Latest news with #Dubon
Business Journals
4 days ago
- Business
- Business Journals
The last-mile entrepreneur: How a Bay Area business owner turned Amazon deliveries into success
In August 2020, a customer came into Ronald Dubon's mechanic shop and asked him to repair an Amazon delivery truck. After completing the job, the customer mentioned that he had many more trucks needing service if Dubon could handle them. 'My eyes went big,' Dubon remembers. 'I thought I was coming up on an Amazon contract to fix vehicles.' But soon, Dubon discovered a different opportunity. The customer explained that Amazon doesn't operate the ubiquitous vans that take packages from its warehouses and deliver them to customers' homes. Instead, it contracts with more than 4,400 independent logistics companies to handle last-mile delivery. Dubon, who owned a delivery company of his own, was intrigued. He completed an online application for Amazon's Delivery Service Partner program the next day. He moved quickly through Amazon's interview process and, by October, was taking delivery of a fleet of 20 vehicles to launch his business. 'My life changed in that moment,' he said. expand Inside Amazon's DSP program Turning his Inner City Logistics business into an Amazon DSP was relatively simple, Dubon said. Amazon negotiates with vendors that supply most of the equipment DSPs need to purchase for their businesses, such as Amazon-branded vans, uniforms and handheld devices. The company also offers access to various optional business services, such as insurance, accounting and payroll software. Amazon's commitment to its DSPs is growing, too. In September 2024, the company announced it plans to incrementally invest more than $2.1 billion in the DSP program. It plans to spend the money on safety programs, rate cards, training, value-added services, incentives and other areas to support the businesses that handle its last-mile deliveries. 'I was awarded contracts with other logistics companies in the past, but it was like, 'Do you want a contract? Do you have a truck? OK, bring the truck and start running loads the next day,' Dubon said. 'The vetting process with Amazon is just a different world. When I started seeing all of these things and the level of the structure, I knew I was onto something that was going to be the future.' Today, Inner City Logistics ranks among Amazon's top-performing DSPs. Dubon's team of more than 100 employees operates 38 Amazon routes across San Francisco, Milpitas, San Jose and Fremont, scaling to as many as 100 routes during peak periods. Discovering the recipe for business success Amazon's training, structure and support to its DSPs has benefitted Dubon's other entrepreneurial efforts, including L'Roco Grill, a Salvadoran restaurant in San Jose. Dubon's wife, Lady Ruiz, runs the restaurant and handles backend responsibilities for Inner City Logistics. 'I used to operate businesses with a fear that came from not knowing if what we were doing was right or wrong because we didn't have that guidance,' he said. 'We learned a lot about how to run a good business. It's been a big change.' Amazon's training also underscored the importance of intentionally building your company culture to serve two types of customers: external customers who purchase goods and services and internal customers who work for your business, Dubon said. 'That concept alone makes a huge difference on how you walk into your building and how you treat people,' he said. 'Not only the people who come in to spend money at your business but also your employees because, ultimately, they are your clients. You need to make them both happy.' Elevating entrepreneurship Dubon's passion for entrepreneurship and professional development extends beyond his businesses. He's helped one employee go on to open his own DSP business, and two more are on their way to doing the same. Dubon has become a champion for Road to Ownership, an accelerated training program Amazon offers to help high-performing DSP employees become DSP owners. The 16-week program includes classroom-style training and mentorship by a successful DSP owner. People who graduate from Road to Ownership receive a $30,000 grant to help them launch their businesses. 'I pride myself on developing the best people and taking them up to the next level,' Dubon said. 'We've done that in the restaurant business, too, my wife and I. This is what I love doing.' The first person Dubon mentored through the Road to Ownership program was Jose Mejia, who started working for Inner City Logistics as a helper supporting the company's drivers. He moved up through the company quickly, serving as a driver, then a trainer, dispatcher and operations manager. 'This is probably the guy with the best work ethic that I've ever met,' Dubon said. 'He is an extremely amazing guy, and I thought he deserved an opportunity for something even better.' Mejia has continued his professional growth. He received a Rising Star award from Amazon for having the best DSP launch in 2023. Today, he has close to 100 employees in the Sacramento region. It is a success story Dubon said he hopes to help repeat by supporting more entrepreneurs. 'I have a motto in my company,' Dubon said. 'I want you to come to my company as a driver, but if you leave, I want you to leave as a business owner.'
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Hutto listed in top 15 of fastest growing cities in U.S.: report
The Brief Hutto is the 13th fastest-growing city in the country, according to a report Between 2023 and 2024, it grew by more than 9 percent Along with several resident houses, businesses are also popping up in Hutto HUTTO, Texas - A new U.S. Census report put seven Texas cities in the top 15 fastest-growing places in the country. Hutto was the only Central Texas city on the list. What they're saying The houses popping up left and right are a testament to that. It's a far cry from what Jena Dubon remembers as a kid. "They were excited about a Wendy's coming like twenty years ago, and we finally got it a few years ago, and now we have big places coming," said Dubon. She's now a realtor in Hutto with On Air Realty. She points to the city's location and affordability as its attractions. "We have a toll road really close by, 79. We're in the corridor of when it comes to tech, like big tech companies, so really great place to put some roots down and grow," said Dubon. According to the U.S. Census, Hutto is the 13th fastest-growing city in the country. Between 2023 and 2024, it grew by more than 9 percent. "I knew that we were growing fast because I'm exhausted," said Matthew Rector, Hutto's city engineer. "My team is exhausted, but I didn't realize we were going to rank 13th in the nation. That to me was a shock." Rector is helping guide that growth with plans to expand water capacity, treatment plants, and roads. "We have Samsung just to our east, and so they're going to be generating a lot more traffic, so we're working with the county and TxDOT to figure out how we can facilitate that without creating too much of an adverse impact for our residents, so we are busy busy busy," said Rector. It's not just people moving to Hutto. Companies are building new offices, too, like one across from the city hall, which city officials believe is a Swedish company working with Samsung. "We're seeing a lot of growth in areas where other metro areas are seeing declines," said Cheney Gamboa, Hutto's director of economic development. "For example, office space. That's something we're building here at the Co-Op." For Gamboa, keeping Hutto's small-town charm with its shiny new big city amenities is all a delicate balancing act. "Your residents want quality of life, but they need infrastructure," said Gamboa. "Your business needs infrastructure, but their employees want quality of life, so it's just kind of striking that balance about what you're prioritizing and what you're trying to achieve for the community at any given time." Georgetown has long boasted of being one of the fastest-growing places in the U.S. It didn't make the list this year, but it was one of seven U.S. cities to pass the population threshold of 100,000 in 2024. The Source Information from interviews conducted by FOX 7 Austin's Lauren Rangel
Fox News
21-04-2025
- Sport
- Fox News
Padres' Luis Arraez stretchered off field after scary collision with Astros' Mauricio Dubon
San Diego Padres first baseman Luis Arraez was stretchered off the field at Daikin Park in Houston on Sunday night after colliding with Astros second baseman Mauricio Dubon while running out a bunt. Arraez was busting it down the line after dragging his bunt toward the bag, and Dubon noticed that first baseman Christian Walker and pitcher Framber Valdez were not going to get to the base in time to make the out. Walker flipped the ball to Dubon, who just beat Arraez to the bag, but he didn't provide Arraez any way to run through the bag. In a blink, Arraez and Dubon collided, and the Padres star caught the worst of it. The scene was a scary one as Arraez lay still on the grass near first base. Medical staff rushed to help the designated hitter. After an 11-minute delay, he was placed on a stretcher with his neck and head secured and carted off the field to Houston Methodist Hospital. The Padres released a statement later saying that Arraez was in stable condition. "He is currently stable, conscious, responsive, and able to move his extremities," the statement reads. Arraez also gave a thumbs-up to the crowd at Daikin Park to show he was conscious and aware, which led to a positive reception from everyone. "That was very scary," Padres manager Mike Shildt told ESPN's Buster Olney during the "Sunday Night Baseball" broadcast. "We don't see those kind of collisions in our sport a whole lot. Luis is a really, really tough guy, and to see him down like that, you know something is pretty serious. Took a pretty good blow, sounds like he's stable now, has feeling in his extremities, is alert, aware of what took place, which is clearly good. Now we're worried about – because he's got a little bit of a cut on the jaw – worried about the jaw and what's the stability of that. And, of course, the cervical, making sure it's stable as well." Arraez's Padres teammates on the field were visibly shaken, with Fernando Tatis Jr. and Manny Machado praying together. "This is a very close group, man, this is a group that really, really genuinely loves each other," Shildt added. "People say that a lot, but there's a lot of real love. Luis is a big part of our team, big part of the heart of the club. I just told him I loved him and we're going to be all right and we pray for him, just thinking about him." The high-contact Arraez is a clear asset in the Padres' hot start to the season, owning a .287 average to begin the year. Arraez went 1-for-18 to start the year, but he has been hitting .338 over the last 17 games. Arraez has been a batting champion in each of the past three seasons and notched 200 hits in 2023 and 2024. Follow Fox News Digital's sports coverage on X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.
