How to Succeed in Freight Dispatching with Integrity and Faith

Revival Corporations is a beacon of resilience and opportunity in the competitive logistics industry. Under the leadership of Jillian Williams, this Texas-based company is not only carving out a place in the government contracting sector but also making a meaningful impact on the community by creating job opportunities for disenfranchised citizens.

In this interview, Jillian shares the inspiration behind Revival Corporations, the challenges she faced, the strategies that fueled her success, and the valuable lessons she has learned on her entrepreneurial journey.

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The Vision Behind Revival Corporations

SBS – What inspired you to start Revival Corporations, and how has your background influenced it?

Jillian – Starting my business was a matter of faith. I’m a minister of the gospel of Jesus Christ. My background was turbulent. I didn’t have the best upbringing. I didn’t come from money. I’ve also been criminally incarcerated.

What pushed me to start my business was being able to walk with a purpose when other people would not give me a chance to redeem myself or showcase who I had become after healing from the trauma I’d been through. My business was birthed through my pain to push out a purpose not only for myself but for people around me that I could help. They may need a second or third chance or however many chances they need to be able to show themselves approved. Most people written off by society as being delinquent, or whatever the case may be, can and do change. Still, when they change, they often don’t get the opportunity to showcase that. I know that not everybody wants a better chance at life; some are just willing to stay at a low level. I want to be able to help people who desire a better life but feel like they can’t get it. 

I know what it takes and the hardships of rebuilding your life after you have an X on your back. It takes a person who’s bold enough to step out on faith and do things that most people won’t be able to do. Had I never stepped out and built this business, I would probably still be working in environments where I was being capped about how far I could go, or I would have been stifled and unable to find my purpose.

Early Challenges

SBS – What were the first challenges when you started your business? 

Jillian – I have no background in business. When I jumped into it, I felt like I would know what I was doing, but I had to learn along the way. I also did not have access to capital. I felt like if I obeyed God and planned things accordingly, all this money would just find me. 

It didn’t work like that, and I was broke for a very long time (I had quit my regular job). In the first three months, I made no money at all. After that, I started making money, but I had already fallen so behind in my bills that I felt I was still losing. I got kicked out of my apartment. I often didn’t have food to eat, or I had to scrape up money to get food for my son and me or put gas in the car.

I went through a lot with building this business, but I had a strong belief in Jesus Christ, and I knew that I came that far by him, so I never gave up. I continued praying, hoping for the best, and building my business. I didn’t want to turn back.

A few times, I had to get a job to sustain myself. Those were some very low-end jobs that I didn’t want to keep. At one point in time, I almost gave up my business. I found a better job, and they wanted to promote me. But God had other plans. The promotion began to crumble from beneath me. My employers started toying with me, and it got to the point where I decided to take the things I learned at that company and apply them to my own business. I left and followed that instruction from the Lord and started making far more money in my business than before. 

Growth Journey

SBS – How long did it take you to get where you are now? 

Jillian – Two years. This is my second year in business, and I started seeing an increase last summer. Now, I’m in a position where I’m fairly comfortable, though I have not yet scaled the business to where it needs to be.

Market Competition

SBS – How do you deal with competition in the market? How much has it evolved from the beginning?

Jillian – I currently do freight dispatching and aim to become a trucking company. The competition in freight dispatching is extremely competitive, but I can stand out by marketing myself as a person of integrity. Many dispatchers look to get as much money as they can and move on to their next client or trucking company, but I have a heart for whoever signs on with me, and I want to generate the most money for them as I possibly can. Because I’ve operated out of integrity, honesty, and the best interest of my clientele, that set me apart from the competition.

As far as the difference between now and then, when I started, I was so anxious and new in the business that I would try to work even with the clients who treated me badly. I needed the money, and I would try to justify it in my mind — maybe they just didn’t know better. However, it had come to the point when I had to accept that those people didn’t care. Now, as soon as I start noticing my clientele is trying to mishandle me, or they want to side-swipe me, I just let them go. I now understand how good I am in this business, and I know they’re not going to come across another dispatcher who operates as well as I do, makes sure that they get things done the right way, and makes sure that they are okay. So, between then and now, I understand my value much better. 

Also, when I started, I didn’t know what I was doing, but I learned my craft and now know it like the back of my hand. I learned a lot, much more than what many people would learn within a two-year mark.

Since I want to be my own trucking company in the future, I have done plenty of research. I know trucking safety compliance well and am well-versed in government contracting. That also makes me unique.

Marketing Strategies and Client Acquisition

SBS – What marketing strategies brought you the clients?

Jillian – I’m going to be very, very, very honest with this. Initially, I printed flyers to get my trucking clients, and then I went to truck stops to hand out those flyers. That didn’t work very well. Also, it was hot. I started my business in April of 2022, and that summer, I was at the truck stops, standing outside in the sun, handing out fliers and business cards. I got one client off of that, but that wasn’t enough. 

My mindset shifted, and I began focusing on social media and marketing myself in trucking groups, where I started getting a lot of clientele. Also, with minority-owned businesses, minorities tend to gravitate towards other minorities to do business. That’s another way for me to get clients.

Entrepreneurial Insights

SBS – What were the biggest lessons you learned as an entrepreneur, and what would you advise anyone who wants to enter the trucking industry?

Jillian – To anyone looking to launch a business, I’d advise to have some capital in line. Make sure that your credit is in order. Try to save money from working a regular job before starting your business. Even if you have a blueprint laid out and you believe it’s going to go in a certain order, it’s more than likely not going to. Anybody who wants to jump into entrepreneurship should have that in mind.

Also, entrepreneurship is not for the weak, especially if you’re a first-generation entrepreneur with no background or knowledge behind it. I would also advise people to do a lot of research and try to make as many connections as they can before diving into it.

Jumping into the trucking industry, I’ve noticed that people think trucking is easy, so they dive head-first into trucking. A box truck is fairly easy to obtain as long as you have the money. You don’t even need a CDL to drive it. However, if you don’t know what you’re doing, you’re not going to make any money. 

You have to have equipment and thoroughly research the laws and everything. Don’t take for granted that it’s a truck. Don’t think that all you have to do is drive. It’s still a business that you have to operate. You still have to have marketing, networking, a business plan, profit sheets, a budget, and all the proper business protocols in place to have a profitable business. All of this comes into play.