Today we’d like to introduce you to Juan Ariztmendy.
Juan, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I’m a Graphic Designer but I have worked in the shipping and logistics industry for a long time. Started years ago in Bogota, Colombia, working in sales for an agent of multiple steamship lines. After a few years with them I had fallen in love with the logistics process in general. I moved to Miami, FL and secured a job with one of the top freight consolidators in the area. Grew and learned a lot with them but one time during one of their Christmas parties, the president of the company gave some very thoughtful words about one of the oldest employees who was retiring that day, across the room I noticed the owner of the company siting at a table with all his family enjoying the moment. The retiring employee and he had been going to the same place to work every day for over 30 years, but they had a key difference, one of them was paying for the party and had millions of dollars and the other one had a modest pension to carry him for the rest of his life, nothing wrong with that, but I decided that day I wanted to be the guy paying for the parties.
I took a chance, quit my job and started a website dedicated to service the import and export community in Latin America and the USA. It went great at first but then 911 happened and as a result of the economic crisis it caused, my main customers started cutting back on their web advertising expenses. My wife Marcela Portocarrero and me tried everything we could to get the company of the ground but it proved to be impossible, we were too young of a company to be able to handle such crisis. So eventually we had to start looking for jobs again. As the industry was suffering it was just as hard to find a job as it was to sell the advertising in the site. We struggled for a long time and ended up spending all of our savings just trying to make ends meet.
To make a long story short, one day we realized that all we had in the world was $600 and each other, I took half the money, my clothes and my computer and traveled to Houston in search of a new life with the promise to my wife that I would send back for her as soon as I could make some money. Left my wife, my daughter, my friends, and everything behind one more time. I remember I cried for hours while I drove.
I arrived at Houston with $40 in my pocket and the city smiled at me. I made my first sale within 24 hours without even having a business card. With the money of that sale, I was able to go back and pick up my wife and I was able to register our company and start a new life, so I can honestly say, we built everything we have with $40 dollars.
12 years later and thousands of loads delivered we keep going strong, growing and we have been able to help a lot people in the process.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Being an Entrepreneur is everything you can think of, but it is not easy, ever. There’s always dark moments and doubts and it’s a dark road full of obstacles but the rewards are there if you hang on long enough, and if you are honest and put the work in. My Mom had a saying that has stuck with me through the years, “If it was easy, everyone would do it, and then who would pay for it?”
So yes, it is supposed to be hard and it has been but I would do it all over again every time without a doubt.
So, as you know, we’re impressed with Gorilla Cargo – tell our readers more, for example what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
Gorilla Cargo is a transportation and Logistics Company specialized in refrigerated and dry transportation, storage, segregation, packing, inspection and distribution. We have FTL (Full Truck Load) service to cover all of the continental USA and Canada and we do specialized LTL (Less than a Trailer Load) for customers all over the country. We are a brand name in the produce business and we move freight for all the main supermarket and processors in the country and their vendors.
Gorilla Cargo was founded on the premise of filling an empty space in the quality of service available at the time, we have been able to accomplish that and we have surpassed our own expectations creating a system that works so good it is now being replicated by many of our competitors. We actually like that, it is good for the industry in general and great for the end customer.
We always deliver top quality transportation service at the right time for the right price, and we do it consistently by working with the best dispatchers and drivers available. You have to be the best to work for Gorilla Cargo so our customers get only the best every single time they work with us.
When you use Gorilla Cargo’s service, we’re available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to answer any question, solve any problem or check on the status of your shipment, although keeping you informed all the way is just basic, natural and standard procedure for us.
So, what’s next? Any big plans?
A couple years back we teamed up with one of our owner operators and started a second company called Gorilla Trucking, We have our own equipment under this company and its main purpose is to provide Gorilla Cargo with an increased equipment capacity in a market that needs it.
Our team and partners are our greatest assets, our dispatcher are resourceful, innovative, passionate and dedicated to making this an extraordinary organization. We believe in what we do so we invite everyone to experience our service and to become part of our history and growth.
We want to make Gorilla Trucking grow as well so we are now hiring owner operators to join our team, we have great pay per mile and / or profit sharing plans. But most importantly, we have a lot of work to keep them busy and making money.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.gorillacargo.com
- Phone: 713-623-1434
- Email: info@gorillacargo.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gorilla_cargo
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/gorillacargo
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/gorillacargo
- Other: https://www.linkedin.com/company/gorilla-cargo-llc
Getting in touch: VoyageHouston is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
