In this podcast, Brian Scudamore talks about the transition to Web-based marketing, and the business benefit of using social media.

The Dr. Phil Show. The New York Times. Oprah. The media spotlight shines brightly on 1-800-Got-Junk?  and its 1,000  big blue shiny trucks. Since it started in 1989, 1-800-Got-Junk? has hauled way more than one million truckloads of refuse from home and businesses. In fact, 1-800-Got-Junk? has become one of the North America’s fastest growing companies with 335 franchise locations in the United States, Canada, and Australia. The recipe for 1-800-Got-Junk?’s success includes a touch of Horatio Alger, a dash of best practices from well-known companies much as McDonalds, a blue-ribbon workplace, and a blend of the right Web-based tools and technologies, including social media.

Originally known as The Rubbish Boys, Brian Scudamore,1-800-Got-Junk?’s
founder and CEO, rebranded the company in 1998 to take advantage of its e-commerce business model, called JunkNet. All of the booking and dispatching task of franchisees’ customer calls go through JunkNet, which acts as a central repository for customers’ information and histories, and manages company accounting functions.  A wireless interface built by 1-800-Got-Junk?’s IT department enables franchisees’ truck drivers to use their cell phones to view bookings in real time throughout the day. As a result, drivers can take on additional jobs.

Now 1-800-Got-Junk? is extending its Web-based reach to use social media to get its marketing message to potential customers, and prospective franchisees, as well as to keep in touch with current franchisees.

Bio
Brian Scudamore is the founder and CEO of 1-800-GOT-JUNK?.  He started the company at the age of 18, after seeing an old junk hauling truck in a McDonald’s parking lot. He invested his $700 savings in a truck and started The Rubbish Boys. Ten years later, Scudamore changed the business name to 1-800-GOT-JUNK? and began to franchise as a way to expand operations rapidly across North America. Today, 1-800-GOT-JUNK? has more than 335 franchise locations in the United States, Canada, and Australia.

A leading entrepreneur, Scudamore has received wide recognition in the North American media and business community. 1-800-GOT-JUNK? has been featured in over 3,000 news stories, including articles in Fortune Magazine, Inc. Magazine, Business Week, Entrepreneur Magazine, and The Wall Street Journal. Scudamore has appeared on Oprah, Dr. Phil Show, Rachael Ray, CNBC, and CNN. He also contributes a monthly column to PROFIT Magazine.

Resources
Entrepreneurial advice from Brian Scudamore - Evan Carmichael
Planning a Vivid Future: Brian Scudamore’s Key Move - www.startupnation.com
Of trash and treasure - The New York Times

Production Credits
Elizabeth Ferrarini, Executive Producer
Tom Parish, Host and Audio Producer
Audio Editing by Doug Marcis