Kim Fogah: Entrepreneur and Caretaker
“I love taking care of people and it’s something that’s naturally within me.” Those are the words of Kim Fogah, a former logistics professional and entrepreneur who moved away from operating her own business and towards a career in nursing.
It was Fogah’s own daughter that encouraged her to return to school to pursue nursing, her true calling and motivator as a natural caretaker.
“She said, ‘mom, now’s the time’,” says Kim Fogah, fondly recalling the turning point that nudged her to pick up where she had initially left off in her nursing education.
Fogah took a step away from nursing school when her grandmother had passed away. Deciding that she needed time to heal and to reassess her situation, she determined it was the right choice.
Having been a tireless worker her entire life and armed with grit and determination, she went into business for herself and created a viable and successful organization.
“It was a lot family-wise,” says Fogah, who says she learned from the trials and tribulations she underwent at the time, and while she did not continue with her business, she was able to achieve tremendous business and financial success within a few short years.
Fogah, who attests that there were major lessons learned from that point in her life goes on to explain what it takes to build and operate a successful logistics business.
Running a Successful Logistics Business
Logistics is all about planning – meticulous planning that requires keen management and sharp executive functioning to meet the demands of the business.
For Kim Fogah, one element that was essential was acquiring new vehicles and it was one of the many constraints and challenges.
It’s typical for vehicles to break down or require constant maintenance, so one of the first things you can do to set yourself up for success is to acquire a new fleet of vehicles that comes properly outfitted with the right technology. This ensures that there are backups when things go wrong, however, the caveat is that there are significant startup costs required.
Many logistics professionals integrate automation into their planning to enable the delivery of their service, and one of the simplest and most efficient aspects of the business to automate is the data.
Accelerated Data Entry
Logistics apps provide real-time data to logistics companies, accelerating operations and seamlessly integrating into various aspects of the business. These timely updates and advanced metrics help ensure the success of all logistics operations.
Stitch Labs discovered that 62 percent of inventory fulfillment issues within logistics are caused by human error.
One method of avoiding these errors is by integrating data automation tools which can save you both time and human capital, plus ensure a lower margin of error.
The cost of inputting data can also grow substantially when you have an increased demand or workload within your logistics company, and this can sometimes be hundreds if not thousands of documents that require processing.
These tools also allow you to provide freight rates in real-time, simplifying and accelerating the entire customer journey.
More Time for Business Development
Automation tools allow for logistics business owners to step away from the day-to-day operations of the business, save significant capital and devote that energy towards growing their business and expanding their presence.
There is significant room for technological integration within logistics because it’s a multi-faceted business that requires many components to be managed simultaneously: different vehicles with different gas mileages, delivering various freights at different weights all to separate locations on a strict timeline – imagine the diligence required.
That’s one of the reasons why things are moving fast within the logistics industry and it can be hard to keep up. Up to 47 percent of the logistics industry is using what’s called predictive analytics to drive their business forward and to see upcoming trends on the horizon.
It’s all about advanced math, cloud servers and more all to predict future trends. This is used to decide what services customers might want, pricing strategies, recruitment strategies for new drivers, demographics and how to increase regional, national and international sales.
A Turning Point for Kim Fogah
While Kim Fogah could have continued down the path of a logistics professional, owning and operating her own business, she had a crystal-clear idea of what she wanted to do in her future.
She determined that she could maximize her fulfillment by focusing on the individual tasks within her business where she derived the most impact and helped the most people.
That was when Kim Fogah realized that it was time to transition into a role that allowed her to focus more on helping others, prioritizing the tasks within her business where she felt she was living up to her true potential and calling as a caretaker.
Now laser-focused on becoming the best nurse she possibly can and setting a positive example for her children, Kim Fogah is more fulfilled than ever and eager to share tips and tricks about career transitions on her personal website, where you can learn more about finding a fulfilling career, preparing for a professional transition and living up to your true potential.
