Today we’d like to introduce you to Chris Steele.
Hi Chris, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
In 2011, my little sister passed away and I quickly realized how fragile life can be and that you only live once. She was 19 years old and in college at the time, and I always encouraged her to follow her dreams. She aspired to be a stand up comic and I helped her book her first show at the Bottleneck in Lawrence, KS and organize the event. Unfortunately, she passed before that show happened. This was obviously devastating and very difficult. I always admired her for her going out on a limb and doing what she loved to do.
I always had an entrepreneurial mindset growing up. When I was a kid, I went door to door and offered to do jobs to earn some money and help my family, mowing lawns to babysitting gigs. In high school, I started selling vitamin drinks as a 1099 agent with the dreams of growing big. Every job I had, I always had this thought that, “I could build a business like this” and I strived to learn every aspect of the company so I could learn how everything works.
After Hallie passed, it really sunk in. At that time, I was working as a freight broker for about 3 years and I was very successful at it. I always placed top 3 in sales of my training class.
So, in 2012 I decided I am going to take my shot and start my own business. I built a website, started a LLC, and acquired all of the insurance and business licenses needed to get legal. I moved back in with my parents to save money. I woke up early in the morning and worked all day to get the business off of the ground and then worked nights at an answering service (Answer KC) to pay the bills.
After 6 months, I built a relationship with a great customer that shipped a lot of cars and did everything I could possibly do to help their business run smoothly. I am proud to say that this customer is still working with us today and we ship their cars for all 6 of their showrooms across the country.
After a couple years of being my own boss as a 1 man show. I dreamed bigger. I wanted to build a company that could grow even more. So, I rented an office building in Overland Park, KS and started hiring people. Throughout the years there was a lot of trial and error. We did a lot of great things, but also made mistakes, I had to learn quickly to not get too high or too low as the owner. Always kept pushing to improve regardless of what was happening. There were times that we could barely pay the bills and I worried if I overextended the business and my dreams were too big. My diet consisted of a lot of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches at this time, haha.
But, this was my dream and I was determined to be successful and never give up. That persistence paid off. We continued to grow and build partnerships for shipping cars with nationally recognized car dealerships like Gateway Classic Cars, Streetside Classics, CarMax, DriveTime, RunBuggy, and many more while also focusing on helping smaller dealerships and private individuals ship their vehicles quickly and safely with a reliable transport company.
In 2015, I then created a freight shipping division for the company. This allowed our business to offer LTL, Truckload, Intermodal and Air shipping options to customers that are shipping freight all over the USA. So not only can we offer automobile transport services, but freight shipping as well. This made our business unique because most competitors of ours with ship Automobiles or they ship freight. Most of them do not do both.
Over the years we continued to grow and learn new ways to build a stronger and more reliable shipping company. Now, we have a brick and mortar office building in Lenexa, KS with 20 employees. Our reputation is stronger than ever and are relied on for the logistics for many complex supply chains. Always focused on finding ways for improvement and provide the best service possible.
I am very proud of how far we’ve come and sometimes it’s hard to believe it. One thing I know is that I wanted to turn my sister’s passing into a positive. Even though she isn’t here on this earth physically, I believe that she encouraged me to follow my dreams and take a chance. I’m so glad I did. I’m proud of everything we’ve done and the families that we take care of. It’s been a wild ride and look forward to what the future brings.
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?
A lot of ups and downs. A lot of them were explained in the previous answer.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about ASAP Transport Solutions?
We specialize in shipping both Automobiles and Freight of all kinds. This makes us a unique transportation company because most of our competitors only do 1 or the other.
How do you think about luck?
I don’t know if I necessarily believe in luck. Timing is everything. Being prepared when the right opportunity presents itself is key. I’ve seen great things happen when I was experienced and ready to pounce on an opportunity. I’ve also seen great things happen when we’ve experienced “bad luck”. Over the years I have strived to do everything possible to turn a bad situation into a learning experience and find a way to make it a positive outcome.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://asaptransportsolutions.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/asaptransport/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/asaptransportsolutions
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/asap-transport-solutions/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/asap_transport
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@asaptransportsolutions4235
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/asap-transport-solutions-lenexa-2
- Other: https://birdeye.com/asap-transport-solutions-175494019673028
