*By Carlo Versano* Before there was KonMari, there was 1-800-GOT-JUNK? Brian Scudamore started the junk removal service as a way to pay for college, using his pickup to haul people's unwanted and unloved things from their homes. Since then, he branched out into house painting (WOW 1 DAY PAINTING), moving (You Move Me), and home detailing (Shack Shine) ー a thriving home improvement business under the umbrella of his company, O2E Brands. Scudamore, whose new book "WTF?! (Willing to Fail)" documents his struggles and successes as an entrepreneur, told Cheddar that it's especially important for business leaders to highlight the ways in which they've stumbled now that social media seems to add a patina of success and happiness to everything. Nobody seems to post photos showing themselves in the midst of making a mistake, the CEO said. "I've had plenty of dark days," Scudamore said, including bouts of depression and anxiety attacks as he worked to get his business off the ground. "I did fail a lot in the early years." He advised entrepreneurs toying with their big idea not to worry about catching lightning in a bottle. Instead, tweak, iterate, make it better. Scudamore thinks of his stable of brands as children, he said. Sometimes they stumble and as the parent, he has to pick them back up. And, just like a parent, he still makes mistakes, too. Scudamore's main business of junk removal has been lifted by the popularity of Marie Kondo, her book and subsequent Netflix ($NFLX) show, in which she urges people to tidy their homes by asking themselves whether items "spark joy." While the concept is trendy now, a similar mindset has been around for decades. The success of 1-800-GOT-JUNK? is indicative of a "keeping up with the Joneses" problem in our consumer culture, Scudamore said, where we keep buying and collecting without giving much thought as to what we already have. Does that make Scudamore the original KonMari evangelist? "Marie Kondo's got it figured out," he said. For full interview [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/1-800-got-junk-ceo-says-failure-is-key-to-finding-business-success).

Share:
More In Business
Starbucks’ Change Flushes Out a Debate Over Public Restroom Access
Starbucks’ decision to restrict its restrooms to paying customers has flushed out a wider problem: a patchwork of restroom use policies that varies by state and city. Starbucks announced last week a new code of conduct that says people need to make a purchase if they want to hang out or use the restroom. The coffee chain's policy change for bathroom privileges has left Americans confused and divided over who gets to go and when. The American Restroom Association, a public toilet advocacy group, was among the critics. Rules about restroom access in restaurants vary by state, city and county. The National Retail Federation says private businesses have a right to limit restroom use.
Trump Highlights Partnership Investing $500 Billion in AI
President Donald Trump is talking up a joint venture investing up to $500 billion for infrastructure tied to artificial intelligence by a new partnership formed by OpenAI, Oracle and SoftBank. The new entity, Stargate, will start building out data centers and the electricity generation needed for the further development of the fast-evolving AI in Texas, according to the White House. The initial investment is expected to be $100 billion and could reach five times that sum. While Trump has seized on similar announcements to show that his presidency is boosting the economy, there were already expectations of a massive buildout of data centers and electricity plants needed for the development of AI.
Load More