A Success Story

Just when times get tougher and you are ready to throw in the towel and quit, along comes a terrific trucking success story.  It goes like this…..

A 30 something woman, Krystal Vierkant from Waite Park, MN grossed more than $11 million in 2007.  Did that number get your attention because it sure did mine.  Her business now operates nine semis of its own, brokers loads and repairs rigs for independent truckers, leases trailers to them, runs a waste disposal operation and wholesales decorative rock to landscapers.  That is one ambitious woman.  But I’m getting ahead of myself with her story.   Let’s go back to the beginning.

Back 6 years ago Krystal was bored and looking for a challenge.  She had dropped out of college and had jobs as a bookkeeper and an officer manager with two trucking companies and as a teller in a bank.  

She was looking to add a few bucks to her income when she bought a semitrailer truck and hired a friend to drive it.  She had heard of a local trucking company in bankruptcy and negotiated a deal to take over payments on a semi.  She was familiar with the sand, dirt, gravel and rock business since that is what the trucking companies she had worked for did.  She knew what she was getting into and how it all worked. 

That was the beginning.  She found her entrepreneurial spirit and you already know the rest of the story.

Krystal is just one of many trucking success stories you hear about.  She found her niche and capitalized on it.  Would you know a good opportunity when you see one?  Knowing what you are good at and what your goals are is key.  Saying I want more money is pretty broad.  You need a plan to get you what you want.  Just like a road map to get you from shipper to receiver, you need a plan.

Her plan was to work her full-time day job and use her lunch time and breaks to hustle loads for her truck.  She spent her evenings handling billings and other paperwork.  Sleep, what was that.  She averaged 4 hours a night.  

Word of mouth spread quickly and Owner Operators were asking her to broker for them too.  By the end of her first year she had six “dedicated” truckers working solely with her brokerage company.  This company now accounts for 90 percent of her revenue.

Other opportunities opened up and she next started the trailer leasing business.  Then she was on to her third business to offer repair services to the independent truckers.

By 2003 she quit her full-time bank job and devoted all her energies and attention to her businesses and would add 3 hours of sleep a night to her schedule.  For two years she sacrificed and worked herself hard to build her businesses.

As things slowed down in the construction business she started up a waste disposal operation that supplies containers to collect debris at remodeling sites as well as to the outdoor construction sites her truckers serve during the summer.

Was it all worth it, you tell me with a bottom line of grossing $11 million in 2007.  Six short years from being a teller wanting a little more money in her pocket to making millions.  I would say her hard work paid off.

Find your niche, make a plan, write down your goals and work your plan.   Go after your dreams.   

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