Owner of Find a Way Shipping, Elizabeth Orton is providing jobs for people in her community, and proud to be a leader in the trucking industry.

She is the owner of Find a Way Shipping, a family-based business Elizabeth started with her cousin in Dayton, Ohio. They specialize in moving high-end furniture shipments, especially for EBTH (Everything But the House). Moving furniture surely comes easy to these two athletes. Elizabeth played Division I basketball at Wright State, and her cousin is an NBA player.

Elizabeth started picking up so many shipments, she’s built her own fleet of carriers who all offer room of choice services and in-home delivery services. She believes strong communication makes for a smooth delivery, and great service.

Four-Fold Capacity

Business has been non-stop ever since Elizabeth jumped on uShip in July 2018. To show just how fast they are growing, consider how quickly she added to her fleet. After starting with one cargo van in July, she bought a 5×10 trailer in October to add capacity.  Then one month later, she bought a second cargo van, and then in December she wrapped up the year by purchasing a 26’ box truck. She reports being able to keep all her vehicles full and running.

As a female business owner, Elizabeth has come across some struggles, mostly around perceptions of men working for woman. She considers these snide comments from customers just a bump in the road that don’t deter her enthusiasm for the business.

To Elizabeth, being a female transporter means “living” and freedom to be her own boss. When she’s out on the road, she’s able to clear her mind and thoughts. There’s something meditative about being behind the wheel.

We applaud Elizabeth’s dedication to her company, herself, and her community. She’s passionate about being a female owner in the transportation industry. Keeping her team going and encouraging high-quality transportation, communication, and delivery shows grit and integrity. Find a Way Shipping can rest easy knowing a powerful woman is at the helm of their ship.

Watch Elizabeth’s story here:

Read about four other outstanding women of trucking here.

The post How One Woman Grew Her Truck Fleet Four-Fold in Just Six Months appeared first on The uShip Blog.

It all started in 2010. When Melissa’s husband Dustin lost his father, who lived in Manteca in the Central Valley of California. As the pair found themselves driving up and down I-5 (the north-south corridor that runs from Mexico to Canada) as they collected his things, they realized carrying loads for other folks could be a smart way to recoup the costs of their travels.

During those days, Melissa ran a full-time daycare business, caring for 12 children. Dustin was a general contractor. Eventually, their transport business took off so much that Melissa was able to leave her daycare job, and hit the road with Dustin.

Melissa and Dustin Derma have booked over 700 shipments on uShip since 2011.

The duo has their system down pat: Melissa focuses on handling quotes, bookings, communications and paperwork, while Dustin is typically in charge of driving and loading, with help as needed from his wife. They’ve worked with uShip for seven years, and find 90 percent of their business on the site. The business is focused primarily on motorcycles and smaller household items, such as a few pieces of furniture. In addition, they sometimes carry items for uShip In-Home Delivery partners Chairish and SixPenny.

Melissa and Dustin started off with a 14-foot trailer, but have since upgraded to a 20-foot trailer. The pair spend their days split 50/50 between their transport business and Dustin’s contracting work. They credit uShip with elevating their business.

Shipments around here come in all varieties

For Melissa and Dustin, being on the road together means one thing above all else: teamwork. Having been married 25 years, living as empty nesters, they say they’ve always run businesses together. At first, Melissa remembers, she was a little uncomfortable dipping her toes into the transport industry. In the seven years since, however, she’s grown confident in her contributions to her craft.

Melissa prides herself on customer communications, knowing it can make all the difference in a successful delivery. Her most memorable dropoff? A victim of a California wildfire who cried upon receiving a new sofa after having lost everything in the blaze. For Melissa, Dustin, and all of us in the logistics and transport industry, experiences like this are what it’s all about.

Watch Melissa’s story here:

Read about four other outstanding women of trucking here.

The post How These Empty-Nesters Found Freedom on the Open Road appeared first on The uShip Blog.

Heather Hoover is uShip’s longest-tenured employee

It’s a claim to fame around these parts, as Team uShip has grown to more than 200 employees. She’s been with the company for 14 years, since the earliest days in 2005 before iPhones, Amazon Prime, and “the cloud.” She has worn just about every hat in the building at some point, molding her into a well-rounded logistics professional.

These days, Heather is a key member of our leadership team, holding the position of Executive Vice President of Operations. In her position, she oversees departments including HR, People Operations, Customer Support, Less-than-Truckload and uShip Logistics operations, and account management.

Women Of Trucking

“If you told me when I graduated from the University of Texas that I’d spend the first 14 years of my career in logistics, I’d have thought you were crazy,” Heather says.

While still attending UT, Heather started her career at uShip as a PR and Customer Trust & Safety intern. Since those days, she’s advanced throughout the Customer Trust and Safety department, eventually becoming the Vice President of Customer Operations before moving into her current role.

Heather’s also a two-time finalist in the Austin Business Journal’s Profiles in Power & Women of Influence in Central Texas, an awards program that recognizes women in Central Texas who have forged their own path and developed their own leadership principles.

Heather describes her time at uShip as career-defining, as she’s had the chance to become an infallible expert in a field typically dominated by males. She credits these challenges with learning to navigate, learn, adjust and identify opportunities for growth. As well, she’s honed her mentorship skills, on both ends of the spectrum.

Career & Life

Now in her mid-30s with a son and another on the way, Heather is proud of her place within the industry. While she isn’t behind the wheel or sitting in a dispatch office, her career and knowledge demonstrate that the logistics industry is as vast and elaborate as the collective of people who make it the wheels turn.

Being on the technology side of things, however, is a part of the job Heather is excited to be a part of. Transitioning an old-school industry to one teeming with new growth and innovation is at the heart of uShip’s mission.

In fact, 40 percent of the uShip team is female, from developers and engineers to managers, executives and interns. uShip is dedicated to diversity. From our continued mission to even the playing field for hiring within the tech space, to hosting Women Who Code ‘Lightning Talks’ in our office, we consistently take steps to continue this mission.

With Heather and all the women who make up the uShip team, we’re thrilled to continue supporting women in logistics and for our opportunity to keep the wheels of our industry rolling.

Read about four other outstanding women of trucking here.

The post From Intern to EVP, uShip’s Salomon In It For the Long Haul appeared first on The uShip Blog.

“I’ve always loved driving, and I’ve always loved traveling,” Stephanie says.

Transport seemed like the perfect solution for Stephanie, who was eager to earn more in her driving job than she had in years in the tech world. Once she’d started driving, she was surprised at how hospitable her new industry was – no ageism, no gender discrimination, and no pay gap.

“It was surprising to see that in trucking,” Stephanie remembers, reflecting on the perceived irony of the situation.

Stephanie’s partner of 26 years, Christine, eventually joined her on the road as well, leaving a teaching career that was quickly becoming a paltry endeavor compared to the success Stephanie was finding on the road. Today, the pair team up to drive long distances without needing to stop for sleep.

“It’s nice because we can finally just be together all the time,” says Stephanie, “we’ve got a sleeper unit and while one drives, the other rests.”

The pair can make it from Montreal to California in about two and a half days, an efficiency factor that helps them quickly deliver the refrigerated produce they typically carry from California back to Quebec and Ontario. The bulk of the goods they carry go this direction – California northward – so anything picked up on the road south serves as ancillary income that makes each trip more lucrative and efficient.

Transporting refrigerated goods certainly has its fair share of challenges – primarily weather and road conditions that can cause delays.

“When you’re driving through Wyoming or someplace really cold, like negative 10, mechanical breakdown means you have very little time – 30 to 60 minutes – before the cargo freezes and becomes spoiled,” she says about carrying delicate cargo like fresh produce.

Together, Stephanie and Christine spend their days in their 53-foot tractor-trailer unit, exploring North America along the way. Together, they’re proving the industry isn’t just open to women – it’s a welcoming, fruitful and downright pleasant space for women.

“It’s the last thing you’d expect,” Stephanie says.

See Stephanie’s story here:

Read about four other outstanding women of trucking here.

The post Transgender Reefer Driver Finds Warm, Lucrative Welcome on the Road appeared first on The uShip Blog.

Woman of Trucking Jacinda Duran

Behind the wheel, we have Jacinda Duran of Peoria, Ariz., a driver for Plycar Automotive Logistics. You might also know her as ‘Jacinda Lady Truck’n’ on Facebook.

Jacinda’s love for trucking is ingrained through her family. She is a third generation lady trucker, following in the footsteps of her mother, who drove for 23 years, and her grandmother, who drove for over 50 years. On top of that, her second cousin is Marc Springer, who starred in A&E reality series Shipping Wars (100 episodes from 2012-2015).

Life & Carrer | Woman of Trucking

Starting off as a local FedEx driver over four years ago, Jacinda moved to a longer, consistent, dedicated route, delivering oxygen tanks. Today, she’s behind the wheel of a 53′ enclosed high-end car hauler, driving for Plycar Automotive Logistics. On any given day, her 42,000 Instagram followers will see her at a frozen truckstop in Wisconsin, performing in-cab karaoke, or dealing with a blown tire outside of Salt Lake City.

To Jacinda, trucking represents freedom. She loves that it’s just her and the open road, and she has the opportunity to make every day an adventure.

With trucking, she has found more than a dream job, she has found her passion.

“It’s amazing that it’s inspiring people just by sharing my passion,” Jacinda says.

In a predominantly male industry, when Jacinda sees other women out on the road, she has the utmost respect for their boldness. Inspiring other women to get into trucking is Jacinda’s favorite way to celebrate women in trucking, and many of the women of trucking already know Jacinda.

She’s honored that other women in the trucking industry come to her regularly to seek advice on trucking when they want to know how to get into the business, and how they can benefit the most from it. She’s a wealth of knowledge about the industry, and the actual job of transporting anything from small packages to high-end vehicles.

As uShip sought fitting stories of women in the trucking industry, we were inspired by Jacinda’s strength and tenacity. TO us, she represents a powerful woman in trucking. We invite you to join us in celebrating Jacinda, the women of trucking, and all women as we celebrate International Women’s Day on March 8 this year.

Watch Jacinda’s story here:

Update (9/21/2020): Did you see a familiar Lady Trucker on the 2020 Emmy Awards? The Emmy’s asked essential workers around the country to present awards in 2020, and of course, they asked Jacinda to present the award for outstanding supporting actress in a limited series or movie. We’re so happy to see the entertainment industry celebrate essential workers like Jacinda in such a unique way!

 

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Read about four other outstanding women of trucking here.

The post Third-Generation Lady Trucker Finds Dream Job in Long Haul appeared first on The uShip Blog.