Hire Truckers Podcast

00:00 - 00:10
Aaron Craddock: Welcome to the Hire Truckers podcast where we interview experts in driver recruiting. We provide industry insights, marketing trends, and motivation to help you level up your recruiting game.

00:10 - 00:32
Ginger Craddock: Welcome to the Hire Truckers podcast. I'm your host, Ginger Craddock. And on today's episode, it's a story of redemption, reinvention, and revolution. Our guest is none other than our founder of the Hire Truckers podcast and the Hire Truckers platform. Welcome Aaron Craddock.

00:32 - 00:34
Aaron Craddock: Thanks for having me.

00:34 - 00:44
Ginger Craddock: This is unusual. You're normally in the host seat and now I have the opportunity to interview you. So thank you so much for letting us flip the script on you today.

00:44 - 00:46
Aaron Craddock: Yeah. I'm excited about it.

00:46 - 01:13
Ginger Craddock: Excellent. So let's start where your talk began with failure. Like, that's not usually where we begin a success talk. You said that losing your job, your health, and your direction became the foundation of everything that you've built since then. So Erin, can you break that down for us and help us see how you found that breakthrough?

01:14 - 01:40
Aaron Craddock: Yes. It all starts with a story. So back in May 2019, like I you know, as many people have had happen, I got laid off. And so that day kind of started out with I was actually working from home and my boss called me into the office, which was a little unusual because he was out of state and he was rarely in the office. So I went in and again everything was off like as far as where my team was and what was going on.

01:41 - 02:01
Aaron Craddock: And, yeah. And so when I got summoned to his office, which was kind of ironic, it was only the one time I had accepted that new role. And then this day were the only two times I'd been in that office. And so I go in his office and he's HR is in there wiping down desks. It was kind of odd.

02:01 - 02:23
Aaron Craddock: But I kind of knew what was going to happen. And so, yeah, they explained that they had to cut a certain amount of salaries and my job was one of those being cut. And yeah, so then I went down by the river in Tuscaloosa, Alabama and had a Route 44 Diet Cherry Limeade. I remember it. One of my favorite drinks.

02:23 - 02:45
Aaron Craddock: And, yes, I was sitting by the river and I was thinking about, okay, well I have to take action. And so I was like, I've always wanted to do my own business, start my own thing. And so why don't I go to the startup incubator they had in town? And so they had just built this multimillion dollar facility geared towards helping startups. I had been there a couple times.

02:45 - 02:56
Aaron Craddock: And so I went in that afternoon after getting laid off. I was like, Hey, can I start on my company here tomorrow at 8AM? And she's like, Well, do you have an LLC? Do have a plan? I was like, I have an LLC.

02:57 - 03:16
Aaron Craddock: I kind of have a plan. It's only been an hour. But I had, you know, the initial vision of like how I thought we could add something to the driver recruitment technology space and create a unique offering. And so, yeah. So, and then I was like, only other thing that's going happen is my wife's going be like, do we have to sell our house?

03:16 - 03:38
Aaron Craddock: So that's going be her first question probably. And so yeah, when I got home, Lauren said like, hey, are we going to have to sell the house? I was like, I don't know. But I would like to go work on my own business and give it at least two years all in. And yeah, and so she's been my biggest advocate, biggest fan since the very beginning of just building out something.

03:38 - 04:16
Aaron Craddock: And so yeah, I just saw an opportunity and a gap in the market and that's where TruckingClicks came from. That's where when we bought hiretruckers.com and built that out and that platform, that's where all that came from. The genesis of all that was six and a half years ago sitting down by the river in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. And yeah, and then to recap where I was back then, I was also about one hundred pounds overweight. And so, you know, it just it was, you know, the beginning of the end, you know, of my kind of rock bottom, you know, struggling with different like alcoholism, different things and my weight.

04:16 - 04:30
Aaron Craddock: And yeah, and then I just knew building this company, would have to have a different identity and become a different person. And so it's really the last six and a half years have been just multiple versions of me becoming a different person and defining my why.

04:31 - 04:52
Ginger Craddock: And so what captured me right there in the beginning is you said you were summoned to the office two different times by your boss. One to get the promotion and the role you were in, and then later the second time to be laid off. And so I've been laid off. It's traumatic. It's difficult.

04:52 - 05:32
Ginger Craddock: We're seeing in our industry right now many people in different roles. They are performing well, they're excellent at what they do, but just in today's environment, we're seeing many people lose their jobs, need to make transitions. And so when you think about the emotional weight of that, I hear some of the other challenges that you were navigating that you just shared with us. So am I correct in hearing that struggle and that really difficult season really opened the door for breakthrough for you?

05:32 - 05:51
Aaron Craddock: I mean, I guess if you're low, it's more of a breakthrough. So I don't know if the low unlocked the breakthrough. I think the vision and the why and everything tied to the impact and not just myself, like I think more of a focus on others, I think that unlocked the breakthrough, not necessarily at hard times.

05:52 - 06:08
Ginger Craddock: So what helped you push through that hard time when you I will describe it as a wall. When you hit that wall of being laid off, what helped you push through to the vision that we now see?

06:08 - 06:30
Aaron Craddock: I think the genesis of all of it is I you know, right after I got laid off, was like, okay, hey, I want to build X size company, like with a revenue target and goal. And then I met with several mentors and all of them just kind of challenged me. They're like, Hey, like why do you want to do this? And I like, Because I've never done it before. I want to build this big company.

06:30 - 06:43
Aaron Craddock: And they were like, No. Like if you don't have a compelling why, you'll give up and you'll quit. And I didn't necessarily believe them, like that first person I met with. And then I met with someone else that same week. They said the same thing, like, What's your why, Aaron?

06:43 - 07:09
Aaron Craddock: Like, Hey, I'm here to support you. What's your why? And then a third person within that same week that it all had their had successful careers and built things. And yeah, so they all challenged me, what is your why? And so honestly, only thing, the only reason I've done the, like had all the identity shifts and breakthroughs, Like, can't like I had to be a different person to build the vision I had for this company.

07:09 - 07:50
Aaron Craddock: And I still have to be a different person going forward to build that the vision for this company. We just keep suiting up and showing up and figuring it out. That's just a good because of the vision, like both Ginger and I believe we can impact a lot of people with this business and with other things we're working on. And so, yeah, for me, the biggest thing has been the compelling why. And then, you know, working through alcoholism, addiction, getting sober, that whole process, and then, you know, losing all the weight and developing new disciplines and habits, that's been, you know, tied to my faith.

07:50 - 08:11
Aaron Craddock: Thank God, you know, freeing me from addiction. Then also tied to just other people. Like, I mean, a ton of people helping me along the way. And then continually, like, if I want to continue to grow in a specific area, I just get around those people that are crushing it in that area. And that's just something, yeah, I've really made a focus on really when I started the business.

08:11 - 08:28
Aaron Craddock: And then it's just accelerated the three and a half years we've been in Austin, Texas. Just, yeah, being able to get around just people that challenge me and inspire me. That's part of what I hope I can do today is challenge and inspire the audience to think about their why.

08:28 - 08:33
Ginger Craddock: And so, Erin, what is your why? You've talked all around it. What is your why?

08:34 - 09:05
Aaron Craddock: Yeah, it's kind of complex. And so back again six years ago when I was working through this, I just put on a whiteboard. I was like, what could all the whys be? And so financial freedom, you know, hitting a certain number financially, and then, you know, time freedom, freedom of, you know, to not have to answer to anybody as a boss, like to spend time with my family, like to make a global impact and help people. It's kind of a bunch of different things.

09:05 - 09:32
Aaron Craddock: But back six years ago when I read out the vision for then Craddock Holdings and Truck and Clicks, It's kind of evolved. It was Krakow Holdings back then, then turned in Trucking Clicks, turned into hiretruckers.com as we launched the different businesses and things. And so back then it was time freedom, like to spend time with my wife and family and future kids. That was one of my goals, which back then I had no kids. Now I have three.

09:33 - 10:03
Aaron Craddock: And then to provide amazing careers for people. And so why do I build teams and build businesses? Just to help people accomplish their vision and their goals and align with their purpose. That because that was one of the most satisfying things like in my role before I started this, like building a large team and developing all those people and helping them them hit their goals and and reach their dream, whether it was at our company or at another company. So I kind of have that same I have that same philosophy today.

10:04 - 10:43
Aaron Craddock: And so the more we can grow, the more we can help just other people reach their vision and goal and kind of expand the overall vision and mission to help. Yeah. So it ended up being rooted in, yes, time freedom to spend time with my family, to travel, to do cool things, and have freedom of schedule, which is kind of a misnomer because like when you run your own businesses, there's there can always be demand. Like even when you have a good team and take time off, they're just it's kind of an always thing, not an eight to five. And now there are people in systems that have helped a lot with that and different seasons of the business.

10:43 - 11:03
Aaron Craddock: But then also, yeah, just rooted in helping people. So time freedom then helping people on the team reach their goals and helping our clients reach their goals. Just how can we, you know, impact, you know, hundreds of people like on the team and clients. And then how can we impact millions of drivers in terms of their experience and how they come on with fleets?

11:04 - 12:13
Ginger Craddock: So Erin, what I'm hearing in your story is you went from being more self focused to being other focused, whether it's family, whether it's the clients you serve, the vision for the type of business that is going to best help drivers, that's going to best help fleets. And so we're going to pivot to that vision that you had about smarter driver recruiting. You had over a decade of experience in the industry when that day came and you were laid off and you began to think about what your vision was for trucking, how to make it better, what you had learned in that first decade of your career. So when you think about that, you not only went all in and invested in a new business, but you invested over $100,000,000 to get rolling in technology and products and services. So there's a reason your wife said, Do we get to keep our house?

12:13 - 12:27
Ginger Craddock: And you're like, yeah, we get to keep our house but we're going all in. Here's what we're doing. So walk us through what that financial investment, what that technology investment look like in building your companies.

12:28 - 12:44
Aaron Craddock: Yeah. And so the hundreds of millions of dollars really comes in and just our experience like with ad spend over the years. So just more our team's experience. As far as personally, yeah, just invested several million in this business. But yeah, the investment, I think, you know, the first couple of years we didn't make any money.

12:45 - 12:58
Aaron Craddock: And so, you know, being on just having my wife's teacher salary. So it very much was, do we have to sell the house every single month? Like, I don't know. And yeah. And so and there have been different seasons.

12:58 - 13:16
Aaron Craddock: Like we've grown every year since we started. But even in that, there have been different seasons where we've hired a lot and money has been tighter. And yeah, it's it's just difficult. Difficult to build a technology company and bootstrap it. And then, yeah, and then be adding, you know, mouths to feet along the way with our different kids and building the team.

13:16 - 13:36
Aaron Craddock: So, it's it's been a real challenge, but God's provided every step of the way. And and that's kinda yeah, just how we live our life. Like, I got asked the question, like, what's enough? Like in a peer group of mine, I was meeting with that build businesses. And, you know, somebody might say $50,000,000 or $100,000,000 or $2,000,000 or whatever the number is.

13:37 - 14:16
Aaron Craddock: And it was always higher. And for me, really the place I've gotten in the last few years, as I've been focused more on other people and not myself, which is a constant, you know, work in progress, is what I have today is enough. And so just in whatever season, in the good and the bad, like it is just what God has for me in this season. And I'm gonna steward, like, whether it is a lot or is a little, I'm just gonna steward that the best I can to help people. Like as I tell it's as simple as like as I tell our five year old, two year old, Marty talked about our seven month old about, is just love God, love people.

14:16 - 14:33
Aaron Craddock: And so that's kind of what I hope people see when they interact with our brands is something as simple as just caring for people. So yeah. So yeah. Anyway, that was a long answer kind of to your yeah, financially, yeah, it's been super hard. Way harder than I thought.

14:33 - 14:47
Aaron Craddock: And also I wouldn't trade it. Honestly, this whole growth journey and then we're still in the middle of it. We're really still at the beginning beginning of it, like with what with what my vision is. We're still still at the really early stage in terms of growth and trajectory and what I see.

14:47 - 16:07
Ginger Craddock: And Erin, it's remarkable, your story, just for people who are inside of trucking and just for context for those who are outside of trucking, to bootstrap a technology company, to build the verticals in trucking and go to market and make a profit year over year in what has been one of the largest, longest, most difficult seasons in trucking is really a credit to you and your understanding of the vision and the industry and how you really did address some pain points that translated in the market and resonated with the serving people and that part of the priority of your vision. Really great job to you. And I'll also hear the intersection of your faith and just how those two things come together. So when we're talking about driver recruitment, one of the things you went to market with, the market was really talking about volume and because of this shift in focus and looking at the individual and looking at the market, you began to talk about value. So you said there was a big shift happening.

16:07 - 16:13
Ginger Craddock: Tell us a bit about your vision for value over volume.

16:14 - 16:40
Aaron Craddock: Yeah. So in my previous role, in my W2, we acquired different job sites. We built different job sites and invested in a lot of different technology. Then I've, you know, just studied the different like how the different technology partners, job sites work and then looked at what works best on the fleet side. And what we really wanted to provide is quality leads at scale.

16:40 - 17:04
Aaron Craddock: And so that was really our first focus six, six and a half years ago, like with Crowdock Holdings. And then when we added Trucking Clicks was just quality leads at scale. And that still is a core tenet of everything we do. And it's become more of an industry norm over the last six years or so. And so that's, you know, rather than a 100 leads on average to get one driver in the door, like what if we can make it 30?

17:04 - 17:48
Aaron Craddock: Then, you know, just a methodology, a vision out of the gate, not to focus on multi carrier leads or match leads, but to focus more on the direct intent applies, focused on individual carriers and then helping carriers build their brands and build their presence. So just really a fully comprehensive approach to driver recruiting. And then and then what it's evolved into is, you know, hiretruckers.com and building that platform out to where we can still still maintain the leads per hire. And so again, like if they were getting 100 articles like 30 or less leads per hire. And so, we've been able to do that at scale.

17:48 - 18:32
Aaron Craddock: That was the whole thing, the scale thing. Like there are some providers in the place that can provide quality and you might get, you know, a $200 hire, but can you get scale? Like, can we efficiently help fleets reduce their overall advertising costs significantly and also recruiter time because the recruiter not having to work 100 leads. And then, yeah, and then just all the new AI things we've been working on and automation know, just continues to add fuel to the fire. And I think it's accelerated just what everyone can do and just with all of the new AI tools and technology.

18:32 - 19:03
Aaron Craddock: And so, I mean, we were early in the AI game and integrating it back into our job sites back in the day, early for the trucking industry. Then, yeah, it's just amazing. I really look forward to even in 2026 as we're planning, like, what all we're going to be able to build from a technology perspective. Because development is way easier now at less cost, like AI is driving development costs down significantly. So how can we, you know, continue to maximize our value to our fleet partners?

19:03 - 19:09
Aaron Craddock: That's first and foremost, like, for our current fleets. And then with new fleets we continue to partner with going into 2026.

19:10 - 20:03
Ginger Craddock: And it's been exciting to have a front row seat to hear your vision and then see it become a reality. And you were talking about quality at scale when others were not. To your point, everybody's got many, people have a version of that now, but how everything that you and the team continue to build is around those efficiencies, around those better experiences for drivers and fleets. And this market has helped to drive that because we've seen fleets reduce the number of recruiters, but yet they have to meet some similar numbers and seat the drivers. Another thing that we talk about in the industry is the importance of retention.

20:03 - 20:41
Ginger Craddock: And I remember when you laid this vision out, Erin, that we had a vision of attracting the right drivers to the right fleets and that would promote and extend retention. And that was a theory. We thought that it would do that, but it has been really exciting to have fleets come back to us and say, not only are we working fewer leads to get the hire, but the hires are staying longer. And so it was exciting to see that. Now we all know that in retention, there are multiple layers.

20:41 - 21:17
Ginger Craddock: And so this is the quality of the fleet combined with the quality of the lead, the quality of the experience. And again, it's rooted in that people first perspective, the other person perspective, and how to make their experience as good as possible. And so we see fleets that are reflecting that care for their people and their team too. And so there's that synergy of reduced cost, quality hires, and increased retention. So it's been exciting to see that come to life, Erin.

21:17 - 21:42
Aaron Craddock: Now let's take a minute to thank today's sponsor. Do you hire truck drivers in hard to fill areas or do you need help creating efficiency in your recruiting department? You're not alone. With fifty plus years experience, TruckingClicks specializes in data driven strategies, industry leading customer experience, and custom solutions that'll get you to your goal. TruckingClicks is your go to place for high quality direct leads at scale.

21:42 - 21:48
Aaron Craddock: Visit truckingclicks.com or call (512) 982-0816 today.

21:48 - 22:47
Ginger Craddock: So Erin, it's been exciting to see that quality and that retention and the reduction in cost for fleets. And when we talk about attracting like minded talent that really takes care of others, there are some guests that you have interviewed on the podcast. One of the things that you say, Erin, foundationally is, drivers stay for people, not pay. Then Luke Wimberly said, If you can offer a driver a personal relationship, that's gold. And so in this generation of AI and all the technology that's evolving, the people relationships are still what move fleets, what move vendors, what move individuals forward in the most compelling way.

22:48 - 22:59
Ginger Craddock: And so what are some quotes from the Hire Truckers podcast that really resonate with you that you're like, these are guests that really understand that vision?

23:00 - 23:20
Aaron Craddock: Yeah, so a few of those for me are Tracy Rushing with Ari Garrison. There's only two jobs at a carrier, driving the truck and supporting the driver. And so if you're not driving the truck, your job is to support the person who does. That's Tracy, Tracy Rushing. And then another one is Chris Harbin.

23:20 - 23:31
Aaron Craddock: He's actually at Action Resources now. He just joined over there. And if the phone rings, answer it. You can't win without trust. Again, if the phone rings, answer it.

23:31 - 23:46
Aaron Craddock: You can't win without trust. That was a good quote from one of our guests. And then Lance Christensen, he's now at SCG Advertising. If you attract drivers for money, then they'll leave for money. Build culture and they'll stay.

23:46 - 24:20
Aaron Craddock: And so that's one of those things, like when I was thinking through the retention thing you mentioned earlier, like there is an advertising strategy that leads to greater retention. And I think a lot of times, fleets don't take that into account. And then the next quote that I remember from the show recently is, You're recruiting into a bucket full of holes unless you fix retention first. That's Sadie Church with Ashley now. The next one is small changes, 1% better every day, add up to huge results.

24:20 - 24:27
Aaron Craddock: That was Luke Wimberly again with McElroy. And then Elisha Grayson, you don't know the answer until you ask.

24:28 - 24:50
Ginger Craddock: It's so true. Love Alicia's example of you don't know the answer until you ask. And each of those quotes, Erin, tells a powerful story. And it is that this industry is built on relationships. It's not just built on recruiting tactics.

24:51 - 25:49
Ginger Craddock: So when we talk about relationships, you know, I have found in my personal life that the more growth that I have individually in my personal transformation and work on myself is the more positive impact I have on others. I bring more value to each of the relationships, both personal and professional. And so let's make a pivot into the personal transformation. You shared that you built Hire Truckers and trucking clicks, but first you rebuilt yourself. And I would venture to say you didn't rebuild yourself all the way to the point of success, but did you rebuild yourself a step at a time in these different areas you talked about?

25:50 - 25:55
Ginger Craddock: And how has that personal transformation played out along the way?

25:55 - 26:16
Aaron Craddock: Yeah. Yeah. So going back, going back to the beginning of the show, you know, just lost my job, a 100 pounds overweight. Don't really know what I'm gonna do, but I have a vision. And then, flash forward to today, I'm ninety five pounds less than I was that day, almost a hundred pounds, and maintaining and have good health habits.

26:17 - 26:44
Aaron Craddock: And then, yeah, the business has just grown exponentially and just our impact with the number of fleets we serve and number of drivers we bring on every month. It's just been great to see that continue to grow. And then, yeah, just being able to pour into people. Actually, like when people send me a message like, hey, you really encouraged me, like in this area, whether it's supporting them in their business venture, like goal, challenging them, and then it comes back around years later. Like, I save that.

26:44 - 27:11
Aaron Craddock: I save all those a lot of those messages in, like, our our Craddock legacy folder because because I like like, on my phone, I have Craddock legacy. Because I'm like, I might not leave my kids, you know, a ton of money because that's not really the goal. But what I what I'll leave is just a a legacy of impact. And so, yeah, I had somebody reach out to me a couple days ago and just say, hey, man. Like, when you did this three years ago, it had an incredible impact on me, I can't imagine where I like, it's so cool where I am today.

27:11 - 27:40
Aaron Craddock: And so, yeah, that's the focus. And the more I can get the focus off of Aaron and his goals and on to other people and their goals, so, like, positioning around what are our clients' goals, like, not not what do I want for them, but what do they want, and how can we make that happen even if it's not in our initial business plan. We always we're we're kind of known in the industry for doing things outside the box and differently when other people say they can't be done. And, yeah, just a relentless focus on our team. And and yeah.

27:40 - 28:11
Aaron Craddock: And and so, yeah, part of the reason I show up, focus on the health stuff, focus on growing the business, become a different person is yeah. Just I know I can bring, you know, more with me or and help other people. And then that, again, that's the rewarding part of the journey. Like, if I look back to my career, different seasons of growth, it's it's just all the people I was able to bring with me. And, yeah, just looking forward to continuing have more and more impact on the trucking industry, on other industries too.

28:11 - 28:56
Ginger Craddock: Absolutely. And having this front row seat to the growth of your business and to your personal growth, it's such a strong message for each of us professionally, whether you're leading a business, whether you're head of a department or you're an executive. Each of our ability to grow individually and keep leaning in and keep stretching and keep improving, then that in turn allows our business and our professional development to grow as well. The transformation, what I have found truly starts from within. And that's what I hear from your story, Erin.

28:57 - 29:19
Ginger Craddock: So let's make a pivot here. I want us to rethink what's possible. So you said that with a clear vision, with identity alignment, and relentless action, you can accomplish anything. And so break that down for us, Erin.

29:20 - 29:39
Aaron Craddock: Yeah. So this is something I'm super passionate about. Like, think I think anybody and and I kinda know, like, anytime like, I I just got to speak at Driver Employment Council of America. Thank you to Jeremy Raymer for inviting me to speak there. And I did this talk, which is what this is framed around, about what is your why.

29:39 - 30:22
Aaron Craddock: And I think if you can have a compelling why and just dream, like think about what is possible, like in health and family and faith and in business and in your career, if you have a compelling why and just a big goal, like I'm all about just challenging people to like one of one of my taglines is like dream bigger, think bigger. And that that's what I challenge you to do as an audience. And again, I think one out of a thousand people will actually do that. But, like, what if you're that person that dreams bigger and thinks bigger and and then just takes massive action towards it? And they're like, is it easy?

30:22 - 30:38
Aaron Craddock: Like, no. But I kind of think like I I like one of the quotes Tim Tebow says all the time is he wants to get to get to heaven tired. And so that's that's kind of how I think about it is just I'm going to work as hard, push as hard as I can. I'm also going to work hard at resting. I try to do that well.

30:38 - 31:10
Aaron Craddock: Just do everything to the best of my ability. And then and it's amazing what you can accomplish. And I'm actually so speaking you know, Jeremy Raymer had us go to this little bookstore by Ryan Holiday, like, when we were in town for when they were in town for DECA, called The Painted Porch. And I picked up a book by Marcus Aurelius, and I've never read his stuff. And so in reading about that, like, it's just reflections and like what's viewed as wisdom, like in the philosophy space.

31:10 - 31:30
Aaron Craddock: And is he viewed as a very wise person in a lot of areas. And and the recurring theme is he's like, don't waste your time and do everything with intention. Like like his even these writings were not geared toward, like, meditations is what I'm reading. Like, they weren't geared towards an audience. It wasn't a book that he wrote with an audience.

31:30 - 31:42
Aaron Craddock: He was just writing stuff down, and it wasn't even really a journal. He was just trying to think through things deeply. And so what do we consume? Like what do we spend our time on? What do we focus on?

31:42 - 32:01
Aaron Craddock: And just being relentless with that. And so I just encourage all of you just to think about what is your why. You have to have a really compelling why. And then what can you attach to that why, a goal that's even bigger, like throw a 10x on whatever that vision is. And then just, yeah, just go for it.

32:02 - 32:23
Aaron Craddock: And then along the way, you just tell people about it and rally them around it, around you and work together because most goals you want to accomplish. Like even my health goals weren't in isolation. Like if I want to have a six pack, I surround myself with a bunch of people with six packs. Or if I want to, you know, lose the weight, like talk to somebody that's done it. Have accountability.

32:23 - 32:45
Aaron Craddock: So yeah, I'd love to be in your corner if there's a big goal you have, whether it's health, faith, family, business. Would love to be in your corner, support you, challenge you in any way I can. And then I'm going to keep trying to show up as the best version of me to add the maximum value to the driver recruitment space, technology space. And yeah, that's it.

32:45 - 33:36
Ginger Craddock: So what I see, Erin, in your story is you realigned your identity from those broken places. So what I see is none of us can outwork a broken identity. And what I see in your story is that when you aligned your identity with that right mindset, those right actions, disciplines, relationships that help fuel that, you became a healthier leader, a faithful husband, a builder of people, and your actions started to match the vision that you had. And so there's been a multiplication result from that. And so what I see is that's the same in recruiting.

33:37 - 34:26
Ginger Craddock: So fleets that know who they are, they attract the right drivers for their fleet. Those that don't, they'll chase numbers, kind of like Sadie said, they're just kind of filling a bucket with holes in it. And so that sense of identity and culture, whether it's the individual or whether it's a business. And Erin, like you said from Marcus Aurelius, it takes intention and pursuit. So as we wrap up here, what is one thing that you would challenge a listener on the other end that maybe is looking at their life and they're realizing my intentions are not lining up.

34:26 - 34:50
Ginger Craddock: I've got some of these broken places. It could be similar broken places that you have shared, Erin, or it could be a different, you know, my journey, I have different but broken places. So what would you say to those of us, which I think it's all of us, we've all got broken places that we're working on and want to lean in. What would you say in one or two sentences to encourage that person to take that next step?

34:51 - 35:02
Aaron Craddock: Yeah. I would first of all, I'd say we're all broken. I'm still broken. And, you know, the most important thing to me is God's grace, like, through Jesus Christ. And I don't think I can ever I don't think I'll ever measure up.

35:02 - 35:16
Aaron Craddock: And that's this weird contrast. It's like, know I'm covered by grace, but becoming refined and more like Christ. But yeah. So that's that's the first place I pivot from. And but I'm friends with people that believe all different things, and I respect that.

35:16 - 35:36
Aaron Craddock: This is just what I believe is truth. And the second thing I would say is, yeah, just your life's worth it. Like I know so many people that have been in really hard spaces. I think it was last month was like suicide prevention month. And yeah, just if you're in a hard place, and again, it doesn't have to be that extreme, but your life's worth it.

35:36 - 35:51
Aaron Craddock: Like you're worth it. People care about you. And yeah, so just tell I just want to tell people they're worth it and it's okay. And everybody's got hard things they're going through or and or have been through. And then, yeah, and then set your sights on other people.

35:51 - 36:21
Aaron Craddock: And that can be one of the ways out of it. Like for me, it was very much I realized that my selfishness is what led to a lot of those things. And so even today, like if I start feeling like the things I look for is restless, irritable, discontent, irritated, yeah, just think about serving people and just turning it around towards somebody else and your mindset can quickly shift. And then another thing I've heard recently is like, think about like, okay, you're having a bad day? Yeah.

36:21 - 36:41
Aaron Craddock: Like, compared to what? Like, there's always a worst day or a worst time or and yeah. And then a lot of things that people think like, Okay, I can never get sober. I can never improve this relationship. Or I can never, you know, lose a 100 pounds or build a x figure company.

36:43 - 37:05
Aaron Craddock: Yeah, you can. Like, you just, you know, just gotta set that goal, that vision, tie it to a why, and then take massive action and then surround yourself with other people that are doing it. And again, it's, you know, four bullet points. Like, I've been, you know, really on the personal development journey for six and a half years since, you know, the layoff was the catalyst. But yeah, just it.

37:06 - 37:31
Aaron Craddock: Yeah. Just what you see on social media of everybody like, the highlight reel isn't reality. Like, everybody's, you know, hurting in different areas, and and then other people are in seasons with peace and serenity and joy. And that's kind of the the season I find myself in as just joy and peace and serenity and and wanting to pour into other people. So thank you for the opportunity to be on my show.

37:31 - 37:49
Ginger Craddock: Yeah. Those are powerful words, Erin. And thank you for sharing your story and for showing that success is built on purpose. And when success is built on purpose, it can truly change an individual life and it can truly change an industry.

37:50 - 37:51
Aaron Craddock: Thank you.

37:51 - 38:07
Ginger Craddock: Thank you. So you've been listening to the Hire Truckers podcast powered by Trucking Clicks. Today's episode, What's Your Why? Smarter Driver Recruiting reminds us that success isn't about scale. It's about substance.

38:07 - 38:23
Ginger Craddock: If you've enjoyed this episode, share it, leave a review, and subscribe where you listen to podcasts. Because smarter recruiting and better living start with quality over quantity.

38:23 - 38:36
Aaron Craddock: Thank you for joining us today. Our goal with the Hire Truckers podcast is to provide industry insights, marketing trends, and motivation to level up your recruiting game. If we added value, take a few seconds to share this with your network. Have a great week.