Going for the green: how 1-800-GOT-JUNK? Is saving money and the environment.

• Author: Whitesides, Hilary Ingoldsby
• Position: Lessons Learned

When 1-800-GOT-JUNK? felt the pinch of the nations economic downturn, owner Brian Gibson went back to the drawing board to find a solution. What he came up with was a big risk, but you know what they say about taking risks: the bigger the risk, the bigger the possible reward. Not only did the well-planned gamble pay off, but it changed the way the local franchise does business and created a win-win situation for the company, local community and environment.

Surviving and Thriving

In 2003, 1-800-GOT-JUNK? arrived in Utah and immediately started cleaning up--figuratively and literally. The company, which prides itself as being a professional junk removal service, averaged an 89 percent growth every year from 2003 to 2007. Gibson credits the growth to the needed service the company provides, and the Salt Lake City franchise quickly made a name for itself as the perfect solution for hard-to-dispose items.

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"We do all the loading and clean up," Gibson says. "All the customers really need to do is call us and point to what they want gone and we do the rest whether it be old furniture, campers, appliances, boats, construction materials, old computers--anything."

Near the end of 2007, economic warning signs appeared and like many companies, 1-800-GOT-JUNK? experienced declining revenues for the first time since its 2003 inception. Gibson and his team looked at the worldwide economic troubles and realized the company was going to be hit hard.

In 2008, the company lost 35 percent in revenue and in 2009 the company experienced an additional 35 percent decrease from 2008. Since some consumers considered junk removal a luxury, Gibson knew that the survival of the business depended on some serious changes. But survival wasn't enough. Gibson also wanted his employees and company to thrive despite the challenges.

"Not only did we want to improve profitability and survive, but we also wanted to improve employee engagement and continue being good corporate citizens," he says.

Innovative Thinking Key

Like many businesses, Gibson realized he "hadn't been careful enough during the fat years," and decided it was time to fine-tune each and every process and employee. Gibson's top cost is labor so, like many in his shoes, he "got rid of a few bad apples," and didn't rehire as many employees when natural attrition occurred.

As Gibson looked for more ways to save money and improve the business, his mind quickly turned to diverting items from...