How Our Logistics Company Hit $2M/Year In Revenue

Ben Elizer

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Published: March 30th, 2022

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Ben Elizer

Founder, Velocity International Group

$150K

revenue/mo

Founders

Employees

Velocity Internat...

govelocitygroup.com

from Nashville, TN, USA

started September 2015

$150,000

revenue/mo

Founders

Employees

Discover what tools recommends to grow your business!

Discover what books Ben recommends to grow your business!

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Want more updates on Velocity International Group? Check out these stories:

1. How I Started A $100K/Month Logistics And Delivery Service Company (2020) ➜

This is a follow up story for Velocity International Group. If you're interested in reading how they got started, published almost 4 years ago, check it out here.

Hello again! Remind us who you are and what business you started.

Hey there, my name is Ben Elizer and I’m the founder of Velocity International Group. We operate within the logistics industry, specializing in different types of storage, distribution, delivery, and warehousing services. Our customers include most businesses as we offer multiple same day shipping options and logistics solutions to help any business grow.

We have been able to grow the business slowly over the course of years to finally hit over 2 million in Annual Sales Revenue. To me, this is important because it shows that Velocity can be a great partner for businesses of all sizes and that we are our customers and vendors the right way. Business is about building trust, and working hard together as a team to help everyone involved succeed. Luckily here at Velocity, we have an amazing team to help make that happen.

We have been able to grow 125% YOY. The past 2 years through COVID have been interesting, difficult in ways, and eye opening in others.

Tell us about what you’ve been up to! Has the business been growing?

We have been able to grow 125% YOY, which is great for our employees and customers from a service standpoint. The past 2 years through COVID have been interesting, difficult in ways, and eye opening in others. I always believe in having a personal relationship with our customers, and really taking care of each other however that may be. Whether it is anyone from our team (all great people), or myself, I know that our customers, or our customers’ customers are being taken care of, and that’s the most important aspect of business to me.

Consistent work and excellent customer service AS A TEAM over a long period of time builds trust, which builds sales. It also helps to have amazing customers who look at you as partners, not just working for them, and we are lucky in that department for sure. We work with very genuine, solution oriented, and creative people which really helps create a sense of togetherness.

We haven’t added too many employees over the past year, but have really started to learn the team we have now. This has really helped us improve our efficiency, get through some tough times and actually do a more thorough job for our customers. Our increase in sales has been from being consistent and actually following through on what we say is going to happen. No business and no person is perfect, but in a professional setting, it’s good to strive to be and push yourself. When you make a mistake, own up to it, communicate, fix it together as a team, and move forward better than before.

I would also say that updating our website has helped quite a bit. Spencer, a good friend of mine, did a great job for us here. As a logistics business, we don’t focus as much on social media, but in the future plan to connect further with our customers, vendors, and partners.

What have been your biggest lessons learned in the last year?

The last year has been full of ups and downs, I’m sure for most business owners out there. We have experienced a good amount of growth over the past year or so, but the key is manageable and sustainable growth. That leads to the biggest lesson learned... You have to be willing to say no to some growth. As someone that started (as a DC Manager) with 1 van and myself, it’s difficult to say no to someone giving you a shot to prove yourself. Because of this, you take on almost any business that comes your way, which can be positive and negative.

As a business owner, you should always be trying to progress, improve, and most importantly take care of your team, customers, vendors, friends, families… That being said, sustained growth at an extremely high service level is impossible without amazing people, processes, and culture. Creating that is such a difficult task, and in my opinion why most businesses fail. It takes years and years of caring and hard work to create that winning formula and that can’t be replicated. Shoutout to Karen, Amber, Dan, Erin, and everyone else on our team who has done an amazing job. Growth without the proper structure is impossible.

Set goals that actually push yourself, but that you can ACTUALLY achieve.

What’s in the plans for the upcoming year, and the next 5 years?

We actually just moved into another 42,000 sq ft facility, which expands our offering to 60k+ space in the Nashville area. This is an exciting move for our team, customers, and the entire Velocity team. As a business, we are really looking to grow in the Distribution and Warehousing side of the business. With myself running a large DC in the past, I feel here at Velocity that we can really help some businesses now, whether they are poised for growth or just want a more consistent and transparent experience. Along with this, we are going to continue pushing our transportation department forward with trustworthy service, the correct team that fits our culture, and a further selection of vehicle types to offer our customer base.

Velocity intends to grow within the Nashville market (our Hub), along with expanding to other markets within the next 1-2 years. This will create a local and regional network to further help service our customer base. We will be able to handle any type of delivery from expedited shipments, to dedicated routes and white glove delivery, to same-day local deliveries of gifts, boxes, pallets, odd sized, and sensitive items. This flexibility is crucial, as our customers will be able to count on us in ANY situation local or long distance.

One of the most important aspects of being successful with this is hiring our team internally. We regularly train our drivers on processes, customers, and the Velocity way of how we treat people. After all, we are working together all of the time and it should be fun. In my opinion, fun is when we are all on the same page, and the day runs smoothly and we work together.

Current goals are to partner with great businesses, great people, continue to innovate, and help everyone succeed together. Also, to really appreciate and continuously recognize the Velocity team. They do an amazing job and deserve as much recognition as possible.

Have you read any good books in the last year?

Honestly, the past year has been so many hours that I haven’t had time for much. Focus on the middle part of the title here.. “Desperate Early Days”.

Check this one out - Liftoff: Elon Musk and the Desperate Early Days That Launched SpaceX

Advice for other entrepreneurs who might be struggling to grow their business?

Think ahead, treat people the right way, and look at everyone as your partner in business. Work together.
Listen to others, and think creatively about a solution. Don’t leave your customers with silence. They pay you to figure out a solution, bring them some and again work together.
Be fun. Nobody wants to work with someone that they dread making a call to, or makes constant mistakes. Everyone makes mistakes, yes, but what most people care about is your character and how you come back from that mistake.
Don’t give up, businesses take a long time to build. If you feel you have put in years and years and years and are still struggling, call me and let’s chat. Remember, it’s about the people and being realistic.
Set goals that actually push yourself, but that you can ACTUALLY achieve.
Recognize both where you need to improve, AND the amazing work you and everyone else in the business does. Along with your customers and honestly everyone in your business's “world”.
Stay ahead of the growth. This is difficult, but imperative. Always be thinking months ahead and prepare for where you are going to be, not where you are.
Give your time, and care about people. Everyone, or most people have to work, think about that and maybe make someone’s day better by doing a great job, or bring some positivity to their day.
Don’t burn bridges, build them and put a gate on select ones that you need to be more careful with.
Enjoy the journey, I know at many many times it’s difficult, but be proud of yourself and think about the positives that come out of being an actual entrepreneur. So many people are included and part of it. Be grateful, humble, and again work as a team.

Are you looking to hire for certain positions right now?

We are always looking to hire great people, whether that is work in the warehouse, on the road, or in the transportation office. Feel free to reach out anytime and let’s have a chat!