In the fifth part of this six-part series on Stories from the River, host Charlie Malouf welcomes back guest and good friend Charlie Workmon, President and CEO of Riverstone Logistics. In this episode, Charlie W discusses making the move to take over Riverstone Logistics full time with his full focus and effort. He discusses the transition as well as asking Charlie M to serve as his formal mentor in 2021. They discuss the mutually beneficial mentorship meetings that they held every two weeks, which included a formal agenda and walking through the influential Keith J. Cunningham book together, "The Road Less Stupid: Advice from the Chairman of the Board." Charlie W talked about reflecting on the phrase: Know the game you're playing.
As Charlie W began to embrace the practice of "Thinking Time" that he took from Cunningham's book, he began to see clearly that Riverstone would be a people-centric and a client-centric platform for loving people well. And not to be the biggest or the best but just to be on the journey and improve a little bit each day. This belief would eventually be infused into the Company's purpose to love, serve, and improve.
In 2021, Charlie W also came to the realization that the Company needed to be well capitalized in order to be able to run further faster. This realization would eventually lead him to facilitating a transaction and to bring in a sponsor (i.e., a group of investors) who believed in the vision and to come help them take the Company to a completely different level in a way that's meant to love people. Charlie W cited the connection that he made with Harold Baron, the former CEO of Nolan Transportation, and the key leader behind the strategic money and group of private investors who would invest in RLX. Harold is now the Chairman of the Board of Directors for RLX.
Charlie W reflected on the day that transaction closed in mid October 2021 and the gravity of that transaction. He knew that they had put the Company in a really good position for the future, and that this was setting the stage to not just survive but to flourish with open hands. The stage had been set to have rapid growth with strong financial backing.
Riverstone Logistics has seen impressive growth with revenues increasing from $13M in 2020, tripling to $42M in 2021, then doubling to $85M in 2022, more than doubling again in 2023 to $191M, and projected to reach $300M in 2024. RLX has been recognized as one of the fastest growing companies in Charlotte by the Charlotte Business Journal for the past three years, and they completed their first acquisition late last year.
Charlie W says that RLX today is a sunrise company who's best days are ahead of us. Their operations reach across 31 states and three countries with 650 Extra Milers ("Extra Milers" being the term given to RLX's full-time employees). RLX is a multi-modal logistics company with a successful Final Mile division as well as a growing brokerage division. Their big customers are Lowe's, The Home Depot, IKEA, HD Supply, Crate & Barrel, Ashley Store licensees, and GE Appliances.
Charlie W explains that they are playing the part of a company that is set to do business differently. He says that they have a "Field of Dreams" mindset where they bring key people in ahead of the need while waiting to see if their client would also join the company. A mindset of "If you build it, they will come." And, Charlie W says that they strive to over serve their clients, that they're structured to serve and love them well, that they have a transparent cost model, and that they work with their clients to share costs and help rein them in. And he says that they focus on being open hands, being transparent and reliable, and enroll them on the front end as to what is a fair margin for their services.
Charlie W unpacks the inspiration behind the company's Purpose statement "to use our God-given talents and opportunities to love our neighbors, serve our communities and improve our industry," which he and the management team crafted in late 2021.
And then Charlie W also walks through the seven Core Beliefs of Riverstone Logistics:
- Go the Extra Mile
- Run through the Storm
- Canoe the Mountains
- Win the Right Way
- Pencils Have Erasers
- Mutual Prosperity
- Profit Fuels Purpose
Book mentioned:
The Road Less Stupid: Advice from the Chairman of the Board - Keith Cunningham - https://www.amazon.com/Road-Less-Stupid-Keith-Cunningham/dp/0984659269
RLX Purpose & Core Beliefs:
Listen to part one of this conversation, Family Business to Logistics Leader: How Charlie Workmon Got Started: https://youtu.be/2dtnhUNHwLs
Listen to part two of this conversation, Parenthood, Prayer, and Perspective Fuel Purpose for Charlie Workmon: https://youtu.be/aqYuV1qQokk
Listen to part three of this conversation, Broad River's 2015 Bold Reset: Turning Challenges into Opportunities with Charlie Workmon: https://youtu.be/1AW0WwZaC4A
Listen to part four of this conversation, Purpose-Driven Leadership in Retail Operations with Charlie Workmon: https://youtu.be/1AW0WwZaC4A
This episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/nS3gzJAjF0s
Visit https://www.storiesfromtheriver.com for more episodes.
This show is brought to you by Broad River Retail. Visit https://BroadRiverRetail.com
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