From Corporate America to Owner Operator
It’s truly fascinating to learn how people from all walks of life enter the business of Expediting. This issue of Expediter Spotlight shines the light on Larry and Eudora Evans, a couple who stuck their toes into the Expediting waters years ago to find out that the timing just wasn’t quite right. Shortly afterward, they both climbed the corporate ladder to find out that sometimes that ladder can be a bit rickety, to say the least. As you’ll see, their dreams of starting a successful Expediting career would lead them to owning their own truck and controlling their own destiny.
New Truck Owners Larry and Eudora Evans
“Our first venture into trucking came about eight years ago,” said Eudora Evans. “Larry and I had been married a little over a year. Neither of us liked our professions at the time, so we decided to try driving a truck. We went to work for an owner operator but the situation soon turned south. We weren’t being paid on time and things just got worse from there. We liked the idea of driving a truck but the timing just wasn’t good, so Larry went back to working in “Corporate America” at a national food manufacturer. I sang at night in New Orleans as a jazz and soul singer.”
The Evans’ life in the corporate world was off and running. Larry rose within the company and Eudora was soon hired on. But little did they know, their lives and careers would take an unexpected turn. “Even though we worked for the same company, we didn’t see that much of each other. We were literally like two ships passing in the night, and I was still singing in New Orleans. Our schedules were a bit stressful, but nothing like what was about to happen,” said Eudora!
In March of 2015, their employer had a nation-wide health recall of their products which negatively effected the company, leaving the Evans’ wondering about their future. “We knew the food recall was serious and had the potential to shut down the company or at least affect our positions. We decided that it would be a good time to look into Expediting again, as we already had been watching the trends within the industry and it was something that we had been wanting to do for a long time. I got online and went to Expediter Services’ website and made a call. The rest as they say is history.”
This time, Eudora and Larry’s foray into Expediting would be different. Their call to Expediter Services got them in touch with the right people to get their new career on track right away. “Our dream was always to own our own truck. Over the years we have been saving and working on paying off student loans, as we both have degrees. We were concerned that we would be unable to qualify to be owners. We spoke to the folks at Expediter Equipment Finance and we were pleasantly surprised to find out that we qualified to buy our own truck! Once we were approved, Danny Vernon contacted us to tell us about a slightly used 2013 Cascadia sourced from their very own fleet. It’s a great truck and an incredible value. It has a TriPac generator, a 22-foot box and a 72 inch sleeper. We’re absolutely thrilled with it!”
In addition to purchasing their new truck, The Evans’ tapped into the support provided by Expediter Services, and signed on with a carrier. “One of the most exciting things about becoming expediters is the support we get from ES. They were able to provide us with real revenue projections of the cash flow we can produce with this truck. The information helped make us comfortable with the purchase and gave us a real goal to shoot for, which I know we can do because of our work ethic. Also, the on-going support from ES’s Owner Operator program provides us with the help we need with paperwork and settlements. Once we got the financing in place, we signed on with Panther as our carrier. We’ve been on the road since September and haven’t stopped running since.”And as you may have already guessed, they’re already planning for their Expediting future. “From the get go, Larry has wanted to be a fleet owner. Now that we’ve hooked up with Expediter Services, we’re confident that we can make this happen. Our plan is to pay off this truck and buy another one — and continue this process until we’ve built up a sizeable fleet. There truly is nothing like working for yourself and putting your destiny in your own hands!”
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