Paying Drivers MORE The Secret to the Fastest Growing New Logistics Company in Australia
On Episode 24 of the “Future of Australia” podcast, I speak with Luke Sadler, Director and Co-Founder of SGS Logistics, a contract logistics company which grew 43% last financial year, to do over $10.2 MILLION in annual revenue.
This made SGS Logistics, on the Financial Review list of 100 fastest growing new companies in Australia, the FASTEST GROWING new logistics business in Australia.
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We Discuss...
- Spending a decade plus working in logistics and transportation, after several years of living and working abroad, before stumbling into it by accident
- Meeting a Managing Director or a large logistics and transportation company at a friend’s birthday party who ended up recruiting him to work in sales
- Becoming confident enough in their own abilities and beliefs on how things should be done, and deciding that they either needed to stop complaining, or do something about it and go out on their own
- Why owner-occupier truck drivers can be negotiated all the way down to $1 per hour, and end up being significantly under-paid
- “Making less gross profit, so that you can make more net profit” and why unhappy, underpaid drivers actually hurt the bottom line in the long run
- Quoting market rates to their clients, but spending more of their revenue on drivers, rather than spending costs in sales, marketing, customer service and recruitment, dealing with the flow-on issues of under-paid drivers
- Selecting the niche of “contract logistics” and having drivers who are dedicated to particular customers, without any ad hoc component
- The client suggestion of starting with one driver, and being able to use that as a proof point to get their foot in the door, and leverage the strategy
- Why many drivers were skeptical in the early days of similar companies “who has promised the world but delivered an atlas”, and why the message of higher pay still required them to take a leap of faith
- Why they give prospective clients a list of every single client phone number, so they can call any of them and ask about the experience, rather than picking the best or happiest clients
- Why they let drivers call and talk to their existing drivers, and find out for themselves what it is like, but why they now get most of their drivers via referrals
- Understanding how important the drivers are to their business, and treating them well, not just in terms of paying them right, but in terms of fixing pay mistakes ASAP, on the same day, not taking 6-8 weeks to solve it
- Growing to a big enough size so that they can create better impact across the entire logistics industry, ensuring the drivers are paid well enough, and treated with the respect that they deserve
- “Pay them properly and treat them well”, to attract and keep the best drivers, as they drivers all talk to one another and know which companies are good to work for and which ones are not
- Australian entrepreneurs who are beginning to back themselves on the world stage, in creating competitive global companies, and avoiding the cultural cringe of the 1970s and 1980s
- “Have a crack and don’t give up” as his advice to his younger self, and why you cannot rush yourself, because each experience builds on the next, and if you are not ready and need to party and travel first, why it pays off in the long run
[ Click Here to Listen to the Podcast in SoundCloud or Listen in iTunes, Listen on Spotify, or search " Future of Australia" or " Derek Stewart" in your iPhone or Android podcast app]
Podcast Episode History:
Episode 1: "Family Business & Real Estate: How Husband and Wife QLD Entrepreneurs Found A Gap in The Market"
Episode 2: "Law & Accounting Firm A.I and Automation + Doubling Revenue TWICE in 12 Months"
Episode 3: "Expat Entrepreneurship & Maximising Your Marketing Dollars"
Episode 4: "Turning a Hobby Selling Quirky Gifts Online Into a Multi-Million Dollar Business"
Episode 5: "Owning 20+ Properties In His 20s to Buying 40 Per MONTH for Clients"
Episode 6: "Engineering Entrepreneurship and Managing BILLION Dollar Assets"
Episode 7: "One Day Away From Shutting Down to 1000% Annual Growth"
Episode 8: "From Losing Your Co-Founder to 59% Growth the Next Year"
Episode 9: "Female Entrepreneurship And Starting a Business 11 Days After Giving Birth"
Episode 10: "From Door-To-Door Salesman To $11 Million Annual Revenue Within FIVE Years"
Episode 11: "From Podiatry Intern to 60+ Employee Health SuperCentre"
Episode 12: "From Selling Burned CDs to $350mm in Annual Revenue"
Episode 13: "Developing a Growth Mindset and Perth Entrepreneurship Going Global"
Episode 14: "From Army Officer to $23mm Annual Revenue Canberra Consultancy in 3 Years"
Episdoe 15: "How High School Best Friends Created One of The Fastest Growing Media Agencies in Australia"
Episode 16: "Creating Entrepreneurs, Corporate Innovation and Helping 10 Year Olds Make $1000+ Per Month"
Episode 17: "From $200,000+ in Credit Card Debt to Seven Figure Annual Income"
Episode 18: "How Construction Consulting Became a Multi-Million Dollar Niche Success"
Episode 19: "Why A Fast Growth Law Firm Embraces Tech and Teaches Its Entrepreneur Clients How to Negotiate"
Episode 20: "From Neuroscience PhD to 70 Employee Fast Growth Consultancy"
Episode 21: "From Inspirational Facebook Posts to the Fastest Growing New Apparel Business in Australia"
Episode 22: "From Sleeping on the Factory Floor to 3rd Fastest Growing New Business in Australia with $40mm+ Annual Revenue"
Episode 23: "From Graduate Finance Job at 18 to Growing Revenue $55 MILLION in 12 Months"
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Hi, my name is Derek. "FUTURE OF AUSTRALIA" is a project I am running to interview the Founders, CEOs and Entrepreneurs behind the FASTEST GROWING new businesses in Australia. These interviews will be turned into podcast episodes, as well as articles.
"FUTURE OF AUSTRALIA" is about interviewing, celebrating and sharing the knowledge, aspirations, struggles, goals and achievements of these people with a broader audience.
If you are interested in contributing, learning more of keeping in the loop with our updates and email newsletter, email me at [email protected], or give me a call or text on 0404 689 897.