Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Alexis Johnson. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Alexis, appreciate you joining us today. How did you come up with the idea for your business?
I was dating a truck driver once. I loved riding on the road with him, minus the fact that I had to shower in a shared bathroom at a truck stop. Over time I fell in love with riding in trucks. I knew they always made good money. I said to myself I’m going to own a trucking business one day. I don’t care where I have to start, Granted I’m coming from a healthcare background, so I knew I had to do some major research. I knew I had to build my credit to purchase a semi-truck. After losing my daughter’s father to gun violence I pushed it off. I was in a dark place because I didn’t know how I was going to become a single parent. I was diagnosed with depression and anxiety a few years prior, but this made it worse. I didn’t exactly know how I was going to tell my daughter that her dad was never coming home again. Fast forward here it is 2020 the pandemic hits not only am I working in a cancer hospital, but I also lost the only woman that made my world make sense my loving grandmother. My depression got even worse, I was grieving and working an emotional job with patients dying from covid and cancer. One day I was having a conversation with my friend/mentor. I was explaining to her my dreams and goals and how I have repaired my credit. She said why don’t you start a freight dispatching company then build your way up in the trucking industry. I said I don’t know how she taught me and mentored me and now I run a successful freight dispatching company. I have also written an ebook on how to start your own freight dispatch company. I also teach virtual and in person classes on how to start as well and I mentor my students as well. Once I realized I could learn the trucking business with little to no money I took it and ran with it. My mentor made me realize that I could use my freight dispatching company to fund my trucking business. I felt like this was the best approach I could have taken instead of putting myself in more debt and my trucking business would be paying my debt instead of me seeing any profit. I now enjoy dispatching and doing the back office work for owner operators they have taught me so much and give me advice on the daily on what to do and what not to do when I purchase my big rig which is in the works as we speak.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers
I was born in a small town by the name of Albany, GA the home of the great Ray Charles. I am the youngest of my mom’s children and my dad’s only girl. My parents divorced when I was 7. I spent my life in split households. I mainly was with my aunt Valiere and god dad Robert a lot more than i was with either of them, If I wasn’t with my granny I was with my aunt Valiere and god dad Robert. I graduated from public schools. I obtained my high school diploma in 2011 and from that point forward I had a college career. I went to school for Certified Nursing Assistant, Pharmacy Tech, Billing and Coding, Medical Assistant, and Healthcare Management. Back in 2015 I received my CNA certificate and landed my first job making $7.87/hr. I thought I had it going on I only had to pay a car note and car insurance. One day a light bulb went off it has to be more out there for me. I called my father (I’m what you call a daddy’s girl) I said “daddy come get me!” I knew I had to get my life together before I became a small town statistic. My dad flew in on July 24, 2016 I packed all my clothes up in my car in a trash bag with sight or vision of what I was gonna do next but on July 26, 2016 I changed my address. My first job was at a local walmart as a cashier making $10/hr. Coming from making $7.87/hr to $10/hr you couldn’t tell me anything. I then transferred my CNA licence to Texas worked as a CNA in a nursing home. Then 5 months into the job I became pregnant. I had to stop working there due to the physical work that was done. I then got hired at the #1 Cancer Center in the world, M. D, Anderson Cancer Center. I have been a product of the state ever since. I made the proper sacrifices to keep elevating in life. I still had my dream of owning a truck one day and I was elevating in life to obtain the funds for that truck. My life came crashing down in November 2019 when my daughter’s father was taken away from us. I was then prescribed a stronger dose of depression medications then March 2020 I lost my grandmother. After i grieved and moped for so long I put my big girl panties on and got trained to become a dispatcher from my mentor/friend. I now run a successful dispatching company. I also teach dispatching courses and I’m an author of a dispatch EBook. I personally feel like my business stands out because I form relationships with my drivers and we become family. My students we become family I am their biggest cheerleader. I want to see them all succeed. My drivers sit and talk 5 days a week sometimes all day so there’s no need to make the conversations weird. I’m always asking about the wife and kids. Is it any activities that you need to be home for or doctors appointments? I make sure I listen to them. Every driver I sign up lets me know how much it means to them to be able to tell me they are taking time off and I’m okay with it. Granted I don’t make money when the truck doesn’t move but these drivers need a mental break sometimes or need to see their kids or family. I dated a driver before and sometimes he would be frustrated because he couldn’t make it home to see me or his family. I vowed to never be that person whether i’m a dispatcher or a boss to someone who is driving my truck. I would want the world to know I provide exceptional dispatch services and I teach affordable dispatch courses. They can book their classes or get information on our website.
Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?
I built my audience on social media with consistently posting. I created a business facebook page and linked to a business instagram as well. They have it where you can boost ads. With the ads you can set a budget which i love because you don’t have to spend an expensive amount of money. However, if you’re like me and have depression. You will have days that you don’t wanna be social. I schedule my content for the week, and I don’t have to worry about getting on social media for the day unless a potential client reaches out to me. My advice to any upcoming business owner is to post consistently three times a day morning, noon, and evening. Join groups, don’t be shy to network and post content! You can do this and never get discouraged that a friend or family member didn’t like or share your post because guess what? Your most support comes from strangers!
Where do you think you get most of your clients from?
When it comes to building my clientele believe it or not, I have gained all my drivers and students from facebook and instagram. Of course i have passed out business cards but social media has been the best source for me to build clientele.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.amarielogistics.net
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/amarielogistics_/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/amarielogistics
Image Credits
Pictures: Soreli Estevis Make Up: Jabrell Hollins