[quote style=”boxed”]Don’t second guess yourself, believe in your ability and business one hundred percent.[/quote]
G-Force Shipping Scott Guilbeault CEO, Scott Guilbeault founded the Norwell, MA based company in 2009 and has deployed an industry leading, 3rd party logistics (3PL) company for LTL freight, FTL freight, and comprehensive logistics solutions. Guilbeault has more than 20 years in the shipping industry, having founded and owned several, million dollar companies prior to G-Force. Guilbeault embodies the true meaning of an entrepreneur and has made G-Force his most successful entrepreneurial venture to date.
Guilbeault adopted similar advancements in technology utilized by third-party travel companies such as Orbitz, Expedia and Travelocity, and integrated them into the shipping industry, essential doing the same thing for shipping products as the previously mentioned companies do for shipping people. G-Force leverages advancements in technology and combines the shipping volume of thousands of customers to negotiate deep discounts with over 91 partner carriers for Full Truckload and Less-than-Truckload services. Founded in 2009, G-Force has tripled its employee base this year and grown revenue 900% in the past three years.
Guilbeault and G-Force Shipping have been recognized with numerous business awards in the past calendar year including; “2013 Top-Privately-Held Business in Massachusetts” by Diversity Business, “Fastest Growing Company of the Year” by the 2013 American Business Awards, and “Fastest Growing Company of the Year” and “Best Place to Work” by Best in Biz 2013 International. In addition to these recent awards, Guilbeault was selected by Ernst & Young as a semifinalist for its “Entrepreneur of the Year 2013 New England Program.”
Where did the idea for G-Force Shipping come from?
I have close to 20 years in the shipping business and unfortunately when DHL withdrew from the U.S. marketplace in 2009, the prior shipping business I owned crashed. I saw the opportunity to utilize technology from another third-party logistics industry, travel, and apply it to shipping. We essentially do the same thing for shipping products as companies like Orbitz, Expedia and Travelocity do for shipping people.
What does your typical day look like?
I arrive in the office by before 7:30am and spend most of my day coaching members of my team in our efforts to support our customers and execute our aggressive business plan. Since we are in growth mode, I also spend a lot of time interviewing candidates for our many open positions.
How do you bring ideas to life?
I strongly encourage employees to speak their mind on our business practices and I take their suggestions very seriously. We have manager meetings and I find my great employees are what bring ideas to life.
What’s one trend that really excites you?
Competition. I love to compete against some of the best companies in the world and it is exhilarating to beat them every day. The thrill of competition is also a major component of our internal culture. In addition to competition, promoting from within is also very exciting and rewarding. We have three managers under the age of 26 and almost every single manager advanced their way up within G-Force
What is one habit of yours that makes you more productive as an entrepreneur?
Time management. By focusing my time on the most important things I am able to be drive results.
What was the worst job you ever had and what did you learn from it?
Selling life insurance. It was 100% commission based and required me to meet with people in their homes during the evenings. I learned a lot from that experience. I learned that I enjoyed selling and interacting with people. I also learned that I wanted a career in which I could control my own destiny and that my personal success is completely up to me and controllable as long as I put in the time and effort.
If you were to start again, what would you do differently?
I’d seek outside investment to accelerate growth. Growing organically has its benefits but a moderate investment would have accelerated our growth.
As an entrepreneur, what is the one thing you do over and over and recommend everyone else do?
Don’t second guess yourself, believe in your ability and business one hundred percent.
What is one strategy that has helped you grow your business? Please explain how.
I mentioned it before, but promoting from within and giving employees the opportunity to be as successful as they choose to be. I’ve found that if employees feel a strong sense of ownership in the company, they are far more apt to perform at a high level.
What is one failure you had as an entrepreneur, and how did you overcome it?
I owned a prior shipping company that heavily relied on DHL and when they left the marketplace, my business failed. This business failure put my home in foreclosure and pushed me to the brink of personal bankruptcy. Despite the humiliation and embarrassment I was able to overcome these financial challenges by having the love and support of my wife and two daughters. I remained optimistic, maintained by self-confidence and realized that my failure was really just an opportunity to learn, improve and come back stronger.
What is one business idea that you’re willing to give away to our readers?
A web-based platform that instantly gives consumers guaranteed price quotes for full-truckload and less-than-truckload shipments.
Tell us something about you that very few people know?
I grew up as an only child to a single mother on welfare.
What software and web services do you use? What do you love about them?
At G-Force, we have created GForceShip, A transportation management system (TMS) software, designed to manage transportation operations. GForceShip, our Less than Truckload TMS, is a free web-based shipping tool that will help you reduce freight transportation costs, improve customer service, and increase efficiency in daily transportation operations.
What is the one book that you recommend our community should read and why?
How to win friends and influence people by Dale Carnegie. It really teaches the art of interpersonal interaction.
What people have influenced your thinking and might be of interest to others?
My mother and her strength of character is the single greatest influence on my thinking and personality characteristics. However, since she probably wouldn’t be that interesting to your audience, I would strongly suggest Dale Carnegie.
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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.