88: Turning Junk Into Gold, with 1-800 GOT JUNK Founder Brian Scudamore

Stories from Franchisees & Founders

In this episode, Erik Van Horn is joined by Brian Scudamore on a favorite episode from the Franchise Secrets Podcast. 

Brian is a franchising legend. After realizing that he learned more from working than he did from studying, he dropped out of college to attack his junk removal business full-time. That business became 1-800-GOT-JUNK, a top-flight low cost to entry franchise that has swept both the US and Canada and annually grosses over a half billion dollars in revenue. He then branched out with his business partners to open two more rapidly growing franchise companies: Wow One Day Painting and Shack Shine, both of which are on pace to dominate their respective markets and gross over a half billion in revenue themselves.

Brian talks about his process of hiring the right people and how it made a tremendous difference in his company. He also emphasizes the importance of cultivating a healthy relationship with the franchise partners and how he was able to turn a small business into a well-oiled machine. Tune in to learn more about Brian’s one-of-a-kind franchise story! 

What we talk about:

• Brian Scudamore’s business and franchise journey
• “I realized that you've got to build a business through people finding the right people and treating them right.” - Brian Scudamore
• Brian’s process of hiring the right people - The beer and barbeque test
• Hiring somebody who’s smarter and better
• Helping the top-performing franchisees
• Helping franchisees help each other
• Different recipes for different franchises
• Talking about 1-800-GOTJUNK, OW 1Day Painting, and Shack Shine
• Things Brian does to help the franchise partners
• The power in building a national brand

 

• “Grow where you're planted, pick one niche that you want to chase, and do it really, really well.” - Brian Scudamore

 

• Lessons learned from the franchisees along the way
• Cultivating the relationship with the franchisees through a franchise advisory council
• Treating people like friends
• Franchisors admitting on mistakes made
• Finding gratitude in challenging times
• The impact of changing lives

What we mention:

• EO - Entrepreneurs' Organization
• O2E Brands
• 1-800-GOTJUNK
• WOW 1Day Painting
• Shack Shine
• WTF (Willing To Fail), book by Brian Scudamore and Roy H. Willams
• https://talkwitherik.com