FIXTITLE Chuck Scherer.docx
BETTER THAN RICHES
The Story
Of
Chuck Scherer
Family businesses that remain successful through generations demand a number of important factors. The main key to achieving growth requires everyone involved to be on the same page, agreeing on the same agendas. Different perspectives and opinions are needed (and of course, expected) to vary in order to explore different platforms, but all ships must balance to keep from crashing. All family members need to be rowing the boat in the same direction. Otherwise, you are likely to stay in the same spot, going nowhere. With set principles and clear communication, anything seems easy enough. When goals are reached and your hard work is producing, the next objective is to determine the future of your business and how to keep improving.
Who is best equipped to lead after you? And once someone is chosen, there is so much more than just the business aspect to consider. For some, there is the family name to uphold. When an individual is put in a position to carry on a family business, there is an issue of pride tied to their name that is passed down from generation to generation. That pride wills them to protect and honor their family name. It’s the importance of a family’s lineage built over time that needs to be respected.
Also, the pressure to not disappoint is weighable. Lastly, improvement. Once you have earned your position and understand the value of your legacy, the following step is to develop and expand your business. Not just for the sake of work, but more for your future. For your family’s future. For the generations before you that led the way. Family businesses generally begin, in light, to be able to give their children something great. More than memories. A life time career… together.
Chuck Scherer and his brother, Mike are very familiar with the terms of running a family operation. After all, the two spent their entire childhoods working alongside their father as he built his own business. The Scherer family resided in St. Joseph, Minnesota on the edge of town. Chuck’s father spent most of his time across the street on their farm, tending to steer and hogs. Initially, he got into the cattle hauling business in 1953, a few years before Chuck was born. Chuck is the second to youngest child, with him and Mike being the only sons. He has three sisters.
With a fairly large household, their dad worked a number of jobs to support the family. Chuck says, “My dad is a very driven man. He is fun and appreciates life. He’s also well liked in town. I think the reason he was so successful is because of his hard work. He put in a lot of long hours…” He explains that before his father started trucking, he did just about everything. “He managed quite a few jobs; drove a taxi, worked at a granite quarry, you name it. When he finally got into trucking, he put his heart and soul into it.”
Since expanding over 30 years and growing the business from two trucks to twelve, Chuck’s father retired after his sons took over. He had begun grooming his future business owners, Chuck and Mike to fill his shoes as soon as they were old enough to help out. “I can remember getting up at 5 every morning, before school and loading the cattle,” Chuck said. A few years before the brothers were given full control, they helped run the business side by side with their father. In 1983, the two sons teamed up and bought the family company and became partners of Scherer Trucking and Sons, Inc.
In the beginning, 95% of their business was cattle. Chuck and Mike decided to take a chance and branch out. Chuck explains, “We bought some flatbeds, tarp liner trailers and cement tanks. We purchased some vans too. We ventured out to other things.” Dry cement powder was something new for them, but their plan worked. ‘With great risk comes great reward.’
Even though the cattle hauling business came to a halt, their new direction of specializing in areas of construction fit the bill. Throughout the 80’s and 90’s business continued to pick up. Learning along the way and understanding what was working for them, they bought a few flatbeds with forklifts on the back. “That turned into a real good deal for us,” Chuck stated. “We have four now. And we eventually increased dad’s 12 trucks to 32.”
Everything Chuck and his father had been through over the years helped prepare him for what was to come. He admits that staying busy kept him out of trouble as a kid. By the age of 12, he was driving tractors regularly. As well as the farm truck to the nearby fuel pump for gas. He says, “We were always helping dad. Either unloading freight to start on the next day or reloading cattle. Many times I’d ride with him to pick up cattle.”
Chuck’s first job was the obvious; with his dad. After graduating high school Chuck went his separate ways, while Mike stayed with their father. At the age of 18, he went to work driving for an auto parts company based out of St. Cloud, traveling statewide. During his year away, Chuck continued to park his truck at his dad’s shop. After some negotiating, he returned to the family business. Not only was he able to keep his auto run, but he brought another one with him. They ran two trucks on the route for 13 years. Chuck was in one of them. A 1974 Cabover Ford. After some time, another driver was put in Chuck’s place to free up his schedule for more work. During the winters he went over the road, hauling potatoes to Chicago.
Chuck and Mike work together making a conscious effort to preserve their father’s name. “Our dad was the first of the Scherer’s to come along. Some of my favorite memories were made when I was a kid, riding with him pulling a livestock trailer, hauling freight. We would load some bags of feed sack, then I would crawl up on a sack and fall asleep. I’d sleep the whole 70-something miles back home,” Chuck said. Since his early days, Chuck enjoys being on the road. Visiting friends or sightseeing in new places.
His schedule remains the same; awake after 2am, on the road by 3am, and back home no later than 5pm. He averages 75,000 miles a year and has already passed the 2 million mile mark. His plans are to leave the company with his son, once he retires. He says, “I’d love to see my son take it on. Right now we currently have 35 drivers and 32 trucks. We are constantly looking for dependable and experienced drivers to add to our team.” He goes on to say that 70% of their drivers are home every night. Some travel over the road to about 7 or 8 states, at the most. Prominently Illinois, Indiana and both the Dakotas. The rest of the guys stay around Minnesota and North Dakota. One of Chuck’s main principles of behavior is extending common courtesy. “I cannot stress that enough. Treat people how you want to be treated. And I always mention to my drivers how crucial it is to be on time.” All of these elements contribute to a customer friendly, profitable, and successful business. What started 32 years ago, between two brothers and a couple of ideas spiraled into a lucrative, yet rewarding career.
Chuck’s wife, Ann of 38 years first met him in 1974 when she was 15. Chuck was 17 and had heard of Ann through her sisters that he went to high school with. The two were married in 1977 and have three children; Bill, Jennifer and Bradly. After marriage Ann landed a job working for an online catalog retailer for five years. Then she ran a children’s daycare from home for seven years. The kid’s ages ranged from infant to four years old. She is Chuck’s extra hand at the shop doing all of the necessary work that he doesn’t have time to squeeze in. He said, “Ann does it all! She cleans inside of the trucks for when I’m selling one or when I’m doing a driver change. She’ll get out there and polish our big cement trucks. And I’m a nut about a clean truck. I’ll spend a whole weekend shining a truck.” They are fortunate enough to have all of their immediate family within six miles of them. This includes their five grandbabies, with one expected to arrive at the end of December.
Unfortunately, Chuck’s father passed away in 1993. But like his father, Chuck lives and breathes for his family and trucking. In that same exact order. He was always around trucking his entire life and never wants to leave it. He brought his kids up around it too and hopes to see the tradition carried on. He says, “I love everything about trucking. I still wake up after all of this time and want to do it.”