Brent – 00:00:01:
Welcome to Freight Nation: A Trucking Podcast where we explore the fascinating world of trucking and freight management. We dive deep into the freight industry and uncover why the trucking industry is more crucial to our country now than ever before. Stay tuned to uncover the driving forces behind successful trucking businesses and hear from the hardworking truckers and leaders who keep the world moving. Let’s hit the road. Well, welcome back, Freight Nation. I’m so glad you took the time to join us today. I know there’s a lot that you could do with your time. And your energy. And so we appreciate you joining us on Freight Nation, a podcast by Truckstop. And it’s always my pleasure to do this. I really have had such a great time bringing all the Freight Nation stories to you, the watcher and listener. And so it’s always great because you get to hear, and me too, I get to hear a story of how someone got into freight. And then what are some of the pieces of advice or things that they would advise people to do if they were advancing their career in freight? And so Freight Nation had a great time in doing this and bringing those stories to life. And today we’ve got one of my, and I know I say this, and I’m very, very fortunate inside of freight to have lots of great friends. And look, if you’re new to freight, get ready because you’re going to have a lot of great friendships. If you’ve been in freight a long time, then you know exactly what I’m talking about. Because this industry is just full of people that have great hearts, that are character driven, and they just want to just run a business and create success for themselves and the family and more success for this industry. And so my guest today is one of my good friends who I sit on the Transportation Intermediaries Board with. Ms. Liz Wayne from Able Transport. Liz, thank you so much for joining us today.
Liz – 00:01:39:
Yeah, thanks, Brent. Excited to be here with you.
Brent – 00:01:41:
Well, Freight Nation, you’re in for a treat today because you’re going to hear about somebody who, believe it or not, claims they got into freight for the hours. They got into logistics for the hours, which most of us know that doesn’t sound very conventional. So we’re going to hear Liz’s story today. That’ll be a great time. So I hope you’ve got your pens and your pads of paper out, Freight Nation, so you can take down some of the advice and the story of her journey, Liz’s journey into logistics, because I know you’re going to enjoy it. So Liz, tell me about it. Okay, time out. Now, you said you sort of stumbled into this. Now, I know you worked in transportation for a while. And before you started your business in 2014. So talk to the Frank Nation watchers and listeners about what does that mean? What is it? What does it mean you stumbled into when you were already working in it? Tell us how that story started.
Liz – 00:02:28:
Yeah. So I guess I didn’t stumble into Able and into my freight brokerage, but I stumbled into trucking and into the industry by happy accident about 23 years ago. So when I say… I got in for the hours. That is kind of counterintuitive to most people because most of us don’t sign up for 24-7, but then that’s where we end up. So I was preparing to go to college at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln via Cornhusker, and I found out I was expecting my oldest son. And so that’s sort of what pushed me into trucking. I needed a job. And… I needed a job with office hours because that’s when daycare providers were available. And so I applied for some office jobs and lucky for me, a local trucking company had something available. But that’s kind of how I say happy accident and for the hours.
Brent – 00:03:30:
Yeah. So when you were looking for the job out there, look, we’ve all been in those situations where it’s like, I got to get something that fits my life and for what I’m doing. I think that’s most of us, especially when we’re looking for that kind of first job sort of thing. So what was it like when you said, okay, well, a trucking company, I’m going to work for a trucking company. Well, when you walked in the door, what were some of the things that you were like, oh, well, that’s cool. And then what were some of the things you were like, I’m not sure what I got myself into.
Liz – 00:03:55:
Oh, yeah, that’s a good question. So I think initially it was like, this will hold me over until I can find something I want to do more. I wasn’t expecting the challenges that were behind those doors and all the fun problems to solve. So that came as a surprise. Definitely how busy everyone was a surprise to me. I remember the first couple of weeks, honestly, just sort of feeling like everybody had their own lingo and vocabulary and I couldn’t quite fit into that. And so, of course, I mean, there’s funny stories about why is everybody talking about reefer all the time and those sorts of things.
Brent – 00:04:35:
But That never misses. That’s always funny.
Liz – 00:04:38:
Yeah. But really just overall, all of the lingo, how they did everything, I thought it was just fascinating. And so I was hired as the receptionist. So I was at the front desk kind of in the middle. There was like an ops team to either side of me and they’d be communicating back and forth. So I got to hear a lot. But at the end of the day, they had an automated phone system. So I don’t even know why. I mean, they needed somebody to greet the guests that come in, but not that many guests come in either. But everybody around me was very busy. So I just started asking people around me if I could help them with this, help them with that. Of course, everybody was more than willing to get any help that they could.
Brent – 00:05:13:
Yeah. So you were a go getter from day one.
Liz – 00:05:15:
So I learned a lot that way. It just it wasn’t my job. I think I was making seven bucks an hour. But I joke that I learned 80 percent of the industry that way. At that rate.
Brent – 00:05:26:
Oh, now that’s fascinating. So, all right, Freight Nation, take that, write that down, because that’s a really good one. You made yourself available to people. And in the process, you learned a ton. Talk a little bit about that. Talk like some, what were some of the things that you were like, okay, well, now I got to do this and I know that. Now I got to do this and I know that.
Liz – 00:05:48:
It started with like they would do a daily balance meeting where they’re looking at all the regions, all the outbound freight, all the trucks coming in and making sure they were in balance. And so one of the first things was like copy this big whiteboard into an email and distribute it to everybody at the end of every morning balance meeting. And so when I started doing that, I didn’t even know what I was doing. I was just copying the numbers and sending them out. But then as I get more curious and started putting together how the driver manager works with the planner, works with the customer service rep, and just kind of from the outside started watching how they put the pieces together, I think was sort of more beneficial than being one of the pieces at that time, if that makes sense. Because I got to see how it all works without being too sort of hindered or focused on one of the pieces.
Brent – 00:06:40:
Right. Well, that’s fascinating. So it’s amazing what you get to do when you say, you just kind of raise your hand and go, I can help with that. So, yeah. So hold that thought, because I’m going to ask you about how that helped you once you decided to start your own business. So hold on to that thought. So you’ve worked in multiple different parts, though, because you started with a transportation company. So how long were you with that transportation company and what other roles did you hold there?
Liz – 00:07:04:
Yeah. So that was an asset-based company. They have about 400 trucks. So I was only in that receptionist role for a couple of months, moved over into like the billing and accounting side, took on some roles over there. And then they had a few small in-house brokerages. And one of them had a need for somebody to come in and do all of the accounting. So moved over to their in-house brokerage. And then after some time, moved into a broker role.
Brent – 00:07:34:
Okay. So you handled accounting on the asset side and then kind of did the same role, but for the brokerage part of the business. And then you moved all the way into brokerage.
Liz – 00:07:44:
Yep.
Brent – 00:07:44:
What was your role inside the brokerage part?
Liz – 00:07:47:
I was brokering and dispatching. Now, it was interesting because… You know how it works for a lot of companies that do both. They’re really focused on one or the other. They’re either asset-like and primarily brokerage, or they’re an asset company and the brokerage just sort of supports that piece. So that’s how I would describe it. And so I learned a ton there. But after about five years with that company, I had an opportunity to start with a gentleman who was forming just a pure brokerage. So no assets. It was a former CH guy. And so then I got to be there with him on day one. We’re like hiding from the fire marshal because we didn’t have an occupancy permit, but we’re moving a couple loads and dispatching some drivers and stuff. And so then from him, I got to learn how to sell and what the true pure broker brings the marketplace without any wheels. Because I didn’t really get a full vision of that at the asset company.
Brent – 00:08:45:
Right. I want you to back up just a little bit. Because I want to ask you a personal question. Is it okay to ask you a personal question?
Liz – 00:08:51:
Sure.
Brent – 00:08:52:
I mean, we’re friends.
Liz – 00:08:54:
You’re friends. Well, we’re friends.
Brent – 00:08:56:
I’m always curious about this. All right, so, you took your first job as a receptionist with the transportation company and you had a condition. You were pregnant at the time. What were your feelings going into that? Because having your first child, for anyone that’s been through it, is a very unique experience. And so how are you managing things with that part of your life? Because that’s a really cool thing.
Liz – 00:09:23:
Yeah. So I actually started there at that trucking company when my son was a month old.
Brent – 00:09:28:
Oh, he was already born then. Okay, great.
Liz – 00:09:31:
I was an 18-year-old single mom, and he takes a lot of credit for my career now because he was just really, I mean, I had more motivation than most people my age. And I had a lot to prove. And I… In those early days, I had a good conversation with Jeremy Throne, formerly of 3PL Systems, and we talked about just the hierarchy of needs and what motivates people. And in those early days of my career, the number one motivating thing was to feed him, you know what I mean, in every way possible. And so that got me through for the first probably nearly 10 years of my career. Wow. It wasn’t until after I started getting into just other levels of needs that I thought about entrepreneurship and Able kind of became a vision and all of that.
Brent – 00:10:23:
That’s fascinating. And so that… Your situation created such a driving desire in you. And I think the words you said were to prove yourself.
Liz – 00:10:32:
Yeah.
Brent – 00:10:33:
So talk a little bit about, I think so many times we talk about what we’ve done in life instead of talking about why we did it and why it happened. The outcome’s obvious, but the motivation of why is usually what got you there. And so the idea that you were a single mom and you were working just to take care of your family. And then you started seeing a bigger vision for yourself. You said it took you through the first 10 years of your career. So all along, how are you continuing to see a bigger vision for yourself?
Liz – 00:11:05:
I think for me, I’m always moving my personal goalposts. I couldn’t remember all of the layers in that hierarchy of needs right now. But like survival’s the most basic. And it’s like, it was a great conversation we had. And I’ve thought about it a lot since then, because it all comes back to that. It’s like you do one thing at a time. And so if you’re fortunate enough and get enough years on this planet, you can move into those higher layers of really what are we here for? What are we doing? What’s the bigger picture? But you can’t really start to get to any of that without your basic needs being met in that. So that’s just how I describe it. I mean, in kind of a personal journey kind of way. But if you look closely at it, it does. I think a lot of people would agree their experience falls in the same sort of order, you know?
Brent – 00:11:57:
Yeah, for sure it does. Absolutely. So I want to talk about you continuing to learn as well. So hang on to that as well. So I’ll talk about that. That’s the, I’m watching, I’m watching a pattern here. So that was just really cool. All right. So, you know, brokerage went into a pure brokerage and then you did that for, tell us how long you did that. And then how long had you been thinking about starting your own company before you made the jump to doing it?
Liz – 00:12:24:
Yeah, I was there. With him for about six or seven years. So got to sort of witness his growth from zero to around maybe 25 million or something revenue. So as he sort of approached small to medium sized shop and all of that. So how long did I think about it? I mean. That’s kind of a loaded question because I feel like by nature, like I’ve always been an entrepreneur. And, I’ve always had a desire to, well, I would say do things my way. I was trying to think of a better way to say that, but we’re friends.
Brent – 00:13:00:
Most founders like to do things their way. Yeah, that’s not uncommon, right?
Liz – 00:13:03:
Yeah. So. In that way, it’s like, I guess that’s always going through my head how I would do things. I don’t know. But actually go for it. I didn’t think too long about it. I was actually expecting my third child at that point. And I laugh sometimes because I found out a few days after quitting my job that I was expecting her. And sometimes I wonder if I had postponed that resignation another week, would I have done it the same? And I know I wish I would have, so I’m glad I did. But sometimes I wonder if I knew I was expecting and walking away from health insurance and those things, if I would have done the same thing.
Brent – 00:13:43:
Yeah, for sure. Well, I mean… If we all had that crystal ball that we could look at for our lives, we might do things different. The problem or the struggle with that is that. I think if we all knew the future, we’d miss out on a lot of things that were great for our lives because we would maybe not take the risk. And so because so many things just evolve as you get there by, like you said, necessity, it goes into it. All right. So all this time and all this effort and three kids later, you’re right at the beginning, right? Sometime during 2013, you go, I’m going to start Able. And it’s 2014 and you’re day one at Able Transport Solutions. Okay, so how did you choose to do it? What was it like day one? And how did you choose the part of the market you went into? Because you’re kind of in a unique market. You’re in heavy haul and like expedited stuff, right?
Liz – 00:14:34:
So how did I do it? Those early days are fun.
Brent – 00:14:37:
Yeah, tell about those, yeah.
Liz – 00:14:39:
You’re like celebrating every load. I got to, Will Jenkins took me back in a good conversation with him recently where he was asking about this. And it’s like, I told him a story from 2015 when I had been in business for one year, but even telling him the story, it was like, man, those were the good times. Like the startup days are so fun for so many reasons, but it’s like every load is celebrated. You’re like high five and patting yourself on the back for every single load. Every load gets just the utmost attention. I mean, it’s just like everything is hypervigilant and just, so intense. So it’s fun. I was… Hauling for learning how to haul for the DOD is really what took me in to Flatbed D-Haul. I haven’t done any of that for a while, but really that’s sort of where I identified the market and just that’s how I wanted to position Able and where we wanted to be. And then as we got going and got some customers moving, we started to get to know the construction job site pretty well. And I believe those guys have been left behind by our industry. And they’re just quite opposite from like a manufacturer or a distributor. And so many of the questions that we ask of the customers and the shippers and that are all sort of from that lens of as if they were an importer or a manufacturer or a distributor. And there’s this whole sort of segment that doesn’t fit into that. And so the more we got to know them, we started to realize they really need us. And we just doubled down on the Flatbed Heavy Haul.
Brent – 00:16:20:
Right. Okay. So part of it was, it was just a market opportunity for yourself. All right. So that’s one part of what you do. You also have an expedited part of your business. How did you morph into or how did you position yourself into that part?
Liz – 00:16:34:
Yeah, just really listening to the customers. And sometimes they have needs that there’s some shipments, modes, types that just don’t quite fit into what 98% of us are doing 98% of the time. And there’s just, if a shipper is risking shutting down a manufacturing line, saving $400 on that shipment is not necessarily the most important thing to them. It’s going to be other things like the quality of the dispatch, the age of the truck is going to lead to some probability of success and less breakdown and just a whole host of things that. And so I guess we do well with expedited because we’re trying to offer the customers, not just an out of the box experience. We’re really trying to listen to them and get to know them. And so that’s kind of how that developed is our competitors were failing them on those types of shipments and we were able to step up for them.
Brent – 00:17:36:
Wow. So, all right. That’s interesting. So you saw where your customers had a need. Because of a failure of performance on other companies. And you decided, I think I can do that. I think we can do that well.
Liz – 00:17:52:
Yeah, and that’s what it’s all about, right? Like listening to the customers. What do they need? I mean, who are we to decide what they need? So it’s really, as an entrepreneur, you’ve got to ask the right questions. You’ve got to listen to the answers. And you’ve just got to bring some focus to that. Because we’re squirrels. We like to chase shiny things. But we’d be wise to just chase what the customer is asking us to chase.
Brent – 00:18:14:
So listen to the customer, understand their needs, and bring some focus to it. That’s a one, two, three, Freight Nation. I hope you wrote that down. Listen to the customer.
Liz – 00:18:25:
But I mean, don’t tell them what they need. They don’t need us to tell them. They need us to ask good questions.
Brent – 00:18:31:
Right. Understand their needs. All right. I’m writing this down. Hi, Freight Nation. I hope you’re writing this down too. All right. And then bring focus to it. That’s awesome. That’s fantastic advice. What a great pro tip there. All right. So you’ve launched your own company. Now, here’s always one of the curious questions. How’d you come up with a name?
Liz – 00:18:51:
I love that question. So I was never going to name it after myself or any initials or anything like that. So I was looking for a name that had nothing to do with Liz Wayne.
Brent – 00:19:03:
Okay.
Liz – 00:19:03:
I can’t even remember now what the other top choice was, but I was between Able and something else. And I was just putting on my shoes one day and I opened up the mudroom door and told my husband, it’s Able, we’re capable, we’re dependable, we’re reliable. We’re ready, willing and able. We’re all of these things. And so then once my, I had some kind of outsourced marketing help. And once she created the brand, the A is like a road when I’m like, oh, once she put that work together, it was like, yeah, that’s it has to be.
Brent – 00:19:39:
That’s it. All right. Well, so it’s a descriptive of your capabilities. Well, that’s super cool. I like it. That’s fantastic. All right. So what was it like? Tell the Freight Nation watchers and listeners. What it’s like to, for the most part, put everything you got, on the line. Start a business. You chase the American dream of becoming your own boss, your own captain. Controlling your own destinies, like people like to say sometimes. But in the end, my thought or my guess about you is that this was the only way you were ever going to do it. You just were going to, you’re going to go do it for yourself because you just felt like you could do it for your best expectation of what you wanted from servicing the client. So what’s it like get doing it, like start the first couple of weeks of starting it. And then what was your first year like and what were some of the ups and downs?
Liz – 00:20:33:
Yeah. So my first year, so again, the beginning is just really fun. You’re celebrating all the wins. You’re really excited. It can be peaks and valleys though, because you also get probably too concerned with issues and problems, but that’s okay. Like hypervigilance. I think that’s healthy in the beginning. So the first year I was just on my own. I didn’t start really selling and hiring staff until 2015.
Brent – 00:21:01:
Oh, my. Okay. You were a single proprietor first year. Wow. That’s a big move. Yeah.
Liz – 00:21:07:
Yeah. It’s a lot of like, it’s really 24-7 when you’re in that case. When you’re in that flow.
Brent – 00:21:14:
You did it for the flexible hours, right?
Liz – 00:21:16:
Yeah, seriously. So doing that, another story I’ve told recently, but that baby that I told you, I found out I was expecting after I resigned from my last child.
Brent – 00:21:29:
Yeah, your third, your daughter.
Liz – 00:21:31:
I had a gal, I still remember her name and what military base she was from, but she called in some shipments. My daughter was 45 minutes old and I ignored the call and she called straight back. And so I answered and her and I had a pretty good working relationship. So.
Brent – 00:21:49:
Time out, time out, time out. You just had a baby 45 minutes ago. You answered a business call.
Liz – 00:21:55:
Listen, she kept calling. She didn’t stop. She didn’t take the swipe right very well.
Brent – 00:22:00:
Freight Nation, if you ever – Freight Nation, Freight Nation. If you ever – Doubted if Liz Wayne was tough. Guess what? She’s tough. So she kept calling.
Liz – 00:22:12:
So listen, so she tells me she has these shipments for me and they ship in three weeks. And I’m like, oh, great. I’ll call you next week. And she keeps talking and she keeps going. And next thing I know, I’m really, really regretting answering the phone. And I’m like, I’ve moved enough loads for her. She knows if I say I’m going to call you next week, I’m going to take care of those loads. I don’t need three weeks to book or whatever. So I think it was probably at that point that it was like, okay, this is not sustainable. I need help. I need employees. But then you go down that road, you go down that road of, you know, I had no management like training or anything at any point in my career. And so delegating was hard for me in the beginning.
Brent – 00:22:57:
And I have this. It is for every founder.
Liz – 00:23:00:
Really high expectations on the experience I wanted the customer to have and the carrier as well. And so the next big challenge became finding good people and empowering them. And a lot of the empowering them was my own. I mean, I’ve come a long way on that, but I could have done better there because I had never, I was definitely a control freak in the early days of the business, for sure.
Brent – 00:23:25:
Well, you kind of have to be when you’re running your own gig, man. That’s just kind of part of it. If the trash needs to be taken out, you take it out because You own it.
Liz – 00:23:33:
Exactly.
Brent – 00:23:34:
Yeah, so you bring up a good point. A really good point. All right, Freight Nation, this is important. Is being a control freak, Ms. Wayne, the best way to run a business?
Liz – 00:23:44:
No.
Brent – 00:23:45:
No, it’s not. It’s not on it.
Liz – 00:23:47:
The thing is.
Brent – 00:23:48:
Talk a little bit about it.
Liz – 00:23:49:
Yeah. It doesn’t scale.
Brent – 00:23:52:
Right, that’s right. If it’s just you, it’s easy to be a control freak. If you’ve got more than one of you, it’s kind of hard.
Liz – 00:23:59:
Yeah. At the end of the day, and this is something I’ve learned, but it’s like you hire smart, capable people for a reason. And in most cases, it’s your best to get out of their way. Now that’s assuming of course, that they trust you and that you trust they’re going to bubble up the things that do need you. Because I found when it’s the wrong person and the correct things don’t bubble up, then that puts me back in a place of- Maybe wanting to control too many things. But if you’ve got the right people in the right seat, they need in-pout.
Brent – 00:24:35:
Right, right, right. Well, you want quality because the company in the end, Abel is Liz Wayne, Able is them too. But in the end, your blood, sweat, and tears are on the deed of the business. And so that’s exciting. So, all right, you started in 2014. You and I are talking, it’s September of 2024. So what were some of the ways in which you looked at growth. Your business in that the decade that you’ve been around and what were some of the, what would be some of your sort of sage advice about advising others to grow, to grow their brokerage operation?
Liz – 00:25:12:
Yeah. So if you’re looking to grow a brokerage. One thing I think that’s been beneficial for Able is with me being a 100% shareholder, we’ve been able to stay long-sighted. And so just for example, this market that we’ve been in, my eye has been on the other side of the market this whole time. And so without having people to kind of report to quarterly, we have the flexibility to focus on that and try to put ourselves in a position for any kind of market lift rather than only looking at the next 90-day stretch. So be thinking about that. Be thinking about investment you take on in that way. One thing that I wish I would have done sooner. So we are in the middle of a reorg right now. And we will be going live with it here in the next like two to four weeks. But it’s taken nearly a year of planning because it affects every job description, every comp plan. I mean, it affects everything across the board. How we use all of our systems. And it was painful. And so I’m wishing that I would have done it five years ago, I guess.
Brent – 00:26:26:
Oh, okay. Okay.
Liz – 00:26:28:
And so I guess with that, I’ll say don’t only be thinking about what works best for today. But I think it was probably Steve and Kobe began with the end in mind. But really be thinking about where you want to be at the end and just set it up correctly from the beginning. Because I found my work, this year to be probably the most challenging of my career because it feels more difficult to erase and rewrite than to start with a blank slate. So if scale is in your plans, then just really be thinking about it from day one.
Brent – 00:27:04:
Right. Yes. Without a doubt. You’ve got to be planning to scale. Yeah. And you’ve got to be able to implement the things to scale. Okay, so I’ll ask you this question. In order to scale, you’ve got to implement some systems in place to do that. And you just talked about that. How do you plan to do that in a business while running the business? Because you’ve got to run the business to make revenue. Then you’ve got to help put systems in place to scale the business, which takes your eye off of. Running the business. So give the Freight Nation watchers and listeners a little bit of a taste of what Liz’s advice on how do you do both those things at the same time.
Liz – 00:27:42:
Well, it’s really hard. So sometimes I dream about what could this business be if I had more time to think about it? Because the days go so fast, as you know. And then, well, here we are. It’s a Friday afternoon that we’re recording this. And it’s like… Time just flies. And so empowering your people will help with that as we’ve already talked about. So for me, I am looking to double the size of Able in the next three years. And that was going to take more input. Than we have now. So I hired a president who starts on Monday. He actually-
Brent – 00:28:22:
Oh, no.
Liz – 00:28:24:
Yeah. So. I’ll have a president to my CEO. And if anybody’s familiar with just like EOS operating systems and that, I look at it as an integrator to my visionary. And that will help me. I know because I don’t have an answer for you. What you said has been my number one challenge for at least the last five years.
Brent – 00:28:45:
No doubt. All right. So I said I was going to come back to this. You’ve mentioned one of the greatest business advice givers in the world, Stephen Covey. You’ve talked about another gentleman where you were talking about the different hierarchical needs. Now you talked about strategy. You talked about hiring a president. Sounds like to me that you’ve been a continuous learner since day one, since you were a single mom at 18 years old, starting as a receptionist for an asset-based carrier. It sounds like you’ve been a continuous learner your whole life. I know you, and so I know you’ve been that. How do you apply that? To create the success that you’re looking for.
Liz – 00:29:25:
Yeah, that’s a good question. How do you apply it? Basically, it’s along these lines of like, take what you want and leave the rest.
Brent – 00:29:33:
Yeah, there you go. That sounds like Barbara Corcoran, yeah.
Liz – 00:29:36:
I’m part of a, oh, I know what it was. She says, I’m going to ask for all of your opinions and then I’m going to do what I want. And so… That’s how I would put it. It’s like, I think sometimes if you’re looking up to somebody or you have a mentor or somebody in the business you look up to, you think that if you get their thoughts or their opinions that you have to run with what they said or something like that. And I think at least that’s how I approach things earlier in my career. And it’s sort of like. Now it’s, I just talk to as many people as I can about things that I’m working on or challenges that I have. And somehow through all of that, my way and what’s best for me, my intuition helps me make decisions with all of that information. So it’s like, I ask everybody, I take what I want. I do what I want anyway. I leave the rest. But. Somehow you just pull a little piece from here and a little piece from here and a little piece from here. And they all sort of contribute to what you’ve already got or what’s already special about you. Rather than looking for the silver bullet in a book or in a lecture or in a person, you just sort of look for nuggets everywhere.
Brent – 00:30:50:
Yeah, for sure. Well, how does it apply to your specific situation? For sure. Absolutely. The thing I was talking about with my wife this morning was the Barbara Corcoran’s, she’s kind of famous for talking about, she looks for people with real grit, people that are just tenacious, that won’t give up. She says a lot of times she’ll say, I’m not as concerned about their education and there’s nothing wrong with great education, but that’s not the most driving factor. She wants to see people that are determined to find things. And so as I’m listening to you, When you talked to me about working as an 18-year-old and then moving forward and always asking questions and making yourself available, continuing to learn, you’re one of those people that just kind of continues to morph into the person you need to be to find the success that you’re looking for. It’s pretty phenomenal. All right. So I know that all of this success that you’ve had with your life and your career, there’s more to you than just focusing on business. I know that you have a real heart for your community, and I know that you have a real heart also for encouraging other women to find their spot, find their leadership in this too. So talk to me a little bit about community, and then I want to finish with you talking and being encouraging to any females who might want to find their career inside of transportation. So talk to me a little bit about community.
Liz – 00:32:07:
Yeah. I just think it’s important that everybody be active in all of their communities. So whether it’s their church community, their local community, their kids’ schools, industry. Obviously, I try to be very active with TIA, as you do. And so just where you can find not only like-minded people, but a diverse set of people. And just… Embrace it, play your part in it, make your contributions to it so that when you have an ask and a need, you can receive from it as well. I think that’s what makes the world go around. So that’s just kind of when I say a community first mentality, that’s whatever community group, community group of parents, of industry leaders, whatever, just these different segments of my life. As far as women in logistics, we’re getting close. So we’re not even going to have to have this conversation anymore, right?
Brent – 00:33:01:
Well, I’m ready for that day.
Liz – 00:33:03:
I know you are.
Brent – 00:33:06:
No, I just, I think I love the idea of evaluating people just on their capabilities and that things are fair and balanced and the opportunities fair and balanced for anybody that wants to chase their dreams. Dreams are not exclusive to anybody, but you do have to be determined to go get them. And so that’s what things that’s always struck me about you is your determination in this. So talk a little bit about your encouragement for to women in transportation.
Liz – 00:33:30:
Yeah, I just we are almost to a point where we can stop talking about this, because as we look at jobs and employment rates in our industry for women, it has increased. Women in trucking, they’ve got sort of a more uphill battle. There will only ever be so many women that we get in over the road, true long haul over the road driving.
Brent – 00:33:51:
Yeah, I think that’s more desire. Yeah, that’s more desire. Just this, hey, job doesn’t match what I want to do.
Liz – 00:33:57:
But when we think about logistics and brokerages and that, like we’re right there. And so for me, why I hopped on like that cause, because it was funny. Well, I wanted to talk to you more on Monday and we’ll, we don’t have to go all the way down that road. But it’s funny because it wasn’t until I, I’m like that, whatever that person that said recently, they didn’t even know they were a feminist until they heard the actual definition. And that’s the category I would put myself in. It’s like, I didn’t even know that I was a feminist. So, and I use that word loosely, but. It’s like the jobs, women are represented in the jobs now. And as we see, they’re represented at the executive level. And so for me, why I hopped on sort of this cause and mission to recruit women into logistics and brokerages is because. It can be a, yeah, it can still be a more comfortable place for women. And so there’s a number of sort of cultures that exist, subcultures that exist within the freight brokerage industry. Some are still not very comfortable for women. And so I hear from women who get jobs, they at certain offices and they go and they start and it’s like, whoa, this isn’t the culture that I was looking for that will. And so I think that’s kind of our last thing to do, you might say, is make sure that our offices and physical workspaces and that are comfortable for everybody. And that’s just, that’s a culture thing, but I’m sure you’ve been in this business for a really long time. You’ve seen the culture shift. The culture is shifting.
Brent – 00:35:39:
Well, just in general, I’ve seen the idea that the balance of when people look at capabilities and they think about someone’s ability to accomplish the task, you see a lot less of that based on someone’s gender or choice in life or any of those things. You see it based on just their capabilities, which is a really great thing. I mean, it’s funny you say that thing about feminism. When I read the definition of feminism, I said, well, I’m a feminist. I’m all for the equal opportunity for females in any part of the world, whatever it is. I think that it comes back to realizing that you have an opportunity inside logistics. And that was one of the greatest things. When I entered into logistics in 2013, I’ve been in trucking since 98 and logistics in 2013. I was like, wow, this is a great field for anyone who wants to build their career. And it can be in ownership. It can be in any facet of a business and still enjoy the fun things about life. And to me, that’s what’s been fun about logistics. But it’s neat talking to owners because when you talk to somebody who’s been a founder of something and an owner, they have a different mentality there. And so would you describe yourself as that typical founder, somebody who’s just determined that you’re going to make it successful no matter what it takes?
Liz – 00:36:49:
Yeah, I think founders frequently, I know for myself anyway, but like my resilience bone is stronger than most. And I think that…
Brent – 00:37:00:
Founders-
Liz – 00:37:01:
When it’s your idea, when it’s your brainchild, I think there’s this desire that can’t be recreated. And so I think a lot of multi-generational leaders as well as hired CEOs can do really amazing, great work, frequently better work than the founder, which is sort of a different conversation.
Brent – 00:37:23:
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Liz – 00:37:25:
But I don’t think that you can replicate a certain sort of fire and desire that the brainchild creates. You know what I mean?
Brent – 00:37:34:
Yeah, well, there’s no doubt. I love the way you put that fire and desire. I just wrote that down. That’s a great one. Maybe the topic of your podcast, fire and desire. It’s so, so. Difficult to start a business that if you’re not a little crazy, a little committed, a little have that fire and desire you’re talking about, you’re going to give up. You’re not going to see it through. And so those that have that are the reason why they succeed. And to me, that’s one of the most admirable things about you that over the years that I’ve gotten to know you, that I know that from you firsthand, that you have that in you. And that as you grow it and you’re going to grow it to double it in the next two or three years, you’ll have more people in there and the business will feel different. It’ll be scaled up a little bit. And so that the need for that fire, that sort of that attitude is not as required as much because you’ve built a foundation around around Able Transport Solutions, which has been admirable. And so thank you, man, so much for coming on today and telling your story and letting the Freight Nation watchers and listeners benefit from it. So Liz, thank you so much for telling your story today.
Liz – 00:38:39:
Yeah, thank you. It was so great to chat.
Brent – 00:38:42:
Well, it’s been great. You’ve given great advice. I love it. For someone who got into it for the hours, that’s a pretty remarkable story that you’ve built where you listen to the customer, you understand their needs, you bring focus, you continue to learn, you surround yourself with people who can scale your business. And what great advice for anybody. So again, thank you so much for giving your time today.
Liz – 00:39:01:
Thank you.
Brent – 00:39:01:
All right. Well, fantastic. Well, that’s Liz Wayne of Able Transport Solutions. And that’s a wrap today for Freight Nation. Thank you so much for being a part of it. I hope you got something out of it. I know I did. Every time I hear these great stories, man, it fires me up for what logistics can provide for people’s lives. And boy, are we lucky to be a part of it. Well, thanks again for listening to Freight Nation. Don’t forget to work hard, to be kind, and to stay humble. We’ll catch you the next time, Freight Nation. On behalf of the Truckstop team, thanks for listening to this episode of Freight Nation. To find out more about the show, head to truckstop.com forward slash podcast. If you enjoyed this episode, make sure you hit subscribe so you don’t miss any future episodes. Until then, keep on trucking and exploring the open roads with Freight Nation: A Trucking Podcast.
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