Dimitry Alper

Dimitry Alper is the Founder and CEO of the Prestige Shipping Group – a well positioned business within the international shipping industry. As a logistics organization, they are responsible for exporting more than 500,000 automobiles and boats annually from the United States.

Dimitry attended Baruch College, where he obtained his bachelor of arts degree before transitioning to law school. He graduated from the University of New York School of Law and in 2009, completed his Juris Doctor. During that time, he held positions with the New York State Attorney General’s Office and Newman & Okun. Additionally, he received certifications as a mediator in New York, with specializations in civil, corporate and divorce mediation.

Alper spent the next ten years as a licensed practicing attorney in maritime law. His astute knowledge of the industry led to the development of a proprietary software to maximize transportation and courier solutions.

With warehouses set up across the US, Prestige Shipping Group boasts shipments of over 800,000 to a million cars in volume and provides innovative cargo solutions for heavy-duty machinery such as cranes and bulldozers. Dimitry Alper managed to expound his knowledge of maritime law and created a booming business experiencing growth year after year. He looks forward to the continued expansion of his business.

Where did the idea for Prestige Shipping Group come from?

Initially, I was working as a licensed attorney in maritime law when I recognized a need within the industry. I created a niche and found a solution to fulfill the industry’s needs. The idea for the launch of the Prestige Shipping Group was due to the innovative solution that we created and the niche we could fulfill.

What does your typical day look like and how do you make it productive?

On a typical day, I start the morning by scanning emails before I go for my workout. After I come back, I have my breakfast and head to the office. I stay at the office to manage a variety of business operations, address staff, and speak with clients throughout the day. When the day is complete, I go home and spend some time with my family. When it is quiet, I spend another hour or so on the computer before retiring for the evening.

How do you bring ideas to life?

I don’t have a specific method for trying something new or different. I found it useful to just experiment with things. So instead of overthinking it, I just give it a shot and see where it goes. Oftentimes it fails. We succeed once in a while.

What’s one trend that excites you?

In my industry technology excites me. The more technology develops, the easier it is to get things done and the easier it is to communicate. With new technology, you see things that used to take a week and are now taking a day or two. That is progress heading in the right direction.

What is one habit of yours that makes you more productive as an entrepreneur?

I find that organization is key. I keep meticulous notes and calendars for follow-up. I found that to be the most valuable skill I have.

What advice would you give your younger self?

I would tell my younger self to be careful before writing an angry email. It is best not to put an address on it until you read it over the next day. It’s not that unique, but most people don’t follow up. It saves you from making a lot of unintended issues.

Tell us something that’s true that almost nobody agrees with you on.

That there is no proven way to be successful. Success is trial and error, so instead of relying on the opinions of others, have confidence in your own ideas. Take the time to assess your strengths and weaknesses and continue to evaluate what works and what doesn’t.

As an entrepreneur, what is the one thing you do over and over and recommend everyone else do?

As an entrepreneur, it is critical to maintaining relationships with clients and vendors. Face-to- face meetings, I have found, are by far the biggest factor to success when maintaining strong relationships.

What is one strategy that has helped you grow your business?

Locations are very important. The more options you can provide to your clients, the more they’ll gravitate towards doing business with you.

What is one failure you had as an entrepreneur, and how did you overcome it?

Failure is just misjudging the market. In some aspects, it was investing funds where I thought they would give a return. Not all investments do. The only way to overcome it is by limiting your investments to the things you can afford to lose.

What is one business idea that you’re willing to give away to our readers?

It is a generic idea, but I was very successful with it. Whatever field you’re in, research areas that you, as a consumer in that field, recognize as being underserved. See if you could be the one to fill that need.

What is the best $100 you recently spent? What and why?

I spent it on an audiobook subscription. I believe that anytime you can learn something in your spare time, that’s money and time well spent.

What is one piece of software or a web service that helps you be productive?

We have proprietary in house software that our company fully relies on.

What is the one book that you recommend our community should read and why?

LEAN Supply Chain Logistics & Logistics Management by Paul Myerson.

What is your favorite quote?

If you want to be happy, be.

Key Learnings:

• Follow the market, find a need and be the solution.
• Always maintain a steady focus.
• It is critical for an entrepreneur to maintain client/vendor relationships.
• Face-to-face meetings builds the strongest business relationships.