WEBVTT - Delivering Success: Haus of Logistics 0:00:03.400 --> 0:00:13.400 Ruby. 0:00:14.280 --> 0:00:18.919 Every boss knows that a call after hours rarely bodes well. 0:00:19.040 --> 0:00:23.800 If my phone rings after six, I get nervous. 0:00:25.079 --> 0:00:29.080 That's especially true in Q McNeil's kind of work. Her company, 0:00:29.280 --> 0:00:32.080 House of Logistics, has thirty five trucks on the road. 0:00:32.760 --> 0:00:35.640 One day, one of her drivers took the truck well 0:00:35.920 --> 0:00:36.880 a little off roading. 0:00:38.400 --> 0:00:40.720 I received a phone call telling me one of our 0:00:40.800 --> 0:00:44.600 drivers just hit a tree. The first tree he made 0:00:44.600 --> 0:00:47.440 contact with took the side mirror off, broke the glass, 0:00:47.640 --> 0:00:48.800 bent the driver's door. 0:00:49.840 --> 0:00:53.320 The truck was totaled, the packages were scattered. The driver 0:00:53.440 --> 0:00:55.680 fortunately was fine, but he was shaken up. 0:00:56.800 --> 0:00:59.480 My ops manager, he's standing there with his hands on 0:00:59.520 --> 0:01:01.920 his wheel. Looking at me, because he's waiting to see me 0:01:02.480 --> 0:01:03.600 just explode. 0:01:04.760 --> 0:01:07.960 They called the police, a tow truck, and medical services 0:01:07.959 --> 0:01:10.560 to make sure the driver was safe. After they had 0:01:10.600 --> 0:01:13.280 all the photos they needed from the scene, everyone was 0:01:13.319 --> 0:01:16.920 sent home. The next day, Q and her ops manager 0:01:17.040 --> 0:01:18.320 caught up about the accident. 0:01:19.319 --> 0:01:22.760 He was like, miss cute, you were so calm out 0:01:22.800 --> 0:01:24.480 there at the scene of his accident. 0:01:25.480 --> 0:01:28.160 Good managers know how to solve problems even when others 0:01:28.200 --> 0:01:31.840 get emotional. Great leaders know how to solve problems while 0:01:31.880 --> 0:01:34.960 they manage their employees' emotions and their own emotions at 0:01:34.959 --> 0:01:35.600 the same time. 0:01:36.840 --> 0:01:39.240 So you asked me a question about what do I 0:01:39.360 --> 0:01:43.360 do to keep it together? That is when you want 0:01:43.400 --> 0:01:45.880 to go into a moment of silence and solitude. 0:01:47.000 --> 0:01:50.400 By this point, Q was well practiced. House of Logistics 0:01:50.480 --> 0:01:53.400 was only six months old, and she had already dealt 0:01:53.400 --> 0:01:57.120 with an inventory of challenges. Staff had turned over, some 0:01:57.160 --> 0:02:00.120 trucks had run into trees, and most notably, her business 0:02:00.120 --> 0:02:03.480 partner had left just a month into its operations. And 0:02:03.520 --> 0:02:06.720 there's more to it, just wait. House of Logistics was 0:02:06.840 --> 0:02:11.720 all on her. Fortunately, Q is a masterclass in resilience. 0:02:18.800 --> 0:02:22.280 Welcome to the Unshakeables from Chase for Business and Ruby 0:02:22.320 --> 0:02:26.880 Studio from iHeartMedia. I'm Ben Walter, CEO of Chase for Business. 0:02:27.600 --> 0:02:30.680 On the Unshakeables, we're sharing the daring moments of small 0:02:30.680 --> 0:02:34.040 business owners facing their crisis points and telling the stories 0:02:34.040 --> 0:02:36.920 of how they got through it. This week, we're heading 0:02:36.960 --> 0:02:40.480 down to Alabama, but before we get back to Q's story, 0:02:40.520 --> 0:02:43.760 we're also joined by doctor Gia Wiggins, founder and CEO 0:02:43.840 --> 0:02:47.720 of Auditocity, a SaaS platform helping businesses with their compliance 0:02:47.800 --> 0:02:51.080 and HR Processes GEO, Welcome to the show, Thanks for coming, 0:02:51.480 --> 0:02:54.280 Thanks for having me in. I'm really happy to have 0:02:54.400 --> 0:02:56.839 you on today because I mean, you're an expert in HR, 0:02:56.919 --> 0:02:59.480 which a lot of businesses, particularly small businesses, when they're 0:02:59.480 --> 0:03:01.799 starting out overlook, So I can't wait to have you 0:03:01.880 --> 0:03:04.960 weigh in on this story. And you're also from Obile, Alabama. 0:03:05.040 --> 0:03:07.360 Not only am I from there, but there's still a 0:03:07.440 --> 0:03:10.320 store on Dauphin Street which was opened by my great 0:03:10.360 --> 0:03:12.880 grandfather around nineteen oh seven. 0:03:13.360 --> 0:03:16.000 That is fantastic. Well, we've welcomed you to come down, 0:03:16.200 --> 0:03:17.720 especially during Marty Gras. 0:03:17.760 --> 0:03:21.520 Yeah, I know, come on down. All right, let's get 0:03:21.520 --> 0:03:25.200 into this show. This is House of Logistics from Birmingham, Alabama. 0:03:29.520 --> 0:03:31.440 Now I have some personal ties to the state, so 0:03:31.480 --> 0:03:34.640 I'm really excited to do an episode about Alabama. We 0:03:34.639 --> 0:03:37.920 were lucky enough to find an incredible business owner, Quanetta McNeil. 0:03:38.200 --> 0:03:40.200 The first thing I learned about her when we met 0:03:40.440 --> 0:03:43.160 was that no one calls her Quanetta. Quanetta, it is 0:03:43.160 --> 0:03:45.760 so nice to meet you. I understand that most people 0:03:45.760 --> 0:03:47.160 call you Q. May I call you Q. 0:03:47.440 --> 0:03:50.000 Absolutely everyone calls me Q. 0:03:51.120 --> 0:03:53.080 The second thing I learned was about the name of 0:03:53.080 --> 0:03:57.920 her company its house of Logistics spelled HAUS. 0:03:59.080 --> 0:04:02.080 The foundation of the company was established to keep my 0:04:02.160 --> 0:04:06.320 team fully informed. I run a transparent operation and typically 0:04:06.440 --> 0:04:11.080 transparency resides in your home right, and so I have 0:04:11.320 --> 0:04:14.000 my leadership team that I developed from the start of 0:04:14.000 --> 0:04:18.080 my operations, identifying them as drivers. They became the heart 0:04:18.160 --> 0:04:20.800 of the house. So we wanted to be a little different. 0:04:21.080 --> 0:04:25.080 In the street version for a house means someone that 0:04:25.200 --> 0:04:27.119 does things ridiculously well. 0:04:28.279 --> 0:04:31.360 Q has a ton of experience in business and entrepreneurship, 0:04:31.839 --> 0:04:33.560 so it was no surprise to hear that she does 0:04:33.600 --> 0:04:36.960 her job ridiculously well. She bounced around a bit at 0:04:36.960 --> 0:04:39.479 the start of her career. She joined the military, she 0:04:39.520 --> 0:04:42.599 worked in HR she taught business to seventh graders, and 0:04:42.640 --> 0:04:46.680 then started a virtual assistant company supporting small businesses and individuals, 0:04:47.160 --> 0:04:49.600 an opportunity that took her all the way to the Caribbean. 0:04:52.040 --> 0:04:55.120 I loved traveling and started helping couples with planning their 0:04:55.160 --> 0:04:59.120 special occasions such as their anniversaries, weddings all across the 0:04:59.160 --> 0:05:02.120 Caribbean market. And while I was in Jamaica, I was 0:05:02.160 --> 0:05:06.880 approached by Pepsiicola to do contract negotiations for them in 0:05:06.920 --> 0:05:07.920 the hotel industry. 0:05:07.920 --> 0:05:12.120 There, she'd made so many connections with vendors, hotels, and 0:05:12.160 --> 0:05:15.599 decision makers across the island that another beverage company saw 0:05:15.800 --> 0:05:16.920 huge potential in her. 0:05:17.720 --> 0:05:21.960 Eventually, Heineken came into the Jamaican market and they recruited 0:05:22.000 --> 0:05:24.640 me to come over and maintain relationships that I had 0:05:24.760 --> 0:05:28.960 established with the hotel industry. I worked with both the 0:05:29.000 --> 0:05:32.480 manufacturing and distribution side of the business. 0:05:33.400 --> 0:05:35.840 Now we're only about four minutes into this episode and 0:05:35.920 --> 0:05:40.159 Q has already used the word relationships several times. It's 0:05:40.240 --> 0:05:42.720 key to her business story, and. 0:05:42.760 --> 0:05:45.840 I think that's what keeps me alive. It tickles me. 0:05:46.720 --> 0:05:48.200 I do not meet strangers. 0:05:49.360 --> 0:05:51.400 A lot of folks tend to think of connections as 0:05:51.400 --> 0:05:54.000 a soft skill, perhaps less important than other things when 0:05:54.080 --> 0:05:58.440 running a business. I disagree, and Q does too. Her 0:05:58.480 --> 0:06:02.160 ability to create relationships has served her exceptionally well, both 0:06:02.200 --> 0:06:05.880 personally and professionally, so much so that it led to 0:06:05.920 --> 0:06:10.359 what was likely the most important professional call of Q's life. 0:06:10.640 --> 0:06:12.679 So I got a call from a large US retailer 0:06:12.720 --> 0:06:14.839 and they gave me an opportunity to return back to 0:06:14.839 --> 0:06:17.600 the US. I came in in the corporate space as 0:06:17.640 --> 0:06:21.280 a senior business coach supporting other small businesses. They were 0:06:21.279 --> 0:06:26.040 also launching their delivery service partner. These were small business 0:06:26.080 --> 0:06:29.880 owners that had been contracted out to do their deliveries 0:06:29.960 --> 0:06:35.520 from their warehouse to customer's door and or to commercial spaces. 0:06:35.640 --> 0:06:38.200 Interesting because I think of them as doing their own deliveries, 0:06:38.200 --> 0:06:40.240 but it sounds like they don't do all their own deliveries. 0:06:40.240 --> 0:06:40.799 It's a mix. 0:06:41.240 --> 0:06:44.320 No, they do not. They use tharred party contractors to 0:06:44.360 --> 0:06:47.120 facilitate the last mile of their delivery. 0:06:48.320 --> 0:06:50.880 So Q is coaching small business owners in what's called 0:06:50.960 --> 0:06:54.120 last mile delivery. This is what those in the business 0:06:54.160 --> 0:06:56.000 call it when packages are picked up from a main 0:06:56.080 --> 0:06:58.599 distribution center and put on the trucks to get to 0:06:58.720 --> 0:07:01.400 your door. And a funny thing is happening when Q 0:07:01.560 --> 0:07:04.520 is coaching these folks. They tell her that she should 0:07:04.520 --> 0:07:07.560 get in the game too. This is people who would 0:07:07.560 --> 0:07:09.800 be your competitors encouraging you to come compete. 0:07:10.040 --> 0:07:13.960 Yes, the small business owners would encourage me to start 0:07:14.000 --> 0:07:14.880 up my own operation. 0:07:16.240 --> 0:07:19.600 Q loved coaching the small business owners, but really wanted 0:07:19.640 --> 0:07:22.360 to own her own business, so she decided to apply 0:07:22.880 --> 0:07:24.960 This process is a little more involved than when you 0:07:25.000 --> 0:07:26.560 click easy apply on LinkedIn. 0:07:27.600 --> 0:07:30.600 Well, it starts with the application process, and while you're applying, 0:07:30.640 --> 0:07:33.480 you really have to be developing your company, like you 0:07:33.520 --> 0:07:35.880 have to get it to creation mode at the same time, 0:07:36.400 --> 0:07:38.800 because you have to be able to present your idea 0:07:38.880 --> 0:07:41.200 in terms of how are you going to run a 0:07:41.240 --> 0:07:43.920 logistics company, how are you going to overcome the challenges 0:07:43.960 --> 0:07:46.320 that are going to come your way, how are you 0:07:46.360 --> 0:07:47.800 going to deal with your fleet, how are you going 0:07:47.840 --> 0:07:49.880 to do your recruiting. You kind of have to be 0:07:50.040 --> 0:07:53.040 developing and thinking about all of this while you are 0:07:53.080 --> 0:07:54.480 in the application process. 0:07:55.600 --> 0:07:57.840 Q turned to the small business owners to pressure test 0:07:57.960 --> 0:08:00.720 all of her ideas. They offered up a lot of advice, 0:08:01.200 --> 0:08:04.040 and all of them have a different strategy. You have 0:08:04.560 --> 0:08:09.200 a lot of strong business leaders that have mastered their 0:08:09.320 --> 0:08:12.640 way of what success looked like for them. I had 0:08:12.640 --> 0:08:16.480 an opportunity to learn from many of them in terms 0:08:16.520 --> 0:08:19.360 of what work and what does not work. I also 0:08:19.520 --> 0:08:22.880 saw some of them have partners such as their spouse 0:08:22.920 --> 0:08:25.880 for example, that are in this with them. I was 0:08:26.000 --> 0:08:31.440 very impressed with their ability to share the load. Being 0:08:31.520 --> 0:08:34.320 in the in the weeks with them every day help 0:08:34.360 --> 0:08:39.720 prepare me for what was coming my way. Gee, I 0:08:39.720 --> 0:08:41.839 want to bring you back in here because Q story 0:08:41.920 --> 0:08:43.959 is already diverging from a lot of what we've heard 0:08:43.960 --> 0:08:44.880 on this show so far. 0:08:45.600 --> 0:08:48.840 Yeah, I think to work for a company particular, to 0:08:48.960 --> 0:08:52.120 be in the area where you are helping other businesses 0:08:52.440 --> 0:08:55.840 to be successful within that company, and then to have 0:08:55.960 --> 0:08:59.880 the opportunity to actually be a vendor and a part 0:09:00.360 --> 0:09:03.720 of that company. Oftentimes, when people think, Okay, I'm going 0:09:03.760 --> 0:09:05.680 to start a business, one of the questions that we 0:09:05.760 --> 0:09:08.640 often ask is do you have any expertise at all 0:09:08.679 --> 0:09:12.600 inside of that industry to be able to look at 0:09:12.679 --> 0:09:15.200 the business and the way that the business operates from 0:09:15.240 --> 0:09:19.080 behind the curtain, and to look at the challenges and 0:09:19.120 --> 0:09:21.160 then to say, hey, I think I'm going to do that, 0:09:21.800 --> 0:09:24.040 and then to be able to execute it so quickly 0:09:24.160 --> 0:09:26.080 and to be able to ramp up so quickly because 0:09:26.120 --> 0:09:29.480 you have that institutional knowledge of what it looks like 0:09:29.520 --> 0:09:32.400 to be successful in their role. This is a fantastic pathway. 0:09:33.120 --> 0:09:36.400 Thank you, Gia. I want to pivot a little bit 0:09:36.480 --> 0:09:39.760 to Q for a second. Now she's an employee, but 0:09:39.840 --> 0:09:41.760 she still has to go through this whole application and 0:09:41.840 --> 0:09:44.120 vetting process. So she works there, but she has to 0:09:44.120 --> 0:09:45.959 make a case for why she should be one of 0:09:46.000 --> 0:09:47.520 their last mild delivery vendors. 0:09:48.679 --> 0:09:51.720 I was successful with the application process and they extended 0:09:51.720 --> 0:09:54.319 a contract to me to leave the business and start 0:09:54.320 --> 0:09:57.440 my own logistics company. And we launched on the thirtieth 0:09:57.480 --> 0:09:58.080 of August. 0:09:58.400 --> 0:10:01.480 Wow, so just over year ago. About a year and 0:10:01.559 --> 0:10:04.400 a month ago now because it's early October, so not 0:10:04.440 --> 0:10:05.080 that long ago. 0:10:05.280 --> 0:10:06.760 Not that long ago, all right. 0:10:07.720 --> 0:10:10.360 So Q, armed with tons of knowledge from others in 0:10:10.400 --> 0:10:13.960 the same industry, launched House of Logistics on August thirtieth, 0:10:14.080 --> 0:10:17.920 twenty twenty three in Birmingham. She returned home CEO of 0:10:17.920 --> 0:10:20.560 her own company, and of course it was smooth sailing 0:10:20.600 --> 0:10:21.240 from day one. 0:10:22.520 --> 0:10:27.840 Oh no, it is a lot of work to start 0:10:27.880 --> 0:10:32.280 up a logistics business. They want partners that are willing 0:10:32.320 --> 0:10:35.800 to accept the challenges and a partner that is willing 0:10:35.840 --> 0:10:36.440 to grow. 0:10:36.800 --> 0:10:38.800 Okay, now, you had something personal going on in your 0:10:38.800 --> 0:10:40.200 life at the same time, right. 0:10:40.280 --> 0:10:45.400 Yes, the personal side of my life, I mean, why 0:10:45.480 --> 0:10:48.760 you're doing this. Life still happens, right. 0:10:48.960 --> 0:10:53.960 Yeah, Life happens all the time. Just before launching her company, 0:10:54.280 --> 0:10:56.960 Q got married. She and her partner went into the 0:10:56.960 --> 0:10:59.559 marriage as they launched this company together. 0:11:00.600 --> 0:11:04.640 We were married one month before we launched. We didn't 0:11:04.679 --> 0:11:07.800 have a honeymoon. The business was our baby. You know. 0:11:08.480 --> 0:11:12.120 We had conversations around the challenges that's going to present themselves. 0:11:12.600 --> 0:11:16.640 It was a very intense period. It did require both 0:11:16.679 --> 0:11:21.079 of us to be very committed to what was necessary 0:11:21.160 --> 0:11:23.640 to get the business up and off the ground running, 0:11:24.240 --> 0:11:26.960 but led to, you know, this tension. 0:11:28.240 --> 0:11:30.400 They had decided prior to launch that Q would handle 0:11:30.440 --> 0:11:33.200 the business part of running everything, and he would manage 0:11:33.240 --> 0:11:36.200 the fleet and their operations. She asked him to give 0:11:36.280 --> 0:11:38.560 six months to get the business up and running and 0:11:38.600 --> 0:11:41.800 then they could properly celebrate their love. To Q, this 0:11:41.960 --> 0:11:43.920 was a sacrifice she was more than willing to make. 0:11:45.240 --> 0:11:48.840 I absolutely loved my job. And I think when you're 0:11:48.880 --> 0:11:52.320 doing something that you enjoy, when you're doing something that 0:11:52.360 --> 0:11:55.880 you're passionate about, I think you come to the table differently. 0:11:56.720 --> 0:11:59.079 I kind of felt like I wasn't thinking about myself 0:11:59.600 --> 0:12:03.880 to be because this was part of who I felt 0:12:03.880 --> 0:12:08.040 like I was, If this makes any sense. I love 0:12:08.600 --> 0:12:12.679 people so much that I felt like I was investing 0:12:12.720 --> 0:12:16.360 in myself by investing in other people. And I felt 0:12:16.360 --> 0:12:19.160 like at some point I was going to reap the 0:12:19.240 --> 0:12:23.440 reward of it, and so for me, I believe I 0:12:23.520 --> 0:12:27.680 may have come to this totally different with a different mindset. 0:12:28.520 --> 0:12:31.760 Her husband, though, didn't share the same passion for the business. 0:12:32.080 --> 0:12:34.360 You have to have your own drive. I can't give 0:12:34.400 --> 0:12:36.480 that to you. I don't know if the challenge was 0:12:36.520 --> 0:12:39.679 that I knew more when I was training my team, 0:12:40.440 --> 0:12:43.160 I was also training him. I don't think we ever 0:12:43.240 --> 0:12:45.920 really sat down and absorbed and talked about how are 0:12:45.960 --> 0:12:51.400 you feeling about this? Unfortunately, my marriage did not survive that. 0:12:52.720 --> 0:12:55.800 Two months into the life of their company. Sadly, their 0:12:55.800 --> 0:12:56.720 marriage fell apart. 0:12:57.880 --> 0:13:00.640 I had to get up and be at work morning 0:13:01.080 --> 0:13:02.160 and carry on. 0:13:02.400 --> 0:13:02.600 Wow. 0:13:02.800 --> 0:13:05.400 You know, by the business being so young, I literally 0:13:05.400 --> 0:13:08.160 had to go in, I had to dispatch, I had 0:13:08.160 --> 0:13:12.480 to carry on operations as business as usual. I really 0:13:12.480 --> 0:13:16.439 didn't have that room to figure out what just happened. 0:13:16.840 --> 0:13:21.400 Right, You couldn't grieve essentially, no, Wow, And you also 0:13:21.640 --> 0:13:24.040 lost a business partner and someone who carried some of 0:13:24.080 --> 0:13:27.160 that load, correct. I mean, that's a big moment, huge 0:13:27.280 --> 0:13:29.800 for you for the business, for everything. Tell us how 0:13:29.840 --> 0:13:30.520 you got through. 0:13:30.360 --> 0:13:33.640 That, and even my staff, you know, and even managing 0:13:33.840 --> 0:13:37.240 you know who they interact with every day. I have 0:13:37.360 --> 0:13:41.280 to remind myself whenever these challenges come up, why did 0:13:41.320 --> 0:13:44.600 I start this. The good thing is that part of 0:13:44.640 --> 0:13:47.400 my business plan that I had written, I did put 0:13:47.440 --> 0:13:50.000 my heart and soul in this document. I was able 0:13:50.120 --> 0:13:55.880 to remind myself why, and when things was not working 0:13:55.880 --> 0:13:59.320 out personally, I had already got this in motion. I 0:13:59.520 --> 0:14:01.040 stayed'su to the plan. 0:14:02.040 --> 0:14:05.400 This is really interesting, Q, because we've had some people 0:14:05.440 --> 0:14:07.040 on the show who sort of have more of the 0:14:07.120 --> 0:14:09.760 Mike Tyson approach to life, which is everybody has a 0:14:09.800 --> 0:14:12.400 plan until they get punched in the face, right, and 0:14:12.440 --> 0:14:15.079 then you just have to sort of wing it, Whereas 0:14:15.080 --> 0:14:18.280 you've taken quite the opposite approach, which is I have 0:14:18.360 --> 0:14:20.120 a plan, and when I get punched in the face, 0:14:20.160 --> 0:14:21.640 I'm going to go back to the plan. I'm going 0:14:21.720 --> 0:14:24.080 to stick with the plan. So that's really interesting. You know, 0:14:24.120 --> 0:14:26.240 people have different approaches to this. 0:14:26.240 --> 0:14:28.040 This is what I needed to do, This is what 0:14:28.080 --> 0:14:30.480 I needed to stick to. Now we have also had 0:14:30.520 --> 0:14:33.440 to make changes because as we've grown as a company, 0:14:34.120 --> 0:14:37.320 I also had to adjust. But the core portion of 0:14:37.400 --> 0:14:38.400 it remains the same. 0:14:39.200 --> 0:14:40.800 And do you still own one hundred percent of the 0:14:40.800 --> 0:14:41.280 business and. 0:14:41.240 --> 0:14:43.160 I still, oh, one hundred percent of the business. 0:14:44.200 --> 0:14:45.800 Gee, I think we have to take a moment here. 0:14:46.080 --> 0:14:48.280 You know, people generally take time off to deal with 0:14:48.320 --> 0:14:50.800 personal emergencies. Of course, I encourage my own team to 0:14:50.840 --> 0:14:54.360 do the same. Family comes first, but entrepreneurship can be 0:14:54.400 --> 0:14:56.800 a different beast. You don't have a safety net. There's 0:14:56.840 --> 0:14:58.600 no one else to call or show up and take 0:14:58.640 --> 0:15:00.560 care of the business if you're not there. 0:15:00.600 --> 0:15:03.680 Right, That's very true. It's another sort of relationship, kind 0:15:03.720 --> 0:15:06.560 of like a marriage, one that absolutely requires one hundred 0:15:06.560 --> 0:15:08.280 percent commitment in order to succeed. 0:15:09.000 --> 0:15:11.920 I'm really stunned by her commitment. I mean, she talked 0:15:11.960 --> 0:15:14.000 about it a lot, but that commitment to a plan 0:15:14.160 --> 0:15:17.040 and clearly like what she thinks of as a plan 0:15:17.160 --> 0:15:18.920 is not what a lot of people think of business 0:15:18.920 --> 0:15:20.760 plan is a lot of people think of business plan 0:15:20.880 --> 0:15:23.440 is a few notes on a page. She thinks it's 0:15:23.480 --> 0:15:25.680 a lot more. And I it sounds like from what 0:15:25.760 --> 0:15:27.440 she said, if she hadn't had that, she'd have been 0:15:27.440 --> 0:15:28.200 in real trouble. 0:15:29.000 --> 0:15:30.920 Yeah, it did sound that way. 0:15:31.280 --> 0:15:31.480 You know. 0:15:31.560 --> 0:15:35.800 I think that her having the understanding that you've got 0:15:35.840 --> 0:15:39.960 to have that strategy somewhere where you can look at it. Sometimes, 0:15:40.000 --> 0:15:43.520 when you get in the weeds as an entrepreneur, particularly 0:15:43.600 --> 0:15:46.280 when you're going through challenges and you're in a growth stage, 0:15:46.440 --> 0:15:50.480 it's really easy to get distracted about why you're doing 0:15:50.520 --> 0:15:52.360 something and why you made the decision to do it 0:15:52.400 --> 0:15:55.680 in the first place. And so I'm sure that inside 0:15:55.680 --> 0:15:58.880 of that business plan she had all the other components 0:15:58.920 --> 0:16:01.400 that are more true aditional with the business plan, but 0:16:01.560 --> 0:16:06.160 having that mission and that reason why and the reason 0:16:06.200 --> 0:16:09.040 why you get up every single day, particularly on tough days, 0:16:09.280 --> 0:16:11.480 I mean, I think that's critical, and I'm pretty sure 0:16:11.520 --> 0:16:14.120 she probably shares that with her employees as well, to 0:16:14.200 --> 0:16:15.160 keep them motivated. 0:16:15.600 --> 0:16:17.760 It was sort of implicit in the story, but clearly 0:16:17.840 --> 0:16:20.280 she went into business with family. In this case, it 0:16:20.360 --> 0:16:23.200 was her fiance slash husband for a period of time. 0:16:23.840 --> 0:16:27.640 Family businesses have their own challenges, but talk to us 0:16:27.720 --> 0:16:31.040 about what the dynamics are that are different about family 0:16:31.080 --> 0:16:34.080 businesses and frankly, what kind of protections people might need 0:16:34.120 --> 0:16:34.920 as a result of that. 0:16:35.760 --> 0:16:38.360 The first thing I thought when she said that was 0:16:38.680 --> 0:16:43.680 attorney attorney. Attorney attorney, like making sure that the details 0:16:43.680 --> 0:16:48.120 of that arrangement are like etched and concrete. Right, I 0:16:48.200 --> 0:16:52.240 have a tendency not to hire people that I can't fire. 0:16:52.920 --> 0:16:55.480 If I can't have a performance relationship and it's going 0:16:55.520 --> 0:16:57.480 to impact the way that we can address each other 0:16:57.600 --> 0:17:00.400 at the dinner table, then we probably don't need to 0:17:00.400 --> 0:17:03.840 be in business together. Having a really good legal framework 0:17:03.880 --> 0:17:06.080 and a great relationship with an attorney where you can 0:17:06.119 --> 0:17:09.720 be really frank about protections in case that relationship doesn't 0:17:09.760 --> 0:17:13.080 work out, is really really critical. It seems like she 0:17:13.800 --> 0:17:17.000 was fortunate she still was able to keep ownership of 0:17:17.040 --> 0:17:18.840 our company, but everybody's not so lucky. 0:17:21.160 --> 0:17:23.719 So Q had made this plan on ambitious goals that 0:17:23.760 --> 0:17:27.119 she had set for the company, but her business partner 0:17:27.119 --> 0:17:30.560 had just walked out, her relationship had sadly ended, and 0:17:30.640 --> 0:17:34.280 now her entire livelihood was on the line. Tell me, then, 0:17:34.840 --> 0:17:36.359 what were the subsequent six months? 0:17:36.480 --> 0:17:36.600 Like? 0:17:36.800 --> 0:17:41.280 I mean, was it just mayhem? Was it that sounds 0:17:41.280 --> 0:17:41.680 like a yes? 0:17:41.840 --> 0:17:43.920 Oh? Yes. We continue to have a lot of challenges. 0:17:44.160 --> 0:17:47.480 Growth brings challenges, right, and you have to be prepared 0:17:47.480 --> 0:17:51.640 for it. We went into November with over thirty five 0:17:51.800 --> 0:17:56.119 trucks on the road. You also have thirty five opportunities 0:17:56.119 --> 0:17:57.159 for something to go wrong. 0:17:57.440 --> 0:17:59.240 Yep, no texting and driving. 0:17:59.160 --> 0:18:05.120 No, we have challenges out there on the road. Flat tires, 0:18:05.600 --> 0:18:09.480 somebody tore off a bumper, somebody hit somebody's mailbox, to 0:18:10.520 --> 0:18:19.280 a literal collision with community members or with a tree. 0:18:23.680 --> 0:18:27.480 The tree, I just had to ask about it. Sometimes 0:18:27.560 --> 0:18:30.639 accidents happen, but not usually with a stationary object in 0:18:30.640 --> 0:18:31.040 front of you. 0:18:32.280 --> 0:18:38.400 I received a phone call from my dispatch telling me, Misque, 0:18:39.119 --> 0:18:42.479 one of our drivers just hit a tree, and they 0:18:42.520 --> 0:18:44.399 sent me photos and I'm trying to make sense out 0:18:44.440 --> 0:18:46.600 of this. I went to go pick up my fleet guy, 0:18:46.640 --> 0:18:49.400 we called the toe truck, get out to the location 0:18:49.840 --> 0:18:53.399 and there's a stop sign. There's a like a tee 0:18:53.440 --> 0:18:55.960 So he's coming up to the stop sign and you 0:18:56.000 --> 0:18:58.760 can only turn left or right. He made a left 0:18:58.800 --> 0:19:03.520 turn right into a tree like this, kept going and 0:19:03.600 --> 0:19:08.560 continuing to turn. We checked to make sure the driver 0:19:08.720 --> 0:19:11.159 was saved. He was safe, but he was red. He 0:19:11.240 --> 0:19:13.280 was walking around like wondering what Miss Qvan to do 0:19:13.320 --> 0:19:17.359 to me, you know, like okay, so if you're okay, 0:19:17.400 --> 0:19:21.040 how did this happen? Was there a community member that 0:19:21.440 --> 0:19:23.000 drove out in front of you and you had to 0:19:23.080 --> 0:19:26.199 veer off and defend yourself. None of that happened. He 0:19:26.240 --> 0:19:29.199 claims he stopped at the stop sign. He claims he 0:19:29.280 --> 0:19:33.680 was trying to stop a package from sliding and that's 0:19:33.720 --> 0:19:36.199 what made him go into the tree. He actually hit 0:19:36.280 --> 0:19:39.000 two trees. The first tree he made contact with took 0:19:39.040 --> 0:19:42.240 the side mirror off, broke the glass, bent up the 0:19:42.320 --> 0:19:46.200 driver's door, and then he nosed into the last tree, 0:19:46.240 --> 0:19:50.360 which stopped the vehicle from going any further. And on 0:19:50.400 --> 0:19:53.840 the way driving back to our station after we got 0:19:53.840 --> 0:19:57.040 everything under control, that is when you want to go 0:19:57.080 --> 0:20:00.359 into a moment of silence and solitude. And I that 0:20:00.600 --> 0:20:06.119 the entire ride back to the station, and my fleet 0:20:06.160 --> 0:20:08.679 manager knew this is not the time to have a 0:20:08.720 --> 0:20:13.399 conversation with missque and that's when you have those moments 0:20:13.400 --> 0:20:14.160 of solitude. 0:20:17.840 --> 0:20:20.479 I want to talk a little bit about where you 0:20:20.600 --> 0:20:23.960 find the energy to do what you do, because you 0:20:24.119 --> 0:20:27.280 talked about you've done a couple of things that I 0:20:27.320 --> 0:20:30.120 think we should all be in awe of. You applied 0:20:30.160 --> 0:20:32.639 for a business, serving the business that you were working 0:20:32.680 --> 0:20:35.160 for as a full time employee, did your business plan 0:20:35.280 --> 0:20:37.560 while you were a full time employee, and then we're 0:20:37.600 --> 0:20:40.960 able to summon the energy to build your business in 0:20:41.000 --> 0:20:43.120 the middle of a personal crisis, I mean, that's an 0:20:43.160 --> 0:20:47.080 awful lot for anyone to bear. So talk to us 0:20:47.080 --> 0:20:49.879 a little bit cue about where you find the energy 0:20:49.920 --> 0:20:51.000 to plow through all that? 0:20:52.200 --> 0:20:57.800 Asks myself the same thing, man, I believe honestly, my 0:20:57.960 --> 0:21:03.840 passion for people has been my driving force. My network 0:21:05.440 --> 0:21:10.760 has been very influential in terms of positioning me to 0:21:10.800 --> 0:21:13.600 be able to do what I do. From those that 0:21:13.720 --> 0:21:18.200 recruited me, those whose teams I worked on, they were 0:21:18.280 --> 0:21:22.159 such a force of encouragement, the small business owners that 0:21:22.200 --> 0:21:27.560 I worked with. That positive network was critical when. 0:21:27.400 --> 0:21:30.720 It all feels overwhelming. Where do you dig deep? Where 0:21:30.720 --> 0:21:33.520