Construction and Bartending Lead to Trucking Company Triumph for Phillip’s Roadway Services
Phillip’s Roadway Services Gets Rolling
Phillip Scherer formed his trucking company, Phillip’s Roadway Services LLC, through the Apex Startup Program in February 2018. He became an Apex factoring client in April 2018. In a short year, Scherer grew his trucking company and now owns three trucks. But as far as the office at Phillip’s Roadway Services is concerned, it’s operated like a one-man band. As Scherer works hard running his trucking company – he’s owner, dispatcher, and manager all in one – he admits he isn’t particularly picky about what he hauls. He takes on general freight, paper towels, toilet paper, motorcycles, even mail for the US Postal Service.
“I have learned what to haul and what not to haul,” he says. “I have a lot of steady brokers we work with, but not steady customers yet. I’m working on getting some dedicated customers.”
From Construction to Bartending, Trucking Investment to Trucking Ownership
Scherer’s seemingly fast trucking success actually stretches back at least a decade. The New York native moved to Las Vegas to work in construction, then fell into bartending. He spent eight years slinging drinks on the Vegas strip. After he poured his last cocktail, Scherer bought a truck as an investment. His plan seemed genius on paper: He leased onto a trucking company in Florida, had somebody else drive his truck, and then he thought he’d watch the profits stack up. But in less than a month Scherer knew this wasn’t going to work. That’s when Scherer kicked into high gear. He got his commercial driver license and began researching the steps to starting a trucking company.
“After the deal with the Florida company went bad,” he says, “I called my dad who is actually my partner in this business and told him to get ready, ‘It looks like we are going into the trucking business.’”
Apex Startup Program to the Rescue
Scherer took to Google and found Apex and the Apex Startup Program. In a month’s time, Scherer had his CDL, a truck, and he was waiting on operating authority to activate. During his one-way trip to pick up his truck in Florida, the operating authority for Phillip’s Roadway Services became active.
“Kayla was great,” he says of Kayla Marks. Kayla is a member of the Apex Startup Program team. She helps people start their own trucking companies by completing and filing the various state and federal forms required to launch their businesses.
“She was nothing but helpful with the paperwork. I didn’t know how to do anything, and Apex just took over everything. They did all the filing. They did everything and anything. They were helpful regarding fuel card and factoring. They made everything so easy. Apex will happily handle everything for you. Some people don’t want to deal with the headaches that come with owning your own business. They just want to come in, get a paycheck every week, and let someone else deal with it. But I would so much rather take a chance and work for myself and Apex was very helpful and had my back every step of the way.”
Apex Services Make Trucking Company Life Easier
Scherer immediately took advantage of Apex services such as the Account Management Portal (AMP) and the Apex Fuel Card. He has plenty of praise for both.
- AMP: “The first time I ever used it I didn’t know what I was doing,” he says. “I called Apex and they told me how to go online, go to my account portal, and create an invoice with the bill of lading. I log in and do credit checks on every broker that I consider taking a load for.”
- Apex Fuel Card: “The fuel card is great,” he says. “I’ve been able to establish the credit that I need. Fuel is an insane expense to begin with. But the fuel card is great for lumper fees, oil changes, and tire services.” Scherer enjoys more than just fuel, oil, and tires with the Apex Fuel Card. He appreciates the card’s customization. “I’m able to use all the options available. I can offer a cash advance for a driver. Adding a driver is very, very easy. I have a fuel card for each driver, and I have one myself.”
Working with Account Executive Reich VanWinkle
At Apex, all our clients have dedicated account executives that help manage their accounts, develop a relationship with the client, offer advice when needed, and troubleshoot any potential risks.
“If I need him, I call him,” says Scherer. “If he needs me, he calls me. He has helped me through everything. If I do need something, I call Reich right away and I get it done. I was learning the business and now I’m doing good. I email him, I call him, I double check, no issues. Reich always helps me out with literally just a phone call. It’s nice to know if I ever need something, I can get it from Reich because I have established a relationship with you guys.”
Thoughts on Working with Apex
Phillip Scherer always wanted to own a trucking company, he admits, but he had no experience. Apex helped give him the confidence he needed to become a successful trucking company owner.
“Apex has been nothing but helpful. I needed to know how to do the invoice correctly and now I have it down pat. Anytime anybody on Facebook asks me about factoring companies, I always recommend Apex. I have an established relationship with Reich and Kayla. I would never go with anybody else. I have never even looked into another company.”
Smart Enough to Make the Right Decisions
This trucking company journey has taught Scherer a valuable lesson. He offers this firsthand piece of advice to anyone who is thinking about starting their own trucking company: “You don’t have to be smart enough to know everything. You just have to be smart enough to hire the right people that do – and Apex is one of them.”