If you dont believe the saying that one mans junk is another mans treasure, talk to the junk man.

Brian Scudamore is a youthful Vancouver visionary who has made millions off other peoples trash through an imaginative company named 1-800-Got-Junk? At last count, Scudamores junk- removal service boasted 105 North American franchises that have taken the business to a new level with an online bookings system, and now the 34-year-old San Francisco native envisions his junk business as a global enterprise.

His success formula is as simple as the business itself. Set yourself apart from the crowd by doing what others arent doing and market, market, market.

That would explain the driver with the blue clown wig and shiny blue truck.

Bayne Stanley, Business Edge

Brian Scudamore was in a fast-food drive-through lineup when he realized junk could be his ticket to revenue.

1. Who was your boyhood hero? Probably my grandfather (Kenneth Lorber). He ran an army surplus store in San Francisco and I used to go down every Christmas and every summer holiday to go work there. I just loved the fact that he was a business owner and I liked the whole game of running a store. He taught me a lot about dealing with people and knowing that the goal at the end of the day besides making money and growing the business is satisfying your customers and keep them coming back. He knew his customers by name and it was a friendly atmosphere in the store.

2. Are your parents also entrepreneurs? No. My dad (Charles Scudamore) is a liver transplant surgeon and my mother (Victoria) is a Realtor. Ironically, my dad always wanted me to pursue some sort of academic education, but I actually dropped out of high school. He doesnt know that. Or he does now  but he didnt know it at the time. I had one course left and didnt graduate. Then, I also dropped out of university (as a commerce student at the University of British Columbia) with one year left. I remember he was very much against it. He wanted me to either follow in his footsteps or do something academic. Id always gone against the grain with my mom and dad and I was my own person and had my own vision of what I wanted to do. They support me now and, of course when they realized I was doing well they supported my decision. But they were just looking out for me.

3. Before getting into the junk removal business with the Rubbish Boys business that preceded 1-800-Got-Junk?, in what other business were you involved? I did things like car washes that Id run on the weekends. With the car wash, I got into a price war with the neighbouring business. I also had a school store that I set up when I was in boarding school for a year. I competed so heavily with the school store that the school ended up shutting me down. I basically wasnt a great student in Grade 8 and my parents sent me away to a private (boarding) school where I could get a little more attention and direction. It was good for me and helped straighten me out a bit. I was very rebellious as a youngster. Eventually I grew up, realizing that its a tough world out there and you need to follow the rules.

4. How did you get your start in the junk business? I was in a McDonalds drive-through line, of all places, and in front of me was a beat-up old pickup truck with plywood sides built up on the box. The sign on the side of the truck said Marks Hauling. I just looked at that truck and I thought, Hey, Im right out of high school and I need a way to pay for college, so that can be my ticket. I had $1,000 in the bank, so I spent $700 on a pickup truck. I started pounding the pavement, driving sales, knocking on doors. And the rest is history.

5. What was the turning point for that business? In 1995, I read a book called The E-Myth by Michael Gerber. That book was all about building your business out by franchising, because franchises typically succeed at a much higher level than non-franchise businesses. Thats because of the level of systemization that is in place in franchise businesses. So I looked at what was missing in terms of systems, how to put those systems in place and set it up as a franchise even if I never planned on franchising. Once I got that big picture in mind to building something to scale, that was the turning point.

6. What sets your company apart from other junk-removal businesses? Were building a brand in an industry that has never had a brand, with clean shiny trucks, friendly, uniformed drivers, on-time service and up-front pricing. We are really creating what internally I refer to as the Fed-Ex of junk removal. Were the first to pioneer branding in this industry. Thats whats making us stand apart. We are leaps and bounds ahead of any sort of competition in this industry in terms of our size. Ive not seen anyone building a brand in this industry anywhere in the world. That surprises the heck out of me. Ive looked, and Ive looked hard. There are one- or two-truck operators trying to duplicate our business but no one has gotten it yet.

7. You once said youd welcome a worthy competitor. Did you really mean that? Sure, I still would. McDonalds wouldnt be where it is today 50 years after Ray Kroc started it if it wasnt for the competition from companies like Burger King, Wendys and Jack In The Box. I believe you need competition to further educate consumers that the industry exists. Most people dont realize that the service exists, and who better to draw attention to the industry than the competition?

8. Are you contemplating moving your business beyond North America? Oh, absolutely. By 2012, the vision is to be in 10 countries world-wide. Dont know which 10 countries, but theres 10 well be in. Its early in the game and theres still a big marketplace in North America. We now have 105 franchises (10 in Canada and 95 in the U.S.) and we could be at 500 in North America. Were in 47 of the top 50 metropolitan cities in North America.

9. You once pulled a franchise in Calgary. Was that over a dirty truck or what? It was a little more complicated than that. Its the only franchise weve pulled. It was because of trucks that were bashed in, unsafe, unclean and his (franchisees) drivers werent wearing uniforms. This was something we tried to fix and we worked together with him for an extended period of time. It just came down to the fact that it wasnt working, so we had to end the relationship. The franchise in Calgary now is doing so well. Calgarys in our top five markets in terms of volume. The others are Vancouver, Toronto, Washington and San Francisco.

10. You go to great lengths to create a relaxed atmosphere in your office. How important is that? Its very important because its an environment where you can tell people like to be here. People come in here and they cant believe how professional yet relaxed things are. Ive got my dog (Grizz is the companys director of greeting) in the office.

Weve just got a warm, welcoming environment. Grizz gets paid in doggy treats.

11. To what do you attribute your personal success in building your company and what management style has worked for you? I think its just that I can see a very clear vision and get people rallying around that vision. People believe in where I see us going and theyre here for the ride. As a manager, Im open. Honest. Approachable. Fair. Results driven.

12. What do you look for in franchisees? We really look for people who are driven, goal-oriented and people who are excited about our vision, excited about building a business and want to be a part of the brand were building. The philosophy is that were building something much bigger together than any one of us can build alone.

13. Whats your vision for 2006? By the end of 2006, we will have 250 franchise partners and well be at $100 million in system-wide sales. I came up with a vision of that size in 1998.

14. As sole owner of the company, would you ever take this company public? Ive considered it and Im sure that I wont. Franchising is our form of raising money and thats really whats working well with us.

15. Whats your best advice for a young entrepreneur? My advice would be to have a vision of exactly where you can take your business at all times and a vision that you can get excited about.

16. Whos the entrepreneur you most admire? I admire different things about different entrepreneurs. I admire (Subway founder) Fred DeLuca who has been a bit of a mentor. Ive gotten to know him. He really took his business from one sub shop where he had a vision in 10 years of having 32 locations; and eight years into it he only had two. Then, he decided to franchise his business and it grew very quickly. I admire his ability to take calculated risks and I admire his clear vision. I also admire Howard Schultz (the entrepreneur who built Starbucks). He made Starbucks what it is today.

17. How has success shaped you as a person and had an impact on your lifestyle? I get so much enjoyment out of the business that it has spilled over into other areas, like my personal life and so on. I love what I do. Im energized in the business and Im energized outside of it. Its something Im proud of and Ive made a lot of friends through the business. But Im still very modest. I dont spend a lot of money, I dont live in a fancy home and drive fancy cars. I never will be that type. I like to enjoy myself, but it doesnt take a lot of money to do it.

18. You take the day off tomorrow. How do you spend the day? You know what? Thats a tough question because Im so passionate about business that Im a lot happier being at work, seeing the excitement of whats going on, just watching the business grow and helping people get their jobs done and improve their skills. I think thats a good thing. Ive been challenged on that before and I think that if your hobby was fishing and you could fish for a living and still loved it every day, is that a bad thing? Its not like Im an unbalanced person to the point where I dont travel and experience other things in my life. One thing I like to do is travel, but I integrate my business into my travel and take the opportunity to see other businesses and learn from others. Learning is probably my hobby beyond business.

19. Youre 50 years old. Where are you and what are you doing? Im still doing this, only its just much, much bigger. By then, in 2020, certainly we would absolutely be the Fed-Ex of junk removal and this is going to be bigger than anyone, including myself, could ever have imagined. Im not interested in other businesses. Im a grow-where-youre-planted kind of guy. Ill be doing this forever. With so much potential with this, why should I start something else from scratch? And I dont invest in the stock market. If its not my business, I cant control it or understand it enough, I dont know if its what I want to do.

20. Now that youve been interviewed by Oprah and Business Edge, do you expect David Letterman to call soon? I sure hope so. The next goal is Letterman or (Jay) Leno. One day. Somehow. Itll happen.

THE COMPANY: 1-800-GOT-JUNK?

* Brass: Brian Scudamore, president/sole owner; Hendra Sondjaja, vice-president, finance; Cameron Herold, operations VP; Laurie Anthony Baggio, franchise development VP.

* Profile: Founded in 1989 as Rubbish Boys, the company is North Americas largest junk-removal business with 105 franchises, 95 in the U.S. and 10 in Canada. Western Canadian franchises are located in Vancouver, Victoria, the Fraser Valley, Edmonton and Calgary.

* Franchise Fees: $16,000 per exclusive territory ($6,000 for additional territories), $60,000 minimum capital investment.

* Franchise Info: franopps@1800gotjunk.com, 1-877-408-5865.

* Website: www.1800gotjunk.com

* HQ: 200-1523 West 3rd Ave., Vancouver, B.C., V6J 1J8.

* Phone: 1-800-468-5865.

IN PROFILE: Brian Scudamore

* Title: President/Sole Owner, 1-800-Got-Junk?

* Born/Raised/Age: San Francisco/ Vancouver/ 34.

* Education: University of British Columbia, commerce major (did not graduate).

* Family: Wife Lisa.

* Career: Scudamore has spent virtually his entire career in junk removal, beginning in 1989 with Rubbish Boys, the company that became 1-800-Got-Junk?

* Moonlighting: Scudamore is on the board of the Canadian Youth Business Foundation.

* Entrepreneurial Role Models: Fred DeLuca (Subway), Howard Schultz (Starbucks).

* Favourite Book: The E-Myth.

* Passions: Mentoring, travel.

(Gyle Konotopetz can be reached at gyle@businessedge.ca)