1 00:00:33,262 --> 00:00:35,267 Speaker 1: Hello and welcome to the Bootstrapper's Guide to 2 00:00:35,307 --> 00:00:37,932 Logistics, the podcast highlighting founders doing it 3 00:00:37,951 --> 00:00:39,634 the way that doesn't get a lot of attention. 4 00:00:39,634 --> 00:00:42,567 We're here to change that by sharing their stories and 5 00:00:42,606 --> 00:00:44,070 inspiring others to take the leap. 6 00:00:45,200 --> 00:00:47,728 Speaker 2: It's a roller coaster ride that you might ultimately 7 00:00:47,748 --> 00:00:47,950 fail. 8 00:00:48,600 --> 00:00:50,567 Speaker 1: That's when I kind of knew I was on to something. 9 00:00:50,567 --> 00:00:52,146 It was very hard. 10 00:00:52,146 --> 00:00:54,567 It truly is building a legacy. 11 00:00:54,567 --> 00:00:57,789 The more life you live, the more wisdom you have. 12 00:00:58,340 --> 00:01:00,606 Speaker 2: Because we are where we're supposed to be kind of 13 00:01:00,748 --> 00:01:01,751 answering the call. 14 00:01:02,280 --> 00:01:04,709 Speaker 1: Don't shoulder entrepreneurship on your own. 15 00:01:04,709 --> 00:01:06,655 I'm your host, Nate Schutz. 16 00:01:06,655 --> 00:01:09,703 Let's build something together from the ground up. 17 00:01:09,703 --> 00:01:15,311 Hello everybody, and welcome back to the show. 18 00:01:15,311 --> 00:01:17,515 We are mid-2025. 19 00:01:17,515 --> 00:01:21,870 We are past the 100-episode mark on sharing founder stories 20 00:01:21,909 --> 00:01:25,865 and supply chain and logistics, and this week we get to stay in 21 00:01:25,885 --> 00:01:27,490 the Midwest, which is always special to me. 22 00:01:27,490 --> 00:01:30,668 I'm born and raised in Minnesota, if you can't tell by 23 00:01:30,709 --> 00:01:34,343 my accent already and we're going to be spending some time 24 00:01:35,186 --> 00:01:39,414 in Omaha this week with the founder of Able Transport, Liz 25 00:01:39,474 --> 00:01:39,733 Wayne. 26 00:01:39,733 --> 00:01:41,465 Liz, good morning, how are you today? 27 00:01:41,881 --> 00:01:42,986 Speaker 2: Good Nate, how are you? 28 00:01:43,881 --> 00:01:44,865 Speaker 1: I'm doing fantastic. 29 00:01:44,865 --> 00:01:50,947 I love to find stories that resonate with me and founders 30 00:01:51,027 --> 00:01:55,772 whose stories are appealing on a human level, not just a 31 00:01:56,233 --> 00:01:59,701 logistics level or on a business level, and there are several 32 00:01:59,841 --> 00:02:04,933 elements of your background that I find really compelling, and 33 00:02:04,972 --> 00:02:06,581 so I want to, if you don't mind. 34 00:02:06,581 --> 00:02:09,411 We're going to go back to the beginnings of Able Transport, 35 00:02:09,680 --> 00:02:14,888 unpack part of your journey, and I'd love to draw out a couple 36 00:02:14,908 --> 00:02:17,772 of themes that really stood out to me, which means we're going 37 00:02:17,793 --> 00:02:19,334 to peel the onion a little bit. 38 00:02:19,334 --> 00:02:23,387 But before we go to that, would you mind just explaining what 39 00:02:23,486 --> 00:02:27,735 Able Transport is and a little bit of your own background? 40 00:02:28,840 --> 00:02:32,870 Speaker 2: Yeah, so I have been in the industry for about 23 41 00:02:32,911 --> 00:02:37,509 years now, worked at an asset-based shop, everywhere 42 00:02:37,629 --> 00:02:42,645 from accounting to dispatch, and I found ABLE. 43 00:02:42,645 --> 00:02:47,001 Well, 11 years ago, you know, as an agent on my own, and I 44 00:02:47,061 --> 00:02:47,925 started hiring staff. 45 00:02:47,925 --> 00:02:50,768 It'll be 10 years next month. 46 00:02:50,768 --> 00:02:53,843 We're having our big ABLE anniversary, so looking forward 47 00:02:53,883 --> 00:02:54,246 to that. 48 00:02:54,246 --> 00:02:57,348 So ABLE is very niche focused. 49 00:02:57,348 --> 00:03:03,030 We are an open deck broker, so 95 plus percent of our freight 50 00:03:03,050 --> 00:03:05,820 is going to be open deck heavy haul specialized. 51 00:03:08,806 --> 00:03:09,867 Speaker 1: And so 10 years. 52 00:03:09,867 --> 00:03:13,674 In first of all, not a lot of companies make it to the 10 year 53 00:03:13,674 --> 00:03:14,842 mark, so congratulations. 54 00:03:14,842 --> 00:03:19,030 That's a huge milestone in and of itself, especially if I look 55 00:03:19,110 --> 00:03:23,524 at the last four years, the number of businesses that have 56 00:03:24,466 --> 00:03:29,144 folded or are struggling to survive, so just longevity by 57 00:03:29,204 --> 00:03:32,092 itself is something to be celebrated, so congratulations. 58 00:03:32,092 --> 00:03:35,969 I'd love to help promote and share when you have your 59 00:03:36,491 --> 00:03:39,659 anniversary party and help you celebrate. 60 00:03:39,659 --> 00:03:43,888 So one of the things that you mentioned in starting the 61 00:03:43,927 --> 00:03:46,853 business in 2015 was that you wanted to reinvent the freight 62 00:03:46,872 --> 00:03:59,084 broker reputation more positive reputation than they do now, 63 00:03:59,104 --> 00:04:00,507 with a lot of the double brokering and freight fraud and 64 00:04:00,526 --> 00:04:05,276 the less attractive element that has worked its way into the 65 00:04:05,316 --> 00:04:05,736 industry. 66 00:04:05,736 --> 00:04:10,625 So what do you remember about freight brokerage reputations 10 67 00:04:10,625 --> 00:04:11,947 years ago versus now? 68 00:04:14,210 --> 00:04:17,053 Speaker 2: is is interesting to me because I've never thought 69 00:04:17,093 --> 00:04:17,935 about it that way. 70 00:04:17,935 --> 00:04:23,028 Um, because I don't put the fraudsters in the category of, 71 00:04:23,110 --> 00:04:24,032 like, the good guys. 72 00:04:24,032 --> 00:04:27,504 So when I say reinvent the freight broker's reputation, 73 00:04:27,585 --> 00:04:31,734 that's, you know, the goal there was really like from the 74 00:04:31,840 --> 00:04:32,942 shippers perspective. 75 00:04:32,942 --> 00:04:37,240 So one of our things that able was, you know, and still is, we 76 00:04:37,279 --> 00:04:42,110 don't give loads back, so we're going to honor our quote, we're 77 00:04:42,151 --> 00:04:45,062 going to provide a truck, you know, and the shippers might not 78 00:04:45,062 --> 00:04:50,014 understand that ultimately, brokers who honor their price 79 00:04:50,360 --> 00:04:51,620 are gambling every day. 80 00:04:51,620 --> 00:04:56,584 Um, you know, and when we win, more often than we lose, we can 81 00:04:56,625 --> 00:04:58,105 build a sustainable business. 82 00:04:58,225 --> 00:05:02,148 But at the end of the day, for the most part, when we provide a 83 00:05:02,148 --> 00:05:04,829 price to the shipper, we don't know what we're going to pay the 84 00:05:04,829 --> 00:05:05,211 truck. 85 00:05:05,211 --> 00:05:10,434 And so it was just kind of like provide a more reliable 86 00:05:10,494 --> 00:05:12,735 experience for the shipper. 87 00:05:12,735 --> 00:05:17,098 When you used to make calls to sell freight brokerage services, 88 00:05:17,098 --> 00:05:21,386 like the first question would be you know, are you an asset 89 00:05:21,425 --> 00:05:22,208 based broker? 90 00:05:22,208 --> 00:05:26,745 Or you know, I don't work with brokers, and so I think that the 91 00:05:26,745 --> 00:05:31,057 industry as a whole has leveled up since 2015, because that is 92 00:05:31,137 --> 00:05:34,766 no longer shippers first question, like they are more apt 93 00:05:34,766 --> 00:05:38,901 to work with a broker than they were 10 or 15 years ago, and I 94 00:05:38,961 --> 00:05:44,850 think that's because our reputation is evolving and I 95 00:05:44,911 --> 00:05:46,939 think we've leveled up as a whole. 96 00:05:47,000 --> 00:05:52,451 Speaker 1: To be honest, Well, I remember trying to describe 97 00:05:52,490 --> 00:05:55,805 what a paper rate was to somebody outside of the industry 98 00:05:55,805 --> 00:05:55,805 . 99 00:05:55,805 --> 00:05:56,367 Now, what do you mean? 100 00:05:56,367 --> 00:05:57,129 What's a paper rate? 101 00:05:57,129 --> 00:06:00,569 You would give somebody a price and then charge them something 102 00:06:00,608 --> 00:06:01,411 different later. 103 00:06:01,411 --> 00:06:03,283 Isn't that wrong? 104 00:06:03,283 --> 00:06:06,641 And I'm like no, it happens all the time, cause I've been on 105 00:06:06,661 --> 00:06:10,351 the shipper side and the 3PL side and trying to explain that 106 00:06:10,459 --> 00:06:14,230 contract rate doesn't actually mean there's a contract that's 107 00:06:14,290 --> 00:06:15,031 enforceable. 108 00:06:15,031 --> 00:06:18,449 And to people outside of the industry they're like I don't 109 00:06:18,588 --> 00:06:18,889 get it. 110 00:06:18,889 --> 00:06:20,346 Why would that be that? 111 00:06:20,346 --> 00:06:22,047 Why does the industry operate that way? 112 00:06:22,047 --> 00:06:26,588 And to be able to say, yeah, here's my price and I'm 113 00:06:26,629 --> 00:06:31,988 committed to it, no matter what happens down the road, is a 114 00:06:32,050 --> 00:06:32,370 shift. 115 00:06:32,370 --> 00:06:36,711 Even today it's still a shift for some mindsets. 116 00:06:37,761 --> 00:06:41,048 Speaker 2: It's funny what you just shared and as a shipper, 117 00:06:41,108 --> 00:06:44,401 from that perspective, we just had this conversation in my 118 00:06:44,502 --> 00:06:49,831 office yesterday, so working on some kind of like account 119 00:06:49,872 --> 00:06:53,665 development with that team and just kind of trying to pour some 120 00:06:53,665 --> 00:06:57,500 of our I've got a president with, you know, 25, 30 years of 121 00:06:57,540 --> 00:07:00,427 experience like myself, so we're really trying to take this 122 00:07:00,526 --> 00:07:04,062 group that's sort of newer to their role and just pour this 123 00:07:04,142 --> 00:07:05,545 experience into them. 124 00:07:05,545 --> 00:07:09,560 And you know, um, and it's funny because what came out 125 00:07:09,620 --> 00:07:14,228 yesterday in the meeting was just that was shippers don't 126 00:07:14,367 --> 00:07:16,531 always look at a price as a truck. 127 00:07:16,531 --> 00:07:18,374 So but we do, you know. 128 00:07:18,374 --> 00:07:21,786 So when my guys are quoting something, it's like, hey, you, 129 00:07:22,028 --> 00:07:24,603 you take this, you're going to have a truck like that, and we 130 00:07:24,644 --> 00:07:25,829 don't, you know, we don't fail. 131 00:07:25,829 --> 00:07:28,927 And it's like they take it so seriously, actually to the point 132 00:07:28,927 --> 00:07:30,636 , that it's kind of like they don't understand how the 133 00:07:30,675 --> 00:07:32,281 industry totally operates. 134 00:07:32,281 --> 00:07:37,071 Um, because of this kind of just operational mindset that 135 00:07:37,130 --> 00:07:39,382 we've instilled in them, which is great, Like I'm not 136 00:07:39,422 --> 00:07:44,091 complaining, but it's funny because it's like, you know, we 137 00:07:44,132 --> 00:07:47,206 challenged them last week to, you know, when you get a good 138 00:07:47,266 --> 00:07:50,802 price in on something, call them and say, hey, how's my price? 139 00:07:50,841 --> 00:07:54,089 Look, you know, do some followup , and so they had great success 140 00:07:54,151 --> 00:07:54,572 with that. 141 00:07:54,572 --> 00:07:58,324 And it was kind of like how's that, How's that work, why is 142 00:07:58,384 --> 00:07:58,545 that? 143 00:07:58,545 --> 00:08:01,759 And we came to the conclusion the shippers don't just believe 144 00:08:01,860 --> 00:08:05,769 that a number equates to a truck , Like when they hear, hey, I've 145 00:08:05,769 --> 00:08:08,502 got a truck 30 miles out ready to rock. 146 00:08:08,502 --> 00:08:13,011 It really closes the deal in a way that just the number on its 147 00:08:13,110 --> 00:08:14,052 own isn't going to. 148 00:08:14,052 --> 00:08:16,954 So I don't want to sidetrack, but it's just funny because 149 00:08:17,334 --> 00:08:19,576 literally we ended the day yesterday with that whole 150 00:08:19,615 --> 00:08:20,336 conversation. 151 00:08:20,336 --> 00:08:22,836 So it's funny that you share that perspective as a shipper. 152 00:08:23,978 --> 00:08:25,740 Speaker 1: Well, it would be interesting, I think, for 153 00:08:25,901 --> 00:08:30,444 everyone to spend a week in everybody else's shoes, from a 154 00:08:30,504 --> 00:08:36,591 broker to a carrier to a shipper , and begin to appreciate what 155 00:08:36,612 --> 00:08:41,764 it actually takes to move cargo around the country or around the 156 00:08:41,764 --> 00:08:46,208 world, and a deeper understanding of shippers aren't 157 00:08:46,208 --> 00:08:50,788 thinking like freight brokers, they're thinking about products 158 00:08:51,129 --> 00:08:53,581 and they're thinking about customers, and transportation is 159 00:08:53,581 --> 00:08:55,588 a necessary step in that transaction. 160 00:08:55,588 --> 00:08:59,408 And oftentimes the shipper doesn't recognize the sale of 161 00:08:59,427 --> 00:09:01,972 the goods until it has left their facility. 162 00:09:01,972 --> 00:09:06,210 And so a warehouse is not just holding product, it's also the 163 00:09:06,250 --> 00:09:10,966 cash register and that truck that's 30 minutes out. 164 00:09:10,966 --> 00:09:15,644 If it doesn't show up, then the sale doesn't happen, oftentimes 165 00:09:15,644 --> 00:09:19,342 until the next day, and so it's not just hey, I have to pay 166 00:09:19,443 --> 00:09:22,168 overtime to somebody to stay late that evening until the 167 00:09:22,207 --> 00:09:25,312 truck can make it after the facility is closed, and there's 168 00:09:25,351 --> 00:09:27,554 an assessorial charge or something along those lines. 169 00:09:27,554 --> 00:09:33,852 It is a revenue recognition for the shipper community is part 170 00:09:33,893 --> 00:09:36,467 of it, and then their commitments to their customers, 171 00:09:36,488 --> 00:09:38,654 for the shipper community is part of it, and then their 172 00:09:38,674 --> 00:09:41,725 commitments to their customers, and most product-based shippers 173 00:09:41,746 --> 00:09:43,600 are thinking about those types of things not. 174 00:09:44,081 --> 00:09:47,922 I wonder how many trucks are within two hours of us on a 175 00:09:48,042 --> 00:09:51,994 Thursday afternoon and that's the value that freight 176 00:09:52,033 --> 00:09:56,341 brokerages provide is thinking of all of those variables and 177 00:09:57,061 --> 00:10:01,365 what a dynamic market looks like , so that a shipper can focus on 178 00:10:01,365 --> 00:10:04,168 growing their business, which is not a transportation business 179 00:10:04,168 --> 00:10:04,707 at its core. 180 00:10:04,707 --> 00:10:10,812 And and the deeper I get into my own career, the more 181 00:10:10,852 --> 00:10:15,316 appreciation I have for what it actually takes on the ground. 182 00:10:15,316 --> 00:10:19,197 I worked at a carrier when I was in college and then 14 years 183 00:10:19,197 --> 00:10:25,383 as a 3PL and then about a decade on the shipper side that 184 00:10:25,562 --> 00:10:30,426 know their subject matter better than anybody else is a 185 00:10:30,466 --> 00:10:31,005 superpower. 186 00:10:31,005 --> 00:10:33,447 It's what makes commerce happen . 187 00:10:33,447 --> 00:10:37,635 So if you haven't heard from a shipper in a long time how much 188 00:10:37,716 --> 00:10:39,980 your work is appreciated, just know that it is. 189 00:10:40,562 --> 00:10:45,078 Speaker 2: Yeah, no, I love the antidote there and thinking 190 00:10:45,119 --> 00:10:46,763 about the warehouse like a cash register. 191 00:10:46,763 --> 00:10:50,374 I'm going to share that with my team because, you know, I think 192 00:10:50,374 --> 00:10:52,496 we all feel it at the end of the month or the end of a 193 00:10:52,557 --> 00:10:56,041 quarter, but it's a it feels like a really good way to help 194 00:10:56,100 --> 00:10:57,182 them understand why. 195 00:10:57,182 --> 00:11:00,926 That is why they experienced those, those spikes at that time 196 00:11:00,926 --> 00:11:00,926 . 197 00:11:02,149 --> 00:11:02,791 Speaker 1: Yeah, it's not. 198 00:11:02,791 --> 00:11:05,975 Um, transportation is a part of a shipper's business, but it is 199 00:11:05,975 --> 00:11:09,700 not their business, and that's something I try to remind uh 200 00:11:10,061 --> 00:11:11,802 other participants in the industry about. 201 00:11:11,802 --> 00:11:13,846 Is you're thinking about trucking all day? 202 00:11:13,846 --> 00:11:15,432 Most shippers aren't. 203 00:11:16,397 --> 00:11:16,597 Speaker 2: Yeah. 204 00:11:16,669 --> 00:11:18,817 Speaker 1: They're thinking about products and customers. 205 00:11:18,817 --> 00:11:26,316 I'd like to go back to a little bit of your early days. 206 00:11:26,316 --> 00:11:30,501 Me that, when you were young, you had a bunch of different 207 00:11:31,403 --> 00:11:35,595 paths that you were considering, in that you had new ideas every 208 00:11:35,595 --> 00:11:38,100 day about what you wanted to be when you grew up. 209 00:11:38,100 --> 00:11:39,812 What were some of the things you wanted to be? 210 00:11:40,833 --> 00:11:43,581 Speaker 2: Well, I remember when I was really young I thought I 211 00:11:43,640 --> 00:11:44,884 could be everything. 212 00:11:44,884 --> 00:11:49,765 So it was like, oh, I'm going to be like a firefighter for a 213 00:11:49,826 --> 00:11:51,720 month, and then I'm going to be a banker for a month, and then 214 00:11:51,740 --> 00:11:53,513 I'm going to be a banker for a month, and then I'm going to be 215 00:11:53,552 --> 00:11:54,154 a teacher. 216 00:11:54,154 --> 00:11:56,321 Maybe I could give that a whole school year, I don't know. 217 00:11:56,321 --> 00:11:59,337 And then so I thought you could , just the world was my oyster. 218 00:11:59,337 --> 00:12:02,813 I thought you could just do all the things all the time. 219 00:12:02,813 --> 00:12:09,485 So I do remember very vividly, like planning out my 200 careers 220 00:12:09,485 --> 00:12:09,811 , you know. 221 00:12:09,811 --> 00:12:12,919 So that's when I was really, really, probably like under 10 222 00:12:12,960 --> 00:12:14,051 years old, I suppose. 223 00:12:15,855 --> 00:12:17,379 Speaker 1: And as an entrepreneur, you probably get 224 00:12:17,418 --> 00:12:17,980 to be all. 225 00:12:17,980 --> 00:12:20,994 You are a banker and you have to put out fires all day and you 226 00:12:20,994 --> 00:12:21,975 have to teach other people. 227 00:12:21,975 --> 00:12:25,143 So maybe you, you've actually achieved it. 228 00:12:25,551 --> 00:12:26,272 Speaker 2: Yeah, for sure. 229 00:12:26,272 --> 00:12:29,017 I mean I think this entrepreneurial journey is just 230 00:12:29,057 --> 00:12:29,297 that. 231 00:12:29,297 --> 00:12:35,533 It's like getting to wear a hundred hats and I mean, you 232 00:12:35,573 --> 00:12:38,399 know, you've heard a lot of people in logistics just say 233 00:12:38,441 --> 00:12:39,682 they have ADHD. 234 00:12:39,682 --> 00:12:42,239 I mean, I've never been diagnosed, but I probably do, 235 00:12:42,559 --> 00:12:45,750 and I think that's a superpower for entrepreneurs really, 236 00:12:45,791 --> 00:12:50,619 because, um, you know, if you look at it that way, it's like 237 00:12:51,059 --> 00:12:53,565 we get to do different things all of the time. 238 00:12:53,565 --> 00:12:56,014 I think, you know, yesterday on that call, I was probably 239 00:12:56,075 --> 00:12:58,700 complaining about it, as I do sometimes, because there's a 240 00:12:58,759 --> 00:13:04,639 burden to wearing all the hats, but also what a privilege, you 241 00:13:04,679 --> 00:13:05,481 know, you never get bored. 242 00:13:07,623 --> 00:13:11,705 Speaker 1: So what is it about the idea of, or when was it that 243 00:13:11,705 --> 00:13:16,787 the idea of entrepreneurship for you started to not just be a 244 00:13:16,787 --> 00:13:20,067 random idea, but an actual path ? 245 00:13:22,870 --> 00:13:37,071 Speaker 2: You know, I think it really so when I set out, it 246 00:13:37,091 --> 00:13:38,215 wasn't really to build the company that I have today. 247 00:13:38,215 --> 00:13:39,599 So now I am excited to build a bigger company than I have today 248 00:13:39,599 --> 00:13:39,599 . 249 00:13:39,599 --> 00:13:41,946 But you know, 11, 12 years ago or whatever, when I quit my last 250 00:13:41,946 --> 00:13:43,750 job, that wasn't necessarily the goal. 251 00:13:43,750 --> 00:13:50,019 Um, I wanted to be a freight agent for more flexible hours 252 00:13:50,379 --> 00:13:55,111 and I built myself a home office and I had babies at home and 253 00:13:55,952 --> 00:14:02,003 well, oh, yeah, okay, I was expecting one when I quit my 254 00:14:02,043 --> 00:14:04,732 last job I'm just trying to think through exactly how old 255 00:14:04,753 --> 00:14:09,043 the kids are, but it was really in like a, my husband and I had 256 00:14:09,062 --> 00:14:11,785 a real estate brokerage and so it was really like for 257 00:14:11,826 --> 00:14:16,538 flexibility and to be able to do the work from home and not 258 00:14:16,578 --> 00:14:19,571 commute, go straight upstairs to the kids, and it would allow us 259 00:14:19,571 --> 00:14:22,496 to multitask and work on the real estate business. 260 00:14:22,496 --> 00:14:28,475 Um, so that was the plan, was just really for myself and my 261 00:14:28,554 --> 00:14:35,067 family in the beginning, and then it quickly turned into like 262 00:14:35,067 --> 00:14:39,563 this is a 24 seven gig and that is kind of not what I uh, cause 263 00:14:39,563 --> 00:14:42,273 I had always worked, you know, with small teams and offices 264 00:14:42,332 --> 00:14:44,458 where like, yeah, there's on call, but you're rotating it. 265 00:14:44,458 --> 00:14:49,215 Or you have, um, you know vacation days, or you know 266 00:14:49,274 --> 00:14:51,317 Saturdays, Sundays, and it just got to be. 267 00:14:51,317 --> 00:14:54,702 You know the trucking doesn't stop, and so I didn't 268 00:14:54,743 --> 00:14:59,553 necessarily want it to be the person um on call 24, seven. 269 00:14:59,614 --> 00:15:03,942 And so I also, at the same time, sort of had been working on a 270 00:15:04,043 --> 00:15:05,130 few um. 271 00:15:05,130 --> 00:15:09,099 I had been working on one big opportunity for like six months 272 00:15:09,440 --> 00:15:11,683 a long, slow, large sale. 273 00:15:11,683 --> 00:15:15,614 Big opportunity for like six months, a long, slow, large sale 274 00:15:15,614 --> 00:15:15,614 . 275 00:15:15,614 --> 00:15:17,717 Who's still my biggest customer 10 years later? 276 00:15:17,717 --> 00:15:19,981 Um, and simultaneously another um really large customer just 277 00:15:20,202 --> 00:15:23,378 happened to walk in my front door, uh, walk in their dog at 278 00:15:23,418 --> 00:15:26,951 my first office space, my little three or 400 foot office space, 279 00:15:26,951 --> 00:15:31,001 and so at that time looked around and it's like, okay, I 280 00:15:31,864 --> 00:15:36,193 with these couple of accounts, I can support some payroll and 281 00:15:36,313 --> 00:15:40,984 with some help I can get some relief from this 24-7 thing. 282 00:15:42,533 --> 00:15:45,120 And so that's when kind of the vision turned into having a 283 00:15:45,200 --> 00:15:50,642 small office and then to go from , you know, to kind of scale 284 00:15:50,682 --> 00:15:51,323 from there. 285 00:15:51,323 --> 00:15:58,721 It was all about the customers, like they needed a company like 286 00:15:58,721 --> 00:15:58,962 us. 287 00:15:58,962 --> 00:16:03,200 The construction job site had been left behind by 288 00:16:03,240 --> 00:16:07,736 transportation, and so once I started to kind of realize that 289 00:16:08,379 --> 00:16:11,474 growth was really easy and really fun, you know, until here 290 00:16:11,474 --> 00:16:13,753 , post COVID freight recession, it, it. 291 00:16:13,753 --> 00:16:18,121 It's been a little less fun lately, but it's um, so it was 292 00:16:18,142 --> 00:16:19,032 sort of an evolution. 293 00:16:19,032 --> 00:16:21,639 I didn't just set out to have able as it is today. 294 00:16:23,365 --> 00:16:25,572 Speaker 1: And what have you learned about yourself in that 295 00:16:26,835 --> 00:16:27,797 period of going Well? 296 00:16:27,797 --> 00:16:30,182 First of all, I also love to understand what is it like to 297 00:16:30,243 --> 00:17:04,673 have small children and be a mom while starting a company, and 298 00:17:05,473 --> 00:17:06,875 how you would keep your sanity. 299 00:17:06,875 --> 00:17:07,715 I have no idea. 300 00:17:07,715 --> 00:17:12,239 I'm responsible for people and I have to shape and mold them. 301 00:17:12,239 --> 00:17:28,830 Think about processes. 302 00:17:28,830 --> 00:17:31,637 Did that come naturally to you, or was that a place in your 303 00:17:31,678 --> 00:17:34,002 journey where you had to adapt quickly? 304 00:17:36,631 --> 00:17:38,553 Speaker 2: You know partly both. 305 00:17:38,553 --> 00:17:46,084 I think I'm definitely process oriented, so like it was not 306 00:17:46,184 --> 00:17:50,777 ever hard for me to identify the best way to do something and to 307 00:17:50,777 --> 00:17:53,923 want that for myself, my team, my company. 308 00:17:53,923 --> 00:17:58,099 Now getting results through other people, though that's you 309 00:17:58,160 --> 00:18:06,490 know, um, that's you know. 310 00:18:06,490 --> 00:18:07,613 Um, as a leader, I can be impatient, I definitely you know 311 00:18:07,613 --> 00:18:07,613 . 312 00:18:07,613 --> 00:18:09,297 You only sort of know like you spend your whole life in your 313 00:18:09,376 --> 00:18:12,611 own head, right, and so you don't know what other people 314 00:18:12,671 --> 00:18:15,497 don't know, and I think that's you know. 315 00:18:16,038 --> 00:18:19,495 At some point along the way I started kind of taking opening 316 00:18:19,556 --> 00:18:22,990 day training and stuff like way back to the beginning, because, 317 00:18:24,114 --> 00:18:27,780 um, you just it's hard to remember every little thing 318 00:18:27,801 --> 00:18:30,254 you've took in over all of these years and you bring somebody 319 00:18:30,374 --> 00:18:32,841 new in, and so I think that's where I could have done better 320 00:18:32,970 --> 00:18:36,824 is probably, um, I don't know if it would have been like 321 00:18:36,923 --> 00:18:39,955 management training or leadership training or that for 322 00:18:39,995 --> 00:18:40,557 myself. 323 00:18:40,557 --> 00:18:45,192 Um, because I just kind of expected everybody to tick like 324 00:18:45,293 --> 00:18:48,942 me and be motivated in the same way and by the same things that 325 00:18:49,042 --> 00:18:52,636 I am, and that's just not the case, and nor should it be. 326 00:18:52,636 --> 00:18:53,659 It's not their business. 327 00:18:53,659 --> 00:18:57,195 You know what I mean, and so kind of it all takes time. 328 00:18:57,195 --> 00:18:57,757 You get better. 329 00:18:57,757 --> 00:19:02,681 I think today I'm the best leader that I've ever been, but 330 00:19:02,740 --> 00:19:05,072 I still have a long way to go on my journey. 331 00:19:05,072 --> 00:19:05,774 You know what I mean. 332 00:19:07,217 --> 00:19:09,803 Speaker 1: What are you most proud of, then, in your own 333 00:19:09,843 --> 00:19:10,143 growth? 334 00:19:12,331 --> 00:19:16,958 Speaker 2: You know, I guess just probably that I think in 335 00:19:16,999 --> 00:19:21,431 the like I was in a leadership role at the last company I 336 00:19:21,451 --> 00:19:25,841 worked for and sometimes I think back and I'm like what was he 337 00:19:25,941 --> 00:19:26,702 being my boss? 338 00:19:26,702 --> 00:19:28,016 Like what was he thinking? 339 00:19:28,016 --> 00:19:33,712 He let me treat people like that or he let me Um, and so I 340 00:19:33,774 --> 00:19:36,041 think I'm proud of that. 341 00:19:36,041 --> 00:19:40,241 I bring um just a more sort of like love. 342 00:19:40,241 --> 00:19:41,494 He called me as bulldog. 343 00:19:41,494 --> 00:19:44,793 You know, like that's the energy that I took to situations 344 00:19:44,793 --> 00:19:48,379 back then and I think today I bring a more level head. 345 00:19:48,379 --> 00:19:54,836 You know, it's just like there's, I think, when you, if 346 00:19:54,855 --> 00:19:58,003 you're not a good leader or manager or whatever the case, 347 00:19:58,110 --> 00:20:01,375 it's like just that pound your fist and that gets stuff done 348 00:20:01,476 --> 00:20:04,741 and so like, if it gets enough done, you don't really evolve 349 00:20:04,802 --> 00:20:05,383 past that. 350 00:20:05,383 --> 00:20:06,545 But for me that's what it's been. 351 00:20:06,545 --> 00:20:09,599 It's just kind of moving past that and finding you know better 352 00:20:09,599 --> 00:20:09,940 ways. 353 00:20:11,471 --> 00:20:13,936 Speaker 1: I like the way you said that evolve past that. 354 00:20:13,936 --> 00:20:20,577 When I've had leaders in my career that expressed anger or, 355 00:20:20,597 --> 00:20:23,726 you know, really big frustration about a situation or about a 356 00:20:23,786 --> 00:20:29,258 moment, I remember thinking to myself ooh, that's a potentially 357 00:20:29,258 --> 00:20:31,683 dangerous way to make change happen. 358 00:20:31,683 --> 00:20:36,320 I've since come to look at it as it's just information. 359 00:20:36,320 --> 00:20:40,971 If somebody's really frustrated , it's hey. 360 00:20:40,971 --> 00:20:43,832 Can I ask are you upset with the situation and we need to 361 00:20:43,852 --> 00:20:48,093 work on that, or are you upset with me and we have something to 362 00:20:48,093 --> 00:20:48,712 talk about? 363 00:20:48,712 --> 00:20:56,220 And that simple filter helped me understand, manage up better 364 00:20:56,981 --> 00:20:59,908 when you needed to neutralize a difficult situation. 365 00:20:59,908 --> 00:21:02,941 And then, as I made all the mistakes you can make in 366 00:21:02,981 --> 00:21:07,298 managing people myself early in my career, I'm able to now 367 00:21:07,440 --> 00:21:11,593 reflect back on it and say there's no way I could have 368 00:21:11,653 --> 00:21:14,881 grown without somebody pulling me aside and saying, yeah, you 369 00:21:14,901 --> 00:21:18,557 can use force sometimes, there is a place for it. 370 00:21:18,557 --> 00:21:21,317 But if that's the only note, you know how to play. 371 00:21:22,240 --> 00:21:24,625 You're going to create a culture of fear and then people aren't 372 00:21:24,645 --> 00:21:27,084 going to have ideas that they're willing to share, they're not 373 00:21:27,144 --> 00:21:30,096 going to take risks, and you'll surround yourself with people 374 00:21:30,115 --> 00:21:33,104 that just agree with you, not because they agree with you, but 375 00:21:33,104 --> 00:21:37,760 because they're afraid of you, and that was a one of my own aha 376 00:21:37,760 --> 00:21:42,670 moments of I thought being in charge was the goal, like I 377 00:21:42,894 --> 00:21:44,097 thought that's all it took. 378 00:21:44,097 --> 00:21:49,028 And learning how to influence and shape and develop other 379 00:21:49,067 --> 00:21:52,419 people in ways that are good for them, that keep them highly 380 00:21:52,500 --> 00:21:56,746 engaged, is good for the business and it's good for me. 381 00:21:56,746 --> 00:22:03,902 It's just a different kind of emotional intelligence and 382 00:22:05,624 --> 00:22:06,085 maturity. 383 00:22:06,085 --> 00:22:09,416 And then occasionally you come across somebody who's just 384 00:22:09,456 --> 00:22:12,471 gifted at all of those things at a really young age or you know 385 00:22:12,490 --> 00:22:15,178 they're advanced beyond their years and they're highly 386 00:22:15,238 --> 00:22:19,045 inspiring and motivating people and I wish I had been that, but 387 00:22:19,085 --> 00:22:22,370 I had to learn things the hard way, by getting it wrong mostly. 388 00:22:23,836 --> 00:22:24,620 Speaker 2: Yeah, same. 389 00:22:24,895 --> 00:22:29,066 I've got a 23-year-old son who's turning into a pretty good 390 00:22:29,105 --> 00:22:31,842 leader himself and he works in an organization full of young 391 00:22:31,882 --> 00:22:35,564 people, so he's been able to take his first couple of leaps 392 00:22:35,624 --> 00:22:38,783 into leadership and stuff and it's really fun to watch him. 393 00:22:38,855 --> 00:22:41,926 When you just said, like some people just have it, he has it 394 00:22:42,247 --> 00:22:46,519 and he, you know, listen, I've learned from him, like listening 395 00:22:46,519 --> 00:22:50,106 to him talk to some of his people, you know, if he's at the 396 00:22:50,106 --> 00:22:52,259 house or something and I hear him take a phone call on that, 397 00:22:52,320 --> 00:22:55,427 it's like wow, that was geez, you know. 398 00:22:55,427 --> 00:23:00,578 And for him I've really thought it's come from watching some of 399 00:23:00,578 --> 00:23:01,859 his good football coaches. 400 00:23:01,859 --> 00:23:06,843 I mean he's got like he played college football and his coaches 401 00:23:06,843 --> 00:23:12,447 in the Hall of Fame and it's like I, when I hear him, it's 402 00:23:12,487 --> 00:23:16,951 like I know that's where he got some of his you know just all of 403 00:23:16,951 --> 00:23:19,072 this because I mean, think about it Like. 404 00:23:19,072 --> 00:23:22,442 I mean, just as a football coach, like just you would never 405 00:23:22,442 --> 00:23:26,317 see a football coach that reached a certain level that 406 00:23:26,336 --> 00:23:29,048 that's the only tool they had in their toolbox was banging their 407 00:23:29,048 --> 00:23:31,979 fist right Like there is a time and a place, but you've got to 408 00:23:31,999 --> 00:23:34,585 bring more to the situation as well, you know. 409 00:23:34,684 --> 00:23:38,061 But I do, I feel like with some of the young people they got it 410 00:23:38,121 --> 00:23:41,249 from, because if they haven't had a lot of work experience, 411 00:23:41,369 --> 00:23:43,976 that's the leadership experience they're pulling from. 412 00:23:43,976 --> 00:23:44,376 You know. 413 00:23:45,661 --> 00:23:49,130 Speaker 1: Well, and athletics is such a rich environment to 414 00:23:49,230 --> 00:23:52,116 learn those types of skills and capabilities. 415 00:23:52,116 --> 00:23:54,681 I was not much of an athlete myself. 416 00:23:54,681 --> 00:23:59,188 I made it to high school and then I was not competitive any 417 00:23:59,228 --> 00:24:04,187 longer, and so, watching my four children themselves go through 418 00:24:04,227 --> 00:24:08,356 athletics programs in volleyball and football and baseball and 419 00:24:08,437 --> 00:24:13,866 lacrosse I envy the learnings that they got. 420 00:24:13,866 --> 00:24:17,720 As high school students and for anybody who makes it to the 421 00:24:17,740 --> 00:24:20,948 collegiate level, you're generally going to be surrounded 422 00:24:20,948 --> 00:24:24,481 with mentors and teachers and people that are going to grow 423 00:24:24,522 --> 00:24:28,595 you as athletes but also going to grow you as human beings, and 424 00:24:28,595 --> 00:24:35,327 I think that's part of why recruiting is still done heavily 425 00:24:35,327 --> 00:24:35,808 at. 426 00:24:35,808 --> 00:24:38,908 You know, for athletics at college campuses in 427 00:24:39,048 --> 00:24:43,741 transportation and logistics is competitiveness and grit and 428 00:24:43,782 --> 00:24:47,189 adaptability, and- Commitment. 429 00:24:47,575 --> 00:24:48,258 Flexibility. 430 00:24:48,258 --> 00:24:56,525 All of those skills are so much easier to accumulate in an 431 00:24:56,565 --> 00:24:57,385 athletic environment. 432 00:24:57,385 --> 00:24:59,470 So were you an athlete yourself ? 433 00:24:59,470 --> 00:25:03,543 Or where, where, where do you feel like you got most of your 434 00:25:03,603 --> 00:25:06,863 own development from then people in your life or in your life? 435 00:25:07,955 --> 00:25:09,118 Speaker 2: Trial and error. 436 00:25:09,118 --> 00:25:11,102 I've done everything wrong. 437 00:25:11,102 --> 00:25:14,008 Now I just get it right sometimes. 438 00:25:14,008 --> 00:25:19,278 No, I I've shared with you that I've been part of the Vistage 439 00:25:19,317 --> 00:25:24,020 community for about five years, so I know, like my, my group 440 00:25:24,081 --> 00:25:26,582 here in Omaha has definitely helped me. 441 00:25:26,582 --> 00:25:32,145 You know, level up my leadership skills um as well, 442 00:25:32,226 --> 00:25:40,010 just kind of, um, you know, getting people in place at ABLE, 443 00:25:40,010 --> 00:25:43,657 kind of making sure the right people are in the right seats um 444 00:25:43,657 --> 00:25:49,648 to amplify the, the, the good stuff, and then also kind of to 445 00:25:49,688 --> 00:25:52,401 balance out what I don't bring to the table and what I don't 446 00:25:52,441 --> 00:25:52,741 have. 447 00:25:52,741 --> 00:25:56,355 Where there was a point in ABLE's history where there was 448 00:25:56,395 --> 00:26:00,216 probably too much of a certain type of leadership energy, call 449 00:26:00,296 --> 00:26:00,355 it. 450 00:26:00,355 --> 00:26:04,846 And so you know, I think I've learned balance in that way too. 451 00:26:04,907 --> 00:26:09,201 Like I said, like you know, people amplify the good stuff 452 00:26:09,221 --> 00:26:12,857 that I bring to the table and then people to pick up the slack 453 00:26:12,857 --> 00:26:15,105 and and clean up behind me where I'm lacking. 454 00:26:15,184 --> 00:26:15,726 You know what I mean. 455 00:26:15,726 --> 00:26:37,809 And so I'm in a good place hire a president who had led um you 456 00:26:37,830 --> 00:26:42,275 know, some offices for CH, for you know a number of years, a 457 00:26:42,335 --> 00:26:46,786 couple of decades, and so it was just very relevant experience, 458 00:26:46,846 --> 00:26:49,639 like my office, you know, very much feels like a. 459 00:26:49,639 --> 00:26:54,118 You know, although CH is a really big company, um, with 460 00:26:54,158 --> 00:26:57,903 billions in revenue, it was a lot of small offices, you know, 461 00:26:58,004 --> 00:27:02,615 and so there's just a lot of similarities there and um, with 462 00:27:02,696 --> 00:27:07,440 both of us, you know, leading now it's like I feel like we're 463 00:27:07,500 --> 00:27:10,375 able to move a lot faster and just for those reasons, like I 464 00:27:10,436 --> 00:27:14,298 said, he he amplifies some work I do and he's really good at 465 00:27:14,338 --> 00:27:17,236 some stuff that I'm not so good at, you know, which is really on 466 00:27:17,236 --> 00:27:21,943 on the people side and the leadership side, and so Well, it 467 00:27:21,943 --> 00:27:25,289 sounds like you have a path forward for the next 10 years. 468 00:27:26,395 --> 00:27:29,323 Speaker 1: We wish you nothing but success on the in the next 469 00:27:29,363 --> 00:27:29,724 chapter. 470 00:27:29,724 --> 00:27:32,817 Last question what does able transport mean? 471 00:27:32,817 --> 00:27:33,378 What is? 472 00:27:33,378 --> 00:27:35,642 Where did the name come from and what does it mean to you? 473 00:27:35,662 --> 00:27:37,465 Speaker 2: come from, and what does it mean to you? 474 00:27:37,465 --> 00:27:38,447 That's a good question. 475 00:27:38,447 --> 00:27:48,397 So, ready, willing and able, Um , but how it came to me as it 476 00:27:48,417 --> 00:27:49,338 was, it was in the running. 477 00:27:49,338 --> 00:27:52,986 I can't even remember now like my top two or three names I had 478 00:27:53,006 --> 00:27:53,125 chosen. 479 00:27:53,125 --> 00:27:55,671 But, um, I was putting on my shoes one day. 480 00:27:55,895 --> 00:27:58,362 I do remember, you know how some things just remember where you 481 00:27:58,402 --> 00:27:59,305 were at and what you were doing. 482 00:27:59,305 --> 00:28:02,413 I was putting on my shoes in the mudroom and I shouted in and 483 00:28:02,413 --> 00:28:06,020 told my husband it's able, calling it able, and it was like 484 00:28:06,020 --> 00:28:10,717 capable, reliable, dependable and just all of these things. 485 00:28:10,717 --> 00:28:12,843 And so that's kind of where it came from. 486 00:28:12,843 --> 00:28:17,597 But then I sent, when I sent the name over to the graphic 487 00:28:17,618 --> 00:28:20,337 designer and that, and when she designed the brand, I was like, 488 00:28:20,499 --> 00:28:23,892 yes, I loved the colors, I loved the little road, how she made 489 00:28:23,912 --> 00:28:28,624 the A into a road, and, um, yeah , and then I could just see it 490 00:28:28,703 --> 00:28:29,285 and it was I. 491 00:28:29,285 --> 00:28:31,576 Really I'm still, 10 years later, I'm in love with the 492 00:28:31,596 --> 00:28:31,976 brand. 493 00:28:31,976 --> 00:28:35,879 Um, still, so I, yeah, but that's kind of how it came to be 494 00:28:35,879 --> 00:28:35,879 . 495 00:28:37,019 --> 00:28:37,980 Speaker 1: That is a great story . 496 00:28:37,980 --> 00:28:40,702 You never know where that moment of inspiration is going 497 00:28:40,722 --> 00:28:46,307 to come from, and it is similar to naming a child, because 498 00:28:46,326 --> 00:28:49,570 you're going to have it for a long time and it means something 499 00:28:49,570 --> 00:28:51,912 deeply personal, and so thank you, thank you for sharing that 500 00:28:51,951 --> 00:28:55,096 with us today, thanks for opening up about your journey 501 00:28:55,116 --> 00:28:57,843 journey I'm hoping if somebody is listening right now, that is 502 00:28:58,525 --> 00:29:04,105 maybe where you were 10 years ago that they have heard. 503 00:29:04,105 --> 00:29:07,894 I mean, the themes that I've heard from you are adaptability, 504 00:29:07,894 --> 00:29:12,324 just plain old hard work, doing what you said you're going to 505 00:29:12,344 --> 00:29:17,940 do, following through and that's maybe why I'm attracted to your 506 00:29:17,940 --> 00:29:21,065 story is that those are all very Midwest, humble, 507 00:29:21,625 --> 00:29:27,399 straightforward, old fashioned values and with that as your 508 00:29:27,439 --> 00:29:30,246 foundation, I have no doubt you're going to continue being 509 00:29:30,306 --> 00:29:32,922 successful and, like I said, we're all rooting for you, thank 510 00:29:32,922 --> 00:29:33,062 you. 511 00:29:33,082 --> 00:29:33,805 Speaker 2: Yeah, thank you. 512 00:29:36,277 --> 00:29:38,307 Speaker 1: Thanks for listening to another episode of the 513 00:29:38,346 --> 00:29:41,562 bootstrappers guide to logistics , and a special thank you to our 514 00:29:41,562 --> 00:29:44,133 sponsors and the team behind the scenes who make it all 515 00:29:44,153 --> 00:29:44,535 possible. 516 00:29:44,535 --> 00:29:48,071 Be sure to like, follow or subscribe to the podcast to get 517 00:29:48,091 --> 00:29:48,815 the latest updates. 518 00:29:48,815 --> 00:29:51,929 To learn more about the show and connect with the growing 519 00:29:51,969 --> 00:29:55,318 community of entrepreneurs, visit logisticsfounderscom. 520 00:29:55,318 --> 00:29:59,167 And, of course, thank you to all the founders who trust us to 521 00:29:59,167 --> 00:29:59,929 share their stories.