Moments of brilliance can happen anywhere. Brian Scudamore found his
inspiration while in the drive-through lane at McDonald’s. Waiting for
his lunch, he saw an old junk truck pass by his car.
“There’s my ticket,” he thought, “I’m going to offer to haul people’s junk away.” The first year, The Rubbish Boys turned a modest profit but Brian had bigger plans. He formed a board of advisors and came up with a new name, logo, brand and image. Scudamore was about to move into a new era of doing business.
1-800-GOT-JUNK is a Canadian success story with more than 200 franchises operating in North America and Australia. Scudamore believes in the adage, “Work hard, work smart” but he admits that it hasn’t always been easy. He says there were days when he was in a cash flow crisis, he couldn’t meet payroll and had to let good friends go.
“You have to make tough decisions. Leaders have to do what’s best for the entire company and for your people.” He’s also a firm believer in visualization. “If you believe in your heart and your head that you can make it happen and never let your idea go, it will happen. It sounds simple, but it’s true.” So what’s Brian’s next goal? He wants to build a second brand with the goal of reaching $100 million dollars in revenue within five years.
Not bad for a guy that went for a cheeseburger and drove away with a multi-million dollar dream. That’s what I call a Happy Meal.
