There's a quite simple design behind the one-truck owner-operator business of Minnesota-based Kelvin Schmidt. "I've been doing this myself with my own authority since 2011," Schmidt said. The key to his success? "I figured out how to make money and not spend money," simply put, today pulling the van trailers of T Bros. Logistics out of his home state to points East, West and South.
Schmidt's dedicated there, essentially. Though the independent can go wherever he likes, he places big value on freight, lane and rates consistency. The 61-year-old is supporting six young children -- ranging in age from 5 to 16, he said -- and his wife, Jennifer, back home. "I've got a mortgage just like everybody else," he added, on a five-bedroom home in the town of Dassel. "I'm just trying to be consistent with the freight, not trying everything. It's about finding one thing that you're good at, haul that freight and build repeat customers."
On his runs today, "I know all the people, I know the routes" involved, he said, and can easily hit either coast East or West -- or venture down to Texas -- and back within cumulative on-duty limits in the hours of service to get him home weekly.
Nominated by longtime friend and retired Teamster Steve Joramo, owner-operator Schmidt is a semi-finalist in Overdrive's Trucker of the Year award program for 2023, and our Trucker of the Month for January.
The program, recognizing clear business acumen and unique or time-honored recipes for success, seeks nominations of owner-operators whether leased or independent throughout the year.
Schmidt was born and raised in Manitoba, Canada, and immigrated to the United States before he ever worked as a driver. He got his start in a one-ton dually with a flatbed, moving LTL freight.
"I bought a one-ton Ford and put a little sleeper on it , custom-made in Dallas, Texas," he said. New to the game, picking up partials, he quickly came to the conclusion that "this is not the kind of truck to use for this work," as he put it, given how quickly tires wore out, the frequency of oil changes for the Powerstroke diesel, and more. "I'm not even making enough money to live," he said to himself, whereupon he "hunkered down and started learning."
