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- The World's Largest Junk Company ♻️
The World's Largest Junk Company ♻️
Finlay Williams
July 22, 2024
2 minute wacky businesses, you can tell your buddies about 🧠
Ever heard of 1-800-GOT-JUNK? If not, you're in for a treat. Founded by Brian Scudamore, this unconventional junk removal business has grown into a $600 million a year empire (not to mention the parent company Scudamore also started that grew his empire a further $100M a year).
Beers n BBQs 🍻
1-800-GOT-JUNK is a classic “boring business”. They collect and dispose of junk. That’s it. However, this is possibly the grandfather of all boring businesses, as 1-800-GOT-JUNK is the world’s largest junk company. They started in 1989 and now have 1,000+ trucks in nearly 200 locations across North America, Canada and Australia.
Brian dropped out of college to focus on the business, initially struggling with management and growth. Five years in, he rebooted the company by firing his entire staff (?!), then rebuilt it with a new hiring strategy. Brian’s business ethos now rotates around hiring the right people, tested through his unique "Beer and BBQ Test". A simple strategy, “Would I have a beer with this person” and “Would this person fit in at a BBQ with the entire team?”.
What are the nuggets? 💎
♻️ Oprah!? 1-800-GOT-JUNK was showcased on the Oprah Winfrey show back in 2010. Brian Scudamore notes this as a pivotal moment for the business, unsurprisingly.
♻️ A model designed for growth: 1-800-GOT-JUNK is actually a franchise business. Each location is owned and operated by local residents. This made expansion a hell of a lot easier. They now have over 200 franchise locations across North America and Australia. Whole lotta trash…
♻️ The umbrella: Scudamore's O2E Brands umbrella includes other service-oriented companies such as WOW 1 DAY PAINTING, which offers fast, professional painting services; Shack Shine, providing house detailing services including window washing and gutter cleaning; and You Move Me, a moving company aimed at transforming the typically stressful moving experience into a pleasant one.
Figures laid out 💵
♻️ Revenue: $600+ million annually
♻️ Customer Engagement: Millions of web visits every month
♻️ Founding Year: 1989
♻️ Initial Investment: Started with a $700 pickup truck and fully bootstrapped!
♻️ Growth Rate: Consistent 20% year-on-year growth for the past three years
♻️ Fun Fact: The company was originally called "The Rubbish Boys" before rebranding to the catchier and more memorable "1-800-GOT-JUNK?"
Founder, Brian Scudamore
What’s the cherry on top? 🍒
1-800-GOT-JUNK? has turned junk removal into a multimillion-dollar empire, largely due to their PR prowess. In 2019 1-800-GOT-JUNK was featured on millions of Starbucks cups during their “The Way I See It” campaign. Not to mention the whole Oprah thing…
My personal thoughts 💭
This guy is a SHARK. Brian has killed it since 1989 and has a consistent track record of levelling up every 10 years in a massive way. Not counting the consistent 20% growth YoY…
That’s pretty awesome in my eyes.
See ya tomorrow folks! 👋
Fin
Would you like to own a business similar to 1-800-GOT-JUNK? |
P.S. If you're crushing it with your own unconventional empire, hit me up! I'm always looking for inspiring stories to share.
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