Meet Sheria Butler of Busy Butler Brokerage

Today we’d like to introduce you to Sheria Butler. 

Sheria, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
Busy Butler Transport, LLC dba Busy Butler Brokerage started as a trucking company with plans to add a brokerage department within 2 years. Busy Butler Brokerage is a service-disabled veteran-owned; minority-owned business. It is owned by Daimeon and Sheria Butler. Daimeon served 8 years in the Army and was a driver for the military. After his service, he worked within the transportation industry for over 20 years and drove semi-trucks for 20+ years with a spotless driving record. Daimeon is a licensed freight broker and works as the Director of Operations and Carrier Management professional within the brokerage. Sheria Butler has an MBA in Business Administration and Entrepreneurship with many hours in Human Resources and Leadership. She has worked in the transportation industry for over 7 years as a freight agent, data administrator, driver helper, carrier management professional, and licensed freight broker. The business started in March 2019. At that time, we operated as owner-operators. We had a 2017 Freightliner Cascadia and a 2015 Utility Trailer-Refrigerated (Reefer) unit. We were contracted with a company and hauled freight in multiple states including Michigan, California, Utah, Illinois, Kansas, Missouri, and Texas to name a few. We specialized in Less-than-truckload (LTL) freight. We operated as over-the-road (OTR) long-haul drivers. 

January 2020 entered with promise, the business was showing multiple customers and some good profits. However, by March 2020, I became very ill on the road, and we began to have orders canceled and ultimately shutdowns began. We lost enough customers to cause us to close. We decided to quarantine at home, and we had little choice. 

We were unable to continue payments on our equipment and were able to return the equipment with the losses being what we had invested in the equipment over that year. We didn’t want to remain closed, so we sped up opening the brokerage side of the business. We wanted to be a part of the recovery of our economy by offering good jobs and training and retraining to those that are displaced as well as be a part of our beautiful State of Colorado’s recovery. 

We were able to get our licenses and credentials to begin our brokerage operations by October 2020. We offer full truckload (FTL), Less-than-truckload (LTL), and flatbed services for shippers. Shippers include wholesalers, distributors, producers, packagers, and manufacturers. We operate by serving as intermediaries between our shippers (our customers) and qualified (vetted) carriers (our contractors). We arrange for the movement of freight between these parties. 

Busy Butler Brokerage also offers Carrier Management services for owner-operators that includes the Just Drive! Program. Just Drive! provides carriers of small fleets and owner-operators with professional management services from startup and authority acquisition and then complete management of their paperwork requirements. We manage all components of their small business including dispatch and load management to bookkeeping and tax preparation services. This is a fully customizable service offering. We handle all the paperwork, so carriers can Just Drive! 

Busy Butler Brokerage has a comprehensive freight broker training platform-Busy Butler University. At BBU people can purchase on-demand or live training for freight brokers, freight broker agents, and dispatchers. We are in Centennial, CO, and offer in-house training for CO residents. 

Busy Butler Brokerage is proud to have a Department of Labor-approved Freight Broker Apprenticeship program. In partnership with the Transportation Intermediaries Association (TIA) and Fastport, this earn as you learn program is a 3000-hour, 18-month commitment that provides transportation industry and full freight brokerage training in multiple modes of transport. The Busy Butler Freight Broker Apprenticeship program is a diverse training opportunity that encourages veterans and spouses, people of all abilities, minorities, and women to apply. We offer this apprenticeship remotely, however, there is a waiting list for remote apprentices. We currently have several openings for in-house (Colorado residents) agents. The State of Colorado and Arapahoe Works! help to support apprentices throughout their training. 

Busy Butler Brokerage is the only freight brokerage that offers paid training to freight broker agents and the ability to learn the industry. When we sought to become a Freight Brokers, it was difficult to get training and mentorship within the industry, so we decided to create a model that supports people wanting to learn a new career. We have 2 apprentices at this time and hope to introduce more into our industry. 

We have a staff of 5 people that includes 2 managers, 2 apprentices (freight broker agents), and a data entry professional. We plan to expand to hire up to five more people by the end of the year. 

My husband and I are fighters. so, we can’t give up. Both coming from broken homes (he’s from MI and I’m from FL) with much abuse, we fought to start our own business and be a help and support to others. 

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Some major challenges that we have faced include the difficulty getting funding for our business. We applied for many pandemic relief support grants and loans and were turned away much of the time. We faced difficulties in customer acquisition. We faced difficulties in getting the word out about our business, we struggle with marketing as that is an area, we couldn’t find employees and we aren’t experts. We struggled with hiring and recruiting talent for the brokerage. We struggled with increased bills and more uncertainty. 

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about Busy Butler Brokerage?
Freight Brokerage Services 

Truckload (FTL) 

Busy Butler Brokerage facilitates full truckload service for dry van, refrigerated, and flatbed freight. We use our industry knowledge and expertise to negotiate the best rates for our customers. Our extensive motor carrier network offers the capacity to meet all transportation needs. We leverage our close relationships with hundreds of carriers to get you access across all equipment types for dry goods or refrigerated goods (reefer freight). 

Less-than-Truckload (LTL) 

Busy Butler Brokerage facilitates LTL shipping services for smaller shipments whether dry or refrigerated goods. LTL shipments are generally palletized and weigh anywhere between 150 and 10,000 pounds. Feel confident that Busy Butler is working on your behalf to negotiate the best carrier and rates for your freight. 

Flatbed 

Equipment too large to fit inside of a trailer? Flatbed is the solution. Commonly shipped on flatbeds: large pieces of machinery and equipment, construction materials, lumber, oil and gas items, large items, and shipping containers. Let us get your equipment moved! 

And More…Just Ask! 

When it’s Time to get to work! Let’s Get Busy! 

Who else deserves credit in your story?
Daimeon Butler-the world’s most supportive husband and business partner. If I can think it, he supports it. 

Ken Arellano, Jr., Statewide Registered Apprenticeship Consultant for Colorado Urban Workforce Alliance- Ken assisted with every step of getting the program started and introduced me to invaluable support including 

Melissa English, MS, Apprenticeship Specialist with Workforce Development Programs 

All of people at Fastport went above and beyond to approve our program, support our program and send candidates from all over sourced from job fairs and veteran resources 

Gina Schreck and Taylor Stauffer- the owners of the Village workspace, support, encourage and mentor our vision as well as have a wonderful workspace, that we are lucky to call home for our business and our employees 

Pricing:

• Freight Broker Training $899
• Dispatcher Training $499
• Leadership Training $299
• Sales Training $699
• Multiple Modes of Transport $399

Contact Info:

• Email: bbbrokers@busybutlerbrokerage.com
• Website: www.busybutlerbrokerage.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/busybutlerbroker/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BusyButlerBrokers
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/BrokersBusy
• Other: www.busybutlercarriers.com (Carrier sign-up)

Image Credits
S. Butler
D. Butler