Nickell Robey’s story is one of a true underdog. The undersized cornerback was undrafted in 2013, but the Bills were willing to give him a chance. In his time with the Bills, Robey has played a key role as the starting nickel corner. He’s been impressive enough that the Bills gave him a two year contract extension after his 2015 season. But the cornerback also has an impressive resume off the field.
Trucking Business
One year ago, Nickell Robey founded his own trucking business, called Maximize Enterprises LLC. In the company’s first year, they had just one truck on the road transporting mainly agricultural products and frozen foods.
In that time frame, Robey also managed to make some business connections with several large corporations, including Coca-Cola and Tropicana, thanks to some family history in the business. His mom, grandad, and uncles worked for a combined 70 years in the industry, a valuable tool for Robey to draw upon in his first year.
Learning
Nickell Robey has already learned a ton about his business on the job. In the trucking industry, a fee needs to be paid to the broker who arranges the deals between corporations. Instead of paying that fee, Robey chose to get a brokerage license himself and arrange the deals without a middle man. Robey passes those cost savings on to his truck drivers, who are able to earn far more than the industry average.
Communication skills
Communication is crucial if defenses want to succeed in the NFL. As a NFL cornerback, Nickell Robey knows better than anybody that communication is a key to running a successful business. To make sure his business is running smoothly, Robey checks in with his control manager twice every single day. That control manager passes along any important updates or problems to Robey, who then decides how to best deal with that information.
That control manager is in charge of all company logistics, but it’s still important for Robey to know exactly what’s going on, especially if there are any problems.
Second year goals
This year, Robey hopes to add another truck to the road while improving the profitability of his business. The business has already been expanding and should grow even further as Robey begins to take advantage of the first year connections that he has already established.
In the long term, Robey wants to expand his business to include a fleet of 100 trucks that are moving goods on a day-to-day basis. Those are some lofty goals for an entrepreneur in just his second year.
It’s pretty impressive that Robey has been able to have a successful NFL career while also running his own trucking business. But what would you expect from a man who has been fighting hard ever since he went undrafted in 2013?
