Check out Andre Erving, ’22 DeVry alumnus, and MBA student

DeVry University Alumni Association

Check out Andre Erving, ’22 DeVry alumnus, and MBA student, who turned his experience as a truck driver into a thriving transportation brokerage and now owns four businesses related to trucking and transportation. Andre credits his success to the business acumen he learned while earning his bachelor’s degree from DeVry. Now, he's sharing his knowledge and expertise on AndreErving.com and through teaching other entrepreneurs how to start, operate, and scale their own transportation companies. Look for Andre's business in the Alumni-Owned Small Business Directory and list your own small business as a graduate! #DeVryProud

Setting the Foundation for Entrepreneurial Success

Andre Erving, DeVry University ’22 graduate, knew he didn’t want to drive a truck for the next 30 years.

He had been driving semis since 2006 and was tired of the long hours and being away from his home and family. However, once he took the plunge and bought his own truck, an idea for a new business began to take shape. As the owner of a truck, Erving was responsible for finding loads to haul and discovered he could secure loads from manufacturers and broker them to other semi-drivers to deliver. With that realization, he started a transportation brokerage and proceeded to broker freight throughout the country. It was an entirely new responsibility for Erving, and he felt invigorated by the challenge.

Today, Erving is the founder of AndreErving.com and teaches other entrepreneurs how to start, operate, and scale transportation brokerages and trucking companies. Erving owns four trucking and transportation-related businesses under the umbrella of Erving’s, Inc. He credits his success in large part to the business acumen he learned while earning a Bachelor’s degree in Technical Management from DeVry University. Never one to “rest on his laurels,” Erving is currently an MBA student at DeVry’s Keller Graduate School of Management. Look for AndreErving.com in the Alumni-Owned Small Business Directory at alumni.devry.edu to connect with his business and learn how you can list your own small business as a graduate. Below, Erving shares more about his entrepreneurial journey and the role education have played in helping him get to where he is today:

Andre, you clearly have an entrepreneurial spirit. What inspired you to start your own business?

I had been a trucker for years, and I knew I wanted to do more with my career, to be my own boss. Becoming an owner-operator and brokering freight opened that opportunity, but I had a lot to learn, not just about trucking and brokering freight, but also about running multiple businesses. That said, I was determined. I am the first person in my family to start a business, and I wanted to prove to myself, and especially to my five kids, that I could do it. That’s what I’ve done, but I didn’t do it alone. Knowledge must be pursued, and you need to have the discipline to not only seek out knowledge but to stick with it and incorporate what you learn into your work every day. No entrepreneur can be successful without doing so. Entrepreneur in French means “to undertake.” Any entrepreneur will undertake risks daily to accomplish goals. I embed this into my thoughts daily.

How has your education prepared you for the career you have today?

At DeVry University, I learned the business skills needed to be an entrepreneur. My goal – with the right training - was to learn as much as possible so I didn’t have to pay others to do the work that I knew I could do for myself. With what I’ve learned through my education, I’m able to put money that I would have had to pay someone else back into the business, fueling its growth. That’s what DeVry taught me, the skills and knowledge to build my business on my terms.

Now, I’m earning an MBA so that I can take my business to the next level. There is so much more I need to know as a business owner besides trucking and brokering freight. With what I’m learning in my MBA program, I feel well-positioned for continued success. My real passion is sharing the knowledge I’ve gained over the years with others, to support the next generation of leaders in this industry. To date, I’ve trained more than 10,000 students through AndreErving.com, and that feels really good.

What advice do you have for college students or recent graduates who are interested in starting their own business?

Get focused and stay away from anything that is stopping you from accomplishing your goals. You need to work on the skill called “discipline”. You need to seek out knowledge to be successful. It’s not going to just happen. Go to school to learn the skills you will need, even if at first they don’t seem directly applicable to the specific business you want to launch. Everything you learn has value and earning a degree can provide the foundation to launch an amazing career and live the life you want to live.

This article was created by DeVry and Keller Alumni Association