James Dowd: Lessons in Business Perseverance

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Business owners dream of achieving overnight success. While we all want fast growth, most of us take a little longer to reach our goals. My guest today is one of the few who has seen massive success in his company in a short amount of time. His lessons in business perseverance will inspire you to try something different with your business.

My guest today is James Dowd, a co-founder of Iuvo Logistics. Iuvo provides freight forwarding and brokerage services, and they are a part of the $700 billion industry that employes 6% of all jobs in the United States. Iuvo has achieved an unbelievable 1,467% growth in just 3 years. They were recently listed as #310 on Inc’s list of 5,000 fastest growing companies. 

A Fast Growth

What has led to Iuvo’s incredible success? At 3:00, James puts it simply: “a journey of making some good moves.” James credits the team’s business perseverance for taking them from a small brokerage company to a corporation with more than 20 trucks. He and his business partner saw growth opportunities, and were brave enough to take a risk on them. 

Listening to the Competition

As a business owner, you may not think to ask the competition for help. Listen at 7:05 where James discusses how listening to the competition has helped Iuvo cut costs and streamline their process. A friendly competitor advised them to buy their trailers. Now, instead of paying a monthly rental fee and cost per mile, Iuvo owns its trailers outright. 

Surviving Minor Stubs

While Iuvo’s growth has been fast, Dowd says it has not been easy. At 10:00, he talks about the many “toe stubs” that could have been knockouts, if it were not for his business perseverance. One example is when they were dropped from their insurance in March of 2019. Despite this setback, they found a solution and were able to survive. 

Taking an Opportunity

Part of  business perseverance means taking opportunities as they come. Listen at 11:20 where James discusses how Iuvo broke into the asset business. During an interview with a potential freight broker, they overheard a conversation about carriers and dropped loads. At that moment, they realized they needed to be on that side of the business. 

A Small Town Headquarters

Iuvo Logistics is based out of Dayton, Ohio. Some people may wonder why the business does not have a headquarters in a major metropolitan area. At 14:30, Dowd explains how this decision was a monetary one. Between operating costs and insurance rates, it is simply too expensive to operate out of a city like New York City. 

Iuvo has disrupted the industry in how it hires drivers. Previously, if something went wrong, the driver did not get paid. Iuvo made a change, and switched driving to a salary position. This practice has made it easier for them to recruit and retain quality drivers. 

Stay tuned for Part 2 of my interview with James where we discuss more on how Iuvo has achieved such fast growth in a mature agency. 

If you liked my interview with James, download more episodes of The Profit Express to inspire you on the road to success.