GOT JUNK? trash-hauling entrepreneurs hope Coloradans do.

• Author: Smith, Kathy
• Position: Attitude at Altitude

Let's face it, the trash-removal business doesn't exactly evoke images of a white-glove operation. Disheveled drivers in broken-down trucks, more likely.

But changing that stereotype is the mantra of 1-800-GOT-JUNK?

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Founder and CEO Brian Scudamore is taking junk removal to higher professional, technical and customer-service levels. In 1989, at age 18, Scudamore started hauling trash with one truck, $700 and a cell phone. Today, he has more than 350 trucks, $120 million in revenue, and a custom-designed, Web-based booking system that handles all customers calls.

"If there is any message I want to get out to the general business population, it is that you can build a successful company with hard work, smart investments and the courage to take a risk," said Scudamore. "This is how companies like Wrigley's, Apple computers and Snapple did it--without an IPO."

Scudamore started his first company, Rubbish Boys, hauling trash every summer throughout his college years. The slogan of his company then was "We'll Stash Your Trash in a Flash" and, although his company slogan has changed to today's 1-800-GOT-JUNK?, his goal--to make his Vancouver, British Columbia-based company and phone number a household name--remains the same.

He put his employees in uniforms, emblazoned trucks with the phone number/logo and implemented a volume-based rate system for both commercial and residential services.

His planning paid off. By 1996 Rubbish Boys reached $1 million in annual revenues. Shortly thereafter, Scudamore acquired the name and phone number 1-800-GOT-JUNK? and in 1999 the first franchise was purchased. Within two years, six more franchises opened in North America. Today, there are more than 200 franchises domestically and internationally, making 1-800-GOT-JUNK? the world's largest junk-removal service.

The first Colorado franchise opened September 2003...