I
t doesn ’ t take much to get Roslyn Ellerbee to sing the praises of AI and its role in her company . The founder of Atlanta-based Express Errands & Courier puts it this way : “ I would say that 50 % of what I do involves AI . I use it for things like business development , evaluating new verticals , staying upto-date on regulations and developing the members of my team . If I ’ ve got to research an issue or solve a problem , chances are I ’ m going to get help from AI .”
Express Errands & Courier began life as Express Errands & Courier 11 years ago . The company has a heavy concentration in the medical and health vertical but offers a full range of courier and delivery services , including same-day , overnight , NFO , and rush delivery and scheduled and routing services . They also provide a unique , client-only benefit : executive errand services . “ It ’ s like a personal concierge for executives . We do whatever our clients need to make their lives easier ,” she says .
Considering a New Location ? Let AI Help
Ellerbee ’ s company had dramatic growth in 2023 , exploding at the rate of 123 %, and she has plans to expand it nationwide . The company currently serves Atlanta , Georgia ; Austin & San Antonio , Texas ; and Jacksonville , Florida . But that ’ s only the beginning , and she expects AI to play an essential part in selecting the company ’ s next locations : “ I have a goal of opening five locations in the next four years . We will be using AI to do our market research on our target areas , including looking into the locally available
employees . I want to get a handle on the employee culture to see if it matches what we ’ re looking for . Naturally , I ’ ll also use AI to analyze potential competitors . I want to know how to enter a market , navigate it and what I need to do to dominate it ,” Ellerbee says .
Creating a Plan for Growth
When laying the groundwork to build on her company ’ s historical growth , Ellerbee turned , once again , to AI . “ I created our 2024 growth trend report using AI as a tool ,” she says . “ I went into QuickBooks , pulled up our historical data and plugged it in . I added other data , and AI gave me a great start on thinking about adding products and services .”
It was also invaluable in helping her go after the capital to fund that growth . “ Our bank offers a program through a professional association I ’ m part of . The program would provide a substantial zero-interest loan to finance growth ,” Ellerbee says . “ As expected , we must offer solid business information to qualify for this program . With AI , I was able to generate a growth report and create a whole pitch deck to build the business case for our company being a good investment . Of course , there ’ s more to it . I ’ ll be doing an interview to explain our business growth , who we are , where we are already , and how this company is growing . But AI certainly helped us make our case .”
Building a Wow Team Culture
For Ellerbee ’ s company , AI goes beyond the numbers . It ’ s her partner in creating and maintaining a teamwork culture among her employees and drivers .
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