Austin Bauman was featured in the Nashville Business Journal’s “Rising Star” section on August 14, 2009, highlighting Nashville leaders under 40. Below is Austin’s interview:
INTERVIEW:
What do you do? I own Green Fleet Messengers, a bicycle courier company. We specialize in filings for law firms, flyer distributions, food delivery, and same day and rush deliveries for architects and business clients.
What’s the most interesting project (or internal effort) your company is working on right now? We’re working on several projects right now for prospective clients, but our biggest push is educating businesses about the benefit of using bicycles. The legal community is one place where we are starting to have a big impact. Before Green Fleet, law firms on West End, Lower Broadway, Germantown, Green Hills, and East Nashville had to send a car for daily legal filings, and downtown firms had to depend on walking couriers. With bicycles we can reduce their carbon footprint and improve their service. It is the perfect solution. I tell clients that every time they send a bicycle, they are replacing a car.
Long term I think every business within 5 miles of downtown Nashville can eliminate in-town car deliveries. That will reduce traffic congestion and save thousands of gallons of gasoline each year.
What circumstances led you to your current position? When I graduated from college, I started a cross-country bicycle ride for childhood cancer research called Rally Across America. With that project I developed a passion for cycling and advocacy. Green Fleet is perfect for me because I get to be an advocate every day. We help businesses reduce their carbon footprint and promote cycling as a vital form of transportation in Nashville. And I get to ride my bike.
Was there a defining moment that made you realize what you wanted to do with your career? I worked at Brookside Properties as a leasing agent for two years before starting Green Fleet. I had always wanted to own my own business, and the real estate market was starting to get tough for brokers. One day I realized how often we sent car couriers short distances, and I saw an opportunity. I studied several other cities our size, and they all had working bicycle courier services. So I left my job and started Green Fleet.
What has been your biggest professional mistake? How did you overcome it? Going into real estate in 2006 was probably a mistake. I definitely underestimated how hard it would be to be successful in a down market. Thankfully the people at Brookside were talented in business and great mentors. It ended up being a good experience. My old boss was one of the first people that I went to for help when I was starting Green Fleet.
What would you tell other younger business leaders to do to find success? Be passionate about your work, get involved in the community, and embrace new challenges. Oh yeah, and ride your bike to work every day.
What is the biggest challenge you are currently facing? My biggest challenging is juggling all of the facets of a small business. It’s hard to ride your bike all day and be in charge of operations, marketing, accounting, and customer service all at the same time.
What was your first job? My brother had this odd jobs company one summer in high school. He put flyers all over town – in churches, at the grocery, and everywhere to get the word out. Finally we got a few small projects and made a little bit of money. It wasn’t a huge success, but it kept us busy and we learned a little bit about business.
Did it help you prepare for you career? How? That job helped me realize how satisfying it was to work for myself. I’ve always tried to find projects and jobs that are meaningful to me, and running Green Fleet has the same way.
Article originally appeared at: http://www.bizjournals.com/nashville/stories/2009/08/17/smallb5.html
