Cameron Herold

Cameron Herold
Cameron Herold at a book signing for Double Double.
Born 1965 (age 49–50)
Toronto, Canada
Residence Vancouver, Canada
Alma mater Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada
Occupation Entrepreneur, Business writer, Business coach,
CEO BackPocket COO
Years active 1987 - present
Known for TED Speaker, former COO 1-800-GOT-JUNK
Spouse(s) Kimberley Brubeck Herold
Children 4
Website
www.cameronherold.com

Cameron Herold (1965) is a Canadian entrepreneur, business writer and coach. Associated with several start-ups and franchise corporations, he was notably COO of 1-800-GOT-JUNK? from 2000-2007.[1] An outspoken advocate of the entrepreneurship movement, especially entrepreneurship education, Herold gave a widely received TEDx talk Let's raise kids to be entrepreneurs in Edmonton, Canada, in 2010.[2][3]

Early life

Cameron Herold was born in Toronto and grew up in Greater Sudbury, Canada. He has a brother and a sister, both entrepreneurs, and comes from several generations of entrepreneurs.[4] During childhood, he and his siblings were strongly encouraged to cultivate entrepreneurial habits by their father.[5] Herold sold license plate protectors door-to-door and launched one of his first franchise initiatives by getting two paper routes and subcontracting one out.[2] While attending Carleton University, Herold became involved with the house painting franchise organization College Pro. He was responsible for supplying paint, supplies, marketing and employees’ wages and in return, Herold gained experience and the profits.[5] By the time he was 20, he had 10 students on his payroll. After graduation, he worked with the organization full-time opening new franchises in Canada and the Pacific Northwest. When he left in 1994, he had 400 employees.[4]

Career

Herold joined Boyd Autobody, a Canadian automotive collision and glass repairs company in 1994.[6] He was the Vice President of Franchise Development for 4 years during which time the company tripled in size.[7] Herold then joined Ubarter.com as Vice President of Corporate Development and relocated to grow the company into the United States. In 2000, he left the company and returned to Canada.[4]

1-800-GOT-JUNK?

1-800-GOT-JUNK?'s bold branding on a truck in Montreal

Herold met Brian Scudamore, founder of the waste removal service, when they had been active in the Young Entrepreneurs' Organization.[4] Scudamore started 1-800-GOT-JUNK? with a single truck in 1989 and the first permanent franchise launched in 1997 in Victoria, Canada.[8] Scudamore wanted to continue growing the company using a franchise model and hired Herold as chief operating officer in late 2000.[7]

Herold promoted the bold brand strategy and bootstrapped the company into more than 330 new locations over the next 6 years.[1] Herold created a vision for the company based on what he called the "Starbucks model", creating an employee-friendly cult-like corporate culture that included profit-sharing.[6] Transparency was a major tenet with metrics shared openly across the company and no private offices at headquarters.[9] Herold was innovative with cost-saving measures; he told employees that when their travel expenses were lower than budgeted, he'd split the savings with them. Travel costs went down about 40 percent.[10] By the time Herold left the company in 2007, sales had grown from $2M to $125M.[11] 1-800-GOT-JUNK?'s success was widely featured in mainstream media.[12]

BackPocket COO

In 2007, Herold started a consulting firm to mentor entrepreneurs.[10] One of his first clients was Fairway Divorce Solutions, who created the position of Executive Vice President of Corporate Development for Herold as they looked to create franchises.[12] He was named to the Board of Advisors of Nurse-Next-Door as they launched into franchising.[13] Herold also mentored the Toronto-based company I Love Rewards.

In addition to franchise growth, Herold's philosophy about an engaged corporate culture is a consistent theme in his work.[7] "There's no better way to combat a labour shortage than to develop a culture that sticks."[14] "You want employees to walk out of the office every day, saying, 'That was fun'."[15] Herold's clients and companies have often been recognized for their implementations: 1-800-GOT-JUNK? was named as a Canadian best workplace,[16] Nurse-Next-Door won an Achievers 50 Most Engaged Workplaces and BCBusiness magazine’s Best Companies to Work For,[13] and I Love Rewards (later renamed Achievers) won Achiever's Best Recognition.[17] Another of Herold's clients, Elite SEM, was named by Crain's as one of the Best Places To Work in 2014.[18]

Double Double

In 2011, Herold's book Double Double was published; the title refers to doubling the size of a business and then doubling it again. The book is a plan for entrepreneurs to quickly grow their companies over three years.[7] Reviews of the book were overall positive and Herold was noted for his practical, actionable advice.[19][20]

Entrepreneurship advocacy

Cameron Herold giving his TedX talk in Edmonton, Canada

Herold is an active, vocal proponent of education for and about entrepreneurship.[21] He has written and spoken on the emotional and behavioral disorders that are often associated with successful entrepreneurs such as Bipolar disorder.[22] Herold has also discussed the propensity of entrepreneurs, especially serial entrepreneurs, towards attention deficit disorder (ADD).[23] His belief is that certain conditions lend themselves to successful entrepreneurship and can be handled positively; "...Attention deficit disorder, bipolar disorder. Do you know that bipolar disorder is nicknamed the CEO disease?"[2]

Over a dozen times, he has lectured at the Entrepreneurial Masters Program sponsored by the Entrepreneurs' Organization and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Herold has also been a speaker at the annual Young Presidents' Organization global conference.[24]

Pinnacle Award

In 2014, Herold was recognized with a Pinnacle Award from the International Dyslexia Foundation for his work in helping remove some of the stigma around dyslexia and ADHD.[25] The award is given annually to a person who is leading a successful life and is a role model for others with dyslexia.

TEDx Talk

In 2010, Herold gave a featured TEDx talk in Edmonton entitled "Let's raise kids to be entrepreneurs."[2] The speech discussed how children who struggle in school, fail classes or are at odds with peers might be an entrepreneurs in the making.[26] Herold stated that the current school models tell children; "Don't be an entrepreneurial type. Fit into this other system and try to become a student."[2] He proposed implementing more entrepreneurial skill sets into national curriculums and moving towards open-source learning that features education in platform speaking, handling objections, and finances as core skills.[21] "Some of the entrepreneurial traits that you've got to nurture in kids: attainment, tenacity, leadership, introspection, interdependence, values. All these traits you can find in young kids, and you can help nurture them."[2] The talk was noted for tackling the issue of entrepreneurship and education.[23]

Private life

Herold is married with four children. He is an avid golfer and does not, as a rule, work on Fridays.[4]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Villano, Matt (May 1, 2006). "A Cache of Cash Cleaning Up Other People's Trash". New York Times. Retrieved 18 January 2015.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 Herold, Cameron. "Let's raise kids to be entrepreneurs". TED. Retrieved 18 January 2015.
  3. ↑ Reiss, Craig (August 20, 2010). "Why You Need to Know TED". Entrepreneur Magazine. Retrieved 18 January 2015.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 Staff (October 2008). "Entrepreneur Extraordinaire Cameron Herold" (PDF). http://www.notaries.bc.ca/home/index.rails''. The Scrivener, magazine of the BC Notaries Organization. Retrieved 18 January 2015.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Landauro, Inti (December 21, 2007). "How to Succeed in Business: Drop Out of School?". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 18 January 2015.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Staff writer (August 5, 2008). "Ignore your rivals". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 18 January 2015.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 Herold, Cameron (2011). Double double : how to double your revenue and profit in 3 years of less. Austin, TX: Greenleaf Book Press. ISBN 1608320995. Retrieved 18 January 2015.
  8. ↑ "How I did it: Brian Scudamore". Business in Vancouver. Retrieved 1 November 2013.
  9. ↑ Clark, Cynthia. "Creating Lasting Employee Engagement". 1to1 Media. Retrieved 1 November 2013.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 Meyers, Tiffany (February 11, 2009). "Frugal is Back". Entrepreneur Magazine. Retrieved 18 January 2015.
  11. ↑ Karlgaard, Rich (January 5, 2015). "Vivid Vision for Success". Forbes Magazine. Retrieved 18 January 2015.
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 MacDonald, Shauna. "Former COO of 1-800-GOT-JUNK? Joins Fairway Divorce Solutions as EVP of Corporate Development". Thomson Dialog NewsEdge. Retrieved 18 January 2015.
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 McCullough, Michael (November 29, 2013). "Canada’s Smartest Company 2014". The Profit Guide. Retrieved 18 January 2015.
  14. ↑ Sankey, Derek (August 29, 2008). "‘Have fun or you’re fired’". Vancouver Sun (CANWEST NEWS SERVICE). Retrieved 18 January 2015.
  15. ↑ Spence, Rick (September 6, 2009). "Liveblog: Cameron Herold". Canadian Entrepreneur. Retrieved 18 January 2015.
  16. ↑ Wahl, Andrew; Castaldo, Joe; Olijnyk, Zena; Pooley, Erin; Jezovit, Andrea. "Best Workplaces '07". Canadian Business. Retrieved 1 November 2013.
  17. ↑ "HRO Today Magazine annually ranks the best Recognition Providers in North America. I Love Rewards has been the #1 web-based provider two years in a row and this year claimed first place in the Breadth of Service category.". Retrieved 18 January 2015.
  18. ↑ "Best Places to Work 2014". Crain's (New York Business). Retrieved 19 January 2015.
  19. ↑ "Double Double: Executive Review". http://www.summary.com/book-reviews/_/Double-Double/''.
  20. ↑ Neill, Conor (May 10, 2011). "BOOK REVIEW: DOUBLE DOUBLE BY CAMERON HEROLD". Retrieved 18 January 2015.
  21. ↑ 21.0 21.1 Wetzel, Demi (May 2, 2013). "Creating a Legacy of Passion-Driven Education". Retrieved 18 January 2015.
  22. ↑ Ferriss, Tim (October 3, 2008). "Harnessing Entrepreneurial Manic-Depression: Making the Rollercoaster Work for You". Experiments in Lifestyle Design. Retrieved 19 January 2015.
  23. ↑ 23.0 23.1 Dann, Charles (September 25, 2011). "TED TALKS- Cameron Herold: Let’s raise kids to be entrepreneurs". Georgetown University. Retrieved 19 January 2015.
  24. ↑ Kelly, Finn (July 3, 2014). "Why you need a coach (if you want to get to the next level of success)". Smart Company.
  25. ↑ "The IDA Pinnacle Award". International Dyslexia Association. Retrieved 19 January 2015.
  26. ↑ Wilczynski, Jonny (October 1, 2014). "Cameron Herold: Let’s Raise Kids to Be Entrepreneurs". Business Advisor Magazine. Retrieved 19 January 2015.

External links