Today we’d like to introduce you to Olya Kwiecien.
Hi Olya, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
My name is Olya Kwiecien. I’m a female truck driver and the owner of a small trucking company. Right now, my fleet consists of just one truck, but I hope to grow the business and expand my fleet in the future.
I was born and raised in Kyiv, Ukraine. When I was 21, I was still figuring out what I wanted to do with my life. I had earned a degree in finance, but I realized that sitting in one place was not for me. I wanted a life that would keep me moving, allow me to see new places, and give me a sense of freedom.
That was when a thought crossed my mind: Why not give trucking a try?
I earned my commercial driving license and left Ukraine to work in Europe. By the age of 22, I was already hauling freight across Europe, traveling from country to country and seeing the world. It didn’t take long for me to realize that I absolutely loved what I was doing.
Trucking gave me something I had always been looking for: freedom, movement, independence, and the opportunity to constantly experience something new. I fell in love with the profession and spent five years driving throughout Europe, visiting 25 countries along the way.
Then, in 2022, the war in Ukraine changed everything. I made the decision to move to the United States because I had a bigger goal in mind: I wanted to build my own business here. Here, I feel safe, and I see real opportunities for growth and a future for my business. There are more possibilities, and I understood right away that I needed to take action. The war changed everything — not only the world around me, but my own world as well. It is difficult to live when you have lost so much and have no idea what tomorrow will bring, or even whether there will be a tomorrow. For me, moving to the United States felt like the most reasonable decision I could make.
I didn’t know anyone in America. I was essentially starting from scratch, with no one here to guide me, help me, or explain how things worked. It was a huge risk. But life is unpredictable, and I knew I would regret never giving myself the chance to try.
Now, three and a half years later, I’m still here — and building the life I came here for.
During my first couple of years in the United States, I worked as a company driver. I used that time to learn the American trucking industry from the inside: how the freight market works, how trucking businesses operate, what the expenses look like, and what it really takes to survive in this industry. At the same time, I saved as much money as I could.
Once I felt that I had built a solid foundation of knowledge and experience, I started my own company in the fall of 2024. And on December 30, 2024 — almost like a New Year’s gift to myself — I bought my first truck.
Today, I also run a blog about trucking in America. Through it, I try to encourage other people not to let fear stop them from pursuing their goals. I want people to understand that sometimes you have to take a chance, step outside your comfort zone, and simply try.
Opportunities do not always wait for the perfect moment. Sometimes, the greater regret comes from never trying at all. I would rather take a chance and learn from the outcome than spend the rest of my life wondering, “What if I had tried?”
So far, none of the risks I have taken have become decisions I regret.
One of the most important things I have learned is that we have far more influence over the direction of our lives than we sometimes realize. Your background, your starting point, and the obstacles in front of you do not have to define where you end up.
I try to prove that through my own example.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
For a woman, the road into trucking is not an easy one. That was especially true for me because I began my journey by getting my commercial truck-driving license in Ukraine, where women behind the wheel of a semi are still a rare sight. Many people openly questioned whether I was capable of handling a truck at all.
I heard all the usual comments: that trucking was “not a woman’s job,” that I should stay home, focus on the kitchen, find a “normal” job, and leave trucks to “real men” because the work was supposedly too difficult for a woman.
In Europe and the United States, the attitude toward women in trucking is generally much more accepting. Here, it is more often seen simply as a profession that anyone can do, regardless of gender. Part of that difference in perception, in my experience, also comes from the fact that working conditions, climate, equipment, and the trucking industry itself can be very different in Ukraine compared with Europe and the United States.
Because of that skepticism, I constantly felt that I had to be better — better in training, better in my skills, and better prepared — just to prove that I was capable and that I belonged behind the wheel. But, to be honest, I eventually started seeing that as a challenge. The less people believed in me, the harder I worked to prove that I was capable of much more than they expected.
Over time, especially as I began sharing my journey through my blog, I started earning more respect from other drivers and people in the industry. The jokes about “a little girl driving a truck” gradually disappeared. When I was 22, 23, or 24, many people still saw me as a kid. They thought trucking was just a phase — that I would have my fun, get tired of it, and eventually quit.
But I found myself in this profession, and I am not going anywhere.
If anything, I keep moving forward. I am building a company, buying my own truck, and growing in an industry that has now been part of my life for eight years without a break. And I am doing all of this after moving to another country, building everything again from the ground up, and working in English — a language that is not my native language. I am incredibly proud of myself for that.
Women often have a harder time finding a company willing to give them their first opportunity. Trusting someone with an enormous commercial vehicle is a major responsibility for any company, and sometimes women have to prove themselves before they are given that chance. But nothing is impossible. One company may turn you down, and the next one may believe in you and give you the opportunity you were looking for.
The most important thing is not to give up during that part of the journey.
Sometimes a person hears “no” a few times and begins to think that maybe everyone else is right. Fear takes over, self-doubt starts creeping in, and it becomes tempting to quit before you have even truly started. But I always tell people the same thing: never stop believing in yourself.
Keep knocking on doors. Knock ten times. Twenty times. If necessary, knock a hundred times. Eventually, one of those doors will open.
Never give up. Believe in yourself and in what you are capable of.
Unfortunately, there is no magic in this world, and the solution to all of our problems is not going to simply fall into our lap. But we are much more capable of building the life we want than we sometimes realize. With enough effort, patience, and determination, we can overcome problems and create opportunities for ourselves.
There will always be obstacles, no matter what profession or path you choose. What matters is continuing to believe in yourself, in your abilities, and in the possibility of your own success.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
My company, T&O Express Freight Inc., is a small trucking business that has been operating since November 2024. At the moment, our fleet consists of one truck — a brand-new 2025 Volvo VNL 760.
We do not own our own trailers yet, but purchasing a trailer is part of the plan, along with expanding the fleet as the company grows. Right now, we specialize in refrigerated freight.
My goal has always been to build a successful trucking business, and I am steadily working toward that goal. At the moment, I have a driver operating the truck, but as we expand the fleet, we plan to hire additional drivers and create new positions for dispatchers and accounting staff as well.
For me, this is only the beginning. My goal is not simply to own one truck, but to continue growing the company, building a strong team, and creating more opportunities as the business develops.
Alright so before we go can you talk to us a bit about how people can work with you, collaborate with you or support you?
At the moment, we are not actively hiring, but we expect to expand in the near future and begin building our team.
For business inquiries or potential collaboration with our company, you can contact me through Instagram at @Olya_Kwiecien or by email at Olyakwiecien@gmail.com.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/olya_kwiecien
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Olya.Kwiecien
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@OlyaKwiecien
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@olya_kwiecien?_r=1&_t=ZS-99owuhWmpPQ
