[quote style=”boxed”]Play to your strengths and stay true to who you are as an individual and as a company.[/quote]
Ever Gonzalez’s 12 years in Logistics and Transportation have given him a broad-spectrum view of the industries’ inner workings. With over a decade devoted to his field, he has gained experience in almost every aspect of the industry, from sales and account supervision to operations and shipping management. His positions as Vice President of Sales, Director of LTL Operations and Vessel Superintendent at the Port of Long Beach have given him the knowledge he needs to run and oversee every facet of his company. His varied experience allows him, as Founder and CEO of Capital Freight Management, LLC, to understand the shipping needs of his clients and provide them with solutions tailored to their specific circumstances.
In addition to being the Founder of Capital Freight Management, Gonzalez also served a two-year mission in New York City for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He credits his time and experiences there with his current leadership skills and understanding of hard work and dedication. His ability to communicate in both English and Spanish has given him opportunities to reach out to others on both a personal and a professional level and has been useful in handling some of the company’s international business.
While he finds his work in the office rewarding, Gonzalez’s favorite moments are those spent with his wife of 11 years and his three children. He enjoys evenings and weekends with his family, exploring the beauty of Southern Utah or packing up and heading to Southern California for a visit to Disneyland and the beach. He claims there never has been, nor ever will be, anything better than a Dodger Dog—though he admits that Gray’s Papaya in New York comes in a close second.
What are you working on right now?
Most of my attention at the moment is focused on strengthening and growing my business relationships. We’ve partnered with several different companies in the last couple of years which have assisted us in improving our core service of helping small- to mid-sized companies move their freight from point A to point B. We’ve been able to develop strong relationships with trucking, airline, warehousing and software companies and are always looking to collaborate with anyone making waves in their industry.
Where did the idea for Capital Freight Management come from?
I’ve been in the logistics industry for the past 12 years and have worked for several amazing transportation companies. As most entrepreneurs, though, I always thought that I could do it better, faster and cheaper. I always knew I was going to be doing my own thing and was always looking for the right opportunity, so on my birthday in 2010, I started Capital Freight Management, LLC.
What does your typical day look like?
Most days I’m up by 6:00-6:30 a.m. and, after running 2-3 miles on the treadmill, I spend 30-45 minutes catching up on that day’s news by reading some of my favorite websites and industry blogs. I spend a lot of time returning email in the morning and most of my afternoons are spent reaching out to employees, clients, prospective clients, business partners and vendors. I’m usually home with the family for dinner by 5:00-5:30 p.m. and spend the rest of the night with my wife and three children. After putting the kids to bed about 8:00 p.m., I spend some time with my wife before heading into my home office for another couple of hours to catch up on work.
How do you bring ideas to life?
I receive most of my business inspiration late at night or really early in the morning when the house is quiet. I then choose the best ideas, put my head down and just plug away at it until I’m satisfied with the outcome. I also reach out to my unofficial advisory board advice; I respect their opinions and insight.
What’s one trend that really excites you?
Crowd funding is not a new trend, but I like the new push via several different websites. The fact that a startup, project or just about any cause can get off the ground because people believe in the idea is fascinating to me. I hope this trend continues to grow.
What was the worst job you ever had, and what did you learn from it?
I spent some time as a Vessel Superintendent at the Port of Long Beach, and although I learned a lot there, I noticed that working on the Sabbath took a toll on me spiritually. I promised myself and my wife Kelsey that I would never work on Sundays again.
If you were to start again, what would you do differently?
Being a startup, we reached out to a lot of different companies as we looked for business. We ended up being burned by some of them because we extended credit to everybody. Needless to say, we’ve learned our lesson and are a bit more selective in who we work with.
As an entrepreneur, what is the one thing you do over and over and recommend everyone else do?
Reach out to your business partners, vendors and clients on a regular basis. I like to touch base with most of the people and the companies in our network weekly to let them know that we’re here and that we care even when we’re not currently moving anything for them. This frequent contact has brought in some of our biggest accounts; I have had associates in my network refer us to some of their contacts who have needed help with their transportation programs.
What is one problem you encountered as an entrepreneur, and how did you overcome it?
The biggest problem I face as an entrepreneur is trying to figure out the proper work/life balance for me and my family. If I didn’t have any home or church responsibilities, I could easily see myself working 20-hour days. Obviously that’s a bit more difficult to do with a family, but I try to keep a few simple rules in place in order to keep my life pretty balanced:
1. I set some weekly goals. If I have a huge presentation, deadline or am traveling that week, I make adjustments to my schedule in order to fit in as much family time as possible.
2. I always try to focus on what’s important.
3. I delegate a lot of the day-to-day operations to my very capable team.
Unfortunately, this is something that I will never master; I’m sure I will always be trying to find the perfect balance.
What is one business idea that you’re willing to give away to our readers?
Play to your strengths and stay true to who you are as an individual and as a company.
If you could change one thing in the world, what would it be and how would you go about it?
This is a great question, and one that my wife and I seem to ask each other on a regular basis. The easy answer to this is to end world hunger or somehow end all wars and atrocities, right? We’re not Bill and Melinda Gates and we don’t have the resources or the world wide contacts to be able to make an impact at that level right now.
The one thing that I’m working on and spend most of my non-working hours thinking about is how I can change my children’s world. What can I do to help mold these beautiful little souls into strong, confident, compassionate and productive members of society? If my wife and I are even somewhat successful, then we would help make a small part of the world that much better. I’d be pretty satisfied with that.
Tell us a secret.
I repeated the third grade.
What are your three favorite online tools or resources, and what do you love about them?
1. GoToMeeting – It’s a great way to connect with clients, vendors and business associates.
2. Twitter – For obvious reasons.
3. Evernote – It helps me remember everything I need on a daily basis.
What is the one book that you recommend our community should read and why?
Outliers: The Story of Success by Malcolm Gladwell. This book examines the factors that contribute to high levels of success. I especially enjoyed his “10,000-Hour Rule,” where he claims that the key to success in any field is to practice a specific task for about 10,000 hours.
Three people we should follow on Twitter and why?
1. Jason Fried @jasonfried – Interesting tips on bootstrapping your business and ideas on how to generate more revenue for your company.
2. Mark Suster @msuster – Tweets about what entrepreneurs need to be successful.
3. Harvard Biz Review @HarvardBiz – Daily management tips and general business information.
When was the last time you laughed out loud? What caused it?
Watching the movie trailer for Will Farrell’s new movie where he accidentally punches a baby in the face. It’s so ridiculous, but it caught me off guard and it made me laugh out loud.
Who is your hero?
I have several personal heroes, but if I had to pick some business leaders that I admire, I’d have to say:
David Neeleman (Founder of Jet Blue and Azul Brazilian Airlines)
Jack Dorsey (Creator of Twitter and Founder of Square)
Elon Musk (SpaceX, Tesla Motor and Paypal)
They have all disrupted their industries in different ways and have created very innovative companies in the process.
Do you want your children to work for you at Capital Freight Management when they’re old enough?
I would absolutely love it if any of my three kids decided to join me at Capital Freight Management. I want to encourage my kids to study hard and take risks. I want them to attend the best schools if they choose to do that. I don’t want them to grow up and get a good job; I want them to grow up and create a good jobs for themselves and those around them.
If you weren’t Founder and President of Capital Freight Management, what else would you be doing?
My answer to that is easy: I’d be playing short stop for the Los Angeles Dodgers. Considering the fact that I’m a slow 36-year-old who can’t hit a fastball, then I guess I’d settle for owning the team.
Connect:
Capital Freight Management on Twitter: @CapitalFr8mgmt
Capital Freight Management on Facebook: CapitalFreightMgmt
Capital Freight Management’s Website: CapitalFreightMgmt
Mario Schulzke is the Founder of ideamensch, which he started a decade ago to learn from entrepreneurs and give them a platform for their ideas.