Inside the Automotive Delivery Goldmine with Tony Carter (Principle Distribution)
What does it take to grow automotive delivery revenue from $300K to $1.6M in 90 days… and still sleep at night? In Episode 38 of the Last2First Podcast, Jason Burns sits down with Tony Carter, VP of Business Development at Principal Distribution and EVP of Axion Professional Solutions, to unpack a lifetime of lessons from the baseball field, the warehouse floor, and the final mile. Tony breaks down how he built winning teams, why “you cannot teach someone to care,” and how a 92 mph fastball to the face completely changed the trajectory of his life and career. He also shares how one simple website upgrade turned into 30% of all new business for a logistics company. If you’re a final mile owner, leader, or operator in the automotive or logistics space, this episode is packed with real stories, real scars, and real strategy. 🔑 In This Episode, You’ll Learn: ✅How Principal Distribution is building a powerhouse in automotive delivery across Texas and Arizona ✅Why Tony believes the ultimate competitive edge is simple: “Do they care?” ✅The mindset shift that came after getting hit by a 92 mph fastball ✅How he helped grow a tire distribution business from $300K to $1.6M/month in 90 days ✅Why automotive is such a resilient, underappreciated final mile vertical ✅The story of turning a one-page, outdated site into a lead engine driving 30% of revenue ✅What most final mile owners are getting wrong about marketing and budgets ✅How to hire, promote, and build teams that are truly committed—not just competent ⏱️ Timestamps / Chapters 1:48 – Intro: Welcome back, Last2First family 3:53 – Who is Tony Carter? Roles at Principal Distribution & Axion 7:58 – Moving to Austin, coming out of “retirement” & finding purpose 12:33 – Can you teach people to care? Building teams that actually give a damn 18:08 – Jason’s football story: the power of trust and buy-in 22:18 – Inside Principal Distribution & Maxim Direct’s next-day auto parts model 29:03 – Why automotive is a powerful, resilient final mile niche 35:28 – TireHub story: scaling from $300K to $1.6M/month in 90 days 41:53 – Bored as a successful entrepreneur: American Warehouses & the 2008 crash 46:58 – The 92 mph fastball that changed everything 52:48 – Lessons from college baseball & competing at the highest level 59:18 – Losing his brother & what real care looks like in life and business 1:05:03 – How one website drove 30% of revenue (and why your site is probably lazy) 1:11:28 – GWC, overpromoting people & putting talent in the right seat 1:16:08 – What final mile owners get wrong about marketing and investment 1:18:58 – Closing thoughts + where to find Tony 🎧 Listen & Subscribe: Spotify 🎧 https://open.spotify.com/show/3gDS58wo6IWeLl48LHukdP?si=gmhv7Lh8QvyY5xxFS9ZpPA Apple Podcasts 🍎 https://podcasts.apple.com/hn/podcast/last2first-podcast/id1778491941 YouTube ▶️ https://www.youtube.com/@Last2FirstPodcast 💼 Connect with our guest: 🔗 Tony Carter — https://www.linkedin.com/in/tony-carter-09520311/ 📌 Shoutout to our Sponsors! Dropoff Inc. https://www.dropoff.com/ [email protected] +1 888-376-7633 GigSafe https://www.gigsafe.com/ +1 407-496-9882 Deliver Different https://deliverdifferent.com/