BLP 368: We Doubled Our Trucking Company, Then 2025 Hit

Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/qF-YbIEGZJM Rob and Kate have been together since high school. Years ago they took over the family farm and trucking operation, doubled the business, and then watched 2025 turn into the hardest year of their lives. In this episode they get honest about what it actually takes to run a trucking company as a husband and wife team. The 16-hour days through the freight recession. The financial calls that kept them up at night. The hardest decision they ever had to make. And how they protected their marriage and their kids while fighting to keep the trucks moving. If you run a fleet, drive for one, or you are trying to survive this market alongside the people you love, this conversation is going to hit home.   Chapters 00:00 A Different Company Than the Last Time We Talked 01:51 Building Trucking Jobs Young Families Actually Want 02:50 Why Kate Walked Away From Her Career 05:39 Cutting Costs by Bringing Everything In-House 08:00 How They Doubled the Business in 5 Years 09:14 "2025 Was a Bloodbath" 09:34 When the Freight Recession Followed Them Home 10:52 The Support That Got Them Through the Worst Year 13:23 Trauma Bonding and Mental Health in Trucking 15:40 Yin and Yang: How Two Opposites Run a Company 17:21 "I Haven't Seen Our Bank Account in 5 Years" 17:53 Why Rob Has to Pitch His Own Wife to Buy a Truck 22:15 "I Have a Name": More Than the Owner's Wife 22:46 The Hardest Call They Ever Had to Make 26:43 Retire at 52? Building the Long-Term Vision 29:10 Working Yourself Out of Your Own Business 30:05 The One Job Rob Can't Replace: Sales 34:07 Will Their Kids Take Over the Family Business? 38:01 Legacy Without Setting Your Kids Up to Fail 41:30 Real Advice for Surviving a Freight Recession 43:46 The Covid Mistake That Cost Them Later 45:36 Who's Really in Your Corner When It Gets Hard 50:06 Closing: People Serving People BulkLoads.com - https://www.bulkloads.com/?utm_source=YouTube&utm_medium=Video&utm_campaign=Grover_Podcast Bulk Insurance Group - https://www.bulkinsurancegroup.com/?utm_source=YouTube&utm_medium=Video&utm_campaign=Grover_Podcast BulkLoads Factoring - https://www.smartfreightfunding.com/?utm_source=YouTube&utm_medium=Video&utm_campaign=Grover_Podcast BulkLoads TMS - https://www.bulktms.com/?utm_source=YouTube&utm_medium=Video&utm_campaign=Grover_Podcast BulkInsights - https://www.bulkfreightinsights.com/?utm_source=YouTube&utm_medium=Video&utm_campaign=Grover_Podcast