The Freight Agent Trenches with Steve Burroughs

Recording live from Vancouver, SPI freight agent Steve Burroughs joins the show to discuss the challenges and perks of working with family. Steve shares how he and his wife started working together and eventually brought on their children and daughter-in-law to work for their company. He admits that working with family can be difficult and requires many humbling lessons, but emphasizes the positive benefits of the family dynamic in the workplace. Connect with Steve on LinkedinWHAT YOU'LL LEARN: The listener will learn about a family-owned freight brokerage business, including their unique family dynamic, experience in the industry, and approach to running their business with integrity and honesty. The episode also discusses the capabilities of SPI Logistics to support freight brokers with technology and back-office support, as well as the importance of trust and authenticity in the freight industry. TIMESTAMPS:[00:01:11] Working with family.[00:03:17] Diverse experience in the transportation industry.[00:08:56] Empathy in the freight industry.[00:09:55] Freight brokerages and technology.[00:13:19] Switching companies and loyalty.[00:16:23] Business technology stack.[00:23:56] Multi-generational business growth.[00:28:32] Working remotely with Zoom.[00:32:48] Preparing for the future.QUOTABLES: 00:02:27 - "I mean, we're family and the business will not come ahead of the family because the minute that it does, I'll shut the business down."00:05:42 - "$200 a week was life-altering for us."00:08:32 - "We do everything with integrity."00:10:30 - "They wanted to go home or they wanted to stop and see a girlfriend."00:12:39 - "You won't get him."00:16:19 - "and a lot of things we didn't know we were looking for in SPI."00:17:29 - "SPI has tailored our needs into the program. So and we'll ask for something and I'll say, hey, this will make our lives better. This will make our business faster. OK, well, we'll make it happen. And they do. And so that has made all the difference in our business."00:20:30 - "And I'm not going to have to work as hard to do that."00:24:40 - "It is our competitive advantage."00:27:22 - "I never want to be thought of as a kitchen table broker."00:29:38 - "Yeah. How I can take more time off."00:33:17 - "You guys have a very powerful story to tell working on all different sides of the business."-----------------------------------------THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS!SPI Logistics has been a Day 1 supporter of this podcast which is why we're proud to promote them in every episode. During that time, we've gotten to know the team and their agents to confidently say they are the best home for freight agents in North America for 40 years and counting. Listen to past episodes to hear why.CargoRex is the search engine for the logistics industry—connecting LSPs with the right tools, services, events, and creators to explore, discover, and evolve.Digital Dispatch maximizes and manages your #1 sales tool with a website that establishes trust and builds rock-solid relationships with your leads and customers.