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Meet Todd Wasulko of Millennium Shipping

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Today we’d like to introduce you to Todd Wasulko.

Thanks for sharing your story with us Todd. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
My dad started as an agent for Globaltranz back in 2007 as he had over 20 years of experience in the transportation industry. He suddenly and unexpectedly passed away Father’s Day weekend 2010. I was the only one of three kids that were in a position to take over the business. I was living in Upstate NY at the time and was furloughed from working at CSX. I packed two bags, left my house, my family, job, and life I knew for 26 years to take over a business I didn’t know how to run or prior knowledge about the industry and sales. The first 6 months were the most difficult for various reasons but I told myself from day one that I will NOT fail. I told myself no matter what I will keep this business going for my father’s name. Even if the unthinkable happens and the business collapsed, I would just start over and build it back up, failure was not an option. I eventually started to build the business around me. I hired one of my best friends from high school to do Operations. A year later I hired a virtual assistant to help with some of the most basic tasks. She has proven to be an invaluable member of our team.

Eventually, I realized that I need to start to educate myself in every sense of the word. I sought out self-help books such as Think and Grow Rich, Rich Dad Poor Dad and The 12 Hour Work Week. I eventually sought out sales training which has completely changed my sales approach. Now I am working with a business coach so I can become a better business owner and secure the future of the business by being the best I can be.

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Being a business owner has been so rewarding with so many benefits of a flexible schedule and more time with my family and ability to do things a normal job wouldn’t afford me to do. However I am never on vacation, the business is always on my mind. This is something I’m working hard to let go of the anxiety and keep the stresses of work at the office.

I truly love what I do, my team, our clients and all the new people I meet is such a benefit of what I do. I could never go back and work for someone else. There’s not a day that goes by where I am unappreciative of the business my dad set up. It’s been a long, long road that started with first dealing with the grief of the loss my father but only after 2-3 years into the business. After spinning my wheels when doing sales and had enough of throwing wet spaghetti at a wall to see what sticks, is when I sought out sales training. Now I have reached a point I realize for my business to grow the way I want it to, it’s not just about sales but rounding myself as a complete business owner proficient with every element that makes it run.

I’ve been pretty hard on myself over the last 7 years trying to push myself to be better at it all. I always felt this wasn’t my business but still my dad’s and I was just managing it. It hasn’t been until the last 6 months have I started changing gears and making this business my own with my own style. I do everything I can to make my dad proud of me and the work that I’ve done. Things have been positively growing within our company culture and growth in sales since then.

Millennium Shipping – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
We are a third party logistics company, in other words, we are brokers in the supply chain management/transportation industry.

We work with great companies like those that manufacture products and use our services because they have become frustrated with the lack of customer service they’re currently being provided. We offer a solution by being their logistics department and handling the day to day operations while solving any issues that may arise. Some of our clients are freight forwarders that are angry with receiving re-bills (additional costs not originally quoted) so we work closely with them to service them by assisting to properly build a quote using correct industry standard codes and classes. We also work with the distribution of companies who have so many products that they’ve grown anxious because they carry so many different items and keeping track of every items industry codes is overwhelming. We have a superior online system that can help manage and give the user a friendly and ease of use platform for their quoting, booking and managing their products, freight, and tracking.

I am most proud of my team as well as how far I have recently come. I receive nothing but compliments from our clients how great my staff is. Many of my clients admit they no longer use other companies but only go with us because they know not only are we doing the best we can to manage and track their freight but also back them up when an issue comes up. As I mentioned, it has been a long road for me and the growth I’ve seen within myself and my company as well as individual accomplishments by setting goals and achieving them.

My drive for success and doing the right thing for our clients is what sets us apart. My dads called his company HIT Logistics which stood for Honesty, Integrity, and Trust which is something I have always stood by from day one and will continue to do so. It is a competitive market with a lot of players from a wide range of backgrounds and size that I refuse to do anything that my dad wouldn’t do as he always taught me to do the right thing. That has been one of the keys to our success.

What is “success” or “successful” for you?
Defining success has been one of the most lasting, difficult things I’ve had to do. At the beginning success meant getting the business back to where my dad had it. It then changed to doubling the business and even though this remains a goal of mine, it no longer defines my success. I now understand I am already successful, taking a business I knew nothing about, no knowledge of the freight industry and keeping it alive and healthy is now my definition of success. I have seen many agent colleagues come and go for various reasons but I have been hard at work doing what I have to and remain standing today.

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