Ep. 28 | Fueled for Success - Korey McDavid

Korey McDavid, founder of Juiced Fuel, discusses his journey from the oil and gas industry to launching a fuel delivery service. He discusses identifying a gap in the fuel market, managing customer retention without contracts, and using social media to drive viral growth. He shares insights on balancing entrepreneurship with family life, overcoming challenges, and the role his military experience played in his business approach.

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Host: Jack Moran
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Hello everybody and welcome to episode 28 of Shakin’ Hands I'm your host Jack Moran You can find me on Instagram at Jack Riley Moran that is Jack Riley Moran today on the podcast we have Korey McDavid the founder of Juiced Fuel What's going on Korey How are we doing Doing great All good Getting jacked up for Monday morning Let's go let's go So tell us a little bit about your business Let's get started like that Yeah So juice fuel We are a low country's premier fuel delivery service So pretty much anything that needs fuel will deliver to it We basically got three business lines our residential subscribers Then we've got our fleet commercial customers and then boats as well Okay So how do you guys deliver the fuel So we've got two trucks with 400 gallon skids custom built for the beds of the truck What's a skid It's a it's got four tanks four separate tanks It's got the hose reel pump metering system all built into one you know moveable skid that can be dropped into any truck that has a flat bed with a forklift How did you like It's kind of a niche business How did you recognize the need for that Yeah So I've been in the oil and gas energy business for over a decade now And you'll most recently I was in the wholesale distribution storage side And I saw all that the customers and and the distributors coming in and who they were supplying And if you needed a lot of fuel you could get someone to bring you fuel If you needed a little bit of fuel you're kind of on your own And so there was this big gap of like you know if I need 100 gallons for a boat or I need you know 150 gallons for my excavator I'm working on like I got to get that myself So there was this major hole in the market And so I thought that's where I need to step in So who is usually the buyer Like what's the kind of like ideal client for you guys Our ideal customer just because it's you know very consistent is like a fleet So picture like any trade business that has you know pickup plumbing or something Hvac that might have 12 or 15 vehicles and they come back to a warehouse and they park overnight And before juice was here they were managing it through you know a fleet card or credit cards and you know just rampant fraud and abuse So it's also difficult to like manage that you know they're all over the place You know the spread between the lowest price and the highest price of gas could be you know 40 $050 So where are they filling up so we can come in after hours no disruption to their normal day fill up all their vehicles with predictable pricing and reliable service So it's a win win for the the consumer because they're normally paying their employees to do it at the pump And we can come in there and and ultimately save their money and make money ourselves Gotcha So they're usually getting like an ongoing retainer contract with you or is it like a tonight we want the fuel So we we do like a recurring schedule We don't put anyone on a contract That's mainly because we want to consistently earn your business with the service that we're providing But also you don't sign a contract when you go to a gas station So we don't want to be a barrier to entry Guardian changing your the way you typically do it So if you call me and say hey we'd like to try you out we'll do it And then we don't have anyone leave They they love our service and continue to do what a week over week So typical would be like once a week or twice a week depending on the usage And we just set up set a day and time that works for them works for us and keep going Oh yeah Only has been a business for almost two years now so December will be two years So what was your like career like before starting your own business So I was typical corporate gig for a company called Kinder Morgan And they are a energy infrastructure company So I was managing the terminal here in Charleston so we would bring in ships of fuel and store them and send them out by truck And so our customers were the owners of commodities And so we would help you facilitate the logistics of that Did that for about six years Prior to that I worked offshore oil and gas as a ROV pilot which is remote operated vehicle pilot So we do subsea construction and basically eyes and hands for the oil companies building things on the bottom of the ocean So it was pretty cool gig did that for like 40 years And before that I was a Apache pilot in the Army Wow That's awesome Kind of chased like whatever was interesting and could also make money doing I'm like an entrepreneur Yeah So got a little guy a little tired of the you know the corporate grind and you know who costly was Like no matter how well we might have been doing locally you know you're you're at the behest of the big global company Like if they weren't doing well I'm having to tell my guys like hey no increases this year We're gonna have to cut your bonuses And that's just like crushed my soul And so you really want to get my own thing going What was it like making the transition from corporate life into your own business What were kind of little like differences you saw there and the struggles you dealt with Yeah So it is stressful I mean I'm married I've got to two boys So risk is a big big part of that I still work full time as part of that risk management You know finding that balance of you know being all in with the company but also you know having to put food on the table and also trying to be a good husband and father And that's a it's a tough balance How do you deal with like adversity with a company like or that risk and dealing with that stress you know method for that How do you keep going Like I don't think I don't have a method for maybe I'm not dealing with a well I don't know You know I get like a little imposter syndrome when you know I'm offering like advice or like you know how I deal with things because we're very much in the thick of it and the grind like figuring things out as we go and And that that's really it is is a very good at compartmentalizing And so maybe that that's my if you take anything from this is like being able to break down a problem you know categorize it in you know this happened first this next and taking it one step at a time and very pragmatic approach What do you think are the like biggest priorities that you focus on within the business Like these are the first things that are my biggest focus with our business where we're at currently It's it's one growth Like we want to constantly be showing growth We haven't taken on any venture capital or anything like that yet but that is in the future And so we don't want to show any steps backwards So constantly growth constantly bringing in new customers and everything we're doing is to facilitate that Second is taking care of the customer as we currently have How you're people are normally getting gas now they're just they're gas Light comes on they go to whatever gas station is close to them We're completely changing the way people have done it traditionally And so we're basically asking our customers like all that fuel spend that you spend annually sprinkled across different gas stations across your area like give that to us we'll take care of it And so we treat every customer as if it's like your wife or mother stranded on the side of the road We want to make sure they get their fuel And so you know growth taking care of our customers and then you know running the business Yeah Have someone with like a lot of people when they try to start a business like where they struggle the most is with the sales They realize that you don't just make a website where customers come to you like in the beginning you got to develop a reputation You got to go out and hunt for those clients How do you like source clients Social media is a huge part of it But even even then it's it's hard to like understand what our business is because like you mentioned at the beginning it's it's pretty niche And stopping at a gas station might be inconvenient but it's not that inconvenient We've been doing it that way our whole lives Our parents have been doing it that way Our whole lot So showing on social media what we can do and how we do it and that we're reliable and that our customers really like it It's been very helpful We've gone viral half a dozen times now you know multiple videos over 10 million views And it's really just us doing our thing delivering fuel And people love it It resonates with people They it's a it's a pain point in people's lives And they see this and they're like oh my God this was awesome How do I bring this to my location Or whenever y'all come into it you know Ohio or Florida or Louisiana or wherever Have you noticed any patterns in the videos that are going viral versus the ones that aren't Yeah Anything that like any comments friends as far as hating on the business we call it we play into that and that that takes you know to the next level Look it makes it go viral like you know people The first response is like how lazy are people So like we play into that a lot That gets a lot of interaction in the comments and then it just takes off because the viewers start fighting that battle for us They're like this isn't lazy Like it's actually you know a lot safer It's way more convenient You don't value your time if you think it's lazy and things like that That's probably the one that are our method to like keep the morality going It's just you know when we see these comments hater comments like okay let's make a video for that Yeah That's great What are the like since you've started the business has it stuck to the same model or have there been any major changes that have kind of evolved just to the natural growth of the company Yeah so we started doing boats this year and in May and that's been a huge uptick for us That was always part of the plan However if I'd started again probably would start a riot with boats the margins better pitching it to a customer and then seeing the value in it is much easier They're better clients Yeah better clients a lot more flexibility Like people need their boats not filled up right now like you got a week to get it right So operationally it's much more flexible The margin is a lot better however I wanted we just had the one truck starting out And you know we want to build a customer base and build enough volume to be able to start sourcing and having some that leverage to source our fuel from different different places and get some buying power that way and then move into other other avenues And that's where we're at right now Right Yeah You said before you were in the military you're an Apache pilot How did being in the military contribute to being a business owner Is there anything that it's helped with Yeah definitely Like you know sometimes you just got to do whatever you got to do to get the job done And you know our job every day we have our requests rolling in But there are also challenges that arise like batteries failing on a truck or pump failing not pumping fast enough Customers vehicles aren't there when we show up to deliver it So this constantly things that we gotta overcome And so yeah we set our hours 8 am to 8 pm but we've been delivering fuel till 11 pm at night so whatever we guys do to get it there we're going to get it done And you know I think that's just a mindset that you know I've grown up with over the last 20 years of working you know whatever whatever the task is we'll figure it out Yeah That's the way to be You're going to have that persistence And because anything can get thrown at you and a lot of people will turn back and go back to the comfort But that's where yeah boys are separated from the men That's right I mean that's why they say most businesses fail right Is the founder quits It's not that the the business fail People just give up Yeah And that's really the only true failure is quitting If you had $1 million of just guilt free capital right now how would you deploy it within the business So we'd continue our our growth trajectory here in Charleston But we also want to start expanding into similar markets So think like you know Buford Savannah you know Myrtle Beach myrtles in the area move up to the lakes And Columbia like those are all areas we expect to be in here shortly And then also vertically integrating in to getting larger trucks that we can be our own supplier That's the most natural fit for if our had had capital like you say is you know start going to the terminals ourselves and being our own supplier capturing that additional margin What are your biggest needs outside of capital like for that scale people those kind of go hand in hand right Like we I've got a very you know small close knit team that is is doing great But we need more people We need more talent to expand you know that requires money to I don't want to bring someone on And then you have to tell them a few months later Hey you know we're not growing as quickly as we were It's winter now People are filling up boats like sorry You know thanks for thanks for your time So that's something I really don't want to do But yeah definitely you know people and equipment up until this point what's the biggest oh shit moment you've encountered in your business There's been there's been a bunch Just start with at the beginning I mean my first piece of equipment we bought you know we bought our truck and then we bought this This feels good And it shows up and it's like 16in too long It doesn't fit in the back of the truck And I'm like oh what the hell am I going to do with this And you know that that required me just you know first I got on the phone with the guy who built it for me I'm like what the hell man This is what I ordered And you know we went back and forth and you know fortunately I only paid like 50% deposit And I was like I'm not paying you another dollar Like you can come get this thing And he's like why don't you just keep it then And so we agreed on that But that meant I had to modify it took tank off you know literally me and my neighbor cutting this thing up and my garage to get it to fit and that that's the skid we we ran with the for the first ten months So that was one one thing we were part of accelerator initially that was like kind of guiding us through the through the startup process And then they just shut down Yeah the efforts that I had But the assets we had created during that process I had ownership but like I had that was being built that wasn't working Yes And they just shut down So that was definitely a shit moment But go back to what what we were talking about earlier is like you just got to figure it out like Like we're doing this And you know at this point we have enough customers and enough daily demand that like we know we're onto something It's not that the business isn't going to be successful It's more like are we going to be the ones who can take it to the next level We know the demands There We know the appetite there I talked about you know going viral before We've got a list of hundreds of people that have asked to franchise just you know not they're not asking like hey can you help me start a fuel business They want juice fuel They see what we're doing They see kind of the persona we've created on social media the branding everything pops They love everything about what we're doing and how we're building the company and they want to bring it to their location So it's exciting What do you think the keys are to building an attractive brand for the consumer Consistency You know we're posting things every day and they're not all bangers but you got to constantly be putting it out there you know the good and the bad I mean we had we were right in our business off Google Voice and Google just shut down Google voice sets up our voice number at some point where we're in business Yeah All of a sudden we can't take any calls You know we had automation through our app The text messages would go out and all that just stopped overnight So we had to get on get on our platforms and say hey yeah we got a new number temporarily Sorry about the and and then that didn't work out So like the next day were like hey just kidding We got a new number Now this is a real new number So we are very transparent about what we're doing and how we're doing that And transparency is key Yeah And it helps people relate And then also like it's good when you're running late for your customer or you're not able to deliver them for whatever reason They get it and they know what we're going through And and they love us for that now Like oh yeah no problem Get it tomorrow Yeah I think in like this world right now with like so much disinformation and there's so much mistrust if you can put trust and transparency as one of your top values within the company it's a really easy way to differentiate yourself against the field Yeah I agree you know one of the talked about moments was we had a transportation police officer reach out to us and and let me know that I was breaking the law with how it's littering fuel And and it wasn't intentional I had read all the regulations and and thought I was doing everything correctly but there was a small appendix to one rule that calls out gasoline separate from diesel and says you know if you're carrying more than 1000 pounds every other regulation refers to it in gallons and this one refers to it in pounds and 1000 pounds of gasoline is only about 150 160 gallons of gas And so we were not compliant So that was you know an oh shit moment of okay now I gotta get CDL I gotta get hazmat endorsements I got it I'm not insured properly All those things we had to change which increased our you know break even significantly But we were able to get that information by being transparent and letting everyone know what we're doing And you know someone reached out to us and they didn't come down to shut down our business They were like hey we like we like what you're doing We think you're offering a service that offers people a safer better alternative to go on to the gas station We just want to make sure you're doing it the right way And regulatory hurdles are the worst kind of hurdles And Sounds like you guys weathered the storm So you got the endurance for sure Yeah definitely So now that you've started your business and you've seen the ups and downs of being a business owner what do you think is one piece of advice that or the you know most important thing that you've learned that Corey today would tell yourself at an earlier stage in your life I would say you just got to get out there and do it You got to go ahead and figure out what you're going to screw up And so find that idea that you're one passionate about and then just start executing and iterating and failing and learning and changing You know if you if we try to map out this business from the beginning we probably never would have done it You know knowing that we're one selling a commodity that you know the only differentiator is price really And people don't want to pay it Low margin All the regulatory hurdles we just mentioned it would be difficult to map that out to success But I had a vision of where we want to go and and I could see the success And so we just dove into it Unfortunately I've got a very supportive wife who's all in with me and that makes it you know much easier to be able to do those things Yeah I think that's like a reoccurring theme that we keep hearing like throughout all these podcasts is like just get started And you know I had on on an early podcast rod Robertson is one of my early mentors and he talks about I might be misquoting us but I think it's called the Navy Seal 8020 rule where the Navy Seals wait till they get things like 7080% right and then they just go because if you wait till everything's 100% right then everything's moving and changing and you'll never actually make a move So it's like getting it till it's like pretty good and then making that jump and you'll figure out the rest of the way when you're you know you're in the fire you're in the fight But yeah I feel so many people like they panic and they want to have everything so perfect And then because of that they waste so much time and never get started And you know when you get started is when you start getting that hitting those failures and getting the knowledge that you learn from those failures that allow you to get that extra 20% to finish the job or finish the mission Yeah absolutely It's to you know just just get started and and go from there So this is a little bit off the cuff but since you come from the oil industry what do you think about the all the policies like getting rid of fossil fuels and going to electric cars And I is it sustainable I'm agnostic to that It meaning it doesn't matter like this far you know from from my see as Jwst founder we're building a logistics network Really You know right now we're delivering fuel We could be delivering you know three phase power on a supercharger in the back of the truck with this and the same platform Right So really what we're we're offering is you know reliable service you know on demand that you can have delivery to your house So like we're offering people with combustion vehicles the same experience that you'd get having an ATV without having to buy you know a new car when you already have one Right now EVs are like 39% of the total vehicle market sharing You know we'll take care of that 96% Let someone else figure out that that 4% for now But certainly I could see you know a future where that's that's the offering that that we we would provide What about just for like the general market Do you think it's sustainable to get off fossil fuels No because there's it's not not just transportation I mean you're talking about plastics You're talking about pharmaceuticals Like all that is is part of the the fossil fuel set that we don't talk about them in jet fuel you name it We moved here in Charleston We moved petrochemical parasailing up to two companies that you manufacture plastics and plastic resins for it to go into everything from your pharmaceutical packaging to you know forks and spoons that we we use That's not going to go away I don't know if you have any insight into this but you know it seems like the reason behind it Well I'm sure there's ulterior motives but the front facing reason is like for environmental concerns Do you think it has a legitimate positive impact reducing fossil fuels or is it going to you know you hear people talk about EVs and the batteries in that production of them are like more environmentally damaging than fossil fuels I don't know if you have any insight into that I don't really have any insight other than you know what you just said We don't know the impacts that you know mining for you know special chemical or special material like like lithium cobalt and what kind of impact that's going to have I do know like all the transportation and and CO2 has resulted in a much greener earth you know today than that it was you know a hundred years ago So I don't know that's not really a I don't want to I don't want to have a take on it you know Yeah Well my kind of wrap up question is like how do you define success What are you chasing after So success for me is you know being able to provide for my family not feel like beholden to whether that's a company or schedule You know I'm trying to build something that maybe one day I'm passing down on my family or we're able to sell and we don't have to work anymore You know I don't care what that result is Either way I think a successful but you know I'm passionate about what I'm doing I love building juiced and working with my family And I think that's you know ultimately what it's all about working for yourself and being able to provide with something that you built is successful enough for me Well I think you guys got a great company and your values are very grounded and it's inspiring what you're doing so I appreciate it And thanks Is there anywhere like where can people find you if they're interested in your services if they want to reach out Yeah juicedfuel.com is our website but definitely follow us on social media at Juicedfuel on Instagram So at most most of our stuff gets posted Download our app Juice fuel play with it We got new app coming out soon So be on the lookout for that We'll see you around the low country I about I appreciate you coming on yeah appreciate it I well that concludes episode 28 of Shaking Hands I'm your host Jack Moran You can find me on Instagram at Jack Riley Moran If you guys have any suggestions for guests that you want to see on the show or questions that you want to ask don't hesitate to reach out But other than that we'll catch you next time So If