After a decadelong career in education, our next guest discovered the world of transportation and hasn't looked back, becoming a freight broker and founding her own company, Tru Logistics.

Trudie Ives, thank you so much for being here.

Thank you so much for having me.

So, you took a leap.

You were a teacher for almost a decade, or a decade, and then you threw that away in the best way to follow your heart, your dream, a gut feeling you had.

Tell us about that.

Yeah, it was honestly definitely a surprise for me because I always thought that education was set in stone.

I had amazing teachers when I was in high school, Mr. Hubbs, Ms. Tobin, Mr. Merfidie.

I can still remember.

And I wanted to emulate that.

And I had wonderful experiences in the classroom and I had, I created bonds with my students, and it was absolutely amazing.

But timing in life is everything.

Yeah.

Yeah, I had...

I always had transportation somewhere in my life, right?

My uncle was a tractor trailer, a driver in Jamaica.

And up here, he owned a trucking company, a towing company.

And I even met a lady who had her own international shipping business, which I was completely intrigued by, but I didn't think twice about it.

It wasn't until my husband decided to start his own trucking business that I was like, "Oh, this is new."

Yeah.

Yeah.

[Arlene] And it was relatable.

Absolutely, definitely.

And during spring break, he would say, "Hey, let's go on the road."

So I would go on the road with him and I learned how to load a vehicle onto a trailer, how to strap it down.

And I loved it so much that I actually got my CDL, which is my commercial driver's license.

So I can actually drive those tractor trailers if I wanted to.

Oh, wow.

Yeah.

So it was definitely a wonderful experience, but I gravitated more towards the logistics side, which is behind the scenes.

And that's how I started my business.

And I can't think of a more male-dominated industry than, you know, freight brokering and truck driving and things of that nature because you don't hear about women behind the wheel or even having anything to do with that industry.

So tell me more about, what exactly does a freight broker do?

Yeah, so a freight broker is essentially like the middle-man, or in my case, the middle-woman.

So we basically arrange transportation for shippers.

So we just help them ship their goods from point A to point B.

A lot of people don't think about it, but your groceries.

Oh wow.

Right?

Your clothes that you wear, those are being transported in vehicles and in tractor trailers.

And in my case, we specialize in transporting autos.

Right, so only auto transport.

Correct.

What does your clientele look like?

Is it high end or is it just anybody who might need a ride, they're moving, you know?

Yeah, there's definitely a range.

So we work with dealers, we work with snowbirds, we work with people who are purchasing vehicles from the auto auctions.

So it could be local, it could be throughout the United States.

And a lot of our clients are local movers or people that are moving from one state to the next.

And when you're moving, there's just so much going on that you don't wanna be bothered with driving from state to state.

And so we just pick their vehicles up and deliver it.

So it's one less thing for them to worry about.

And I can just sit here and imagine all the potential challenges you faced in this male-dominated industry.

Starting a business, you had never started one before.

Being a teacher, what were the challenges that you had to sort of figure out?

Yeah, there were definitely some challenges I had to navigate.

The first thing was letting my family know that I was leaving teaching to start a business.

They were surprised, to say the least.

So that was definitely a challenge.

But also, you know, tapping into an industry that I'm new, right?

I went to school to be an educator and now I'm doing something completely different.

So I had to research.

I try to reach out to people who are also brokers so I can learn.

I even worked at a brokerage so I can just have a little bit of experience.

And, of course, we're in many hats, right?

When you're an entrepreneur, you're balancing so many things.

And so you're able to hire, you know, employees that can take on some of those roles.

So, definitely challenges along the way.

What was that spark inside of you that, you know, you have this career, "I'm going to leave it behind."

You probably already knew your family was going to take issue with it 'cause they're looking out for you.

Of course.

What was that inspiration, that energy that kept you going?

I...

It was completely new for me, right?

I've always done things calculated.

I knew what I wanted, I knew I wanted to go to college, I knew I wanted to be an educator.

So this is a huge risk, but I just had that feeling inside, that intuition, that was like, "Do this," "Try it," you know, "Go out in a leap."

And I followed it because I've noticed in life that when I follow that little voice in my head, I usually can't go wrong, so... And if you don't follow it, that maybe not so good.

Absolutely, absolutely.

Definitely some issues along the way.

Right.

And what was, you know, one of the things that I think someone going into something new, what happens is, you learn a lot about yourself.

So tell me about that.

What did you learn potentially about yourself that you didn't know before?

Good, bad, great.

Yeah, so, I definitely struggled with imposter syndrome for a while because, you know, I've had situations where I'm dealing with a carrier or a shipper and they're like, "Well, I wanna speak to the boss."

And I'm like, "But I am the boss," you know?

And they assume that it's a male.

Or in situations where, you know, you have to have your numbers in order.

Because at the end of the day, this is a cyclical business, right?

So definitely a lot of learning experiences for me.

Well, who's your biggest cheerleader, right?

Everyone needs one.

Yes.

Without a doubt, that's my husband.

From the day I told him, I was like, "I really like this broker thing, I love working with people, I have a passion for helping people."

I was like, "I wanna start this business."

And he just said, "Go for it."

Like, there was just no doubt in his mind that I couldn't accomplish whatever it was that I set my mind to.

So, he is... My husband, Richard, is the best.

That must mean a lot to you.

It says a lot about him too.

Absolutely.

I'm definitely very grateful and very blessed to have him by my side.

He is literally my partner, my rock, if you will.

I love that.

I love that.

And you are giving me some insider information that we will detail.

However, you bring a little something to the industry that other people don't.

Yes, there is unfortunately a culture, a little bit of negativity with the culture of brokers.

There's a lot of, a little bit of predatory practices.

And I definitely didn't want that in my business.

My business is Tru Logistics for a reason, right?

It's trust, reliability, and understanding.

And I'm passionate about helping people.

And to be honest, a lot of my customers are referrals, right?

"You ship my neighbor's car for me."

"My daughter's going back to college and she needs her vehicle shipped.

Can you help?"

And once my customers say, can you help, and they know that we can do that for them, it just builds from there, so...

I love it.

And another reason why we loved you for our segment today based on Women's History Month, is that you're an advocate and on the board as advocacy chair for the National Association of Womens Business Owners.

So bravo to you for putting in that time.

Tell us about that and how they've also helped you and your business, and what's your role and your mission.

Of course, so NAWBO like you said, is the National Association of Women Business Owners.

They've been around since 1975.

And their mission is to basically empower women business owners, whether that's economically, socially, or politically.

And they are 60 chapters strong.

I'm a part of the South Florida chapter.

We encompass Miami-Dade, West Palm Beach, Broward County, and that's an extended support system, right?

Because you have other business owners that understand the challenges that you go through.

And we're there to help each other and build each other up.

And I am the advocacy chair.

And as such, I listen to the concerns that our local members have, and I take that back to the national level.

And they try to make changes with legislation and, you know, help out women business owners.

How does NAWBO support local businesses here, the chapter that you are a part of?

You mentioned that they do take it back to their corporate office.

So tell us a little bit more about that and workshops, events, things of that nature.

Yeah.

Actually our main events is our monthly dinner meetings, which is always an educational topic that's relatable to women business owners.

That happens to second Thursday of every month.

We also have virtual meetings for those that can't make it out.

And there's networking events as well as far as little coffee meetups.

So, whatever we need, whatever our members need, we're there to support because we have women business owners that have been in business for a year, two years to 20 plus years.

So that experience is there, and they're able to offer insight for all of the members.

What's your advice to women that want to succeed in their business that have these high hopes and sometimes doesn't always work out, but what would be your advice?

I would... Can I say two things?

You can say everything.

I would definitely say align yourself with likeminded individuals because that's really important.

And, of course, define success on your own terms, right?

Because it could be making six figures, making seven figures, it could be just having a work life balance, right?

So define what success looks like to you.

And then if you have a little voice in your head saying, "Go for it," then go for it.

You can't go wrong.

Trudie Ives, so much insight and inspiration too.

And you're also helping other women out there, so thank you so much for being here and sharing your story.

Thank you so much for having me.