Cosvetrory
The genius
ofjunk Brian Scudamore
proves that one
man”s trash is an
entrepreneur”s
treasure
By Stephanie E. Ponder
AT 1-800-GOT-JUNK?, the writing is on the in 1989 and started The Rubbish Boys in Van- company would feel, look and act.
wall. Painted near the main entrance, goals couver as a way to pay for university (which “I envisioned us creating … a company
announce the company’s plans for the next he had talked his way into). The inspiration built on passion, integrity, professionalism
six years. The over-arching goal: build a glob- came to Scudamore one day when he saw and empathy,” explains Scudamore. “A place
ally admired brand with sales of $1 billion. a hauling business’s beat-up pickup truck where people could find great meaning
To get there, Brian Scudamore, the com- filled with junk drive by. He thought, “There’s through what we were all creating. A place
pany’s founder and CEO, has assembled a my ticket.” where we could build something bigger than
team of employees who share his enthusiasm For more than three years he balanced any one of us could ever have created alone.”
for being the name in junk removal. classes and work. “I was being asked by my Motivated by that vision, the first fran-
Scudamore (pronounced Skoo-damore) professors to speak about my business,” chise opened in Toronto in 1999. Between
started the business as a 17-year-old high- Scudamore tells The Connection. “I was mak- 1999 and 2002, 23 more franchise locations
school dropout. Eighteen years later, it is a ing money, and I had a great team of people.” opened. After that, business exploded, with
chain with 25 franchise locations in Canada, The young entrepreneur found himself so more than 150 locations opening in the next
182 in the U.S., one in Australia and one busy answering his cell phone during classes three years.
scheduled to open this spring in England. He’s to book appointments that, with only a semes-achieved success through an unfaltering vision ter left, he again dropped out of school. Slightly more than a business
of his company andfaithinhisemployees. The business continued at a slow but Anyone passing the reception desk at
“Nobody has ever built a brand in this steady pace for the next few years until 1998, 1-800-GOT-JUNK?’s Vancouver corporate
industry,”says Scudamore,a Costcomember. when Scudamore made two important offices, better known as the Junktion, is
That is, not until now. moves. First, he changed the company’s name greeted by one of Scudamore’s favourite
from The Rubbish Boys to 1-800-GOT- expressions—also painted on the wall—“It’s
Dump luck JUNK?, a catchier name that better described all about people.” To him, that means every-The idea behind the business is simple. the business. Second, he had a one-man
Everyone has junk. What they don’t have is retreat at his parents’ cabin on Bowen Island,
the time or resources to remove it. 1-800- British Columbia, where he visualized the
GOT-JUNK? does the dirty work for them. future of the business. He drew up a two-page
1-800-GOT-JUNK? operates in Canada,
the U.S. and Australia, with the first
UK location opening this spring.
Scudamore bought his first truck for $700 document outlining his vision of how the
The Costco Connection MARCH 2006 FROM THE CANADIAN EDITION
ARTICLE FEEDBACK
