YAPClassic: Brian Scudamore on Turning Trash into Cash

2022-04-20

Brian Scudamore dropped out of both high school and college. But, at just 19 years old, Brian built a multimillion-dollar business that would come to be known as 1-800-GOT-JUNK?, the company that pioneered the industry of professional junk removal. Brian then went on to use his success to scale two more home-service brands under his parent company of O2E Brands, WOW 1 DAY PAINTING and Shack Shine. Brian attributes his success to hiring the right people, dreaming big, and being willing to fail. Through franchising his companies, he’s also inspired thousands of entrepreneurs to live their dreams of owning businesses. In this #YAPClassic, Brian and Hala talk about Brian’s perspectives on financing a new company, why companies should all build their business like they plan on franchising, what elements must be considered while branding, and so much more.

Topics Include:

- Childhood and how he was as a student

- Making your own luck and not taking no for an answer

- Perspective on getting loans and taking on debt when running a business

- Copying businesses and Scaling business

- Story of Acquiring Wow One Day Painting

- Elements to consider when branding

- Story of 1-800-GOT-JUNK?

- Brian on firing his team and starting over

- The importance of customer focus

- “The Painted Picture”

- Brian on being a visionary vs an implementer

- Building a business like a franchise

- Brian’s secret to profiting

- And other topics…

Brian Scudamore is the founder and CEO of O2E Brands, the parent company of 1-800-GOT-JUNK?, WOW 1 DAY PAINTING, and Shack Shine. Each brand has franchise locations in every major metro in North America and Australia.

Brian is the author of the books WTF?! (Willing to Fail): How Failure Can Be Your Key to Success And his second book, BYOB: Build Your Own Business, Be Your Own Boss. He is also

a regular contributor to Forbes, writing about small business ownership, franchising, and building corporate culture.

His companies have appeared on major media outlets including ABC Nightline, Good Morning America, Dr. Phil, CNN, The Today Show, Oprah, and CNBC. His story has been featured in Fortune Magazine, The New York Times, Huffington Post, and The Wall Street Journal.