Man with a Vision
by Nicholas West and Grissel Rodriguez
In May of 2000, Mr. Albert M. Luna watched a childhood dream become a reality as Sky Transportation Services, Inc. was born. As a result of painstaking hard work, dedication, and commitment, this small business now reaches far across the nation transporting everything from medical goods to automotive parts. It has quickly become one of the largest trucking companies in the Paso del Norte Region, and services many businesses in and around the area.
As President and Founder of Sky, Mr. Luna was able to tell us about his success. He elaborated on the background story of Sky in order to provide us with insight on what his original vision was. Mr. Luna said that ever since childhood, he has had a fascination with trucks, and has had a desire to work with them. His attachment to these large motor vehicles persisted even into his adult years, though Sky was not founded for quite some time.
For 15 years Mr. Luna worked in the retail sector, 10 of which he spent as a manager for Toys-R-Us. Throughout his tenure at Toys-R-Us, Mr. Luna became an effective leader by training, developing and inspiring employees to push themselves to be the best that they can be. He emphasized that this job opportunity gave him the experience that he needed to become the successful President that he is today.
Deciding to pursue his passion for trucks, Mr. Luna decided to leave his position with Toys-R-Us, and to turn his dream into a reality. From its humble beginning of only one employee and one truck, Sky Transportation has now grown to over 150 employees and over 100 trucks. In addition to the growth the company has already experienced, Sky plans on continuing to grow 50% a year for the next three years.
When asked what advice he would give to an up and coming entrepreneur, Mr. Luna expressed, “You got to be willing to start from the bottom and to put in the time, effort, and sacrifice to make the job successful. You also have to be willing to ignore the naysayers and to stick with it through the good and the bad.” Mr. Luna is proof that if you pursue your dreams with all you have, you can turn them into a reality. To close the interview, he stated, “It’s not how you start, it’s how you finish.”