Her Story
About Kimberly
I've been in transportation and logistics for 17 and a half years, and honestly, I never would have imagined this would be my career path when I was younger. I came from restaurant and bar management, looking for something different, and what caught me was that it was a local physician company that was privately owned. I liked getting away from the big corporations. I started in dispatch, and just nine months after I began, they sent me out of town to set up an office and keep operations running during a hurricane here in Florida. The company has been sold three times since I've been here, and I'm now with my third corporation. After spending many years in dispatch, I got a bit bored with it, and one of my area managers offered me the opportunity to apply for an operations position. I'm now a little over three months into my new role as an operations manager, and I can honestly say I'm never bored anymore. I manage 62 accounts across the United States, with only 6 in my time zone and everything else out in the wild, wild west. I travel regularly, which I really enjoy, and I work with independent contractors who are very professional. I have an operations coordinator under me who helps with reports and the tedious things that take away from my day-to-day operations. What I love most about my work is being a problem solver and learning to think outside the box. Communication goes a long way, and I've found that treating people as living, breathing human beings rather than robots makes all the difference. I can't tell you how much PTO time I've lost by not taking time off because I really love my job. I can't believe I've stayed with the company for almost 18 years, but now I have new challenges, which I like.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Kimberly
01What do you attribute your success to?
I would have to say that my biggest accomplishment is that I'm respectful, I'm responsible, and I show up for work. I can't tell you how much PTO time I've lost by not taking time off, but I really love my job. I can't believe I stayed with the company for almost 18 years. Hard work pays off, I do agree with that. I've also had some great mentors throughout my life with this company, some of them have been here and left, and we still stay in touch. I think somebody has to be happy in what they do and enjoy what they do in order to be successful. The connections that I've made, even on previous jobs, have been so important. I have friends that we worked together at Bob Evans back in the day, and we stay in touch. It's really hard, especially in this day and age, to make those connections. I also believe that everything happens for a reason, and it's the ups and downs in life and how you react to them that's what's gonna make you or break you. Being a good person and having a family connection with the people that I work with makes a real difference in life. Positivity can spread, and being positive is so important because negativity will kill you quicker. I've changed my lifestyle within the last 7 years, and I feel healthy. I'm blessed, and I just like to try and pay things forward as I can.
02What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
Not to give up, but also, it doesn't do you any good if you get into something and then you find out that it's not really for you. You need to make a change, because if you're not happy, you're not gonna make anybody else happy. You could have never told me when I was younger that I would be in transportation. I believe that everything happens for a reason, and it's the ups and downs in life and how you react to them that's what's gonna make you or break you. You're not as good at what you do if you're only halfway looking at it and not fully into it. I talk to people that say they hate their job, and I tell them, well, then you gotta change it. Life's too short to stay miserable.
03What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
Being respectful and responsible are core to who I am. I show up for work and I'm committed to what I do. I believe in treating people as living, breathing human beings, not robots. Communication goes a long way, and I've worked at places where they didn't know their employees, and that's not how I operate. The connections that I've made throughout my career are so important to me. I have a family connection with the people I work with, and that really makes a difference in life. Family is first and always will be, no matter what age they are. I like to think that I set a good example for my children. Being a good person matters, and positivity can spread. I'm healthy, I'm blessed, and I just like to try and pay things forward as I can. You can't have a good company without having happy and content employees that are treated with respect. I believe that everything happens for a reason, and how you react to life's ups and downs is what's gonna make you or break you.
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