May 7, 2025 • 33 mins
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:03):
Came back with a bank window down yelling now money anything hey oh Got the foot on the gas pedal to the metal when I'm get to the back hey Got the foot on the gas pedal to the metal when the lane moving fast hey Let them all cross if they hate then let them hate them Make a bigger ball hey what is up ladies and gentlemen? We are back. We are live. It is the Freight Coach podcast, the top podcast in transportation coming to you guys every single weekday, 8:30am Pacific, 10:30 Central to break down some industry headlines. But most importantly, you guys provide some actual insight into what you can do with all of this information. If this is your first time tuning in, welcome. This is the real side of freight, ladies and gentlemen. And I say that before every single show.
(00:49):
And what I mean by that is I only speak with transportation professionals because at the end of the day, you guys, I want to talk to the right individuals who have done what you're looking to do or who are currently doing what you're trying to achieve. So you can take that information, apply it, utilize it and see a meaningful difference in your business and your life. Happy Wednesday, everybody. Yeah, we got a solo show today. So before we get into today's topic and everything, I do want to make another quick reminder. If you haven't subscribed to the newsletter yet, it dropped this morning. All right? So if you want to get in on this, I need you to go to the Freight Coach.com to sign up for it from there.
(01:28):
And I do this, you guys, because I took, I put out a poll a long time ago and the overwhelming majority of people voted that they don't like it when people auto sign them up for newsletters. So rest assured, if you go over there and register for it, that's all it's there for. I don't even know how to like get access to even who's on it. Christian, for my team does all of that stuff. So we're not out there looking to exploit anybody's information at all. But if you want to get in on that newsletter, you guys go to the freight coach.com it just drops once a week. We just talk about transportation inside of it and that's where you can find all of that, you know, rates, diesel fuel, all of that stuff.
(02:06):
So check that out if you want to get in on it. But today, solo show, you guys. And it's a pretty special show for me because I recently surpassed five years of being self employed. I started doing all of this stuff Back in April of 2020. In it, I actually incorporated, or excuse me, I actually filed for my business license on my birthday, April 27th of 2020. And I was out of town for that this year. So we, you know, we just passed that five year mark here about a little, about a week and a half ago. And it's crazy, right, because I, I wish. And I'm actually wearing the OG hat today. I, I have one left from it because I gave a lot of them away back in the day, but I kept this one.
(03:00):
It sits on my desk with me at all times. And, you know, I wish I could be doing this where I started back out of the old apartment that I was renting when I had first moved to Arizona. I started creating all the content out of the bedroom. I recorded all of the early podcasts out of my bedroom. I was on a broken folding table on a busted laptop that I had, and I had an Amazon podcast starter kit, which is what I started on. And it's been wild to look back over the growth here over these last five years and kind of see where things were to where things are right now. And you know, I want to start off with a stat here. So this is from the U.S. Bureau of labor and Statistics. About 50% of businesses survive five years.
(03:52):
Fifty percent, right. So just think about that. Out of everybody who started a business back in 2020, 50% of them are no longer in business, you know, based on, on this. Right? And then, but year 10 as well, only 30%, 33% survive 10 years or more in business. And it's crazy, right? Like it's, you know, to me, entrepreneurship is, it's overly glorified on social media and the Internet. And, you know, a lot of people only want to post the highlight reel. They only want to post, you know, the wins or the perceived wins. They want people who are viewing them to think that they have it all figured out. They're perfect. It's all easy, it's all sunshine and gumdrops and everything else. And I, from my perspective, this is literally the absolute hardest thing I've ever done.
(04:51):
And I just got notification that the show's not on LinkedIn right now for some reason that LinkedIn's having issues. And I think this is also another little time to remind everybody, this is why I go live on YouTube. I want everybody who ever watches this or if you're listening to this, if you want to see the live stream, go to YouTube, go to the freight coach on YouTube. You can find us on there if you want to watch that live stream. Because LinkedIn is having issues again, but here we are, you know, again, it's just par for the course on what you go through. But you know, back to what I was talking about. I am choosing to put the realities of growing a business from scratch. So I've started, to date, I've started three companies in that five year span.
(05:34):
I wouldn't recommend doing that at all. It was a lot of work and all of them had zero customers to start with. And you know, so it's one of those. Most people when they start a business, they're starting it and they're like, especially inside of transportation, they're starting it with like guaranteed revenue from shippers that they were working with at their previous employer. They're going to bring it on and start moving that freight. And you know, with my journey starting off and you know, because I had originally started with all this media stuff and you know, I was doing sales consulting at the time because, you know, nobody was hiring. So I was doing sales training for freight brokerages and trucking companies. I was working with a bunch of different companies. You know, not right away.
(06:19):
It was after about the first year because you know, I had literally delivered pizzas for the first eight months that I was doing all of this. Back in 2020, I was doing that because I didn't have any money. I have a family to feed and I will not let my family starve at all. I will do literally whatever it takes. If this all went away today, I would have six jobs by tomorrow because I will not let my family starve out of my own ego. So, you know, I was delivering pizzas back then and you know, I had broke even on in after my first like, I think not 10, it was 12, 10 months in business. I broke even. And then about 15 months I actually made my first dollar in business.
(07:08):
So it took me 15 months to make my first actual profit where I didn't break even. I didn't have to take any money out of my savings account anymore to pay my bills. And to really sustain that time frame though, even though it's delivering pizzas, like I emptied my 401k I had, you know, into this day. You know, I'll be brutally honest, like I'm still building all of this stuff up and you know, this is my retirement. Right? Like I don't have your conventional putting money aside right now. I'm not at a point to be able to do that because, you know, when you are bootstrapping everything, it costs money, right? Like, there's just no tree out there that I can shake and money just falls out and I can pay all my bills and pay myself back and all of that stuff.
(07:51):
But, you know, at this point though, I'm just like so committed to the process. I'm so committed to the fact that this takes so much longer than you want in the moment. And you know, I think that, you know, a fallacy out there that, you know, just because you start a business that you're entitled to become a millionaire or like, because you have a pulse in an llc, all of a sudden you're just entitled to results. And you know, it, you know, I look at it as. When you talk to a lot of people when they're first starting out, they are, there's. They're sitting there saying that like, they're so busy, they're so busy. And I, and I was one of them. And it was because I had no idea what I was doing.
(08:31):
I, I was literally just staring at my computer screen aimlessly all day, every day, trying to figure things out. Like, I taught myself how to edit everything, you know, I taught myself how to use social media, record, you know, create a podcast, all that. I had no idea what I was doing at that time. So, yeah, it was running around with chicken with my head cut off. But one thing that I had learned, and this is just something that is, like, what we're finally starting to experience is as you know. So I want to talk about some of the best lessons that I've learned here over these last five years and building systems. All right, this is something. And build it and document it. All right, I want to put that on there.
(09:13):
Document your systems, because this is going to help control the chaos that you're experiencing out there. And now I, you know, I say this with a hundred percent confidence. I get more done in a day than most people can in a week because of how dialed in my systems are. My sales system that I follow every single day for business development. You know, so when I'm out there, you know, I, I have my day broken out. Like every hour of my day is delegated essentially from when I get up to when I go to bed at night. With, at this point, it's, you know, RPAs, I call them revenue producing activities.
(09:52):
So, you know, before I do my show, every, like I get into my office at 6:30am every morning and then by 7am I will have reached out to all of my current shippers for the day. I've managed all my current shipments for the day. And then I go and start making phone calls, I start making sales calls, and I get 35 cold calls done before I do my show every day. So I wrapped up my cold calls about 15, 20 minutes before I started the. The show this morning. And then I will break it up, and then I will start making cold calls almost immediately after. And I rip that band aid off right away. Because I am just like a lot of people where if I have an excuse to not do something, I'm not going to do it.
(10:35):
And I have now developed that discipline inside of my system where I follow this every single day, religiously. It does not matter. I'm. I'm very fortunate to have a business partner now who can manage all incoming requests. That's how I'm able to do this show now is we have a system in place, excuse me, where he manages everything when I'm doing this. And. And then when I'm done with the show, Christian from my team, he will come in, he will take the show, he will edit all of this stuff out, he'll clip it, he'll distribute it to social media, he'll post it out there on itunes and Spotify. And it's a system that we follow that I can delegate my times to where I. It looks like I'm doing way more than I could if I was on my own, because I am.
(11:17):
I am able to do way more now than I was when I had first started. And it was because I was. It took a long time to develop a system to follow every single day. And I would like. I would. I would really push a lot of you out there who are listening to this, who are like, I'm always too busy. I never know what I'm doing. I have. You're just essentially herding cats all day long. I want you to start writing shit down. I want you to start tracking the time it takes for you to accomplish those tasks. And then I want you to start seeing where you. Is, the areas that you can improve. If something's taking you three hours, how can you get it down to two and a half hours or two hours?
(12:01):
How can you get more efficient in that time? I like to talk a lot about business development because that's something I have a heavy focus on in there. I would highly recommend you guys read the book Fanatical Prospecting by Jeb Blount. I think that is a Very phenomenal book. And then also my friend Kara Brown, the Revenue Engine. I would read those two books out there right now, and that will help bring some clarity to your processes on what you're going after. Because I feel like you're there. There's so much time you spend just chasing dollars without a plan, especially when you're first getting started. Because if you have no revenue, like I had no revenue, if you had no customers, like I had no customers, you don't know where the to start. And excuse me, that's a daunting thing.
(12:50):
And I'm telling you, choose one thing. And that's why I am such a proponent of the niche. And I say this because I know what it's like to have no revenue, no customers, no money coming in and being on the verge of being broke, okay? And I'm telling you this right now. Choose one thing and go after it religiously, inside of it, from a business development standpoint, and I think that this is applicable to many industries out there. But again, I'm not your life coach. I talk about freight. So I'm going to say from freight specifically, choose a niche and double down, triple down on that, and then build up a system around it. Document your processes, follow those processes, and then find areas of improvement where you can shave a couple, you know, 30 minutes off and then you can increase your output.
(13:40):
That's why I'm always telling you, start with 25, do 25 cold calls, see how long it takes. If it takes you two hours, and then you do it for a month, maybe you get it down to an hour and a half, boom. Add five onto that. That's why I am such a proponent of this. Another very big lesson I've learned with this, again, starting with zero customers, zero revenue, be obsessed with your customers, all right? It takes way more, so much more effort than you think to get business from somebody, you know. And when you're talking, you know, in the freight game, tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands of dollars of revenue that you can get from some of these shippers, you guys, takes a lot. And when you get that, you cannot take that business for granted at all.
(14:26):
Because if it comes quick, usually it leaves quick. And that is something that you want to avoid at all costs. And then, you know, you really got to ask yourself constantly, are you still solving that problem for them? And then what does your customer actually need from you? You know, and for me, it's like, the more simple I can keep it for my customer, the easy it is for me. To work with. I found that the better off it is. And from a customer standpoint, you guys, communication is key. Be just as upfront with them if you can't do something and as if you can do something. All right? And then just keep that top of mind because you can when you're in that desperation. I just need revenue. I just need money.
(15:05):
You find yourself committing to stuff you probably shouldn't be committing to. And that is something that will get yourself in a lot of trouble out there when you're trying to build a sustainable revenue source. Because that's what you're chasing early on. You're chasing sustainability. You're chasing that consistent revenue that's coming in to cover your overhead so you can actually get a sliver of breathing room. So you can maybe go to the grocery store and swipe your card and not wince, hoping that it doesn't get declined. All right? And that's what you're chasing. You're chasing that sustainability right away. And I'm telling you, the more honest you can be about what problem you're actually trying to solve in it, from a singular focus standpoint, I truly feel like the better off you're going to be in business for the long term.
(15:57):
Because again, it's about sustainability. Anybody can find a customer and move one shipment and maybe make a couple hundred bucks. But can you do it repeatedly and religiously day in and day out, month in and month out, year in and year out? That's what you're chasing after. So you have to be obsessed with your customers. How can you ensure that you are going to be a viable resource for them? And then furthermore with that, not all business is good business. All right? And I say that as somebody who's been out of tens of thousands of dollars, you know, been in lawsuits and other stuff that are, that is out there. All right? You have to understand that this is a business and you need to protect yourself.
(16:39):
Okay, so that's another little kind of caveat I'm putting in there, number three for me, protecting your focus. So again, like I was saying, I can get more done in an eight hour period than most people probably can in a 40 hour workweek. And it is because my focus is of utmost importance to me. My day is delegated out. My, it is structured in a way where I am constantly focused on building my business right now, what I consume outside of work, like when I go to the gym every single morning, I'm listening to audiobooks, I'm listening to business podcasts, I'm listening and consuming information to hopefully just get a little bit better, a little bit more efficient with my time, a little bit more efficient with my sales outreach and all of that.
(17:28):
I am a student of the game with this and I'll get into that here in a little bit. But you know, and then furthermore, I have, you know, a very big thing that I've done here is I have shut off all notifications on my cell phone except for text messages. I've shut off all ESPN social media. I don't even touch social media outside of LinkedIn for business development purposes. I do not touch any social media from 6am until 4pm when I'm getting home and I'm like settled at home and I just. Because like it's distracting, it keeps you away and it keeps your eyes off the prize. And, and I do that because it is, I like, I've just found myself finding things to do other than do work. So for me, protecting your focus is so crucial.
(18:23):
You need to be constantly focused on your business because a lot of small businesses, you guys are 30 days away from being out of business every single month because of their cash flow, dips in revenue, losing business and all of that stuff. So I think from my perspective, when you're at work, you need to be focused your eyes and need to be on the prize. You need to be looking at how do you get a little bit better. What are you consuming? Is one of those things that is, it's crucial for your development cash flow. I brought that up and that's another thing that is a major hurdle for a lot of sales reps, a lot of business owners, small business owners, and a lot of the decisions, you know, and this is why I say that this isn't for everybody out there.
(19:14):
Like I had just mentioned, you know, being screwed out of tens of thousands of dollars, being sued, lawsuits, all of that stuff that inevitably happen, you know, and keeping your eye on cash flow is it's so crucial because when you're bootstrapping everything, every decision you make, not every decision that sounds, you know, melodramatic, but a lot of the decisions you make could literally put you out of business in the early stages of it, right? Like when you're building up out there and that's the decision that like, that's the weight of the decisions that I put on my shoulders when I'm making them. Is, is this going to possibly put me under and you just never know, that's the risk that I am willing to take as an entrepreneur.
(19:53):
I don't know if, like, I'm going to show up every day and give it my best, but like, I can sit here and say all the positive affirmations in the world, but, like, if I don't show up and do the work, I am guaranteeing that I will fail, you know, so for me, it's like every decision that I had make, I look at how is this going to affect me in the next five years? But, but how do I keep myself sustainable? And is this a dumb decision that is going to cost me way more money than it should? But again, and when I'm watching my cash flow, when I'm out there, you know, I have to make those decisions, right? Like going to conferences, I get hit up all the time about, hey, am I going to go to this conference?
(20:31):
Am I going to go to that conference? Just a, just for a reference out here. And I'm not saying that conferences aren't worth it, because they are, but a lot of conferences that you go to cost a minimum of five grand to go to these things. All right? I've gone to a lot of conferences over the years, and if we're talking registration for the conference, we're talking hotels, meals, flights, everything else, we're talking at least $5,000 for some of these shows that are out there. That is a major investment to go. So it's like, you better have the cash flow to cover that stuff because otherwise, if you rack up major credit card debt that's out there and you cannot pay that off, that's just, it's crippling.
(21:15):
So, you know, from my perspective, I'm very choosy about where I will go, especially now that my time is more valuable now than it was when I first started. And I have a lot more responsibilities on my plate. So it's like, if you see me at a show, it's a major investment for me to be there. And there's got to be an roi. So. So for anybody out there who's on the fence about going to some of these things, is there an roi? And that's got to be the thing, because if you're going to spend five grand to go to a show or three grand to go to a show, you better get at least 5x of an ROI out of that. Otherwise, is it really worth your time?
(21:51):
Or can you get more accomplished by staying focused, staying at your desk, and really trying to generate new revenue through new business and that is something that I think that I learned early on that not every opportunity that comes your way to go to a conference is really worth your time, depending on what stage of business that you're in. As my business becomes more and more mature and I have more and more systems in place, I have more checks and balances in there where I know that the business can run more efficiently if I'm not there and continue to be efficient when I'm not there. Yeah, things will change at that time. But, you know, for where I'm at today, I. I'm very choosy about the travel on where I go.
(22:35):
Because of that, I have to keep my focus on my business development out there and, you know, my cash flow. That's something that I'm constantly monitoring. You know, it's a. It's a little bit different now than it was when I first started, but I am nowhere in the clear where I can just put my feet up and just expect that everything's just going to work out, because it's not so number five for me. This is probably the most important one, and that is never stop learning. I. If there's one thing I know for certain is I don't know shit about business, all right? I am constantly learning. I am, you know, that might be overdramatic to make that statement. I know a little bit, but I don't know. I'm constantly learning.
(23:21):
I'm never in a situation where I think I've got it all figured out. I'm never in a situation where I think I'm good. I don't possess that right now, you know, because I look at it as, I still got work to do because I still got a mortgage. You know, I still got work to do because I got a kid that I'm going to put through college. I still got work to do because I got to build this company. And I'm at a level now where I feel confident showing people, like, what do you have to do to get from zero to your first million in revenue? I can speak confidently about that. Right. But I'm not at 10 million yet.
(23:58):
So I got work to do, I got to learn, and I got to surround myself with people who have done what I'm looking to do. And I am very fortunate to have a strong network of people that I can reach out to for a lot of stuff. And that comes from the fact that I network constantly. I'm in an entrepreneur group called the RT Syndicate. If you are an entrepreneur and you are not a member of the RT Syndicate. I would highly recommend you guys check that out. Like I had mentioned earlier, I'm constantly reading, listening to audiobooks and podcasts. Andy Prisella and Ed Mylett have undoubtedly made the biggest impact on my business and myself over these last five years. They give away a lot of stuff for free, you guys. They. They truly do. I would go and follow them.
(24:51):
I would follow Alex Hermosi. He puts out a ton of great free content for you to follow. Okay, I. I would go after and. And just start there. Start there. Another one that I. I really enjoy listening to is Patrick Bet David, another phenomenal entrepreneur who's built a real business. And that's another thing I want to say. When you're out there searching from people that you can learn from, just take your time to research what they've actually done, because the Internet is a very confusing place. All right? It's a phenomenal tool. But there are a lot of people out there who are really good at posting content who are just trying to sell you something. At the end of the day, they want you to sign up for their course. They want.
(25:36):
They want you to sign up for something that they can make money on, and that's all they know is how for them to make money. They can't teach you how to make money because they've never actually done anything. And again, I'm not an entrepreneur guru or anything like that, but I just know that there's a lot of bullshit out there that you can get caught up in. And those. Those guys that I had mentioned there, Andy Prisella, Ed Mylett, Alex Hermosi. Those are three people. Patrick Beck, David. Those are people that I would highly recommend you follow when it comes down to business content. And there's a bunch of other really good ones out there. But. But I would start there. The Founders Podcast.
(26:10):
If you want to get a really good podcast to listen to about successful entrepreneurs, I would download that podcast and I would start listening to that. Excuse me. And I would just go from there, you guys. If you want some book recommendations, I drop those out occasionally. But one of the. A really good book that I'm reading right now is. It's called Fanatical Prospecting by Jeb Blount. I would start with. With that book as well. And there's a ton of other good ones out there. The Founders podcast is based on books of founders that he's read. So there's a whole reading list that's associated with that, and that's one of those things that I never gave enough credit to when I had first started reading. To me is it's essentially free game for you guys. It'll cost you 20, 30 bucks.
(26:57):
You know, some of you guys, some people out there spend fucking $20 a day on lunch, you know, buy a book and you could literally turn that twenty dollars into a two million dollar roi, you know, because there's plenty of stuff inside of those books for you to follow. But you know, those are some of those things you guys, that I've really tried to embody over these last five years. Here's one thing I do know. I'm just getting started with all of this. I'm just now feeling the momentum of the work that we've been putting in behind the scenes. And we're just getting started. At the end of the day, we are literally just getting started. We got a long way to go. I am not shy when I say I am out to build the largest transportation company in North American history.
(27:46):
That is my 40 year goal. That is what 80 year old Chris is chasing to build one day. Hopefully it comes a lot sooner than that, but that's what we're going after. And it is all done by daily actions. And to kind of summarize everything, that's why I am such a proponent of everybody focusing on their day. Because at the end of it, you guys, if you don't do the work today, tomorrow's goals are never going to fucking happen. And it, and I'm trying to, because this took me like four years to realize and it was after I completed the Live hard program in 2024, if I don't get my done today that I know that I need to get done tomorrow is never going to work. And that is the mentality that I try and take every single day.
(28:34):
Do I win every single day? Absolutely not. I have bad days just like everybody out there. But one thing that I make sure is I do not let one bad day turn into two. All right? And it's a slippery slope with that. So focus in on your day today. If you want to get healthy, win the day. Just focus on your day. If you're looking to increase your sales outreach, focus on today, win the day. What do you have to do to make sure that you get your work done today? You really just need to focus on that, simplify it today and today only. And when you can do that, everything becomes a lot more clear.
(29:14):
And when you know, silence social media and you silence all that noise from the peanut gallery of People who are going to be bitching from the sidelines for the next five years and you eliminate all that and you keep your eye on the prize. You can do amazing things out there. You truly can. If I can figure it out to make it for five years, anybody can. All right, I barely graduated high school, you guys. Like, I am just out there. I am too dumb to quit. I am going to show up every single day and I'm going to put my best foot forward. It doesn't matter if I get hung up on 50 times, I'm going to make 50 first call. And that's just my mentality with that.
(29:51):
Win your day, focus on your day and then if it doesn't work out, do it for a little bit longer, make a couple of little changes, but again, focus on your day. Do that repeatedly and I truly feel like things are going to start to make more sense out there. But that is going to be it. Ladies and gentlemen, I can't thank you guys enough for being a part of this journey, for tuning in. The fact that tens and twenties of thousands of you tune in every single month is kind of crazy for just being a little old podcast that we got and all because I decided to put my hat on backwards and rock an orange shirt out there.
(30:29):
You know, it's amazing what you can do over a five year period, you guys, but I, I sincerely, from the bottom of my heart, appreciate you all so much for everything I, I truly do. None of this is possible without the support and all the people who stop me when I'm out in public and say that this show has helped them and has changed their lives and that's why I, I want to do this show. That's why I truly feel like God put this in me to do this is to try and help others at the end of the day, you guys, and I want to do that and I'm going to continue to do that day in and day out. But that is going to be it. We will be back tomorrow. We got more guests coming on.
(31:11):
As always, you guys, if you got value in what you heard, subscribe to the show. For feeling really ambitious after this one, with which I hope you are, rank the show on itunes and Spotify. You guys, if you think I gave you five stars of information, give me five stars out there because that's how your network's going to see value. And if you saw value, your network's going to see value as well. I appreciate you guys. I love you guys and we'll be talking to you soon.
Came back with a bank window down yelling now money anything hey oh Got the foot on the gas pedal to the metal when I'm get to the back hey Got the foot on the gas pedal to the metal when the lane moving fast hey Let them all cross if they hate then let them hate them Make a bigger ball hey what is up ladies and gentlemen? We are back. We are live. It is the Freight Coach podcast, the top podcast in transportation coming to you guys every single weekday, 8:30am Pacific, 10:30 Central to break down some industry headlines. But most importantly, you guys provide some actual insight into what you can do with all of this information. If this is your first time tuning in, welcome. This is the real side of freight, ladies and gentlemen. And I say that before every single show.
(00:49):
And what I mean by that is I only speak with transportation professionals because at the end of the day, you guys, I want to talk to the right individuals who have done what you're looking to do or who are currently doing what you're trying to achieve. So you can take that information, apply it, utilize it and see a meaningful difference in your business and your life. Happy Wednesday, everybody. Yeah, we got a solo show today. So before we get into today's topic and everything, I do want to make another quick reminder. If you haven't subscribed to the newsletter yet, it dropped this morning. All right? So if you want to get in on this, I need you to go to the Freight Coach.com to sign up for it from there.
(01:28):
And I do this, you guys, because I took, I put out a poll a long time ago and the overwhelming majority of people voted that they don't like it when people auto sign them up for newsletters. So rest assured, if you go over there and register for it, that's all it's there for. I don't even know how to like get access to even who's on it. Christian, for my team does all of that stuff. So we're not out there looking to exploit anybody's information at all. But if you want to get in on that newsletter, you guys go to the freight coach.com it just drops once a week. We just talk about transportation inside of it and that's where you can find all of that, you know, rates, diesel fuel, all of that stuff.
(02:06):
So check that out if you want to get in on it. But today, solo show, you guys. And it's a pretty special show for me because I recently surpassed five years of being self employed. I started doing all of this stuff Back in April of 2020. In it, I actually incorporated, or excuse me, I actually filed for my business license on my birthday, April 27th of 2020. And I was out of town for that this year. So we, you know, we just passed that five year mark here about a little, about a week and a half ago. And it's crazy, right, because I, I wish. And I'm actually wearing the OG hat today. I, I have one left from it because I gave a lot of them away back in the day, but I kept this one.
(03:00):
It sits on my desk with me at all times. And, you know, I wish I could be doing this where I started back out of the old apartment that I was renting when I had first moved to Arizona. I started creating all the content out of the bedroom. I recorded all of the early podcasts out of my bedroom. I was on a broken folding table on a busted laptop that I had, and I had an Amazon podcast starter kit, which is what I started on. And it's been wild to look back over the growth here over these last five years and kind of see where things were to where things are right now. And you know, I want to start off with a stat here. So this is from the U.S. Bureau of labor and Statistics. About 50% of businesses survive five years.
(03:52):
Fifty percent, right. So just think about that. Out of everybody who started a business back in 2020, 50% of them are no longer in business, you know, based on, on this. Right? And then, but year 10 as well, only 30%, 33% survive 10 years or more in business. And it's crazy, right? Like it's, you know, to me, entrepreneurship is, it's overly glorified on social media and the Internet. And, you know, a lot of people only want to post the highlight reel. They only want to post, you know, the wins or the perceived wins. They want people who are viewing them to think that they have it all figured out. They're perfect. It's all easy, it's all sunshine and gumdrops and everything else. And I, from my perspective, this is literally the absolute hardest thing I've ever done.
(04:51):
And I just got notification that the show's not on LinkedIn right now for some reason that LinkedIn's having issues. And I think this is also another little time to remind everybody, this is why I go live on YouTube. I want everybody who ever watches this or if you're listening to this, if you want to see the live stream, go to YouTube, go to the freight coach on YouTube. You can find us on there if you want to watch that live stream. Because LinkedIn is having issues again, but here we are, you know, again, it's just par for the course on what you go through. But you know, back to what I was talking about. I am choosing to put the realities of growing a business from scratch. So I've started, to date, I've started three companies in that five year span.
(05:34):
I wouldn't recommend doing that at all. It was a lot of work and all of them had zero customers to start with. And you know, so it's one of those. Most people when they start a business, they're starting it and they're like, especially inside of transportation, they're starting it with like guaranteed revenue from shippers that they were working with at their previous employer. They're going to bring it on and start moving that freight. And you know, with my journey starting off and you know, because I had originally started with all this media stuff and you know, I was doing sales consulting at the time because, you know, nobody was hiring. So I was doing sales training for freight brokerages and trucking companies. I was working with a bunch of different companies. You know, not right away.
(06:19):
It was after about the first year because you know, I had literally delivered pizzas for the first eight months that I was doing all of this. Back in 2020, I was doing that because I didn't have any money. I have a family to feed and I will not let my family starve at all. I will do literally whatever it takes. If this all went away today, I would have six jobs by tomorrow because I will not let my family starve out of my own ego. So, you know, I was delivering pizzas back then and you know, I had broke even on in after my first like, I think not 10, it was 12, 10 months in business. I broke even. And then about 15 months I actually made my first dollar in business.
(07:08):
So it took me 15 months to make my first actual profit where I didn't break even. I didn't have to take any money out of my savings account anymore to pay my bills. And to really sustain that time frame though, even though it's delivering pizzas, like I emptied my 401k I had, you know, into this day. You know, I'll be brutally honest, like I'm still building all of this stuff up and you know, this is my retirement. Right? Like I don't have your conventional putting money aside right now. I'm not at a point to be able to do that because, you know, when you are bootstrapping everything, it costs money, right? Like, there's just no tree out there that I can shake and money just falls out and I can pay all my bills and pay myself back and all of that stuff.
(07:51):
But, you know, at this point though, I'm just like so committed to the process. I'm so committed to the fact that this takes so much longer than you want in the moment. And you know, I think that, you know, a fallacy out there that, you know, just because you start a business that you're entitled to become a millionaire or like, because you have a pulse in an llc, all of a sudden you're just entitled to results. And you know, it, you know, I look at it as. When you talk to a lot of people when they're first starting out, they are, there's. They're sitting there saying that like, they're so busy, they're so busy. And I, and I was one of them. And it was because I had no idea what I was doing.
(08:31):
I, I was literally just staring at my computer screen aimlessly all day, every day, trying to figure things out. Like, I taught myself how to edit everything, you know, I taught myself how to use social media, record, you know, create a podcast, all that. I had no idea what I was doing at that time. So, yeah, it was running around with chicken with my head cut off. But one thing that I had learned, and this is just something that is, like, what we're finally starting to experience is as you know. So I want to talk about some of the best lessons that I've learned here over these last five years and building systems. All right, this is something. And build it and document it. All right, I want to put that on there.
(09:13):
Document your systems, because this is going to help control the chaos that you're experiencing out there. And now I, you know, I say this with a hundred percent confidence. I get more done in a day than most people can in a week because of how dialed in my systems are. My sales system that I follow every single day for business development. You know, so when I'm out there, you know, I, I have my day broken out. Like every hour of my day is delegated essentially from when I get up to when I go to bed at night. With, at this point, it's, you know, RPAs, I call them revenue producing activities.
(09:52):
So, you know, before I do my show, every, like I get into my office at 6:30am every morning and then by 7am I will have reached out to all of my current shippers for the day. I've managed all my current shipments for the day. And then I go and start making phone calls, I start making sales calls, and I get 35 cold calls done before I do my show every day. So I wrapped up my cold calls about 15, 20 minutes before I started the. The show this morning. And then I will break it up, and then I will start making cold calls almost immediately after. And I rip that band aid off right away. Because I am just like a lot of people where if I have an excuse to not do something, I'm not going to do it.
(10:35):
And I have now developed that discipline inside of my system where I follow this every single day, religiously. It does not matter. I'm. I'm very fortunate to have a business partner now who can manage all incoming requests. That's how I'm able to do this show now is we have a system in place, excuse me, where he manages everything when I'm doing this. And. And then when I'm done with the show, Christian from my team, he will come in, he will take the show, he will edit all of this stuff out, he'll clip it, he'll distribute it to social media, he'll post it out there on itunes and Spotify. And it's a system that we follow that I can delegate my times to where I. It looks like I'm doing way more than I could if I was on my own, because I am.
(11:17):
I am able to do way more now than I was when I had first started. And it was because I was. It took a long time to develop a system to follow every single day. And I would like. I would. I would really push a lot of you out there who are listening to this, who are like, I'm always too busy. I never know what I'm doing. I have. You're just essentially herding cats all day long. I want you to start writing shit down. I want you to start tracking the time it takes for you to accomplish those tasks. And then I want you to start seeing where you. Is, the areas that you can improve. If something's taking you three hours, how can you get it down to two and a half hours or two hours?
(12:01):
How can you get more efficient in that time? I like to talk a lot about business development because that's something I have a heavy focus on in there. I would highly recommend you guys read the book Fanatical Prospecting by Jeb Blount. I think that is a Very phenomenal book. And then also my friend Kara Brown, the Revenue Engine. I would read those two books out there right now, and that will help bring some clarity to your processes on what you're going after. Because I feel like you're there. There's so much time you spend just chasing dollars without a plan, especially when you're first getting started. Because if you have no revenue, like I had no revenue, if you had no customers, like I had no customers, you don't know where the to start. And excuse me, that's a daunting thing.
(12:50):
And I'm telling you, choose one thing. And that's why I am such a proponent of the niche. And I say this because I know what it's like to have no revenue, no customers, no money coming in and being on the verge of being broke, okay? And I'm telling you this right now. Choose one thing and go after it religiously, inside of it, from a business development standpoint, and I think that this is applicable to many industries out there. But again, I'm not your life coach. I talk about freight. So I'm going to say from freight specifically, choose a niche and double down, triple down on that, and then build up a system around it. Document your processes, follow those processes, and then find areas of improvement where you can shave a couple, you know, 30 minutes off and then you can increase your output.
(13:40):
That's why I'm always telling you, start with 25, do 25 cold calls, see how long it takes. If it takes you two hours, and then you do it for a month, maybe you get it down to an hour and a half, boom. Add five onto that. That's why I am such a proponent of this. Another very big lesson I've learned with this, again, starting with zero customers, zero revenue, be obsessed with your customers, all right? It takes way more, so much more effort than you think to get business from somebody, you know. And when you're talking, you know, in the freight game, tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands of dollars of revenue that you can get from some of these shippers, you guys, takes a lot. And when you get that, you cannot take that business for granted at all.
(14:26):
Because if it comes quick, usually it leaves quick. And that is something that you want to avoid at all costs. And then, you know, you really got to ask yourself constantly, are you still solving that problem for them? And then what does your customer actually need from you? You know, and for me, it's like, the more simple I can keep it for my customer, the easy it is for me. To work with. I found that the better off it is. And from a customer standpoint, you guys, communication is key. Be just as upfront with them if you can't do something and as if you can do something. All right? And then just keep that top of mind because you can when you're in that desperation. I just need revenue. I just need money.
(15:05):
You find yourself committing to stuff you probably shouldn't be committing to. And that is something that will get yourself in a lot of trouble out there when you're trying to build a sustainable revenue source. Because that's what you're chasing early on. You're chasing sustainability. You're chasing that consistent revenue that's coming in to cover your overhead so you can actually get a sliver of breathing room. So you can maybe go to the grocery store and swipe your card and not wince, hoping that it doesn't get declined. All right? And that's what you're chasing. You're chasing that sustainability right away. And I'm telling you, the more honest you can be about what problem you're actually trying to solve in it, from a singular focus standpoint, I truly feel like the better off you're going to be in business for the long term.
(15:57):
Because again, it's about sustainability. Anybody can find a customer and move one shipment and maybe make a couple hundred bucks. But can you do it repeatedly and religiously day in and day out, month in and month out, year in and year out? That's what you're chasing after. So you have to be obsessed with your customers. How can you ensure that you are going to be a viable resource for them? And then furthermore with that, not all business is good business. All right? And I say that as somebody who's been out of tens of thousands of dollars, you know, been in lawsuits and other stuff that are, that is out there. All right? You have to understand that this is a business and you need to protect yourself.
(16:39):
Okay, so that's another little kind of caveat I'm putting in there, number three for me, protecting your focus. So again, like I was saying, I can get more done in an eight hour period than most people probably can in a 40 hour workweek. And it is because my focus is of utmost importance to me. My day is delegated out. My, it is structured in a way where I am constantly focused on building my business right now, what I consume outside of work, like when I go to the gym every single morning, I'm listening to audiobooks, I'm listening to business podcasts, I'm listening and consuming information to hopefully just get a little bit better, a little bit more efficient with my time, a little bit more efficient with my sales outreach and all of that.
(17:28):
I am a student of the game with this and I'll get into that here in a little bit. But you know, and then furthermore, I have, you know, a very big thing that I've done here is I have shut off all notifications on my cell phone except for text messages. I've shut off all ESPN social media. I don't even touch social media outside of LinkedIn for business development purposes. I do not touch any social media from 6am until 4pm when I'm getting home and I'm like settled at home and I just. Because like it's distracting, it keeps you away and it keeps your eyes off the prize. And, and I do that because it is, I like, I've just found myself finding things to do other than do work. So for me, protecting your focus is so crucial.
(18:23):
You need to be constantly focused on your business because a lot of small businesses, you guys are 30 days away from being out of business every single month because of their cash flow, dips in revenue, losing business and all of that stuff. So I think from my perspective, when you're at work, you need to be focused your eyes and need to be on the prize. You need to be looking at how do you get a little bit better. What are you consuming? Is one of those things that is, it's crucial for your development cash flow. I brought that up and that's another thing that is a major hurdle for a lot of sales reps, a lot of business owners, small business owners, and a lot of the decisions, you know, and this is why I say that this isn't for everybody out there.
(19:14):
Like I had just mentioned, you know, being screwed out of tens of thousands of dollars, being sued, lawsuits, all of that stuff that inevitably happen, you know, and keeping your eye on cash flow is it's so crucial because when you're bootstrapping everything, every decision you make, not every decision that sounds, you know, melodramatic, but a lot of the decisions you make could literally put you out of business in the early stages of it, right? Like when you're building up out there and that's the decision that like, that's the weight of the decisions that I put on my shoulders when I'm making them. Is, is this going to possibly put me under and you just never know, that's the risk that I am willing to take as an entrepreneur.
(19:53):
I don't know if, like, I'm going to show up every day and give it my best, but like, I can sit here and say all the positive affirmations in the world, but, like, if I don't show up and do the work, I am guaranteeing that I will fail, you know, so for me, it's like every decision that I had make, I look at how is this going to affect me in the next five years? But, but how do I keep myself sustainable? And is this a dumb decision that is going to cost me way more money than it should? But again, and when I'm watching my cash flow, when I'm out there, you know, I have to make those decisions, right? Like going to conferences, I get hit up all the time about, hey, am I going to go to this conference?
(20:31):
Am I going to go to that conference? Just a, just for a reference out here. And I'm not saying that conferences aren't worth it, because they are, but a lot of conferences that you go to cost a minimum of five grand to go to these things. All right? I've gone to a lot of conferences over the years, and if we're talking registration for the conference, we're talking hotels, meals, flights, everything else, we're talking at least $5,000 for some of these shows that are out there. That is a major investment to go. So it's like, you better have the cash flow to cover that stuff because otherwise, if you rack up major credit card debt that's out there and you cannot pay that off, that's just, it's crippling.
(21:15):
So, you know, from my perspective, I'm very choosy about where I will go, especially now that my time is more valuable now than it was when I first started. And I have a lot more responsibilities on my plate. So it's like, if you see me at a show, it's a major investment for me to be there. And there's got to be an roi. So. So for anybody out there who's on the fence about going to some of these things, is there an roi? And that's got to be the thing, because if you're going to spend five grand to go to a show or three grand to go to a show, you better get at least 5x of an ROI out of that. Otherwise, is it really worth your time?
(21:51):
Or can you get more accomplished by staying focused, staying at your desk, and really trying to generate new revenue through new business and that is something that I think that I learned early on that not every opportunity that comes your way to go to a conference is really worth your time, depending on what stage of business that you're in. As my business becomes more and more mature and I have more and more systems in place, I have more checks and balances in there where I know that the business can run more efficiently if I'm not there and continue to be efficient when I'm not there. Yeah, things will change at that time. But, you know, for where I'm at today, I. I'm very choosy about the travel on where I go.
(22:35):
Because of that, I have to keep my focus on my business development out there and, you know, my cash flow. That's something that I'm constantly monitoring. You know, it's a. It's a little bit different now than it was when I first started, but I am nowhere in the clear where I can just put my feet up and just expect that everything's just going to work out, because it's not so number five for me. This is probably the most important one, and that is never stop learning. I. If there's one thing I know for certain is I don't know shit about business, all right? I am constantly learning. I am, you know, that might be overdramatic to make that statement. I know a little bit, but I don't know. I'm constantly learning.
(23:21):
I'm never in a situation where I think I've got it all figured out. I'm never in a situation where I think I'm good. I don't possess that right now, you know, because I look at it as, I still got work to do because I still got a mortgage. You know, I still got work to do because I got a kid that I'm going to put through college. I still got work to do because I got to build this company. And I'm at a level now where I feel confident showing people, like, what do you have to do to get from zero to your first million in revenue? I can speak confidently about that. Right. But I'm not at 10 million yet.
(23:58):
So I got work to do, I got to learn, and I got to surround myself with people who have done what I'm looking to do. And I am very fortunate to have a strong network of people that I can reach out to for a lot of stuff. And that comes from the fact that I network constantly. I'm in an entrepreneur group called the RT Syndicate. If you are an entrepreneur and you are not a member of the RT Syndicate. I would highly recommend you guys check that out. Like I had mentioned earlier, I'm constantly reading, listening to audiobooks and podcasts. Andy Prisella and Ed Mylett have undoubtedly made the biggest impact on my business and myself over these last five years. They give away a lot of stuff for free, you guys. They. They truly do. I would go and follow them.
(24:51):
I would follow Alex Hermosi. He puts out a ton of great free content for you to follow. Okay, I. I would go after and. And just start there. Start there. Another one that I. I really enjoy listening to is Patrick Bet David, another phenomenal entrepreneur who's built a real business. And that's another thing I want to say. When you're out there searching from people that you can learn from, just take your time to research what they've actually done, because the Internet is a very confusing place. All right? It's a phenomenal tool. But there are a lot of people out there who are really good at posting content who are just trying to sell you something. At the end of the day, they want you to sign up for their course. They want.
(25:36):
They want you to sign up for something that they can make money on, and that's all they know is how for them to make money. They can't teach you how to make money because they've never actually done anything. And again, I'm not an entrepreneur guru or anything like that, but I just know that there's a lot of bullshit out there that you can get caught up in. And those. Those guys that I had mentioned there, Andy Prisella, Ed Mylett, Alex Hermosi. Those are three people. Patrick Beck, David. Those are people that I would highly recommend you follow when it comes down to business content. And there's a bunch of other really good ones out there. But. But I would start there. The Founders Podcast.
(26:10):
If you want to get a really good podcast to listen to about successful entrepreneurs, I would download that podcast and I would start listening to that. Excuse me. And I would just go from there, you guys. If you want some book recommendations, I drop those out occasionally. But one of the. A really good book that I'm reading right now is. It's called Fanatical Prospecting by Jeb Blount. I would start with. With that book as well. And there's a ton of other good ones out there. The Founders podcast is based on books of founders that he's read. So there's a whole reading list that's associated with that, and that's one of those things that I never gave enough credit to when I had first started reading. To me is it's essentially free game for you guys. It'll cost you 20, 30 bucks.
(26:57):
You know, some of you guys, some people out there spend fucking $20 a day on lunch, you know, buy a book and you could literally turn that twenty dollars into a two million dollar roi, you know, because there's plenty of stuff inside of those books for you to follow. But you know, those are some of those things you guys, that I've really tried to embody over these last five years. Here's one thing I do know. I'm just getting started with all of this. I'm just now feeling the momentum of the work that we've been putting in behind the scenes. And we're just getting started. At the end of the day, we are literally just getting started. We got a long way to go. I am not shy when I say I am out to build the largest transportation company in North American history.
(27:46):
That is my 40 year goal. That is what 80 year old Chris is chasing to build one day. Hopefully it comes a lot sooner than that, but that's what we're going after. And it is all done by daily actions. And to kind of summarize everything, that's why I am such a proponent of everybody focusing on their day. Because at the end of it, you guys, if you don't do the work today, tomorrow's goals are never going to fucking happen. And it, and I'm trying to, because this took me like four years to realize and it was after I completed the Live hard program in 2024, if I don't get my done today that I know that I need to get done tomorrow is never going to work. And that is the mentality that I try and take every single day.
(28:34):
Do I win every single day? Absolutely not. I have bad days just like everybody out there. But one thing that I make sure is I do not let one bad day turn into two. All right? And it's a slippery slope with that. So focus in on your day today. If you want to get healthy, win the day. Just focus on your day. If you're looking to increase your sales outreach, focus on today, win the day. What do you have to do to make sure that you get your work done today? You really just need to focus on that, simplify it today and today only. And when you can do that, everything becomes a lot more clear.
(29:14):
And when you know, silence social media and you silence all that noise from the peanut gallery of People who are going to be bitching from the sidelines for the next five years and you eliminate all that and you keep your eye on the prize. You can do amazing things out there. You truly can. If I can figure it out to make it for five years, anybody can. All right, I barely graduated high school, you guys. Like, I am just out there. I am too dumb to quit. I am going to show up every single day and I'm going to put my best foot forward. It doesn't matter if I get hung up on 50 times, I'm going to make 50 first call. And that's just my mentality with that.
(29:51):
Win your day, focus on your day and then if it doesn't work out, do it for a little bit longer, make a couple of little changes, but again, focus on your day. Do that repeatedly and I truly feel like things are going to start to make more sense out there. But that is going to be it. Ladies and gentlemen, I can't thank you guys enough for being a part of this journey, for tuning in. The fact that tens and twenties of thousands of you tune in every single month is kind of crazy for just being a little old podcast that we got and all because I decided to put my hat on backwards and rock an orange shirt out there.
(30:29):
You know, it's amazing what you can do over a five year period, you guys, but I, I sincerely, from the bottom of my heart, appreciate you all so much for everything I, I truly do. None of this is possible without the support and all the people who stop me when I'm out in public and say that this show has helped them and has changed their lives and that's why I, I want to do this show. That's why I truly feel like God put this in me to do this is to try and help others at the end of the day, you guys, and I want to do that and I'm going to continue to do that day in and day out. But that is going to be it. We will be back tomorrow. We got more guests coming on.
(31:11):
As always, you guys, if you got value in what you heard, subscribe to the show. For feeling really ambitious after this one, with which I hope you are, rank the show on itunes and Spotify. You guys, if you think I gave you five stars of information, give me five stars out there because that's how your network's going to see value. And if you saw value, your network's going to see value as well. I appreciate you guys. I love you guys and we'll be talking to you soon.
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