Andrew (Andy) Plank is the Founder of Blue Eagle Logistics, which specializes in moving freight critical to people’s lives. With 25 years of experience in the corporate world, working for Fortune 150 and Fortune 25 construction material companies, Andy transitioned into entrepreneurship about 10 years ago. In 2013, he launched his own logistics firm during an era where supply chain discussions were at the forefront. Together with his wife, Tina, he co-owns and operates the business, contributing to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention after the loss of their son, Samuel, by raising awareness and providing support for mental health initiatives.
Here’s a Glimpse of What You’ll Hear:
- [2:29] How Andy Plank transitioned from a corporate career to entrepreneurship
- [3:26] Andy’s exploratory phase before starting Blue Eagle Logistics
- [4:52] Andy’s early exposure to entrepreneurship through his father’s logistics career
- [8:53] How Andy leverages his strengths in sales by partnering with operations specialists
- [11:35] The impact of the pandemic on Blue Eagle Logistics
- [14:27] The challenges Blue Eagle Logistics faces with recruiting
- [15:49] The role of EO in Andy’s development as a business owner
- [19:20] How a personal tragedy of son’s suicide led Andy to mental health advocacy
- [23:34] What signs should parents watch for when kids spend excessive time alone?
- [25:52] Andy shared valuable insights from a couple’s retreat during lockdown
In this episode…
Have you ever faced abrupt career shifts that thrust you into new territory, making you question your every move? Imagine reaching a crossroads where the job you’ve built over decades suddenly ends, leaving you to sift through the uncertainty. What if this crossroads isn’t the end but a hidden beginning that could lead to something greater?
Andy Plank successfully navigated this journey by leveraging his strengths and seeking expert help where needed. After spending 25 years in the corporate world, Andy shares the decisive moment that led to the founding of Blue Eagle Logistics, and how he turned what seemed like an unforeseen setback into a thriving business. Furthermore, Andy opens up about the personal tragedy of losing his son Samuel and how he and his wife turned their grief into advocacy work with the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, offering their voices to support and educate others on the importance of mental health awareness.
Tune in to this episode of the Smart Business Revolution Podcast as John Corcoran interviews Andy Plank, Founder of Blue Eagle Logistics, about his transition from the corporate world to entrepreneurship. They delved into how Andy’s discharge from corporate ties gave him the freedom to pursue entrepreneurship, the advantage of partnering with operations specialists for growth, and the personal tragedy that led him to advocate for mental health.
Resources Mentioned In This Episode
Special Mentions
- American Foundation for Suicide Prevention
- Entrepreneurs’ Organization (EO) Philadelphia
- The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don’t Work and What to Do About It by Michael E. Gerber
Related episode(s):
Quotable Moments:
- “The day we stopped learning is kind of the day we start withering away.”
- “You have to be careful about a kid who’s locked in his room all day on the phone, on the computer all day.”
- “Everybody’s sitting at home, guess what? Everybody fixed up their backyard.”
Action Steps:
- Leverage your network when transitioning into entrepreneurship to weigh your options and hone in on a feasible business direction.
- Recognize your strengths and weaknesses as a business owner and partner with others who complement your skills.
- Use personal challenges and tragedies as a catalyst for advocacy and support initiatives within the community to raise awareness and provide help.
- Engage in continuous lifelong learning to foster personal and professional growth and adaptability.
- Find resourceful ways to recruit talent by fostering a company culture that incentivizes and retains high-quality staff.
Sponsor: Rise25
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Cofounders Dr. Jeremy Weisz and John Corcoran credit podcasting as being the best thing they have ever done for their businesses. Podcasting connected them with the founders/CEOs of P90x, Atari, Einstein Bagels, Mattel, Rx Bars, YPO, EO, Lending Tree, Freshdesk, and many more.
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Rise25 Cofounders, Dr. Jeremy Weisz and John Corcoran, have been podcasting and advising about podcasting since 2008.
Episode Transcript
Intro 0:00
Welcome to the Smart Business Revolution Podcast, where we feature top entrepreneurs, business leaders and thought leaders, and ask them how they built key relationships to get where they are today. Now let’s get started with the show.
John Corcoran 0:19
All right. Welcome everyone. John Corcoran here, I am the host of this show. If you are new to this podcast, go check out some of our past interviews. Got all kinds of great interviews with smart CEOs, founders and entrepreneurs of companies and organizations ranging from Netflix to Kinko’s, YPO, EO activation, Blizzard just did quicken the other day, lending tree, OpenTable and many more. And I’m also the Co-founder of Rise25 where we help connect B2B business owners, so their ideal prospects.
And my guest here today is Andy Plank. He spent 25 years in the corporate world for Fortune 150 and Fortune 25 construction material companies. And then about 10 years ago, he got the inkling to go into the crazy world of becoming an entrepreneur, and so he started Blue Eagle Logistics in 2013 which moves freight important to people’s lives, which is relevant today, because everyone’s talking about supply chain, how that’s been disrupting everyone’s lives. Actually it has been a good thing for his business to talk about that, but someone is benefiting from it, and so we’ll talk about that. And then also, his wife joined him in the business. So we’ll talk about working with your spouse, how that affected things. And then also, he and his wife Tina, are active with the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, having lost their youngest son, Samuel, about four years ago in 2018 so we’re going to talk about that as well and the good work that he does there. And Andy, I’m excited to have you here today.
Of course, this episode, as always, brought to you by Rise25 where we help B2B businesses to get clients, referrals and strategic partnerships with podcasts and content marketing. You go to Rise25. com to learn all about what we do there. Andy, thanks for having you here. And you know, it’s funny the book The E-Myth. E-Myth Revisited by Michael E Oh god, I’m blanking on his name. The kind of seminal book on, on, on small business entrepreneurship talks about the entrepreneurial seizure, where people suddenly decide, I’m going to start a business. And for you, you got a little bit of a push out of the nest so you’ve been working your way up in the corporate world, and then the company you’re working for was acquired, and the new company came in and said, We’re clearing house. We’re putting in an all new management so it kind of got a little bit of push out of the nest for you to get started. And you’d always thought about starting a company, and so you did, right?
Andy Plank 2:44
Yeah, yeah, we did get kicked out of the nest, and that was, that was a good thing for us. It, you know, worked out well. It kind of, you know, cuts all the ties that you kind of get trapped in in the corporate world thinking, Oh, I can’t give this up. I can’t give that up. I, you know, benefits, pension, what, you know, whatever it is. And suddenly we found ourselves where all those ties were cut, and we had the freedom to figure out the next step in life, yeah.
John Corcoran 3:17
And now, did you know exactly what that company was going to look like? Have you thought about it before?
Andy Plank 3:26
No, I probably took six to nine months to figure out, you know, what was you know, what was best? I had a lot of people encourage me. What you know, if you’re creative in sales and marketing, you should just go get another sales and marketing job. I basically reached out to my entire network of, you know, friends, customers, colleagues, and just asked them, you know, what do you think I should do? And, you know, I had a background in logistics, you know, through the construction materials world, it was always a big part of trying to satisfy and service your customers.
So I knew it. My dad was also in the trucking business. You know, from when I was a little kid, I used to spend Saturday mornings at the terminal with him while he’s doing paperwork. I’ve been running around driving the mechanics crazy. So, you know, it was, it was something I was somewhat familiar with on a personal level and interested in, and then also just professionally. I had a lot of experience in it, and it just seemed like a fit that I understood, and a fit that made sense.
John Corcoran 4:40
Now you said your dad was in the industry. Was your dad an entrepreneur? Have you thought about starting a company? Or were you one of those types of kids that was out doing lemonade stands on your parents lawn?
Andy Plank 4:52
As a kid, I did have a paper route, and I remember trying to ride my bike in a snowstorm once, which did not end well. And, but no, we were, I mean, you know, growing up where I did, my dad was a very hard worker, and he certainly, you know, passed on the work ethic. You know, to me, he worked for a company called chemical Leaman tank lines, which was a dry bulk company. And, you know, they called acids and food grade materials and stuff like that around Pennsylvania. So he started with them washing trucks, and worked his way up to dispatch and regional manager and regional sales manager. And so that was my exposure. And then during high school, when they couldn’t find somebody to cover the graveyard shift and dispatch, I put my hand up and said, Well, I’ll do that.
John Corcoran 5:49
And in high school, so you’re going out, you go to high school during the day, and then go out at night and go drive a truck.
Andy Plank 5:55
No, no, no. I worked in the dispatch. Okay? Answering the phone. Okay? On the weekends, yeah, answering the phone. Somebody broke the truck. Driver breaks down. You have to get a tow truck or, you know, whatever the customer’s out there, you know, or a last minute load would come in. You figure it out.
John Corcoran 6:15
That takes some entrepreneurial gumption, though, in high school, I mean, I, I know I prize my sleep, and I did even more so when I was in high school, so I don’t know that I would summon myself to go work at dad’s office at midnight on a Friday night in high school.
Andy Plank 6:29
Yeah, it was, it was, it was a lot of fun. I did enjoy the figure it out part, you know, I and I think that’s big part of being an entrepreneur is you’re you’re throwing all these crazy problems, whether it’s an HR problem, a finance problem, a marketing problem, and it’s you, you know, it’s especially when you’re getting started, it’s Yeah, and, and I’ve always enjoyed being stretched in that regard. Okay, well, what’s the best way to do this? Who can I talk to to learn from about how to do it? Yeah, I’ve always enjoyed being stretched.
John Corcoran 7:09
Now, your wife had been a homemaker, and at what point did you come to her and say, Hey, I got an idea. I’m gonna start my own company, and I want you to join me. What was that conversation like?
Andy Plank 7:22
You know, she knew I was, she knew I was looking to do this. And, yeah, that was kind of, that was a very emotional day. She just said, I trust you, and I know it’ll work. And that was, yeah, that was some of the nicest words she ever, you know, she ever said to me. So, yeah, I remember, I think I had tears in my eyes when she said, Yes, let’s, let’s give this a try.
John Corcoran 7:53
So, now, one thing I’ve experienced personally is a lot of times, if you’re good at something, then the challenge is you need to spend a lot of your time, if you’re new, building something new, outside of that comfort zone, right? You got to build all the systems and stuff like that, and here you’d spent 25 years in sales and marketing. So talk a little bit about, as you’re building the company, some of the challenges that you experienced, having to, you know, work beyond your comfort zone and build systems and operations in other areas.
Andy Plank 8:24
Yeah, I think for me, the HR and the sales side, I mean, those are, I think, kind of culturally on one side of the spectrum, and where I struggled was with the wars with the operations and, to a lesser degree, the financial side, but the operation side. So I’m a sales guy. Hey, do it. The customer wants. Do what the customer wants, right? That’s not a very efficient way to run.
John Corcoran 8:51
Drives operations Crazy, right?
Andy Plank 8:53
Yeah, it drives operations crazy. It increases your costs, and all of a sudden you’re not left with, you know, very much profit at the end of the day. So you know that about five years ago, I got an operations guy to come in and focus on the operations and and then, and then, that allowed me to get back in my lane as far as I can really kick some butt with sales and marketing. And, you know, when we launched a social media campaign, I was able to get out and see customers and build relationships. And since we started that 1019 you know, our growth has accelerated tremendously, both on the top line, but also, more importantly, on the bottom line, because we’re operating so much more efficiently than I could ever, you know, run the company. And that was, that was hard. That was, it was hard to say, Gee, I’m not pretty good at operating. In the company, and.