MUSKEGON — In the business world, it’s common knowledge that in order to get product from point A to point B, it has to be transported. That’s where Denise Kanaar found a niche that has literally become the overnight success of D & D Logistics.

“I really saw this as a promising venture because even with the current price of gas, items still have to be moved,” Kanaar said.

Started in April, the Muskegon-based D & D Logistics serves as the middleman between customers and the trucking companies. Most businesses, whether large or small, don’t like to deal with shipping and don’t want to maintain a fleet of trucks to haul product, Kanaar said. The direct result is the need for someone to serve as the connection between the person who wants to ship and the person who has the vehicles to ship — something Kanaar learned from a friend in the trucking business.

Her friend told her of the need for freight brokers, and as Kanaar listened, she quickly realized that was just what she was looking for.

“I’d had been looking for something for sometime as a transition out of education and into a new career,” said Kanaar, who will retire in December with thirty-plus years at Muskegon Public Schools. “I knew I could do it because it is right up my alley in that I’m a people person, which is obvious because I’m in education. I’m also a good communicator, which meant I could be a sales person and attract new clients.”

Another advantage was it didn’t take much in the way of start-up costs. There was insurance and the broker’s license from the Michigan Department of Transportation, which took several months to get.

“I would look online every night to see if I had been approved,” Kanaar said. “Finally it went through and that was cause for a celebration.”

Next was location. When D & D Logistics was a just a concept with a business plan, Kanaar visited with Muskegon Area Chamber of Commerce’s Service Corps of Retired Executives (SCORE).

“I had attended a few SCORE programs before when I first started thinking about switching careers,” she said.

Through that meeting, Kanaar learned of another venture, the Whetstone Project, a business incubator created by the economic development agency Muskegon Area First to assist the development and growth of new and emerging businesses. At first she wasn’t sure if the Whetstone incubator was the location for her.

“I was thinking, ‘Do I want to start this from my home?’” Kanaar said. “But then I was like, I want my home to be a home, a place where I can relax and not have to deal with business.”

Kanaar also considered Grand Rapids, where one of her two main trucking companies, Sweet Express, is based. But in the end, she found Whetstone to be the perfect location — rent was inexpensive, it provided a support system and it gave Kanaar a chance to give something back to her hometown.

“I liked the idea of staying in Muskegon because I was helping our local economy,” Kanaar said. “This is where I grew up, this is where I’m from, and if I had a business, I wanted to leave the money here in Muskegon.”

On April 21, D & D Logistics opened for business. Because of her contact in the trucking business, Kanaar already had a solid client list, which she referred to as her springboard for success. She also had dispatcher Larry VanHaitsma, who brought years of experience with him.

“We started out right on top of each other, sharing the same space, the same desk,” Kanaar said. “That lasted about a month.”

Because she was off from school in the summer, Kanaar spent time building the business, adding new clients, and compiling a list of trucking companies. Within three months, her office space had expanded to include three separate offices; she’s hired a second dispatcher, Roger Hunter; and had complied more than 100 contacts with various trucking companies, along with her mainstays Sweet Express and Muskegon-based D & B.

“I’d be talking to a friend who knew of someone who needed shipping and all of sudden, you’ve made a connection,” Kanaar said. From there, she nabbed such accounts as Johnson Controls Inc., Old Orchard Brands, and Kohl’s Department Store.

“I’d like to try and get JC Penney,” Kanaar said, but with working full-time and trying to run a business, that goal has had to wait.

Because of the success of D & D Logistics, Kanaar is taking an early retirement at the end of December so as she can focus all of her resources on her new career. Future possibilities may include opening a second office on the east coast, near her sister in Virginia Beach, Virginia, and perhaps getting her sister involved in the company.

“You have to be able to walk before you can run,” Kanaar said, a principle she takes to heart and offers as advice to anyone looking to start a business. Looking back, she said starting slow and taking one step at a time was the key for her success.

And she believes it is the key to her future, which is why she’s content for now with trucking at the pace she’s moving, holding on to plans to put it in full gear as soon as she’s retired.

COPYRIGHT 2005. MIBIZ NETWORK.
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This article appeared in the November 14, 2005 issue of MiBiz, read by upper management executives in West and Southwest Michigan. Print subscriptions are free to qualified individuals who do business in West and Southwest Michigan. For further information about MiBiz Network, visit www.mibiz.com.