Today we’d like to introduce you to Jamira Williams.
Hi Jamira, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
I am from Birmingham, AL were I was born and raised. I was a young mother at the age of 15 & decided to do Army Logistics where I was over 15 trucks or more in the hospital fleet, maintaining inventory of multiple classes of supply, maintaining maintenance reports and inventory of pharmaceuticals throughout multiple military clinics. As a Soldier I loved packing the containers for deployments or field exercises. If the Army had a container that needed to be packed or cleaned out, I always wanted to volunteer for that detail just to be inside a container. I retired from the Army in 2016 and I did the research for one year to understand the logistical structure between a shipper, carrier, broker, & dispatcher. I got where I am today by researching and understanding the industry because there are a lot of pieces to the trucking puzzle that no one talks about.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road
It has not been a smooth road but understanding the logistical structure in the civilian sector and doing research to know what type of service your company wants to provide in the transportation industry is a must. When I started my brokerage, my biggest fear was having the capital to pay my carriers. Being, in a business you must have capital and understand it plays a major role in your day-to-day operations.
We’ve been impressed with JLUL LOGISTICS LLC, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
I want to say starting a business is not easy you must pray every day, believe in yourself, and understand that running any business is not a race. I am an asset brokerage and timing is everything on both the brokerage and trucking side.
It is imperative that you understand the business and have your policies and procedures implemented. I never had any issues with interacting with people, when considering building your own business know that relationships are important no matter what career path you are in.
I specialize in moving containers from Savannah, GA & Charleston, SC port daily. In a month’s time, I move over 500 containers, and I love it. My peers called me “Container Chick’ because containers are what I set out to move and that’s all I moved!!
Despite what anyone make think or say your brand is the backbone of your name.
It’s never easy starting a business due to the uncertainty, but I will tell anyone to just step out on FAITH and market yourself. I am a very humble, outspoken, and honest person and if I cannot do something I will let you know up front and try to assist you with the resources you are in need of.
If you had to, what characteristic of yours would you give the most credit to?
I am very ambitious about solving problems and providing positive outcomes. I believe strongly in teamwork and bringing individuals together to conquer the mission.
No matter what I specialize in I will always be a student to learn different strategies to improve my business and be persistent because the market change daily.
