Marroquin brothers' journey from Guatemala to U.S. trucking, now as owner-operators

Walking the giant hallway in the South Wing every year at the Mid-America Trucking Show, you’ll find benches that line the route, where people stop to rest. It's nice and quiet out there in general, compared to the show floor. On one Gary Buchs' walks down the hallways to or from this or that meeting, he happened to glance over and see four gentlemen chatting and smiling. (Those smiles stood out at this year’s show, as so many in trucking are struggling to keep their hope up for the careers they have chosen.)

Buchs, longtime Overdrive Extra blog contributor and business coach after a long career OTR as an owner-operator, then noticed one of the men was wearing a Landstar hat.

“Are you BCOs?” he asked, well-knowing Landstar acronym for Business Capacity Owners, of course, given his past 17 years as an owner-operator leased to the company. Turned out, yes, three of the four men were active with Landstar, and each of those three brothers brought 30 years and more of driving experience to the table. The fourth, and interestingly oldest, brother, Carlos, is meanwhile in the process of becoming an owner himself, with the mentoring help of his three younger brothers.

What a story they have to tell. The Marroquin brothers -- Ivar, Luis, Diego and Carlos -- immigrated from Guatemala beginning in 1989. The four are tightly woven together by experiences of hardship and challenges, including the death of their father when the oldest was only seven years old. They told me about their struggles to learn English effectively, something they strongly desired to accomplish, so much so they invested in college courses where lessons proved far superior than those they were initially steered to upon arrival in the United States with certainly less-than-perfect language skills.

They shared stories of sometimes rough treatment from native English-speaking counterparts, name-calling so hurtful it brought at least one to tears. All they desired, throughout the long journey to truck and business ownership, was a fair shake, opportunity to work, earn a living, and help their families be an integral part of the communities where they lived.

California’s AB 5 contractor law hasn't helped, it’s safe to say, as you'll hear in this podcast conversation with Buchs and the Marroquins. They all lived within 50 miles of Los Angeles when the law came into play. Life was good, all close enough to help each other and support family life. When AB 5 arrived, though, the three brothers decided to rent an apartment in Las Vegas, Nevada, where they established personal residency and their CDLs. That’s just to mention a couple disruptions the new contractor law brought to their businesses.

What shines through in the conversation, ultimately: good-natured debate over the right tack to take in business. Best brand of truck, right sort of transmission, benefits of pre-planning/booking loads versus boosted rates that come with waiting for the last-minute high-demand need. ... All are up for debate, and clearly the Marroquins' long history with one another other gives them the ability to cajole yet, at the same time, learn from and lean on each other.