He built a $1.9M/month trucking biz by age 26

Hey UpFlipers,

Who says trucking is an old-timer’s game?

While many young aspiring entrepreneurs aim to be the next tech startup success story…

Andrew Gomez is busy running a $1.9M/month trucking empire at age 26.

Andrew comes from an entrepreneurial family. His parents owned a trucking business. His brother owned a trucking business, too.

But building a trucking business is NOT easy, even with prior knowledge.

And Andrew’s family members never figured out how to scale their companies into massive empires. Their trucking businesses stayed small-scale.

Andrew was driven to break from this trend.

Today’s newsletter will show you how he did it — his successes, struggles, and everything in between.

This one will get you fired up, so read on…

How Andrew Gomez built a $1.9M/month trucking business by age 26

Andrew Gomez is the 26-year-old founder and head of AJG Transport, a $1.9M/month trucking company with 95 trucks.

That’s $22.8M a YEAR.

His highest-paying customers pay $7,000-$12,000 per week. 

So, how did he get there?

Read on for the full story…

Andrew’s business started when he bought 2 used semi trucks from his local Freightliner.

He was still in college at the time.

Now, hold on…

How does a 17-year-old college kid get his hands on semi-trucks?

Andrew’s brother and parents each had their own trucking businesses. But that doesn’t mean Andrew came from big money.

His entrepreneurial family members never truly scaled their businesses. They earned a comfortable living… but weren’t mega-wealthy.

In fact, Andrew didn’t have enough cash for a down payment on his trucks.

So he was forced to go for zero-down loans.

Easy in the short term. Not so good, financially, in the long term. 

But you have to start somewhere.

Securing the financing for his first two trucks

To get his zero-down financing, Andrew needed a business plan. And the most crucial part of that plan…

He needed a potential client.

Andrew identified a gap in the market: Amazon.

He put together his business plan — a mere five pages — and took it to the lender.

The lender saw Andrew’s plan to work with Amazon and ran the numbers…

Then handed Andrew the zero-down loans.

Landing that first client — Amazon

Now, Andrew had to act fast. Time to close the deal.

Andrew bought the trucks with his zero-down loans.

Using those trucks and his plan, he was able to close the deal with Amazon.

How big of a deal, you ask?

Well, he booked 52 loads with Amazon in one day. That’s a lot for a teenager!

And speaking of being a teenager…

At that age, it’s tempting to take such a large sum of money for yourself. But Andrew knew to delay gratification…

So instead, he reinvested every last drop of profit back into the business. 

Smart move.

From one client to consistent lead flow

You can’t rely on one customer to survive. 

“We understood early that Amazon alone was not gonna pay the bills for long.”

Here’s where Andrew looked for more business:

• Brick-and-mortar suppliers (instead of just eCommerce retailers)

• Overflow from other trucking companies

• Brokerages

• Load boards

One of his most memorable deals:

At age 20, he flew to Nashville to meet with industry executives. He couldn’t afford a suit, so he donned his high school prom tux to the meeting…

And the execs were confused.

Was this guy applying for an internship?

When he told them that, no, he was there to haul their freight, they were astonished.

What shocked them more was that Andrew had worked with them before… and he promised he could haul their freight for less than they currently paid.

Andrew found a way to beat their skepticism:

Bonding over non-work things. Finding passions he shared with the executives.

Worked like a charm. Soon enough, he had their business.

Trucking along amid growing pains

Two trucks quickly grew into four trucks. Then 10 trucks…

But trucking is capital-intensive. Each new truck brought new struggles.

His used trucks started giving him issues. Repairs and maintenance added up.

He had to manage more trucks. More fuel, more legal stuff (like truck registration), etc. Oh, and more drivers. More people to manage. He had to start thinking about workplace culture.

Expanding his client base meant investing time into finding and keeping clients.

And to top it off:

Trucking is much more competitive than, say, tech.

“You have guys who are going to scratch and claw. To make sure that their truck is paid, and their families are fed. It's a very serious business.”

All this was happening in Andrew’s early 20s. It forced him through a LOT of personal and professional growth.

He had to learn to build systems. Hire and train people. Manage cash flows. All the “CEO” stuff.

Long days. Sleepless nights. A lot of sacrifices. It was not an easy road.

Andrew credits podcasters like Jocko Willink and Bedros Koulian with keeping him motivated during the tough times.

Also, the late Jim Rohn, a legendary entrepreneur.

That said…

Andrew told us Samsara Fleet, a fleet management software, was his key to scaling.

It has location tracking, advanced fuel/vehicle diagnostics, automations, and a zillion other things that make managing each truck and running the operation a lot easier.

Andrew and AJG today

Today, Andrew has 95 trucks and margins around 6-8%. He says these are fairly slim, but he makes up for it with volume (more trucks running more often).

His next big move?

Buying a truck lot. That way, he can own it (when he pays off the financing) and cut his costs… while adding another asset to his business.

One last thing:

Andrew said he’d sell his biz now for $75 million. He admits that’s probably more than his company’s worth…

But he loves it too much to quit.

AJG Transport’s numbers, broken down

The trucking industry requires you to spend money. Knowing your costs can help you find ways to keep them down… ensuring you actually make a profit.

Here’s a breakdown of Andrew’s costs:

1. The truck: $195k-$200k. That’s for a new truck bought a year in advance to avoid dealership premiums. Andrew now buys in bulk to cut the average price to $174k per truck.

Andrew doesn’t buy used trucks anymore. He wants to be sure they won’t break down on him. 

That said, Andrew started with used trucks. If you’re careful about getting them inspected by someone who knows what they’re doing, they can help you save money in the beginning.

2. Down payment: 5-10% of the truck’s cost. Anywhere from $10k-$20k, given the price above. But Andrew says it’s usually $15k-$20k.

3. Monthly truck cost: $3,500-$4,000/truck/month. This includes a monthly loan payment ($1,700/month/truck on average) and fuel, insurance, and driver salaries ($1,800-$2,300/truck/month) on average.

4. Fuel surcharge: $0.60-$0.70/mile. This is on top of fuel costs.

5. Repairs and maintenance: 10-12% of revenue. That’s a good chunk of change. But you’ll lose more to repairs — not to mention missed revenue — if your trucks break down.

6. Leased parking space: $100-$200/spot. However, Andrew now leases 4.5 acres of truck parking, costing AJG $31,000/month.

Other costs that can vary widely include:

• Tech

• Employee costs (not the drivers, but operations team members)

• Software (varies by which software and plan you use)

This all sounds like a lot. And it certainly is tough in the beginning. But remember:

A single good client could generate several thousand dollars of weekly revenue. Andrew’s lower-paying clients pay $5,000 per week, while the best pay up to $12,000 per week.

3 tips for closing deals with confidence

Andrew’s done a lot of sales calls and meetings to get where he is. 

Here are some of his biggest takeaways for closing more deals and keeping more clients — not just in trucking, but most client-facing jobs/businesses:

1. Face-to-face contact: Simply being in the same room as your prospect sets you apart. Things like body language also play a role in closing the sale. 

“Maybe I’ll provide the exact same level of service. They don’t know. But what they do know is I’m willing to go the extra mile because I’m willing to go and meet them.”

2. Find a human connection: Prospects are people at the end of the day. People want to make connections over things they enjoy. 

So sales meetings shouldn’t always be all business. Find some personal passion you share with the potential client. Bond over that.

People like working with people they like. Even — no, especially in a grueling industry like trucking.

Andrew used this tactic to close big deals with trucking execs who, earlier that same day, had thought he was applying for an internship.

3. Set yourself apart… and deliver on your promises for long-term clients: For example, Andrew told us a client might work with him… if AJG Transport can move the freight for an absurdly low price per mile.

That might lose AJG money in the short-term. 

But Andrew proves to the client that he’s not all talk.

The client knows they can depend on AJG when the going gets tough. And they’re willing to pay repeatedly for great service.

To wrap it all up…

Trucking is NOT the first industry that comes to mind for most young entrepreneurs… 

But Andrew’s story breaks the mold — showing us that even the most “traditional” business models offer insane opportunities.

A young gun like Andrew has the grit, energy, and “nothing to lose” mentality that helps him get through the grind to the other side.

Now, your path may be different. Maybe you don’t get into trucking.

But one thing rings true, regardless of your industry:

With discipline and a relentless drive to succeed, the sky's the limit.

Woah, check these out…

📚 Two of Andrew’s book recs: here and here (the 2nd one helped him scale his biz)

🚚 Check out our In-depth guide to starting a trucking company

💰 Here is yet another young gun killing it in the trucking industry

🎙️ Catch our latest podcast episode for more business inspiration

❤️ A quick but important message from the team at UpFlip

There are three ways to join UpFlip:

 ✔️ Get on the waitlist for our highly anticipated Start, Run, & Grow a Business course.

✔️ Watch our full interview with Andrew on YouTube.

✔️ Subscribe to our YouTube channel for more awesome case studies and success stories.

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