Outsourcing a US Freight Brokerage to Ukraine: Part 1

The first question I get when I tell people that I lived in Ukraine for three years is, “Why?” The short answer is that the brokerage I worked for asked me to open and manage an outsourced operation in Kyiv, Ukraine in August 2017. I immediately jumped at the idea and couldn’t wait to move. I realize to many Americans, that might seem a bit strange, but I had a few good reasons. 

For one, my parents are originally from Poland. They immigrated to the US in 1988 for a better life and more opportunities. Living in Ukraine meant I’d be just across the border from extended family. Additionally, I had already traveled to Croatia, Hungary, and Bosnia and had fallen in love with “Eastern” Europe. And lastly, at only 24, I would be managing a team. I was single with no kids– the timing was right to go full throttle in this career and explore life in Ukraine.

First Impressions

On November 10, 2017, I packed my bags and flew to Kyiv, Ukraine. Here are some things that I first noticed about my new country:

• It was dark. We Americans are used to having many bright lights lining the streets. In Kyiv, the first observation I had during the landing was how much darker the streets were.
• The country is full of contrasts. Here you’ll see a  Rolls Royce Cullinan ($330,000 MSRP) parked beside a Volga (a cultural icon of the USSR). A torn-down Soviet apartment building stands right beside a new apartment block. Although Ukraine is technically a “poor” country, by international standards, there are a lot of oligarchs in the country - especially in Kyiv. 
• Life is cheap when you’re making USD. At the time, most people in Kyiv got by on $500-700 per month. Therefore, groceries and public transport (Ubers included) were cheap. A ticket in the metro cost 17 cents when I arrived.

I went from living in a two-bedroom apartment with my parents and siblings in the Chicago suburbs to an apartment furnished like a palace in Kyiv. I made USD, had a large apartment, and managed a team. I felt like a king. 

Settling In

So, I was in the capital of Ukraine in my early 20s, full of ambition, ready to build a team and make some money. It was November, so that meant it was cloudy, rainy, and cold. The poor weather added to the depressing Soviet feeling vibrating through Kyiv. Many of the apartment buildings along the street were from the Soviet era, and they were falling apart. It all looked a bit bleak and worn down—but I loved it, I loved everything about it. 

Before arriving in Kyiv, I had been to just over 40 countries. I had traveled all over, from Amsterdam to the slums of Mumbai. I had experienced rich and impoverished countries, but Kyiv felt different. Kyiv didn't feel like a third-world country. The trendy restaurants where I dined and the luxury cars that passed me along the road made it feel like a rich country. And it was a rich country, but that wealth got hoarded by the oligarchs. 

The apartment I was renting out felt like a palace. The interior design was of the highest level. The block was relatively new but surrounded by other apartment buildings that were LITERALLY falling apart. The worn-down parking lot had cars ranging from a Porsche to a Lada. I could see the Russian Embassy from my window. Every sight was unique, every experience was distinct, and everything felt much more real than in Chicago. 

Let’s Get To Work

Since Ukraine is 8 hours ahead of Chicago, I started work at 15:00 (07:00 CST), finishing around midnight (16:00 CST). I could sleep in every day. I would wake up around 9 or 10 o’clock in the morning, read a book, go to the gym, and shower before heading off to work. Once I got into the office,  I was ready to start booking freight. In the beginning, we had five people in the office: two carrier sales reps, one tracker, and one account manager. 

If anyone reading this worked as a freight broker back in November of 2017, you probably remember how busy it was. Things were HOT. Our largest customer at the time (Anheuser-Busch) supplied us with enough freight and profit to continuously hire in Kyiv. The company I worked for paid freight brokers $700 per month plus a 2% commission. If I recall correctly, Trackers and Account Managers initially made $750 without commission. 

Imagine hiring one or two people for every load you booked. Those were the kind of margins we were working with back then. Outsourcing was really a no-brainer. Nowadays, it seems like everyone is into it, but back in late 2017, only a few freight brokerages were outsourcing. So we kept on hiring. We outgrew our first office pretty quickly. By April 2018, we grew to around 20 people and had to find a bigger office to hold everyone. 

Over the next three years, the size of our outsourced office swelled to nearly 100 employees. I ended up sending exactly three years in Kyiv, Ukraine. I would love to share more about my experiences of living in Ukraine and, at the same time, running a US-based freight brokerage. This is the first article of a series detailing that experience, so check back for the next installment.