From Farm to Farrier to Freight: The Inspiring Journey of Neumann Agriprises

Brian Ruh chats with Bill Neumann, owner of Neumann Agriprises, Inc. Bill's journey from dairy farming to hoof trimming to building a thriving trucking empire is a testament to seizing opportunities and surrounding yourself with a great team. Don't miss his valuable insights on entrepreneurship, investments, and surrounding yourself with the right people.

Introduction

 [00:01:00] - Transition to Business

• Bill shares his journey from milking cows to studying business and Spanish in Monterrey, Mexico.
• Transition from dairy farming to hoof trimming for dairy cattle for 17 years.
• The unexpected shift to trucking and the challenges of starting with one truck and growing to six.

 [00:03:00] - Overcoming Challenges

• Bill discusses the challenges of finding direct customers for his trucking business.
• Hiring an operations manager to overcome obstacles and establish connections in the industry.
• Expansion into custom manure hauling and later into dry van freight.

 [00:05:00] - Diversification and Growth

• Bill's decision to start a freight brokerage company, North Branch Logistics, and its current status.
• Managing Neumann Agriprises .
• The importance of surrounding oneself with good people and the growth achieved through strategic decisions.

 [00:07:00] - Personal and Business Values

• Bill emphasizes the importance of balancing work and family life.
• The significance of faith, family, and community involvement.
• Overcoming business challenges through a positive mindset and support from loved ones.

 [00:09:00] - Strategic Moves and Advisory Committee

• Bill shares victories, including buying out two smaller trucking companies.
• The role of an advisory committee in making strategic business decisions.
• The importance of seizing opportunities and being prepared for unexpected challenges.

 [00:11:00] - Future Plans and Legacy

• Bill discusses potential exit strategies and the hope to slow down in the future.
• The possibility of passing the business on to his children and having a plan B.
• The importance of loving what you do and finding joy in the journey.

[00:13:00] - Advice for Aspiring Entrepreneurs

• Bill's advice to aspiring business owners: Do your homework, try different things, don't be afraid to change, and seek advice from mentors.
• The significance of resilience, adaptability, and building a supportive network.

Learn more about Neumann Agriprises
https://neumannag.com/index.html
https://www.facebook.com/p/Neumann-Agriprises-Inc-100063938413188/

Need a little guidance in your own business? We're here for you!
https://www.actionfinancials.com/
https://www.facebook.com/ActionFinancialS/
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCuE31mXf6_Nf4yhpuZRHI6Q

Transcript

Brian: [00:00:00] Hi, everybody. I'm Brian Ruh from Action Financial Strategies. And this is another edition of From Garage to Growth: The Small Business Story. We are fortunate today to have Bill Neumann. Bill Neumann is the owner, operator, president of Neumann Agriprises, Inc. And lifelong client of mine. How long have we known each other, Bill?

Bill: Oh, probably 35 years. Long time. My parents did business with you. That's right. And my mother still does, yes. 

Brian: Yeah, so I got to work with Bill when he was just a snot nosed kid. On a farm. And that's interesting because, the big thing I'd like to know is, tell us, take us back to that beginning.

How did it all get started, Bill? 

Bill: I grew up in the country, worked on dairy farms when I was young. I started milking my own herd of cows from 18 until 25. And at that time, I was in a rented barn, sold out my dairy herd, and I went to Monterrey, Mexico to study business and Spanish for a year. Came back and finished a business degree with a Spanish minor at Silver Lake College in Manitowoc, so believe it or not I do have a degree. [00:01:00] 

When I was just about done with college, I went to a one week hoof trimming class. I was a hoof trimmer for dairy cattle for 17 years. And, all my buddies in college are like, Why are you doing that? Why are you doing that?

I said, I want to be the highest paid graduate of the class. And they laughed. If it's true or not, I don't know. So I did that 17 years. And while I was hoof trimming, we got into custom manure hauling with semis. So we did that four years and then I switched over to dry van freight, so I was dispatching trucks as I was hoof trimming. And I remember was that a cow I heard in the background? I was like, yeah, that's a cow. That's a cow. Okay, and I didn't say any more than that. 

Brian: Nothing like multi tasking, trimming hooks and dispatching trucks. 

Bill: Yeah, so I'm like knee high in cow manure while I'm on the phone dispatching trucks and all that. And, like most trucking companies, you start with one truck and you go up to three, then five [00:02:00] and keep going there. So I hit a little bit of a wall when I was at six trucks. I had nothing but brokered loads that I was doing, so I needed to find customers of my own direct, and that's the hard part to do.

And we just worked on that for a while, wasn't easy. In business I always like to take small steps, so sometimes you need to take a little bit bigger one. So then I hired an operation manager who knows ten times more about trucking than I do. 

Brian: In other words, surround yourself with good people, huh?

Bill: Exactly, and that, that really grew it. He had customers. He had connections and all that in the industry. And we kept growing from there. And then about seven or eight years ago, I started a freight brokerage company as well. I have a very good gal that runs that.

Brian: What's the name of that company? 

Bill: That is North Branch Logistics. 

Brian: So you've got Neumann Agriprises? 

Bill: Yeah, which is the asset side of my company. We run 52 trucks. And how many? 52 [00:03:00] from two. One or two. We started with one and went from there, 52 trucks and I think we have 120 or 130 trailers.

Brian: Are you done went from there? 

Bill: I'm not sure. . I don't have an actual written game plan. I go with the flow, see how it goes. My real goal is to grow the freight brokerage. There's five people that work in that right now. So I'm spending a lot of my time and energy, growing that business.

There's five people in the office that take care of the trucks and then there's five of us that do the brokerage side of it. All with North Branch? Yeah. Primarily. Yeah, Neumann Agriprises is the trucking company; North Branch is the freight brokerage company. And there's nine guys in my shop. 

Brian: So the shop guys are under the Neumann Agriprises? 

Bill: Shop guys is Neumann Ag, that's on the asset side of it. Our shop is in Branch, just north of Manitowoc. And then our office and more truck parking is in Denmark. 

Brian: The shop idea, does that mean you basically are [00:04:00] able to do pretty much all your own repair work, etc., etc.? 

Bill: Yes, we do. Wow. We farm out very few jobs. We even rebuild motors in our shop now. Wow. Everything from tires, brakes, lights, all the way up. We do our own body work and paint as well now. 

Brian: So I've got to ask, Bill, take me back again, because what you just shared in a few minutes took a lifetime to build and create from your days of farming and taking the Spanish course to trimming hooves to hauling manure to now this trucking company, right?

If you go back what made you think of all of a sudden, from trimming hooks to trucking, what was the stimulus? 

Bill: I was always looking for opportunities, so I'm at all these dairy farms, and in fall, they're all waiting for manure trucks to get there. I thought, I have some extra money, I'll go and buy some manure trucks, and that's what I did.

And, after four years of that -- I did fine with the manure hauling. It was fine, but I wanted something more permanent year-round to keep full time employees year round instead of just trying [00:05:00] to find guys in fall. So then... I just went with the dry van freight and, tested the waters that way and grew it from there. It hasn't been easy, but you just stay in there and do it, but always look for opportunity.

Brian: So I remembered working with you, you went from selling that hoof trimming business finally, excuse me, to manure hauling. Hoof trimming sales help you buy some trucks from manure hauling. Then I remember you sold those manure trucks. 

Bill: I sold those manure trucks and all that equipment and I sent that whole check over to you to invest for me, Brian.

Brian: How'd that go? 

Bill: I make more money now than I did when I hauled manure. Which seems crazy to do, but then I started over from scratch with, buying trucks to haul the dry van freight. So I still have that one specific account that was all my manure hauling money with you. And, started investing when I was 19 years old when I was broke, but I still found [00:06:00] money to set aside. And time value of money has really helped for me. 

Brian: Thank you for saying that. That's another interesting thing. I remember, being in this business as long as I have, I don't have many clients that started when they were 19 with me. My goodness and that was amazing. And I think you can thank your parents for a lot of that too, because they were always encouraging to save money and do that. The rest is 

history. 

So any business owner, I've always got to ask this question. Was there ever a point where you felt like just giving up? Throwing in the towel? 

Bill: At times but you have to keep the end goal in mind, what you want to get out of it. And when a farmer that I have a lot of respect for who has passed away, I asked him, Why so many cows? And his question was to see if I could do it. I said, what are your goals? He wanted to get to heaven.

I thought, boy, that's some pretty good life lesson advice for a young guy. And I always remember that, so I I've done pretty good over the years, but I don't chase money because of [00:07:00] greed. I want to see what I can do. If all your business makes is money, it's not a very good business.

So you have to give back to the community, give to the church, do volunteer work and all that as well. And, another highlight of my life is my family. My wife Jennifer is a big part of it and I mean she's always supportive of me what we do. We have six kids, three who are in the business full time and one part time and then our two younger girls.

So I mean that's why you do it. I mean you know It's a big part of it too. My, my life is not a perfect balance of work and family, it's a little too heavy on the work side. I'm trying to fix that. It's been good and there's been some pretty bad days in my businesses with accidents and things like that, and you just continue on.

Brian: How do you overcome those? 

Bill: Faith in God, and help from family and friends. June wasn't too good for us. My son was in an accident with a truck. And as we're [00:08:00] leaving the hospital, the office called up and said one of our trucks and trailers was totally engulfed in flames. So that was in the same day.

And I didn't even get mad or cry or raise my voice. My son was okay. And the way I look at it is if money can fix a problem, it's not that big of a problem. It's gonna take a lot of money to fix that day, but, I'll get through it too. So you just keep trying and never give up.

Surround yourself with good people. 

Brian: So give me some victories. Give me some milestones. 

Bill: I bought out two smaller trucking companies over the last couple of years. I never thought I'd be able to do that. It's one of these deals where opportunity comes knocking and you better be there to answer it. Then I call my advisory committee, which Brian you are on and I say hey this just popped up, what do you think? And you know my advisory team, which consists of you, my attorney, my banker, two accountants, another person in the [00:09:00] business, and another former CEO of a billion dollar company. They give me the rundown and I talked to my wife about it and we went for it on both occasions and never looked back. One was a kind of a little bit bigger step that I wanted to take but we did it because we were far enough along and you hope for the best and you find a way to make things like that work So that's how I go at it.

Brian: So if you could look back, did you visualize your business to go this direction? 

Bill: No, I thought I was going to be a dairy farmer forever, and after seven years of milking cows -- my parents didn't farm. They were supportive of what I did -- I just thought I was going to farm forever.

And then one day I thought, you know what, I think I'm going to try something different. Because it wasn't it wasn't exactly what I thought it was going to be, and it was a bit of a struggle. So I, I hope I [00:10:00] was smart enough to move on to something different instead of, letting it bring me down too far, it's not always easy. I did, yeah. 

And I, I remember when I thought I was crazy when I was going to give up hoof trimming. That was a pretty good career. Then I said, I'm going to go trucking. And, it worked out. And it doesn't work out for everybody. Just read the news. There's trucking companies going out of business all the time. You have to be smart about it. Be conservative. 

Brian: Where you're at in your life right now, do you see an exit strategy? Is Bill Neumann ever going to "retire" from what he's doing? 

Bill: I hope to slow down. My oldest son is 21 years old, so there's a ways, to go yet for him and, my other children and that.

I always have a plan B. When my two main people retire, I know what I'm going to do next. And I have people in place for that already and they know it. So we'll go from there. Hopefully I can step back a little bit. And I would like to do some more volunteer work, and that as well.

Hopefully that all works out. [00:11:00] But, a big thing, you have to love what you do. Because for me, I look forward to getting up in the morning and getting started. Just like you always have too, Brian, right? Yep. If it's work for you, it's not that much fun. 

Brian: So that's a great piece of advice to someone that's looking to do something like you. Yeah. You better love what you're doing. Yeah. I saw a statistic once, Forbes magazine, it said if you're self employed, between 70 to 80 percent of your waking hours are spent at your place of employment, your business.

Bill, I think you've got it at about 100%. 

Bill: It's not quite, it's not bad. My phone is always on. It takes a lifetime. We're in dairy farm country here. It takes three or four generations to get where some of these farms are. It's not a get rich quick thing and you have to remember that and it, so far it's worked for me and don't be afraid to change. I thought I was going to be a farmer forever, and then hoof trimming dairy cattle was pretty good for me, and then one day I thought my trucking was taking off, I'm going to go that way. And I helped another guy get started with the hoof trimming as [00:12:00] well. We were able to get him in there and found the right person on the first try, and he worked for us for a while, and he bought us out. My wife and I decided, you know what we believe in you, we're going to finance you. He didn't need to go to a bank, so and he's doing very good with that business as well, so that's another happy point in my life that I was able to do that, help another young guy out.

Brian: So you see your business probably being transferred in some shape or form to your kids? Probably. How many do you think will end up being successors to the next generation of Neumann Agriprises? 

Bill: Anywhere between three and six. 

Brian: Good answer, dad. Yeah. Good answer, dad. Yeah. 

Bill: I'm not going to rule any of one out. They're all young, ages 14 to 21. Six kids in that time frame. I think we're big enough where there's room for everybody there. I've gotten to know a family out of Milwaukee that has, let's see, there's 11 boys in the family. Wow, and they have done very well for themselves, too you know. So I look for [00:13:00] success stories and then do a little more research on how they did it and you try to emulate that. 

Brian: Great advice, great insight and I know you've done that. You listen a lot. Then you take action with surrounding yourself with some really good people.

In closing Bill, what advice would you give to someone aspiring to want to start a business and pursue something like you're doing? 

Bill: Do your homework on it. Try out different things. Don't be afraid to change. When you fail, fail fast and get up again and keep going. And you know this past year with the economy has not been easy for us -- I know we're going to get through it -- don't let it ruin you and keep on going but then be smart enough to make changes as you go. Don't be so concentrated on no matter what I'm going to do this because, you'll find that, you'll find maybe your niche that you never even thought of.

Don't be afraid to ask for advice from people. Have a mentor. And like I do, have a, have your advisory committee because they're going to want to help you. And then in turn, as you get [00:14:00] older, then you help out younger people too, get started in that. That's how I live my life and it's been working.

Brian: That's awesome, Bill. Hey, buddy, thank you so much. 

Bill: Thank you, Brian. Wonderful. 

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This material is for general informational purposes only and was produced by Action Financial Strategies, LLC.  Life insurance is subject to underwriting. No coverage exists unless a policy is issued and the required premium is paid. Neither Action Financial Strategies nor NYLIFE Securities LLC or its affiliates provide tax, legal, or accounting advice. For advice on such matters, consult your own professional counsel.

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