lynden warehouse into a heated mini-storage facility called All Weather Mini Storage.

His initial request for a $50,000 loan was praised by bankers as bold, but promptly denied. A local loan officer at US Bank, advised Ross to break the project into smaller phases. Ross regrouped and requested an $11,000 loan, putting up $9,000 in collateral by making the tough sacrifice to sell his beloved 1968 Mustang.

1999: The Risk Pays Off & First Expansion

The initial mini-storage phase filled quickly, allowing the business to construct Phase 2 and grow to 50 fully rented units.

The sacrifice paid off. Phase 1 of the mini-storage was built, the first storage units were rented immediately, and Ross was able to purchase a 1969 Mach 1 Mustang.

By the following summer, construction on Phase 2 commenced. Soon, all 50 heated mini-storage units were completely full, proving that local residents and small businesses valued clean, reliable, high-trust storage.

2003–2004: Shipping Containers Arrive at Wiser Lake

After a warehouse deal fell through, Ross and Dave discovered shipping container storage, setting up their first 20 boxes on the Guide Meridian in Whatcom County.

As storage demand kept growing, Ross considered converting another 17,000-square-foot warehouse. When that deal fell through, he attended the National Mini Storage Convention in Las Vegas and noticed a fringe industry: converting used ocean shipping containers into portable storage units.

Dave quickly saw the massive potential, and his vision soon expanded the business path. Ross focused on sourcing good container pricing, while Dave searched for land. Dave found a 7-acre property along the Guide Meridian, the busiest road in Whatcom County, known as the Wiser Lake Trading Post. Half covered in blackberry bushes and half occupied by a dilapidated flea market, it offered cheap rent and high visibility.

Within weeks, Dave and Ross cleared the blackberries and brought in their first order of 20 shipping containers. As the delivery truck pulled into the yard, Ross said out loud, “What on earth have we gotten ourselves into?”

Using a rented forklift, they unloaded the containers in rows. Before the first day ended, a local customer called asking to buy one, and a berry farmer called asking to rent a box delivered directly to his farm. By the end of the month, they were ordering more containers and searching for their own delivery truck and forklift.

2005: Growth & Leading Through Values

As the portable storage fleet grew past 100 monthly rentals, Dave stepped up to lead operations while Ross spent five years serving full-time in non-profit ministry work.

The business continued its steady rise, and when monthly rentals surpassed 150 units, Ross returned to work full-time alongside Dave in the company. 

Around the same time, Ross and his wife, Taya, felt called to volunteer full-time with a national non-profit family ministry called FamilyLife, moving to Little Rock, Arkansas in 2005. Dave stepped up to run the company day-to-day, while Ross consulted remotely.

During those five years, the container rental fleet expanded from 100 units to nearly 500 monthly rentals. Ross gained critical experience in organizational leadership, team development, and brand building, noting that his time in business made him a better non-profit leader, and his time in ministry made him a better business owner.

2010: Laying the Foundation for Scale

Ross returned to the business armed with executive leadership tools, focusing on building an enjoyable work culture and scalable operating systems.

When Ross returned full-time in 2010, he re-entered not just as an operator, but as an architect, building a company designed to scale while protecting its core values.

In August 2012, Ross and Dave created the brand name Get Simple Box to power the company’s future. Despite facing tough competition, the unified brand identity, clean logo, and commitment to hospitality helped the business post steady, continuous growth across the Pacific Northwest.

2011–2020: Expanding Across the West Coast & Southwest

Get Simple Box expanded beyond Whatcom County, opening yards across Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and Arizona.

  • 2011 (Burlington, WA): Added a satellite yard off I-5 taking Exit 231 to serve Skagit and Island Counties (including Coupeville and Oak Harbor).
  • 2014 (Stanwood, WA): Established our North Sound footprint (originally opened in Marysville before expanding to our primary Stanwood yard) owned by Keith and Melissa Hutsell, serving Edmonds and Snohomish County.
  • 2015 (Ellensburg, WA): Opened an Eastern Washington yard, proving that the model serves rural, agricultural, and mountain communities like Snoqualmie Pass.
  • 2016 (Hayden, ID): Expanded out of state to serve North Idaho, Sandpoint, and Spokane.
  • 2017 (Salem, OR): Long-time team members Trevor and Brittney Eshuis became the first employees to become yard owners, moving to Salem to serve Portland, Eugene, and the Oregon coast. An additional location was added in Prosser, WA to serve the Tri-Cities.
  • 2020 (Phoenix, AZ): Expanded to the Southwest when team members Mark and Cher Harrison moved to Arizona to launch our Phoenix operating yards.

Today & Beyond: Franchising, 2-Second Lean & Our Core Mission

Get Simple Box operates under a core mission (Honor God, Make a Difference, Make it Better, Make a Profit) and relies on 2-Second Lean continuous improvement to deliver top customer service.

Today, Get Simple Box continues expanding through licensing, helping local entrepreneurs build healthy, residual-income businesses.

Our Team Culture: The Ideal Team Player

Every member of the Get Simple Box team, from yard mechanics and modification techs to delivery drivers and office managers, strives to embody four traits:

  • HUMBLE: No big egos. Quick to offer help, give credit to others, admit mistakes, and take out the trash.
  • HUSTLE: Getting started early, moving at a fast pace, and finishing one extra task before the day is done.
  • SMART x2: Combining work skills with “people smarts”, anticipating customer needs and putting themselves in the customer’s shoes.
  • KIND x3: Pleasant, trustworthy, and thankful. Going out of their way to treat people better than expected.

Continuous Improvement: 2-Second Lean

To eliminate waste and keep prices fair, our team practices 2-Second Lean (inspired by Paul Akers). We empower every employee to notice small friction points daily and make quick 2-second fixes. Eliminating waste in our yards keeps our equipment clean, our delivery times fast, and our customer experience hassle-free.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Who founded Get Simple Box?

Get Simple Box was founded in 1997 by Ross Black in Lynden, WA as a senior high school class project, with key co-founding leadership from his father, Dave Black.

Where is Get Simple Box located?

Get Simple Box operates yards across four states: Washington (Burlington, Stanwood, Lynden, Ellensburg, Prosser), Oregon (Salem), and Arizona (Phoenix).

What makes Get Simple Box different from other container companies?

We are a service business that happens to provide storage containers. We offer 33% more volume in our 20ft units than standard competitor moving pods, perform in-house custom modifications ($150 wall vents), and treat customers with warmth, honesty, and care.

Does Get Simple Box offer container moving services?

Yes! We deliver clean 20ft containers to your driveway, let you load at your own pace, and transport the container to your new property or hold it in our secure yard.

Work with a Storage Team That Cares

Whether you need a 20ft container rental for a home remodel, a 40ft High Cube for a job site, or a custom-modified box with louvered wall vents, Get Simple Box is here to help. Call Our Team Today: (855) 123-4567, get a fast container quote online, or find one of our local operating yards across WA, OR, CA and AZ.

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