About Brian Scudamore
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| Grew from $201,532 to $8,057,563 in revenues in 5 years (3,898% growth) ----- 1-800-GOT-JUNK? is a full-service junk removal company. We'll remove almost anything – from old furniture and appliances to garden waste and renovation debris. Plus, we do all the loading and cleanup, wherever the items are – you don't have to lift a finger except to point what’s to be taken away. |
Recent Article:
Have a clear vision and focus on the people
- For more on Brian Scudamore visit www.1800gotjunk.com
How did you get started? - In 1989 I was in a McDonald’s drive-thru. I was a high school dropout one course short of graduation and I knew I needed to find a way to pay for college. In the drive-thru there was a beat-up pickup truck in front of me that said Mark’s Hauling. I thought the hauling business was a great idea and with my last $700, I bought a truck and got started. I drove around town and when I saw someone with a pile of junk I knocked on their door and offered to take it away from them for a fee. That helped me fund my college education. I actually dropped out one year before graduation because I was learning more from my business than from school.
Advice for entrepreneurs - Have a clear vision – Know what your future looks like, feels like, and acts like. It has to be a compelling vision that gets your people excited and focused. Latch onto that picture as though it has already happened. Transport yourself into the future so you can see it with picture clarity. Share it with your team so they can see it and do what it takes to achieve it.
It’s all about people - When people come to our head office there is a decal on the wall that says: “It’s All About People.” Every decision we make we take into consideration the people in the business. We are only as strong as the weakest person in the company. Never ever compromise on the quality of people you bring into the organization. It’s first who, then what?
Franchise – I weighed the pros and cons of franchising. With the franchising model I believed we could get all the brilliant minds from different backgrounds and together we could build something much bigger than I could have ever done alone. Because there are so many people with different investments in the company we are all unified in this business. I ran the business for 10 years prior to franchising so I worked out all the bugs and tweaked the model. You need a proven success story before you can sell to franchisees. Jumping in too soon can be deadly. Building upon a success story can be a great model.
Mistakes to avoid? - The biggest mistake relates back to people. All the times that I made the wrong decisions were with the wrong people at the franchise or head office level. The longest day in a manager’s life is the day you realize you have the wrong person on board. We are a lot more careful through our interview process to make sure we bring the right people to the table. We are careful and selective. It’s easy in start-up phase when employment levels are down and it’s hard to find good people to compromise but you can’t compromise on the level of people you bring into the organization.
Don’t interview one by one - We do something a little unique when bringing new people on board. We have a group interview process – one or two employees interview 6-10 candidates at once. We see how they interact as a group, how social people are, and how quickly they can think on their feet. You learn a lot all at once. You can see how they stack up against each other immediately. It’s an effective time saver and reveals the best people, who rise to the top throughout the process.
Ask the right questions – The most important interview question I ask is: ‘Why do you want to do this?’Are they giving you a BS answer or are they passionate and honest about why they are excited. Are their eyes sparkling? People have to have that spark for what we’re building to be a part of our brand. That’s our most important interview question. Why do you really want to do this? How badly do you want this?
Learn from your mistakes - To me it’s less about the mistake than what you do with that mistake. Do you learn from it and improve from it? Learn while the company is small so you don’t make mistakes when the company is larger. We debrief with the team to make sure we don’t repeat those mistakes.
If you were starting in a different industry, what would it be? - I’m so in love with my business and my industry and building a global brand that it’s hard to answer. I’m so in love with the one I’m with that this is it for me. I don’t believe that I’ll get into another business. I’m about staying focused. When you find the right idea my advice is to keep at it.
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