Haiden Watkins discusses his career path and the role of a broker in the trucking industry.

In this episode, Haiden Watkins, a 19-year-old broker, discusses his career path and the role of a broker in the trucking industry. Haiden shares that he started working in warehousing at 14 and was inspired by his father's involvement in transportation. He explains that brokers connect vendors with suppliers or purchasers to facilitate transactions and make money from it. Haiden describes the variety of tasks he handles as a broker, including arranging shipments from overseas to their final destinations. He emphasizes the importance of good communication skills and problem-solving abilities for success in this field. As a young professional, Haiden values the freedom and fulfillment he finds in contributing to transporting goods worldwide. He expresses satisfaction about helping customers and receiving commission checks alongside his salary. In terms of career growth, Haiden intends to stay with Hanzo Logistics while exploring other opportunities on his own time. He advises individuals interested in logistics to go for it and highlights the potential for creativity within this industry. Additionally, Haiden encourages employers to consider hiring younger individuals as they bring fresh perspectives necessary for future development in logistics.

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Transcript

Before we hit the road on today's discussion, I want to express our sincere gratitude to our sponsors. Without their support, this podcast wouldn't be possible. So a big shout out and thank you to Performance Food Group, to C. H. Robinson, to the PepsiCo foundation, and to the Knorr-Bremse Global Cares foundation. Without your support, this couldn't be possible. So buckle up and get ready for an insightful journey into all things Next Gen trucking.   Your road to the future. 

Hey, this is Lindsey Trent with Next Gen talks. Today I have a guest. His name is Haiden Watkins, and Haiden is a broker at 19 years old.  He decided at a young age he wanted to go right into the industry and forego college and really start working on a career.  And so, Haiden, we are really excited to have you today to hear about your career path and what you do.

Glad to be here.

So tell me, what age were you when you were like, you know what, I want to be in the trucking industry.

I started very young. I was first during school. I guess after school I was around like 14. So in the beginning of freshman year, maybe be the end of eigth grade. Middle school is when I kind of started working in a warehouse environment. So it would be anything from painting lines on the floor or painting like dock plates or whatever, to even driving a forklift and loading trucks myself is kind of when I started. I guess where I started would have been like warehousing.

So did you at that time think, you know what, I might want to do this for my entire career, or I might want to just start right after high school doing that?

Absolutely. Yeah, absolutely.

What made you want to get into trucking?

It was without a doubt my dad seeing him being involved in it. And then from an early age, he was always on the phone. And I always kind of wondered, what is it that you do? He really was never involved in the brokerage per se, or transportation. For him, it was more like warehousing and sales, I guess, from a warehousing perspective. So it doesn't really relate to transportation that much. But just seeing that and seeing what he is going through always on the phone or always solving a problem is kind of what I guess spiked my interest.

And so you're a broker now, right?

Yes.

Okay. What is a broker? What does a broker do?

There is no real fine line, really. We're just a middleman between any, I guess, business interaction or business agreement, I guess. So what we do is we profit off of connecting two entities, basically, or connecting vendor to supplier or supplier to purchaser. Or whatever the case is, really a broker or a brokerage strives to make money off any transaction.

So really you're helping to get a driver with a load. Well, you're helping to connect them to somebody that needs that load moved. Right?

Right, yeah. So we connect the service or the service providers to the needs, like, whoever needs the service provided.

Okay, so tell me, like, in the last day or two, what are some loads, and what do you call, like.

Right now, what I'm actually working on, there's some stuff in Kansas City, and this would be drage is what it would fall under. And so what that is, that's usually product from overseas. For this instance, this product came from Ningbo, China. It was imported through Los Angeles' port. From Los Angeles port, it was railed via intermodal to Kansas City, Kansas, to a terminal there, in which we will pick it up from there on a chassis with a power unit, and then we will deliver that container to the final delivery or the customer. And then really that's about it. We'll return the empty container once it's been offloaded. But that's pretty much inland transportation, is what that would be.

Now, the product was already getting from China to Kansas City, but your role was to get it to Kansas City to its final destination.

Right. And so from Kansas City, this specific, I guess, business, we handle ten containers a month for this specific, I guess, project. And those go to Lamar, Missouri, from there. And so we would bring it from Kansas City, Kansas, to Lamar, Missouri, and then return the empty containers back to Kansas City.

And so all over the country, in any given day, you're making deals to get product from one place to another.

Yes, ma'am.

You basically are a matchmaker. You're matching a driver and a load. You're matching a load to a driver, basically.

Right.

Okay. And what do you like about your job?

Everything. It's very different every day. So, like, one day I'll be dealing with that out of Kansas City, and then tomorrow I'll be dealing with something that comes out of my facility here in Plainfield or whatever the case. It's just always solving a new problem for a customer, which in turn helps them out. And it's cool that you get to profit off helping a customer? Helping somebody out.

Yeah. And so do you have a list of customers that you do business with a lot or you try to get new business or both?

Both. So with what we are Hanzo Logistics, we're basically a four PL. So the warehousing division and then our asset trucks so we own our own equipment as well. That was really established almost 15 years ago, whereas the brokerage was established around five years ago, but there really was nothing, I guess, moving through it. And so that's kind of where were brought on to kind of advance the brokerage and expand. I love everything about it, really. It's so different. There's never a day where you're doing something that you did yesterday. And it's a pretty lenient environment as well.

Somebody that wants to be successful as a broker, say, I'm 16, I'm trying to figure out what I want to do. What do you think the qualifications I need to have to be successful at being a broker?

Good communication skills is very important. That's probably the most important piece of this business, is just communicating, because you're always either on the phone with somebody or discussing a solution, really, and it's being able to analyze problems and then quickly come up with a solution to that problem. That's the whole name of the game. So if you can do those three things, really, that's pretty much all you need. Everything else can be either taught or can be, I guess, helped by somebody else, or somebody else can help with it, just because in this industry there's so much experience. 

Yeah so what made you decide to go right into your career? What was your deciding factor? Besides, I'm sure you have a lot of friends that decided to go to college. What made you decide? You know what? I'm just wanting to start my career.

Really, I'd say I don't really have a choice or didn't really have a choice, although I did. But once I started at 14 and then come, like sophomore, junior, senior year of high school, I'm only going to school like, half of the day, and then the rest of the day I was at the previous company where I was in the brokerage there. So going from that, there really wasn't ever another option. My dad really wanted me to play baseball in college, and that was kind of his goal, just because he didn't, and he thought he should have when he was in school. But either way, he had my back with either decision, and so it kind of just played out this way.

Yeah. You got all this momentum moving forward, and it's almost like you would take a few steps back if you stopped.

Exactly. 

To study and to go to school when you know exactly what you want to do.

Right. I kind of felt ahead of everybody. Not really necessarily ahead, but all my friends are in school. They're not really going to find a career for another four to five years or whatever the case. And just knowing that kind of felt like, oh, I'd rather retire a little sooner so I can party later than party now.

There you go. Start making money right away instead of getting student loans. That sounds like a good deal to me. How did you get to go to school a half day? Did your school have something special where you could do work based learning?

Yeah, so I kind of was lucky. They did something with schooling, like around when I was in eigth grade, where were able to take certain courses in middle school to allow us to get high school credits. And I think they maybe got rid of that or something. I don't know. But if you had enough credits, you could do a certain. We did work based learning and got OSHA certified in a construction class before, so that was maybe sophomore year or junior year, and then once that was over, those were also college credits. So if you had enough credits, you could do like, a work based learning, which was. You'd have, like, maybe two periods. So whatever you needed to fill was basically whatever you would take during the day.

You have been getting paid since you were 14?

Yeah, at 16, I think, is when I first started on a salary basis or pay.

Wow. What is your advice to somebody who's 15 and maybe wants to explore? Maybe they've got a warehouse somewhat nearby, and they're like, hey, I would like to get a job and check this out. What would your advice be?

It would be, absolutely, go for it. There are a million ways to be successful in any avenue that you choose, whether it is warehousing, transportation, or anything in logistics or in any industry. But with logistics itself, it's easy to be creative because there's so many ways you can really, I guess, succeed or come up with a solution or an idea that you could sell to your customers that they find value in over another brokerage or another transportation or warehousing company. So that alone just, I would say, gives you, I guess, leverage if you wanted to start something in this industry versus somewhere else. I'm not too familiar with anywhere else, though. I've only done this for the past four or five years, so I'm young. I don't know too much.

What do you think? I mean, you're 19. What attracts you to the trucking industry and being a broker?

The freedom, really, of being able to go after any customer there is and be able to talk to anybody in the world, anywhere, whatever it is, just knowing that everything in the world was transported at one point. Like, anything that was man made was transported at one point, and to be able to contribute to that is very awesome. It's a very cool experience just knowing that you're contributing to that.

Yeah. So do you have any examples of something that you've moved? Do you know the products? Yeah. What kind of things are you.

So we are a partner with DHL, one of their first national motor carriers that they've, I guess, partnered with for DHL global forwarding with them. There's a lot of, I guess, pharmaceuticals or high class pharmaceuticals, and then some of our other accounts or customers that we deal with, like Sonoco, Somebrella, those are all pharmaceuticals. And so a lot of pharmaceuticals for, like, we've transported a lot of that, whether it be around the United States. We've done a lot to Mexico to Canada shoot. There was some of a high profile drug or pharmaceutical that was transported, which we transport with helicopters that fly over the truck while it's moving. So it's very secure, it's very high value. There's over $2 million worth of product in that one trailer.

Are you arranging that helicopter right as well, too? Like, do you have to arrange the security?

No, we don't necessarily arrange that. Just the truck? Just the truck itself. I guess that would be. I don't know who would arrange that, but it ain't us.

Wow, that's wild.

Whoever's paying for it, because that's expensive.

Yeah, but you got to protect that $2 million. Those assets, they get where they need to be in a safe manner. So, I mean, that's got to feel good to know that you're getting the people the medicine that they need and arranging to have it safely delivered to where it needs to be.

Yes. It's very very awesome to be able to contribute to that.

Tell me, an average day, you wake up, you get to work. What's an average day for you like?

Really it's smooth just because everything we do is all online on the phone, writing something down. So there's nothing ever physical or anything tiring other than mental. But a day to day, it's just come in the office around eight. We basically field emails, make phone calls. Really, the day to day operation is communicating. That's basically it. Just providing a solution. 

And I always feel like being a broker is kind of an exciting job because you're never doing this same thing over and over again, and you're, like, making things happen, you're making deals out there. Right. So it keeps you on your toes.

Yes. And another cool thing about it, is you really get to see what you are contributing to, because everything, you know who you're picking up from, you know who you're delivering. Like, it's. If I'm delivering to somewhere, like Eversana Health sciences, I know that I'm picking up pharmaceuticals, and I'm delivering to either somewhere that creates or manufactures or does something along the lines of something to do with whatever it is that I'm moving. But it's very interesting, very cool.

Yes. And I'm curious. There's a lot of brokerage jobs out there, right? And so I think some people maybe want to do it right out of high school. Some people go to college and then become a broker, and you just wanted to go for it. What do you see your career path being? Do you think that you want to do this forever, or are there some other opportunities you'd like to have see with your career?

So with this, I kind of got lucked into, I guess, where I landed. We have a really good infrastructure with great people that have, I guess, connected us just the most fortunate way. And so, really, I do not plan on ever moving from Hanzo itself or the logistics industry at. I mean, there will always be opportunity for other endeavors on my own or on my own time as well, such as a couple of my buddies. Actually, one of my buddies who works here, went to school with, will be starting, like, a liquidation or something to do with liquidation here soon. And so Hanzo, they're letting us store some stuff pretty cheap, and then obviously, we have the brokerage for transportation, so it kind of makes it easier to be able to, I guess, operate something like that. But we'll just see where it goes.

Yeah. So, I mean, you could stay there for your entire career and continue to be a broker. And I'm assuming you make a salary and then you make commissions. How does that pay structure work?

Yeah, for this, I'm more of, like, in a management position here. So that would be a salary plus commission. But again, really, any position in a brokerage, you're looking at some form of either commission structure or just salary. No commission structure, depending on what it is like, more of a data entry or customer service is more of, like, a salary alone type of structure. And then you have something like an account manager or a carrier sales, which would be more of like a salary, like a lower salary, higher commission, or maybe a higher salary, lower commission. It just really depends on kind of what you negotiate. So it's very open. There's no really set terms or set guidelines to follow on how to pay or structuring. It's just whatever works.

So that's what I mean by, like when I said earlier, kind of freedom, feeling free in what you do. That's kind of the structure, I guess, is we're very lenient in what we can set up.

Yeah. Getting an extra commission check. Right. What is that feeling? Like you get your weekly salary or your biweekly, but then you get some extra checks. And what is it like when you opened your first commission check?

I started at freedom, which was my previous company, or where I started at tradition, which was in the warehouse. But freedom was when I started in the brokerage, and I more started as an intern. And so I was kind of lucky where I got a deal, kind of worked out where I was getting commission as an intern, whereas none of the other interns were. But that was more of just because they knew they were bringing me on as an employee at some point. But the first commission check I ever got was over double what my check was for two weeks. And I was like, oh, my God.

Wow, you're like, I'm hooked.

Well, and it was uncapped, too. And that's the cool thing about a brokerage, is a lot of these places are going to be uncapped if you can bring on a good book of business or if you're inside sales, if you're able to bring on business within an account that's already there. There's so much room for growth, and it's awesome. That's the coolest part right there.

Able to get your normal check that you count on, so you budget, but then, hey, you get this huge check out of the blue. Not out of the blue. I mean, you're working hard for it, but it incentivizes you to want to work hard. And tell me, what are some of the things that you purchased as a 19 year old? Do you have a vehicle that you purchased?

Yeah, hold on 1 second, let me. Yeah, I did. Kind of silly, but.

Awesome. That's a pretty car. It looks like it's fast.

Yeah, that's the major reason I bought it there.

Really? What kind of car is it?

It's Camaro. Like v eight Camaro, 2021. It's nice.

Every 19 year old needs a Camaro.

Exactly.

It's pretty sweet, right? I drive a minivan. So drive a Camaro while you can.

Yeah, absolutely. I agree with you there. Now I'm done buying toys that I haven't really bought anything. I just moved out not that long ago into an apartment. So now the bills are starting to kick in.

Yeah. That's good. Do you have roommates? Do you live by yourself?

With my girlfriend.

Okay. You're, like, on the road to being independent and doing what you want to do every day when you wake up.

Yes, ma'am.

Compare that to some of your friends that chose a different route.

That would be them in college, basically in a dorm or somewhere along that line. Yeah.

Did a lot of them have to get student loans to do that?

Yeah, some of them did. More of my friends, their parents are paying for it. I went to New Pal. Yeah, actually, about half and half. Really?

Yeah. Going to college and kind of learning what they want to do. Besides, you're already doing it and building up your net worth. Really?

Like my stepbrother and then a couple of other budies, they kind of went the same route I did, except they did with union. So my stepbrother is a pipe fitter for Miller's pipeline, and then my other buddy worked for Miller for a little bit, and then is now, I think he started his own epoxy flooring company.

Okay.

So that's kind of. I mean, if it wasn't logistics, they did something similar, going, getting to work, but it was either that. Yeah. Student loans or some type of school.

If somebody, they're like, hey, I'm looking to do this. Would you just say, look up some logistics companies and walk to their front, try to say, hey, can I get a job and apply for a job? How do they get connected to a job like that, do you think?

It depends. For me, it was easy just because of my dad. But I would say, really, if you're looking to become a broker for a transportation company, I would say looking up what your offers are, whether it be in any position, what your commission structure and pay structure would be, how you can negotiate it. Other than that, I've always thought a good idea would be like starting a landstar kind of agency. Or some of those different agencies allow you to start your own brokerage under those authorities where they handle all of the back end paperwork and they already have the infrastructure. You just get a percentage of the business you bring on, and usually that's more of, like, only commission, no salary type of environment. But both of them are a good opportunity. It just depends on a.

How much work you want to put in, how much time you can put in, et cetera.

Well, I think that's great advice, and I think that there's a lot of job openings for being a broker. A lot of companies will train as well, right? I mean, you got trained to do what you're doing.

Yeah.

And so looking for those types of opportunities and maybe saying, hey, I want to get into business and sales and this is a great way to do it and earn good money while I'm doing it and have something different every day. Right?

Yes.

Thank you for being on next gen talks today. I think a lot of young people are really going to be excited to hear about what you have to do. What would you tell an employer about hiring an 18 or 19 year old and giving them a shot at doing what you do?

I would say absolutely give them a shot. That's actually something I think, I guess a lot of companies that I'm close to or have a relationship with that I talk to about something like this would be that they do want to bring on more like youth. Obviously, they know that they need youth to carry on what's going on in this industry. So. Really? Yeah, really.

Let's see what happens. And I love the idea of an internship and work. Maybe find a 17 year old and give them a shot during the summer or after school and see what they can do.

I think that would be a very good place to start, whether it be like seniors in high school or even kids in college, too, especially during the summertime. Because when we did that internship program the first time, it was maybe 15 to 20 people and we had over 30 people that were interested to do it. We just couldn't have that many interns. So definitely something like that is a good opportunity to get young kids involved. Absolutely.

Well, Haiden, thanks for being on the show today, and we wish you the most success in your career.

Thank you. Thank you for having me. I appreciate it.

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