Episode 25 - SHE Trucking's Sharae Moore and The Big Game Picks
Michael and Aaron start the show with a pre-game chat about low freight rates, trucking insurance, and friendly Big Game 54 challenge.
The show then turns to a conversation Aaron had with Sharae Moore, millennial truck driver, advocate for the industry and creator of support community and apparel brand S.H.E. Trucking.
In this episode you'll learn more about Sharae's journey into the industry, how her brand has grown and what's next for S.H.E.!
She also talks about some new developments she's never talked about before and shares her perspective about the future of trucking and logistics.
Don't forget to follow her @shetrucking!
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Sharae Moore:
And I just want to really make sure that we are inspiring and getting these drivers ready for the future of trucking. Let's have a conversation.
Michael Clements:
Welcome to Trucking for Millennials, where we engage with the future of freight happening now. My name is Michael Clements.
Aaron Dunn:
And I'm Aaron Dunn and we are here to help trucking and logistics professionals stay up to date.
Aaron Dunn:
(singing)
Michael Clements:
She trucking, she trucking. S.H.E. Trucking with Trucking for Millennials.
Aaron Dunn:
That's a spicy combo. Sharae Moore, that is her theme song for her podcast, S.H.E. Trucking podcast. You'll hear from her here in a little bit. In my conversation that we had, she's a truck driver and brand builder. S.H.E. Trucking is her apparel brand and we dive into that. But this is the pregame show. So the show before the show. It's bonus.
Michael Clements:
First though, how about the state of Texas. Where we're at it's beautiful today and absolutely nobody can get out of the state for a good rate.
Aaron Dunn:
Yes. That the complaints are piling up in the Facebook groups.
Michael Clements:
Yes. And it is a shame. So freight in Texas has really dried up according to Facebook. You've got the post?
Aaron Dunn:
Yeah. The post says, "Freight in Texas has really dried up or it's trash," and that's out of one of the hot shot Facebook groups and it had 88 comments of people with varying, some people agreed, some people said, "Cheap freight," and all this kind of stuff. Other people were saying, "Not for me." But it's one post of many that I've seen of people complaining about rates being down.
Michael Clements:
The comment that made the most sense to me was the one that was saying, "I've been doing this for two years and I'm not making any money. Does anybody make money at this?"
Aaron Dunn:
Yes.
Michael Clements:
And well, if you're not making money, you're subsidizing the insurance industry. I think that's what it's boiling down to right now. A lot of the complaints, I think a lot of people are renewing or getting ready for renewal here at the first of the year, insurance is absolutely skyrocketed on carriers. And these are good people, small trucking companies, good folks. They're not out driving reckless. They do everything that government says to do. We're doing all these things, but yet the insurance companies keep going up on rates. So I don't know whether we blame the insurance companies, the government, lawyers, bad cases. I don't know what the deal is, but it's not fair to the truck driver and the trucking companies right now.
Aaron Dunn:
Well said. Well said. It reminds me of the conversation that you had last week with Kenneth, and Kenneth touched on after the show.
Michael Clements:
He let us know what he thought about insurance.
Aaron Dunn:
And I mean, he shares in the complaints there of just like how it's just unbalanced.
Michael Clements:
What's making it hard also on the carriers and the people that you actually deal with and you're getting your quotes from because it's really not them setting the rates. But I don't know. I'm hoping that this is going to start to turn around. I guess it won't be this year. It seems like it's just going up. So maybe we are going to see some more trucking companies close. That's unfortunate.
Aaron Dunn:
That's a scary premonition you've got there.
Michael Clements:
The insurance company is not a big fan.
Aaron Dunn:
No. They get a thumbs down.
Michael Clements:
Thumbs down. But you know gets a thumbs up, the Super Bowl this weekend.
Aaron Dunn:
It is this weekend.
Michael Clements:
Yes sir.
Aaron Dunn:
Are you fired up? Are you ready for some football? That's the question.
Michael Clements:
I'm pumped. I'm probably going to eat some case though. I'm going to have a good time. I'm going to have a good time on Super Bowl.
Aaron Dunn:
You're going to leave out the rest of the ingredients that make up a Super Bowl party?
Michael Clements:
I'll let you in on the case though.
Aaron Dunn:
Nice.
Michael Clements:
So Aaron and I have a little something for our listeners. We have agreed to a friendly challenge. We have some prop bets we have discovered for the Super Bowl. So we're going to run through these and we're going to make our picks on each one. And then ultimately who ever wins this challenge is going to give the other one a Gatorade bath, just like the winning Super Bowl coach.
Aaron Dunn:
Yes. This was decided by committee, by the PDQ America team. I was outside of the room, came back in the room and this brilliant idea was born and I was like, "Well, I guess we just got to roll with it." So if you want to see Michael or I to be determined, receive a Gatorade bath, celebratory Gatorade bath on a Monday after the Super Bowl, we're going to come into work and like the first thing we're going to do is take a video of that and post it on our social. So follow at PDQ America if you want to leave a comment or just watch the watch it.
Michael Clements:
I've got a bad feeling about this. All right, so the first one, I'm going to let you take the pick. So ultimately, it's either a yes or no, one or two, something like that. So it's not like a variation of picks. You only can go one way or the other. Whichever way one of us goes, the other one has to by default take the other pick. I'm going to let you roll with the first one and then I'll make the second pick. Fair?
Aaron Dunn:
Sounds good.
Michael Clements:
Let's do this. So Aaron, the coin toss for the Super Bowl, heads or tails?
Aaron Dunn:
I'm going to go with heads.
Michael Clements:
I don't mind rocking the tails never fails. Which team will be leading after the first quarter? And I am going to go with the 49ers.
Aaron Dunn:
I disagree with you there. So that's good.
Michael Clements:
Perfect. Which team will make the first field goal, Aaron?
Aaron Dunn:
I think along those lines I think Kansas City is going to kick the first field goal. And then they'll be leading in the first quarter. See, they'll score first, but they're going to score small. Anyway. Which team will score the last points?
Michael Clements:
I'm going to go with Kansas City. Aaron, will George Kittle score a touchdown in this game?
Aaron Dunn:
I have no idea who that is. Don't know who he plays for and I'm going to go with no.
Michael Clements:
I will take yes on that one.
Aaron Dunn:
What does he do?
Michael Clements:
He's tight in. He gets the ball a little bit for the 49ers.
Aaron Dunn:
Oh God. This one's really serious. Over under on the national Anthem. So Demi Lavato, she's going to be doing the national Anthem to start off the game. Usually the national Anthem lasts around two minutes, so there's prop bet on the over under of that. So do you think, it'll be over or under you? She'll be over or under two minutes?
Michael Clements:
I am going to roll with the unders on this.
Aaron Dunn:
All right, we'll see. We'll watch our stopwatches.
Michael Clements:
It's a little bit tricky, but I'm going to go with the unders.
Aaron Dunn:
I wonder how do we start that? Anyway. All right.
Michael Clements:
Aaron, who or will the final score be odd or even the total combined points?
Aaron Dunn:
I'm going to go with odd. I can see in the future it's going to be odd. Are the infinity stones.
Michael Clements:
I like that.
Aaron Dunn:
Well, the whole enchilada man. So given that, who's going to win the Super Bowl? Who's winning the Super Bowl 54?
Michael Clements:
It's a pretty easy decision for me given my east Texas roots, given the roots of this team originally started in Dallas. I'm going to go with who is the Kansas City Chiefs.
Aaron Dunn:
We will remain to find out and I'll-
Michael Clements:
So I'm rolling with Kansas City.
Aaron Dunn:
You're rolling with Kansas city. I'm, by default now rolling with the 49ers. The east Texas roots like I'm still rooting for Patrick Mahomes, but I think it's a safe bet to take the 49ers too as a Super Bowl champion.
Michael Clements:
So the last one here. It's pretty funny and I'm going to let you take this one Aaron. So will the Trump tweets be over or under 13.5 the day of the Super Bowl?
Aaron Dunn:
The day of the Super Bowl, Trump tweets a lot. So I think it's actually a safe bet to say that he would be over 13.5 tweets.
Michael Clements:
All right. Trump is going to be lighting it up on Super Bowl Sunday.
Aaron Dunn:
In my opinion.
Michael Clements:
All right. So you heard it here first from me and Aaron. We've got our prop bets in. We're keeping score and someone's getting a Gatorade bath on Monday after Super Bowl Sunday.
Aaron Dunn:
Yes. So there's none, right?
Michael Clements:
Yes, there is none. Someone's going to have to win this thing. If we tie, I don't know.
Aaron Dunn:
It's going to be, make it so much more exciting.
Michael Clements:
Cool. And speaking of Trump, how about all this impeachment stuff going on, Aaron.
Aaron Dunn:
Man, I have no real opinion on it. It's like going to be part of our life, unfortunately for the next like week and a half.
Michael Clements:
It's really wonderful. So I'm thrilled to see our public officials working. Like ain't that wonderful. So in four years we couldn't find anything we could discuss or we could talk about, but we found something that we needed to spend over 12 hours a day working on. And that's impeaching the president. So our government is so smart that we decided that the only thing we could come together on is the fact that we disagree on that the president should be impeached.
Michael Clements:
So I just want to say our senators, our Congress people, they all need to go. This is crap. 12 hours a day, but they can't come together and solve some of these issues that we have in our country. We have the smartest people in the entire world in this country, no matter what country of origin, but most of the smartest people in the world are in our country and we can't solve problems. But we can work 12 hours a day, 12 hours a day to impeach our president. Garbage. That is garbage.
Aaron Dunn:
Which the real frustrating point is that everybody knows where it's going. Because everybody's going to vote on partisan lines.
Michael Clements:
So what is this about? Gog and pony show, typical DC?
Aaron Dunn:
It is garbage. It is garbage. And this is kind of like, they say, one man's trash is another man's treasure. And so, some people are enjoying this impeachment process. Like they love the fact that the president is going through it. Other people hate it, and it's annoying. It's like the good, the bad, the ugly and like really, whatever side of the political line you are like, you're going to see some people as good, some people as bad, but I think everybody can agree that every one of them is ugly.
Michael Clements:
Inside and out.
Aaron Dunn:
But you know what's not garbage?
Michael Clements:
What's not garbage. Aaron?
Aaron Dunn:
The interview I did with Sharae Moore. That's not garbage at all.
Michael Clements:
S.H.E. Trucking.
Aaron Dunn:
She is.
Michael Clements:
Yes.
Aaron Dunn:
She really is. And I mean, she's just such a bright, wonderful person and great personality. She's doing a lot for the industry and a lot for trucking in general. So hope everybody enjoys this little segment with Sharae.
Michael Clements:
Let's fire that truck up.
Michael Clements:
(singing)
Aaron Dunn:
So Trucking for Millennials and S.H.E. Trucking. S.H.E. Trucking. I'm joined here by Ms. Sharae Moore. She's the founder of a trucking community and apparel brand, S.H.E. Trucking. She's a real woman and trucking queen of the road and she's been featured on freightways.com, uberfreight.com, Facebook Watch, Trucker Tools, Trucker News, many, many podcasts, all kinds of different news outlets. I mean, she's everywhere. Sharae, how are you today?
Sharae Moore:
Thank you for having me on. Thank you so much Aaron. And I'm doing fine. I'm doing fine. I'm excited to be on the Millennial podcast because I am a millennial.
Aaron Dunn:
You are. And you're really making a name for yourself in the industry. So I do want to cover some of the basics and some of the facts that all these other publications have covered. But I want to dive into some other stuff that maybe you haven't gotten to talk about before as well. So, just for somebody who has never heard from you before. I've given you some sort of bio there and some background, but fill in the gaps. How do you introduce yourself to the Trucking for Millennials podcast audience?
Sharae Moore:
So, hi. I'm Sharae Moore. I am the founder of S.H.E. Trucking and S.H.E stands for a sisterhood helping empowerment in trucking. Our mission is to empower women in trucking through our community. Our information is what... Let me explain what that looks like. So, we mentor women, new perspective drivers who are interested in getting into the industry, we just pretty much hold their hand and support them through the industry, starting with what company do I go to? How do I become a truck driver?
Sharae Moore:
Once they're in the driver's seat, what's the best training companies all the way down to I'm getting ready to switch companies, what's the best company to go to? What's the rate of pay? How do I scale my load? All those questions is what our community helps with.
Aaron Dunn:
Love it. We're definitely going to jump into the community piece a little bit more, especially like how that manifests. But I kind of want to touch on your history a little bit and how you got in. So you are a millennial and that's what this podcast is about. The younger generation in trucking and how our generation is making an impact in the industry. So you jumped into a truck at 28 years old.
Sharae Moore:
Yeah.
Aaron Dunn:
So what motivated that switch? You were a CNA, a certified nursing assistant. You went to trucking. Tell me about that jump and how you got there.
Sharae Moore:
So, hey, I'm going to do something that most women don't do. I'm going to tell my age. So I am 35 years old and I was having a mid life crisis going into my 30s and I was just kind of like, "Okay, what am I going to do with my life?" And my grandmother kept asking me that question. She just passed in April. Rest in peace granny. I miss my granny, but she gave me the insight too. She asked me that question, what are you going to do with your life?
Sharae Moore:
And it made me start thinking about my future. And she just said, and I told her, "I thought I was already doing something as far as being a CNA for eight years." And then I'd say about a couple of weeks later I saw an ad in a newspaper that said, "Free CDL training. You can make 40,000 a year," and at this time I was making like 10,000. And I was like, "Wow, that it don't even double my page, it triples my pay." You know what I mean?
Aaron Dunn:
Mm-hmm (affirmative).
Sharae Moore:
And it was free. It was free for me to learn and be educated and try something different. And I just jumped into it. Like I jumped into it, I fell in love with it as you can see. And it really changed my whole life. Like, I went from really just kind of struggling. And at the time, we could have a one bedroom for $300. $400 a month. But now here it is, 2020, a one bedroom would cost you five, six, seven, $800.
Sharae Moore:
So to be able to afford that, CNA is actually still get paid the same amount as when I did five and six years ago. So I elevated myself choosing this industry, to be able to help with the cost of living in these different cities and stuff like that. So as a millennial, as you say, 35 years old, I just wanted to travel. I wanted to see the United States. I don't have any kids, so I didn't have anything that held me back. I literary pack my bags and went on the trucking school.
Aaron Dunn:
That's great. That's great. And it's really, it has changed. Like you said, it seems as if it's really been a beneficial change and it really changed your life for the better. When you saw that ad and you said, "Hey, I can really make a big impact on my income," and you kind of had your grandma in your ear saying, "Do something. What are you going to do?" Did you have any reservations or any fears or anything about like trucking? Like your family has some kind of roots in trucking though, is that right?
Sharae Moore:
Yes. But see, at the time, my dad was a [inaudible 00:18:40]. So he wasn't over the road. And so I didn't really get that full. My uncle, he was over the road. I remember him coming in with wide loads and flatbeds. [inaudible 00:18:50]. I didn't have a fear because I had family members that was drivers, and I really did 100 know I was getting myself into. So that was the thing. I just kind of really was open-minded to the industry.
Sharae Moore:
I got in and it was hard. I mean, it was tough. And I'm five, three, so I'm standing back and this huge truck is in front of me and I'm like, "Wow, okay, we're going to do it." And once I got into that driver's seat, I felt like I was the queen of the world. And I was the biggest thing out there, and I didn't have a fear, and it was tough. So I had to be very persistent. I couldn't give up, as many times as I wanted to give up.
Sharae Moore:
People that went to school with me, they'll tell you like the struggle that I went through. Actually, this will be the first time I'm telling this story. One time, when I first started school, I lost my glasses. I couldn't see. So I do wear glasses. So some people see me with them on some time, and I lost them and I couldn't see. So they put me behind the whole class and they was like, "How did you lose your glasses?"
Sharae Moore:
Literally on the way to class, I just, I don't know, I dropped them. I opened the door while the car was rolling and I dropped them outside in the middle of the Indiana. I don't know what happened to them. So it sat me back. And my class graduated before I did. So I was the last one to graduate. I was just struggling through the whole process, but I was determined. And because I knew that before I entered into the school, I didn't know anything. And now I knew how to straight line back, I knew the permit. I had passed that. I knew the pre trip. I had passed that stuff. And so I was just determined to keep going and accomplish the full goal. And so that's how I got here.
Aaron Dunn:
That's amazing. So I mean, you set it out with a vision and you had the determination, the grit to pursue it.
Sharae Moore:
Yes.
Aaron Dunn:
You mentioned, getting into it was difficult. Like what was it like when you first, I mean, you got your CDL, you're excited, you finally crossed that bridge and you're ready to really get your first job. Tell me about that experience and how was it difficult finding work? How was that first year or so?
Sharae Moore:
So I started with the sponsor school. I started with Swift, Swift transportation. I went through their school. That was actually the second school I went to. The first school I didn't do it well at that school. I don't think it was me. I think it was the school. I think it was the school, but I didn't do well at my first school. I learned a lot, but I didn't learn everything I needed to learn.
Sharae Moore:
And so I signed up to go to Swift and that was my second school that I went to. And, man, I sailed through Swift. Like they taught me everything I didn't know. And I think it was because they didn't have time to teach. The first school I went to it was fast paced. They just pushed you real fast. And then with Swift now having that extra training, I was able to fill in those dots, fill in the blank and that was great areas.
Sharae Moore:
But, I went through Swift and like I said, it was a sponsor school, so I was guaranteed a job. And that's what people have to realize is when you go to a sponsor school, you're guaranteed a job. Like you don't have to worry about applying. You already at a company. So that was easy.
Aaron Dunn:
That put you on a good trajectory. What was your first load, your first shipment? What was that like when you're in the cab, you're ready. I mean, you're on the highway, you're on the interstate. What was that like?
Sharae Moore:
So of course, you have to go through training with the trainer. So I was in training for about a month, a month and a half with the trainer. And then after, when I got in by myself, I live in Chattanooga. So anybody know where Chattanooga is located, you have to go down to downgrade, which is called Mount Eagle. That was the first time I had ever been down this downgrade. Oh my goodness. When I did not know that my body could tremble.
Sharae Moore:
My hands was shaking, my feet was shaking, my body was just shaking and I was so nervous. I was okay until I got to the downgrade. And I shook right on home. I literally drove my truck completely from Mount Eagle all the way to my house. I parked in front of my home and I took a nap. But after that, now going up and down, I don't have any problems. But that was my very first trip is going back home.
Sharae Moore:
And, I just realized that I came back and I was prepared. I made sure I had pencil and paper with me, because preparation was everything. I'm learning and looking at a map before I started the route was important. So I'll know I already anticipated in my head what I'm going to have to go through. That helped me so much as well. So just preparing, pre tripping your trip was very important to me.
Aaron Dunn:
Love it. So, you're doing a lot of work with community, like local community, and you're doing a lot of advocacy work for the industry. Talk about what you're doing in that realm.
Sharae Moore:
Well, currently we have a community. We have about over 5,800 right now and growing, women drivers in our Facebook community. So that's the global community that we have. So many women from the United States, Canada, I mean Africa, all different countries all over the world is in our community. I also do a lot of touch of truck events. I bring my truck out to the schools, into the community because I think it's important to give kids image of what a driver looks like, what they can do, what they can accomplish.
Sharae Moore:
Because as for me, I didn't see a woman driver when I was growing up. So this was something I didn't know that I could do, being in a male dominated industry. So I think I go out into my community to show kids, to inspire kids that they can become truck drivers. I actually work at a community college. So I am a CDL instructor now. So I'm actually teaching. I'm so excited. This semester we have two women in our class that I'll be actually training from beginning to end, and getting them ready for the industry. So I decided to come off the road and actually start teaching so I can impact people from the beginning and show them from... and the funniest thing is in my city, I'm like one of the first women drivers here locally.
Aaron Dunn:
Really?
Sharae Moore:
Yes. There's no other women driver. I mean, not women drivers, sorry. Women, CDL instructors.
Aaron Dunn:
Okay.
Sharae Moore:
Yes. And every time I'm going different places or I'm with the students, they're like, "We never saw a woman instructors." So, I want to encourage people to become instructors and teach, because I had a female instructor at Swift then inspired me, and I couldn't pick up the alley dock. That was hard for me, that 90 degree alley dock. And it was a woman, Ms. Dee. Ms. Dee, she was out of Memphis, Tennessee and she really helped me, and that's why I'm here today. It was the woman that inspired me.
Aaron Dunn:
[inaudible 00:27:08].
Sharae Moore:
I'm just giving back.
Aaron Dunn:
That's wonderful. What are you hearing from younger generations when you do the touch the truck event in your local area for kids? And what are you hearing from them? Because you're talking about, we're younger than millennials. You're talking about gen Z and reaching down to the youth. So what do you hear from them? What are their thoughts and thinking in regards to the trucking industry?
Sharae Moore:
It's funny that you say that because actually tomorrow I'll be going to a school. I'm connected with women's of United Way. So I go to the schools through the United Way. But I hear they have so many questions, like I come in and first of all, they're shocked, because they don't realize that this is an industry that they can get in the transportation industry. And when I tell them like, "You don't have to go to school for eight years or four years and go to college. You can just go to a trade school because this is a trade. This is a trade that you receive."
Sharae Moore:
And I tell them, how long the process is. They are amazed. Like they're inspired. They love seeing the trucks, they love to blow at horns. Like they love it. They love it. I actually bring out one of my stress trucks. I bring out a stress truck with me because I get nervous when I talk. So I squeeze my stress truck and I also let them squeeze it as well to allow them to talk. And I have so many questions when I bring this truck out.
Sharae Moore:
They want to see it, they want to touch it, and they have the best questions. And when I tell them how much we get paid, oh my God, their eyes just light up. Their eyes light up and they're ready to sign up today. So I know that this is impacting a lot of kids and what I realize is it's not only impacting the kids, it impacts their family members. So as I'm sending out flyers, and I'm literally last year I did book bags for all the kids at the Girls Incorporated, and it was so many of the parents that became truck drivers just for me giving information. So it's not just inspiring the kids, it's inspiring the parents as well. And that's what's correcting is, it's kind of cutting a generational curse down is I would say, and helping the families grow as a full picture.
Aaron Dunn:
That's amazing. You're an inspiring individual. I mean, you just have such-
Sharae Moore:
Thank you.
Aaron Dunn:
You just have such a spirit about you. So I want to ask, was that always there even when you're in a CNA or is it something unique about trucking that just kind of lit this fire and caused you to kind of go down this path of such advocacy, because you seem so natural at it?
Sharae Moore:
I'm a passionate person. And so when I'm passionate about something, I go 100% in. As a CNA, I was passionate. I went over and beyond. Like [inaudible 00:30:22]. Like, you come in, you just give people baths, take care of them. No, I was painting your nails, I was doing your hair. We was going shopping to the movies and stuff like that. So I'm a very passionate person. And once I fell in love with trucking, I became passionate about it because I saw a gap.
Sharae Moore:
I saw where like I said, women wasn't really being recognized at the time as far as through the apparel. They wasn't being recognized. Because we was only what, five, 6%, five or six years ago. Now it's increased where you see women every other day. Now women are being recognized. But when I started, I was just a needle in a haystack. So, I just saw that it was needed and I wanted to make a change and not complain.
Sharae Moore:
So instead of complaining, I just want to make a difference. And I am just a person that if you meet me today and you meet me again 10 years down the line, I'm still the same, Sharae. So I don't change. I am who I am, and I'm just Sharae. That's who I am.
Aaron Dunn:
And I mean, that's a good thing. We obviously need it. The trucking industry needs it, and it does come through in that. I'm going to ask you a little bit more about the generational thing. So I looked up some stuff. The average age of a driver is 46. The average age of a driver in training is 35, which is younger than I anticipated. But that's right out of that millennial, it's 35 is still the millennial generation, but then, I think 38 is kind of the cutoff. So what do you think could be done to lower that around to 25? How do we get those mid 20s people to choose trucking before they choose anything else?
Sharae Moore:
I think education is going to be important. Going out to the schools, letting people know at a young age that you can drive at 21. I mean, at 21 I wasn't thinking about this. I mean, just think the average 21 year old, they're not thinking about driving a truck. They're thinking about partying, number one. They're thinking about something maybe nursing, sports, playing sports. So just getting in those areas where they are and starting a conversation is important.
Sharae Moore:
Going into the schools are going to be important. Bringing career day back. I've been asking like, "Hey, y'all got career day, y'all got career day." Not only just bringing fire trucks out, but the semi trucks out as well. And then that's educating the younger generation, the 21 year olds. The 20 year olds are right now, it's who we need to have the conversation with because they will be turning 21 this year, and they can get into this industry. So just reaching out to them and letting them know that this is something they can do, and how to do it.
Aaron Dunn:
Love it. Let's see. So let's jump into, S.H.E. Trucking the brand. Let's talk a little bit more about that. You've touched on it, but let's dive into it. So you saw the need, you saw that, you didn't have the apparel or the representation within the industry that you like. So how did it come together that S.H.E. Trucking was a thing and the acronym and like the look and the feel, like how did you come up with all of that? Because I mean, it's really great looking stuff.
Sharae Moore:
Thank you. So just being on the road, I literally thought about it. People will tell you, y'all talked about it for three years before I launched it. It was just preparation. I brainstormed. I brainstormed with so many other drivers. I told them what my idea was and what I wanted to do. And then I actually started printing shirts myself. So I bought a machine and I started printing.
Sharae Moore:
I would come home on my break, my recess and I would print shirts, and that's how I got started. And the name it came... How did we? I just brainstorm with my family members, with my cousins and stuff. And I was just like, I don't know we said she, and it started off as shipping holly enterprise. It's enterprise, shipping holly enterprise type of thing. And then, it was that she, and I don't know, we put she trucking and I was like, and it came because my niece used to say... people used to ask my niece and my niece at the time was like eight years old or seven or eight years old.
Sharae Moore:
And she would say, they would ask her like, "Where's your auntie? Where's your, Sharae?" And she would say, "She trucking," and it just kind od stuck with me also. And it shocked me. I was like, "This little girl know I'm driving." And she would say that she trucking and it just stuck with me. And that's how I really just kind of stuck with. I got it and I was like, "She trucking," because I wasn't talking about me, I was talking about other people. She trucking. She's trucking. Hey, it's so many women out here that's trucking and that's what the she is. It's not me. Well, it is me because I truck it too as well. But I was talking about so many women that drive trucks. S.H.E. Trucking.
Aaron Dunn:
I love it. So S.H.E. Trucking is apparel company and an attitude, a mentality, but it's also a Facebook group. So talk about the Facebook group, how to find it, but also, what are the conversations like in there? Because I'm never going to be in there.
Sharae Moore:
Well, we don't know. We might have to have you on as a guest. So, S.H.E. Trucking is a lifestyle. That's how I like to refer to it. S.H.E. Trucking is a lifestyle. The trucking industry is a lifestyle that you get in. It's not your average job. It is a lifestyle. You can find our apparel on shetrucking.com. The thing I really do is do like now it's the logo. That's mostly what I have on my website. Let's just bring in brand awareness.
Sharae Moore:
I used to get into all the design. I don't really do that anymore because I have inspired so many other women and they're bringing their clothing lines out. So I'm excited to see that. I'm ready to wear their clothing lines as well and they are coming up with so many other ideas. And like I say, it's the lifestyle. It's the lifestyle and definitely check it out on shetrucking.com. If y'all are listening and tuning in, go to shetrucking.com after you watch this podcast.
Aaron Dunn:
For sure. I mean, it's some cool stuff. I'm thinking about ordering a couple of things too.
Sharae Moore:
We also have things for men. I mean, I add the trucking in the United States. Like I came up with it. I used to do one that was kind of broken up because I felt like that's what the concrete looked like, the pavement when I'm brought down the hallways without potholes. So that's why they designed this right there. But we have a trucking and with the United States and they say trucking one mile at a time. And that's one of my signature designs as well that the [inaudible 00:38:04].
Aaron Dunn:
I really liked the trucking in the USA. That's a cool one. That's a really cool.
Sharae Moore:
Thank you.
Aaron Dunn:
Talk about the mentorship in your group though. Like what are those conversations like?
Sharae Moore:
So, Facebook actually recognized us for our mentorship. So we have a mentorship tab and-
Aaron Dunn:
I was going to get into that. One of the first things that I typed in Sharae Moore on Google and one of the first things is Facebook Watch. Was it last year? I think.
Sharae Moore:
Yes.
Aaron Dunn:
Facebook Watch. Like Facebook, Facebook. You got 3.6 million views, and you're in there and it's all high definition. So it's cool. They did such a great job highlighting you and your role. So shout out. That's awesome. That's really awesome.
Sharae Moore:
They came to my city, little small Chattanooga, Tennessee. I was so excited and nervous of course. But they highlighted us and allow me along with some other drivers that was at my company, [inaudible 00:39:06] Logistics, and they talked about how we use our mentorship tab. So I was hearing people say, "Hey, I want to be trained by a woman." And so I turned the mentorship tab on. So I compare women with women.
Sharae Moore:
And what I noticed is it was working. A lot of women was being paired with other women and then they was like, "Hey, what company do you work for?" So they was actually going to their companies, applying for them and literally now they're being trained physically by the woman, the black community. And so we have a way they can put their bio up. And so they can put their bio up and it can be, some of the women may be motor carriers.
Sharae Moore:
So if you're interested in becoming an owner operator, you can be mentored by owner operator. Some of the women just have 20 years, 30 years experience, so they know a lot. So you can be mentored by them or small business owners. So we have over what, 30 mentors and they just are awesome women in our community and industry, that has committed to helping people, period. I mean, that's it. They're committed to helping women be successful at whatever they want to be. I mean, it ranged for getting into this industry all the way up to becoming an operator or all the way up to, if me like starting a brand, whatever it is, all the different issues. Training.
Aaron Dunn:
That's awesome. It's a true support network.
Sharae Moore:
It is.
Aaron Dunn:
So I didn't know if you're a driver still or not. How long has it been since you stepped out of the driver's seat and kind of went into more of the educational place?
Sharae Moore:
And I want to say one thing before I get into that. I was also invited to the Facebook headquarters last year. So they actually invited me up there. I went up to California and I got to meet out of 300 people, it was only three people that had to meet Sheryl Sandberg, which is the COO of Facebook. And so I gave her one of my little trucks and everything and she looked at me and she said, "I come from a male dominated industry." She said, "Keep going." And that's what fuels my fire every day, not to give up and not to stop.
Sharae Moore:
She said that, "What you're doing is important." And I haven't shared this on any of my articles. So I was so shocked all last year. I was just shocked. So I want to share that with you, because she really inspired me to keep going, to keep reaching people. But to answer your question. Will you repeat the question one more time so I can hit it.
Aaron Dunn:
Well, thank you for sharing that. That's really amazing. That's such a unique experience not many people get to have. My question was, about how you decided to get out of the driver's seat and into teaching and everything. Because the question I was going to ask is, like how are you balancing this? You've got this entrepreneur spirit and whole business going on with S.H.E. Trucking, but also you were in the driver's seat, but now you're kind of doing the training and that kind of thing. How do you balance it all?
Sharae Moore:
So I am a driver. Once a driver always a driver. I still drive and I am a teacher. So I don't drive for a company. It's kinda like, I think about when I was a student I did PRN. So I do some Driver Way stuff, [inaudible 00:43:00] on Driver Way. Shout out to [inaudible 00:43:01] Drive Way. And I'm a teacher, so of course in between school times, I'm able to drive. I made that transition not on my own. I did not make it on my own.
Sharae Moore:
To be honest, I was be driving every day if it was up to me. But I was involved in a car accident back in June of this year. So in my car and it kind of put me out of the driver's seat for a while. And so, I'm just getting into teaching in the schools. So that's how I made that transition. It wasn't on my own. I think God was just kind of like, I need you here. He placed me here and in between time I just work on S.H.E. Trucking.
Sharae Moore:
I have a team. So I have moderators in my group that runs the group. They do a great job. Shout out to my... I have some awesome moderators. We got [inaudible 00:44:00], we have Tamara, we have Candace and Ronnie, Ronnie Thea. They are awesome. And they keeps the group in order. They respond to our members. We don't post approval, so they approve a lot of the posts and stuff like that. And like my team helps me as far as running the group, a lot of the backend stuff I do myself. And I'm looking for people to join in and help as well with the movement.
Aaron Dunn:
Awesome. Well, any female drivers, any she truckers out there that are listening to Trucking for Millennials, there's your invite. You're welcome to join. I suppose, last year, like you were saying, it was kind of a whirlwind year for you. So what do you think about being on, I mean, really the top industry outlets pretty much every single one, including Trucking for Millennials? How does that make you feel? Like what has that been like?
Sharae Moore:
It is a blessing and I'm so honored to be recognized. I just look at it as a blessing because my goal was just to make women feel important and recognize and be happy about being a woman truck driver. That was my goal. And it has over exceeded my expectations. And so these are blessings and I want to thank you so much for having me on. I'm just honored to be able to be on those platforms. I didn't even think I would.
Sharae Moore:
We don't see ourselves as a lot of times what other people see. I didn't start this to do that. I just started this to help people. So I'm honored. I'm thankful, I'm thankful and it's just blessed and it's like I'm grateful for these blessings. Like that's the only way I can explain it.
Aaron Dunn:
Just a couple more questions and I'll let you go. I had a question about the future of trucking. So, what is the future of trucking look like to you? Where do you think? Well, we'll get into the future os S.H.E. Trucking here in a second. But like the trucking industry in general, we're in a new decade. So in the next 10 years, what do you want to see happen? What do you think will happen? If it's technology or education or the driver shortage or anything like that. Like what do you think about the trucking industry as a whole and the future of it?
Sharae Moore:
That is a great question. I think we are going to be hit with technology. I think that it's important for people to start educating themselves and know that it's going to be required for you to reeducate yourself about how to work these autonomous trucks that's coming in, these automation trucks and staying ahead. I was born into the computers. When I was younger, we had computers. We had a [inaudible 00:47:02]. Look, I'm telling my age.
Sharae Moore:
We had the [inaudible 00:47:06] back in the day and so I was born into the technology, and I think that trucking is going to evolve into that technology. I don't think it's a bad thing. A lot of people think that, oh my God, it's so bad. The industry is changing. I think change is good, because being 35 years old, I've been in the middle of change my whole life. When I got to school, things changed.
Sharae Moore:
Now here I'm in trucking, things are changing. So I'm in that changing era and I've saw how technology improve. I mean, we went to a house phone, to a pager, now into our cell phones, and to our iPhone and that was a great change. So I'm not afraid of these chains. I just think it's important for us to continue to educate ourselves. And so when it's time to make that switch, we are qualified. I think being qualified is going to be the key.
Aaron Dunn:
Love it. I love that. Now for S.H.E. Trucking, and what's the future of S.H.E. Trucking? I mean, you've got a podcast, you've got the Facebook group, you've got the apparel. I mean, you're on social all the time. What's the future of S.H.E. Trucking? What's 2020 look like for you?
Sharae Moore:
So 2020 for S.H.E. Trucking, I was inspired because a couple of ladies past this year, and even though we in January that drove trucks and last year. So I want to bring people together. So my goal for this year. And [inaudible 00:48:40] October the 8th through the 10th. Okay, I'm manifesting this. October the 8th through the 10th, I want to bring like a mini conference and bring a social event and empowerment event together here in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
Sharae Moore:
And I want to bring everyone together. I want you to come. I want you to come and I want you to do what you're great at. Pie casting. I want different people to come in and do what they're great at. If you're great in brokering, dispatching, credit repair, whatever it is, bring your skills to our event. And I want as many truck drivers. I have a vision that I can bring on at least 100. Okay, I'm just at 100.
Sharae Moore:
If it's more than that, that's a blessing. But if we can bring 100 and empower 100 truck drivers, men and women, now it will say S.H.E. Trucking, men, but you can come and you will be able to have an invite to this event. And I just want to really make sure that we are inspiring and getting these drivers ready for the future of trucking. Let's have a conversation. I want to start a panel where drivers can talk and you can listen, and then the companies can talk and we can listen and start that conversation where we know people by names and stuff like that.
Sharae Moore:
So, a little bit smaller setting, not just like huge, like the truck show, and stuff like that, but just like a mini conference is what I'm manifesting in October the 8th through the 10th, and also for S.H.E. Trucking, I'm kind of know that the apparel has been around for about three years. I'm bringing out and I'm announcing this on your show. This is another gem.
Aaron Dunn:
Great. I'm full of it. Trucking for Millennials exclusive.
Sharae Moore:
Yes. This is an exclusive. So we're doing a gold tracker planner. I have curated and built my own planner where I'll be announcing coming up, where you can literally track your goals. Everything that I use to be able to build my brand, I put it into this planner. And so you'll be able to plan your days out. You'll be able to write everything out and accomplish your goal just as I have.
Aaron Dunn:
That's awesome.
Sharae Moore:
So that's my goal for 2020, just to keep reaching women, keep reaching the next generation. And of course I want to one day own my own trucks, because I don't own a truck yet. And so my goal, my personal goal is to become a owner operator, and get back in the driver's seat.
Aaron Dunn:
Oh man, that's awesome.
Sharae Moore:
Thank you.
Aaron Dunn:
That's incredible. I love it. I love it. So, I have no doubt that you'll have a successful conference in October and I can't wait to get my hands on the planner. That's going to be awesome to see.
Sharae Moore:
Thank you.
Aaron Dunn:
So, well Sharae, thank you so much for your time today and for being a guest on our show. I think this is going to be really an incredible episode for everyone.
Sharae Moore:
Before I go, let me just say, you can find us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter and LinkedIn up on the S.H.E. Trucking. Go to our website, shetrucking.com. We have a lot of information on our website, shetrucking.com. So check it out and thank you so much, the millennial podcast.
Aaron Dunn:
Not a problem.
Sharae Moore:
They are amazing. I've been listening today podcast. Just keep listening. Keep listening. Keep tuning in. Thank you for having us on.
Sharae Moore:
(singing).
Aaron Dunn:
Awesome. Thank you.
Aaron Dunn:
(singing)