Lessons from 15 Years at TQL with Chris Fields
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Chris Fields, the VP of Sales at Zelh Logistics, discusses his 15 years of experience at TQL and the evolution of the freight brokerage industry. He provides insight into where he thinks the future of freight brokerage is headed based on his experience and touches on topics such as outsourcing models, hiring practices, carrier relationships, and adapting to change.

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Show Transcript

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Blythe Brumleve: 0:00

Welcome into another episode of Everything Is Logistics, a podcast for the thinkers in freight. We were proudly presented by SPI Logistics and I am your host, Blythe Brumleve, today. We got a very special guest for you today. It is the VP of sales at Cris Fields over at Zelh Logistics. So I'm excited to have this conversation because you you know the sort of the elephant in the room is. You spent 15 years at TQL. Now you are working for Zelh for a few months now, and so it's an interesting dynamic of what's going on in the freight brokerage world. So I'm excited to sort of talk through what you think, the evolutions that need to be happening, based on your experience of working in a big time freight brokerage, and where you think this segment of the industry is headed. So, chris, welcome to the show.

Chris Fields: 0:49

Yeah, thanks for having me. I'm looking forward to it and I hope people don't stop listening when they first heard that I was there for 15 years. You know, I said this to you earlier Blythe it's there's good, bad, ugly opinions about the company and I feel like I was one of the good ones and it was due in large part to the carrier relationships. I had really transparent with my carriers and I think it was a mutually beneficial partnership.

Blythe Brumleve: 1:16

So well, hopefully, yeah, no one. Either you turn the volume up when you hear TQL or you just immediately like shut it off. So hopefully people are turning the volume up anytime you hear that name because obviously you become the top dog for good and bad reasons, and hopefully the good outweighs the bad. But there's a lot of debate around that topic, regular everything's logistics. Listeners will probably have heard the conversation with Matthew Leffler who broke down a lot of the interesting I guess the interesting ruling that came out recently with TQL versus the classification of salary versus non-salary positions, especially within the freight brokerage world. I was an executive. I was never a freight broker, but I sat next to the freight brokers on the brokerage floor at a logistics company about, you know, 10 years ago and it was very much, especially working in marketing. It very much was okay. We're going to go to the different schools that are in the area. We're going to recruit those fresh face college graduates and we're going to sit them down and we're going to make them pound the phones on all the cold leads that the other experienced brokers never had access to. And that sounds like a lot of what or not a lot, but it sounds like it's a typical freight brokerage model, not just for the company I worked at but also for TQL. Is that a safe assumption across most freight brokerages?

Chris Fields: 2:40

For the big box 3PLs. Yes, I think it's become a volume play and when I first started there in 2008, I don't think that was the case, and I'll tell you this I applied and got turned down on my initial interview. They said we're not interested.

Blythe Brumleve: 2:55

Oh, wow Do you know why?

Chris Fields: 2:58

The recruiter just said probably not a good fit and that really fired me up. So the next day I applied again. I said no, we're going to talk. So I lasted 15 years and it was a great career. But that just shows that back in 2008, 2009, they were a little more selective and I think all of the big box, the CH, they were all a little more selective and now it's just we need bodies in the door.

Blythe Brumleve: 3:26

And so what are those bodies taking care of right now? Because you hear a lot or I hear a lot about tech revolution and tracking visibility and it sounded like buzzwords for years. But to pick up another story that that's been going on in freight is the digital freight brokerage and they're going to eliminate the role of the freight broker and you create this instant visibility for all of your shipments. What do you think that the bodies in the seats are taking care of now at major freight brokerages? Is it tracking and tracing? Is it still a combination of the digital freight brokerage model versus the traditional freight brokerage model?

Chris Fields: 4:06

Yes, I think if you lean too far in one direction it's a problem. I think that hybrid of get the really smart tech people in there to automate what can be automated, but then you still need that human element. And you still need because drivers still like talking to people. They don't want a text messages and text back and say, hey, I'm loaded or I'm unloaded. They still like to pick up the phone and talk to people. And I think those that find that balance of tech and human interaction are the ones that will excel the most.

Blythe Brumleve: 4:40

And so, as you spent 15 years at TQA, how did your role evolve? Did you start off with being the butts in the seats and pounding the cold calls? Did you start out and track and trace it? Tell me a little bit about your time and how your role evolved.

Chris Fields: 4:57

Yeah. So I started out as an assistant on a large account and I got to train on that account for 20 weeks or so and then they said, okay, here's a desk and good luck. And I didn't plan to stay very long. I said, but if I'm going to do this, I'm going to make more calls than anyone else, I'm going to stay on the phone more and I'm going to figure it out or I'm going to fail. And so I did that. I made thousands and thousands of phone calls and then I said you know what? I'm pretty dang good at this. And so I built a book of business myself. I had assistance on my team, I built a large team and then, from that point, I think this was probably a mistake I made is I went into management from there, and your best salespeople aren't always your best managers and vice versa. But that was just you know, 28 year old Chris going All right, well, that's next step, let's go into management. And so I went into management and started building a team in 2010. I actually started their Tampa office with six people and then grew that to 250 people, so, and it's still one of their most successful offices.

Blythe Brumleve: 6:04

So did you? Did you go back to sales or did you? Did you stay in them? Obviously, you stayed in the management side of things.

Chris Fields: 6:10

So I was in management for a bit and then we found a role. They said Well, let's get Chris in front of some of our large accounts, let's get him back into selling a little bit. So I traveled, I don't know, 35 weeks out of the year visiting some top accounts and saying here's what we're doing right, here's what we're doing wrong, let's tweak it here. And oftentimes I would meet up with a sales rep. It was his account, but they were a little more green and they said get Chris in there with them and let's let's make sure we're doing a good job. And some of those, those stories of seeing a green rep visit a customer and they've never been on a customer visit. There were some funny, funny little stories there.

Blythe Brumleve: 6:47

What is a green rep?

Chris Fields: 6:50

Well, one that just started that landed a big account who had never. They were great on the phone, but when they put them in a conference room with 15 or 20 executives at a large Fortune 500 company, they didn't know what to say. They're going to eat them alive. Yes, yeah, they really did.

Blythe Brumleve: 7:07

Are you in freight sales with a book of business looking for a new home? Or perhaps you're a freight agent in need of a better partnership? These are the kinds of conversations we're exploring in our podcast interview series called the freight agent trenches, sponsored by SPI logistics. Now I can tell you all day that SPI is one of the most successful logistics firms in North America, who helps their agents with back office operations such as admin, finance, it and sales. But I would much rather you hear it directly from SPI's freight agents themselves. I want better way to do that than by listening to the experienced freight agents tell their stories behind the how and the why they joined SPI. Hit the freight agent link in our show notes to listen to these conversations or, if you're ready to make the jump, visit SPI3PLcom. So what were some of those key differences that made you say, oh, I don't know if management is right for me.

Chris Fields: 8:05

It can be a bit of baby setting, depending on what your team is like. You hear about the girlfriend and boyfriend breakups and all the noise outside of it and I just want my salespeople and I want to sell and I want to drive revenue, but there's a lot of noise that goes along with it and I think they're good managers and good salespeople and you've got to find your swim lane For sure.

Blythe Brumleve: 8:31

Now with your experience with TQ. I mean, obviously they're one of the top dogs in freight. There are obviously some stones that people are throwing, trying to punch up things like that, but what are some of the good things that you saw? Because you don't get to one of the top brokerages in the world without doing some right thing or doing some correct things. Absolutely.

Chris Fields: 8:57

Yeah, their training is top notch.

Blythe Brumleve: 8:58

Why do you say that?

Chris Fields: 8:59

And they are very upfront from day one and they say this is what the training will entail. We're going to give you the tools to succeed. And what you do with those tools are up to you and I took those and, like I said, there was a lot of hard work, but I was one of the top brokers for years at their company and if you needed help or you needed more tools or support, they were there for you. And, like you said, you don't get to $8 billion by accident.

Blythe Brumleve: 9:29

Right and and I think for for a lot of just the role of the, the freight broker in general, is just been Eve it. It feels like it's done a lot of evolution in the last year or so relative to the previous 15 years. Is that a safe assumption? I?

Chris Fields: 9:47

Think the landscape is changing now. I think there are a couple of things that rolling is going to affect how people hire moving forward, because a Lot we're saying, well, they got here by doing this, I can replicate it, and now that's going to change. I think the advance in tech is going to take a lot of busy work off off brokers plates. So I see us moving towards more of an agency model and especially the remote staffing that has gotten so popular in Latin America, philippines, us in Eastern Europe. I think it's going to be more of an agency give them everything they need to run and and kind of, I Remove your liabilities a little bit. I know uber just started an agency program and there's several other large ones that that are doing really well in a tough market.

Blythe Brumleve: 10:38

Yeah, I mean it definitely makes a lot of sense and I've had this conversation on the show before. I mean, obviously you know the spoiler alert SPI logistics is a freight agent network, proud supporter of the show, which isn't, you know allowed me to be able to explore these stories more in depth and Try to find where you know the bright spots are, especially in a tough market, and the freight agency model just feels like it's one I think it's one of I hate to call it like a hidden gem, but it still feels like a hidden gem in the world of Brokerage industries, where you can have these top dogs who, like a SPI, who has the, the tech and the solutions and the IT teams and, you know, the HR, the back office, all of that important thing, and Then you can have the people who have the relationships with the customers, with the carriers, and I think that I think you're right, I think that that's a very Hidden entrepreneurial opportunity and freight that not a lot of folks are paying attention to.

Chris Fields: 11:37

You're right I don't think everyone knows about it and just the model itself of take the accounting off their plate, take the tracking and tracing, dispatching and just let your salespeople sell and then let our folks who are good I was terrible at accounting say I should not be doing it. Let's take that off Chris's plate and your plate and let them do what they're good at. So I think it's only going to get more popular and, like I said, uber announcing their program and then several other large ones. I and the ones that have been doing it, like SPI and your global trends, and those that have been doing it for years, I think are poised to kind of surge ahead.

Blythe Brumleve: 12:16

And I think too, because that's one of the, the lessons that the industry has kind of had to learn the hard way. You know I'll invite people if you want to get into sort of. You know the, I guess the, the lawsuit details things like that. You know the ruling that just came down with TQL, in addition to the convoy closure, the yellow closure, the, the slinked, I like all of the Drama with them, there's a lot of just sort of like a come-to-Jesus moment for the freight industry and it feels like this, this Meeting of a technology, and where technology plays a role along with the relationships, and I think that the relationships is something that has gotten lost with the rush to tech adoption For a lot of these companies. And so I'm curious for you, like you have been at Zelh for you know four or five months now, I believe. You know you, you just recently joined the team and as we're kind of evolving into these sort of outsourcing models, especially when it comes to freight, you know it feels like that. You know I've learned about a new outsourcing company. You know a few of them already this year. Is that sort of what you see is almost the future of a lot of traditional freight brokerage roles? I Do.

Chris Fields: 13:34

The concept itself. It's nothing new. Several been around for a few years and they're doing a great job. They are primarily in Latin America and the Philippines, and that's what drew me. Well, a couple things drew me to this team is we're primarily in Eastern Europe and I was so used to 6070% turnover and when I started meeting the staff that we have and the work ethic and the education and experience level, I said if we had had this, we could have done even more. So I think there's something there, and when you get single-digit turnover From a company in roles like this and they look at it as a career, instead of a 23 year old who had one foot out the door the day he started, it makes a big difference and I think you can really compound the revenue Using this model and so when you talk about sort of the education and the lack of turnover, what does the employee base that that works in freight brokerage?

Blythe Brumleve: 14:36

Are they working in in brokerages all across the world, or are they dedicated employees For freight brokerages in the US? What does sort of that I guess the high-level Outlook look like? And then let's drill down to the employee itself.

Chris Fields: 14:49

I Think you can do a couple of things. I think you can do exclusive staff for a, a company, where they only Work for that company, doing some back office tracking and tracing, whatever it may be. I think on the agency side, you could do more of a flex model where you may have four or five agents who don't have enough a book of business to support an individual or a team by themselves, but together, you know, maybe one has West Coast freight, the other East Coast freight or after hours, and then you have a team that just flexes across accounts. I love that model. I don't think a lot are doing it right now and it's something that that we've we've started to do, and I just Think it's a great option.

Blythe Brumleve: 15:32

And then from the employees side of things you mentioned, the, the education, the lack of turnover, what? What is it about the educating Eastern European employees different from US based employees?

Chris Fields: 15:48

Okay, let's think of the Midwest carrier market, chicago in general large, I think it's 23, 24 percent Eastern European carriers in Metro Chicago. So think about if you're negotiating rates or you're building a carrier network, but instead of Chris or life calling these carriers, it's someone who speaks Polish, who has been in the industry for three or four years. I think they're gonna have a better relationship Then. Then you or I could get and maybe better rates. Maybe they they pull more loads for you, those kind of things and that that's interesting.

Blythe Brumleve: 16:23

you say that because there are a lot of companies that, especially that there was one Woman that I worked with and she had a whole network of Russian drivers and Russian carriers that would work with our company Because she spoke Russian and she was able to have a conversation with them and and develop that that relationship with them, just simply based on the language, where I would almost think like Perception wise for some, some carriers, some customers that they call somebody and they hear an accent, they're gonna get frustrated, whereas I think it's the opposite with what you're referring to, where it's almost a bonding moment. Is that a safe assumption?

Chris Fields: 17:06

It is. I'm from Kentucky and when I would call Kentucky carries, it was great, but when I would call the Bronx, but but absolutely you're, you're spot-on, and others have noticed the same with the Spanish speaking side. You know, when you're covering loads in the Southwest, it's there's a little bit of trust already built in there. Interesting, and We've noticed, noticed better margins, better relationships and just more carrier satisfaction and with with driver turnover being Such an issue right now, I think it can affect that as well.

Blythe Brumleve: 17:38

Okay, I like working with them because I have relationships with their after hours team and so what, what you know With a lot of the, the outsourcing I've personally dealt with, it's more on like the marketing and web side of things. You know web development, that kind of you know technology side of things. But for outsourcing, for in logistics, specifically for a brokerages, what are some of the you know We've talked about some of the benefits, but what are some of the dangers that people should be looking out for if they're thinking about taking that leap?

Chris Fields: 18:07

I Would make sure that it's not a situation where they're just placing bodies for you. I would want to be involved in the interview process, the selection process, speak to those People and you make the decision. Not I'm looking for a dispatcher, okay, here's one, but rather Give you four or five options and have you make that decision. I would Be skeptical of work from home. I'm not a big big fan of it, especially for remote. I'd prefer them to be in office on webcam when necessary and then setting the the shifts myself. Interesting.

Blythe Brumleve: 18:44

Yeah, because, especially with the movement that we've heard over the last couple of years of hybrid versus, you know, back in the office there's a big debate going on, but you, you, you're, you're in the camp of. Everybody should be in the office.

Chris Fields: 18:59

I Think so, and it's tough, I'm saying that and they're gonna be well, they're 8,000 miles away. Well, usually we'll teams and they're all in the office together and there's still that camaraderie there, you know. So I just think it's a plus Compared to someone being at home and and not on webcam.

Blythe Brumleve: 19:17

What? What do you think are some of the other benefits of working in an office environment versus, you know, just working solo?

Chris Fields: 19:27

The lessons you learn and the energy you know. We all worked through COVID from home, I'm sure a lot of us and I mean it got pretty dang boring sitting there and then I was like I want human interaction again.

Blythe Brumleve: 19:40

My brother actually got a job at, specifically picked a job to go work because he lost his job during COVID, unfortunately, but he specifically picked a job that was in office because he was sick of staying home.

Chris Fields: 19:53

Oh, yeah, yeah, I believe it. And then just the things you hear. You know, maybe somebody two desks over tried something that you would have never tried and it worked. Or they said something really bad and you don't ever do that. You know just the lessons you can learn being around people, I think is a big deal For sure, and I I mean for me.

Blythe Brumleve: 20:10

I love working from home, but I, you know I have a different role. I'm not, you know, a freight broker, but some of the best times that, or some of the most interesting things that I ever learned, was being an executive assistant at a 3PL and working at a magazine where you can just Number one. The working at a 3PL was definitely the experience of hearing all of the drama, hearing all of the things that are going on. You know brokers yelling at drivers and vice versa. You know management. You know arguing with each other. There's all those different dynamics of people very passionate about what they think and what they feel, and you probably wouldn't hear that at all if you're all working from home.

Chris Fields: 20:47

Yeah, and I mean if it's accounting and where you need a quiet environment and you need to be very correct on your numbers and you know that's, that's okay, I get it. But if it's more of that sales side of things and support, I like being together in an office.

Blythe Brumleve: 21:04

Now, now for you, backing up just a second, because I am I'm curious about this. So, with spending 15 years at TQL, what? What was sort of the catalyst for moving on to Zelh?

Chris Fields: 21:17

I'd been talking to the team. So the founding team here at Zell all have been in the industry for a decade plus and that appealed to me. I said so. They know what they're talking about, whether it was with Transplace or Uber. Just a solid founding team, that, and combined with the model itself of wait a minute, why isn't everyone doing this? When I first told me about it, I said let me look into it a bit. I got to speak to a few of the staff, I got to see the resumes and I said this is genius. This is what we need to be doing and the landscape changing as I think it. Maybe I'm wrong, but I think it's shifting right now and I think this is a big piece of it. I was happy there. I could have stayed another 15 years, but I think it's just a new, a new era we're entering.

Blythe Brumleve: 22:05

So why do you think more freight brokerages haven't started outsourcing yet?

Chris Fields: 22:12

There's a lot of skepticism. I don't think there's enough education. I also question the talent level, and that's not a knock on anyone who's who's been doing it for years. They've been doing it a lot longer than I have. But if if you're looking for data entry, clerical work, I think it's fine to look at other options. But if you're looking for customer facing customer interaction, I would want to be very selective about who you work with, and that's what appealed to me with. You know, we don't have to tell these people what a dry van load is or a flat bed load. They know when they're ready to go, and I think that plug and play aspect is is really, really beneficial.

Blythe Brumleve: 22:56

You know you mentioned earlier about the. You know the, the education and the training for for a lot of the Eastern European employees. I'm curious as to, maybe, what they grew up learning about transportation versus the, the. I guess the intricacies of the U? S brokerage market Are there any? Are there any?

Chris Fields: 23:14

You would have to. I mean it varies depending on, but a lot have worked for U S brokerages in the past, but then others work for European trucking companies, so just the terminology is similar, the, the laws and regulations are a bit different. But would you rather have you know a and I? It pains me to say this sometimes, but the work ethic of some of the recent college graduates for these entry level roles here in the States is not the best. So would you rather have someone with experience that could learn your operation in a week or two and ready to go, or someone that you really have to train all the nuances of the industry?

Blythe Brumleve: 23:51

So what are? What are some of the? I guess the let's just say you know, in three years, most of the freight brokerage industry. You know the market's back, you know you've had these sort of market fluctuations sort of balance out. Um, what do you think a modern freight brokerage looks like in the U S in in three years? What? What are those main departments that are in office in the U S versus the roles that they're outsourcing?

Chris Fields: 24:21

You know it was euphoria there for a couple of years, with rates through the roof, everyone buying trucks and, and I think people have forgotten how good of a a couple of years it was. And then we're just coming back to reality, I think and brokerage is moving forward, I think are going to be more efficient, a little bit more lean and focus on quality people in all departments. I want the best salespeople that I can get, I want the best back office, I want the best accounting and I think the days of of just here's a an open role. Just hire as many as you can. The amount of money spent on recruiting teams is absurd and that, combined with the time wasted on interviews and sourcing candidates, only to have them leave after six months, that's not. That's not doable for for a long term. And and I I hate seeing companies going out of business now because of decisions like that being made I think they could have been prevented. It's definitely like demoralizing too.

Blythe Brumleve: 25:21

You, you spend all that time and energy and money to, you know, get a new hire through the door and then, if they're gone, you know, with that turnover rate that that you mentioned, it's very demoralizing. And you, you just have a bunch of employees that are being overworked and they probably won't last as long either, because they're they're tired of doing all the grunt work.

Chris Fields: 25:41

And on the other side you have a couple in that group that are really good and it brings them down Going. This is not a great environment to be in. You know, and you want to motivate those, those eight players, and I don't think a lot of that's happening.

Blythe Brumleve: 25:53

So, with all of your experience at you know TQL, especially with, with, on the sales side of things, I'm curious, with being, with your role now, vp of sales over at Zell, are a lot of those sales practices the same for you, Is it? You know just, or does it just change? You know your business card, or are you doing the same sort of, I guess, sales structure at the same sales philosophy, just the name has changed?

Chris Fields: 26:21

No, not at all. So I'm not. You know, all of our employees are in Eastern Europe and all that I do now is add to this founding team that, like I said, came from Uber Transplace and that brings a lot of credibility. So when we talk to a company and we say, hey, we, we built teams, we've been in your shoes, we know what to do and what not to do, and we, we offer up this solution and we'd love to talk through your current operation and how it works. And maybe, if you tweak here or try something here, add a person here. I think it brings a lot about you to the team. It's refreshing, I'm excited.

Blythe Brumleve: 26:55

What are some of those mistakes that that brokerages are making when they're trying to scale?

Chris Fields: 27:01

I think the recruiting team that I mentioned I think is a lot of wasted resources there, a volume play. I think you need to be more selective in who you hire for your salespeople and you know, consider, consider other options and don't get stuck in that Well, we've always done it this way. Let's keep doing it this way. So you know there are different models across the country, from your cradle to grave to ones that just focus on customer relationships and the ones that just focus on customer relationships and hand things off. So you know, find out your identity, who you are and hire the right people.

Blythe Brumleve: 27:36

And then, outside of that, how do you, I guess, think about sales and marketing when it comes to to Zell? Is marketing a focus right now or maybe a focus in the future? How do you guys think about the sales and marketing relationship?

Chris Fields: 27:52

It's like I said, the concept isn't new. I think it's bringing awareness to a lot that don't know about it, but then also letting them know who we are. That's been in my first four or five months here, because they talk to the other companies that do outsourcing, but the single compliment that we get the most is the team. It's wait a minute, you've built teams. Not everyone else can say that, so I think that's that brings a lot of value to a company, whether they work with us or not. We talk through things and make suggestions and go from there.

Blythe Brumleve: 28:26

So what would, what would your? I guess maybe two or three things that you think that freight brokerages or freight brokerages need to be thinking about. You know, new years coming up 2024. People are probably already budgeting and planning for it and putting those things in place. What should they be thinking about? You know, with all of your experience in the freight brokerage world and now with your outsourcing experience, what should be some of those top things that freight brokerages should be thinking about if they want to survive through this tough market.

Chris Fields: 28:57

I want to be ahead of things. You know the I think the typical cycle in our industry is 26 to 28 months and I read that we're in month 22 right now. So it is coming. Whether it's the beginning of 24 or middle of next year, it will change and I think those who make changes now will kind of surge ahead of everyone when it when it does flip. I saw it flip many times over the years and you know there are good tech options out there. It's finding the right ones that fit your model. Don't just buy everything that's that's being sold out there. Find the right ones that fit your company's model and get the right people and then, when you do have the right people, do everything you can to keep them.

Blythe Brumleve: 29:41

They're few and far between and don't let them go, because they're the relationship builders.

Chris Fields: 29:44

Don't let them go.

Blythe Brumleve: 29:45

You can you mentioned it earlier in the conversation, you know walk that fine balanced line of adopting technology but also investing in your top people. All right, chris. Yeah, anything else that you think is important to mention that we haven't already discussed?

Chris Fields: 30:01

No, no, it's great to talk to you. I just think that, like we said, it's changing and I want I don't like seeing the companies going out of business. I don't like seeing the convoy, although I'm happy about the flex port rumors. I think that's a great fit for former convoy employees and flex port. So I hope that happens. But you know, I built my book on carrier relationships and it's important to me. We're nothing without them and I really think that we got to do everything we can to help them survive in a tough market.

Blythe Brumleve: 30:33

Well, any tips on helping carriers also survive in a top market.

Chris Fields: 30:37

Just don't spend you know, don't spend your time interviewing people like we talked about. That might not be a good fit and we'll leave. There are options out there. Focus on driving revenue for your company and then, if you get savings, put that towards assets or more sales people or, you know, whatever it may be, just to help you get through this, because it will flip again and I think we're poised to see, you know, a surge next year.

Blythe Brumleve: 31:03

Awesome. Well, I mean great, great perspective, great insight. Chris, where can folks follow more of your work? You know, check out Zell. You know all that good stuff.

Chris Fields: 31:13

Yeah, just www. zelh. com. And then you know my email address is chris. fields@zehl. com. So happy to talk to anyone and I want to help as many people as we can. Perfect.

Blythe Brumleve: 31:25

Awesome. Yeah, they're going to need it heading into, you know, 2024 with all the drama that's going on, but hopefully the dust is starting to settle a little bit, and I think so, especially what it was that comparison with, like forest fires, like they, you know, sometimes you got to burn down the forest for the new growth to emerge, and maybe that's what we're witnessing now. So, again, chris, thank you so much for coming on the show and I'll put all the links to contact you in the show notes. Thanks, boy. I hope you enjoyed this episode of Everything is Logistics, a podcast for the thinkers in freight, telling the stories behind how your favorite stuff and people get from point A to B. Subscribe to the show, sign up for our newsletter and follow our socials over at everythingislogisticscom. And in addition to the podcast, I also wanted to let y'all know about another company I operate, and that's Digital Dispatch, where we help you build a better website. Now, a lot of the times, we hand this task of building a new website or refreshing a current one off to a co-worker's child, a neighbor down the street or a stranger around the world, where you probably spend more time explaining the freight industry than it takes to actually build the dang website. Well, that doesn't happen at Digital Dispatch. We've been building online since 2009, but we're also early adopters of AI, automation and other website tactics that help your company to be a central place to pull in all of your social media posts, recruit new employees and give potential customers a glimpse into how you operate your business. Our new website builds start as low as $1,500, along with ongoing website management, maintenance and updates starting at $90 a month, plus some bonus, freight marketing and sales content similar to what you hear on the podcast. You can watch a quick explainer video over on DigitalDispatchio. Just check out the pricing page once you arrive and you can see how we can build your digital ecosystem on a strong foundation. Until then, I hope you enjoyed this episode. I'll see you all real soon and go Jags.

About the Author

Blythe Brumleve
Blythe Brumleve
Creative entrepreneur in freight. Founder of Digital Dispatch and host of Everything is Logistics. Co-Founder at Jax Podcasters Unite. Board member of Transportation Marketing and Sales Association. Freightwaves on-air personality. Annoying Jaguars fan. test

To read more about Blythe, check out her full bio here.