http://www.startribune.com/business/658588...3aPc:_Yyc:aUUsZ Ni Suphavong of Eagan-based Jade Logistics hopes contributions will benefit the community while revving up the growth of her freight management services company.
By TODD NELSON, Special to the Star Tribune
Ni Suphavong and her family never met the Minnesotans who sponsored their resettlement to this country after they fled their native Laos to escape the Vietnam War.
Repaying that generosity is a driving force at Jade Logistics, a freight management services company in Eagan.
Through her Give Back program, Suphavong donates a percentage of net proceeds from every shipment to a charitable or nonprofit organization of her customer's choice, in that customer's name.
Employees play a role in the program, too. Suphavong requires them to do volunteer work and gives them 40 paid hours a year in which to complete their service. She also makes donations to the organizations her employees support.
"The heart of my company is giving back to our community," Suphavong said. "[Because of] the generosity of a complete stranger who didn't know our family and gave us the money to come live in the United States ... I have the opportunity to give back to the community. As a business owner, I want to be able to do that for somebody else."
Suphavong had roughly 15 years' experience in the industry before opening Jade Logistics in September 2007. She launched the Give Back program in July 2008, as soon as she began turning a profit.
She hopes the donations will help attract new business, which she hopes to keep with competitive rates and responsive, round-the-clock service.
Suphavong expects this year's revenue to match last year's $1 million. That could double or triple in 2010 with the recent addition of two salespeople.
"My goal is to do $10 million within five years," she said.
Suphavong believes the Give Back program helps Jade Logistics, already a woman-owned, minority-owned business, further stand out in the competitive field of freight management service, or third-party logistics. Such companies allow manufacturers and distributors to outsource their transportation services.