Milestones matter. And today we’re celebrating a big one: our first-ever retiree from Tallgrass Freight! Agent Linda’s journey from “afraid to go 100% commission” to “I absolutely love my job” speaks volumes about what happens when you bet on yourself and find the right launchpad. Join us in celebrating Linda, who represents everything we value at Tallgrass and shows us the heights you can reach when you have the freedom to build the career and lifestyle you deserve.
A Career Built on Relationships and Hard Work
Linda’s story proves the best career moves often come from the places we least expect. She grew up on a farm, then began her career as a commercial plumbing estimator for 15 years, then spent the next six years at the Federal Reserve Bank. And her pivot into sales? That happened after a chance encounter — while shopping at Macy’s, no less! — led her to a decade of B2B sales at Sprint. Despite her initial reservations about commission work, she found herself thriving. “I was initially afraid of commission sales, but the more I did it, it just felt right,” Linda reflects. “I think God puts things in front of us that we’re supposed to go with. I went to President’s Club and I won all kinds of trips. It was amazing, and it opened up a new path for me.”
After Sprint closed its Kansas City division, Linda took the generous buyout and then received an offer at a freight brokerage, where she would go on to meet the person who would change the trajectory of her career. “I would go in early at 6:30 am, and Damon Anderson was always there,” she recalls. “We met every morning in the coffee room. I was cleaning the pots, making coffee, and we always chatted. I had no idea he was their top broker!”
When Damon left that company to start Tallgrass Freight, the two stayed in touch, talking frequently until Damon eventually convinced her to make the move to Tallgrass. “I was afraid to go 100% commission,” Linda recalls. “But that’s probably the biggest mistake I’ve ever made in my life. I tell Damon to this day, if I had joined Tallgrass when he called me the first time, I would be a multi-millionaire today.”
The lesson here? Sometimes the best career moves happen over coffee pot conversations and department store banter. And sometimes the biggest regrets aren’t about what you did, but what you didn’t do soon enough. But timing is everything. And when Linda finally made the leap to Tallgrass, she discovered what so many of our agents have found: a destination where hard work directly translates to success, without the limiting roadblocks you’ll find elsewhere.
Freedom to Build Your Business, Your Way
At 70 years young, Linda reflects on her experience with Tallgrass with so much joy and satisfaction. What made Tallgrass stand out among her various career stops? “I love the atmosphere. I love the freedom,” Linda shares. “When COVID hit, I started working from home. So I could work around the clock if I wanted to. That was my business, and I could run it the way I wanted to. You don’t always have that freedom in a job.”
While working around the clock may sound like the opposite of freedom, it was exactly the kind of freedom Linda wanted. Why? She called the shots! Plus, achieving work-life balance is all about playing the long game. Will there be late nights and early mornings? Yes. But can you make moves in your career to help achieve balance? Yes!
And when an entrepreneurial mindset is coupled with TGF’s robust back-office support, it sets up the perfect environment for driven freight agents like Linda to thrive. “The back office is amazing. They support you. You don’t have to worry about billing or paying the carriers,” she explains. “If you had your own business alone, you would be working all night long trying to keep up with everything.” In other words: all the perks of entrepreneurship without the 2 AM invoicing headaches. Living the dream.
A Culture That Celebrates Achievement
Linda’s Tallgrass journey included many memorable highlights, like when she attended Club 200 in Las Vegas. But beyond the tangible rewards, the day-to-day experiences made the biggest impact. “Tallgrass is just the most amazing place to work. You have freedom. You can build your business exactly how you want,” Linda says.
Retirement stories usually involve counting down the days and planning escape routes. But when leaving your job is hard? That’s when you know you’ve found something special. “It was the best job I ever had in my life. And I loved it. It was hard to retire!”
Linda’s Advice to Those Considering Tallgrass
After five decades in the workforce, Linda knows exactly what makes Tallgrass different from anywhere else she’s worked. Freight agents who just want to go through the motions need not apply, Linda cautions. “If you don’t want to work hard, freight is not the job for you.”
But for those who want to put in the work, Tallgrass is the ultimate freight career destination, she says. “You have freedom with this job that you wouldn’t have anywhere else. If you want to work hard and be very successful, you can make yourself a multimillionaire here,” she says.
For Linda, that autonomy felt liberating.
“No one’s holding you back. And most jobs aren’t like that. You can go as fast and hard as you want to at Tallgrass. It’s your choice, and if it doesn’t work, it’s on you, nobody else. It’s just so rare to see the kind of flexibility and support Tallgrass offers. This is about building a career that works with your life, not against it.”
The Start of a Legacy
While she won’t be the last, Linda sets such an exciting precedent as the first retiree from Tallgrass. When we asked her what it means to be the first, she shared: “I’m glad I had the opportunity. It was hard for me to retire because I absolutely loved my job. Loved it! But if I had to do it all over again, when Damon started up, I’d have gone with him that day.”
It’s a sentiment we hear time and time again: Our agents often say their only regret is not making the move to Tallgrass sooner.
Linda’s final thoughts sum up the Tallgrass difference perfectly: “It’s the best place ever to work. Great people, great support. It’s a totally different environment that you’ll never find in most corporate environments.”
From all of us at Tallgrass Freight, we congratulate Linda on her well-earned retirement and thank her for paving the way for future success stories. Her journey demonstrates that when you bet on yourself and partner with a company that truly values your success, the possibilities aren’t just endless, they’re actually achievable.
Ready to write your own success story? Contact us today to learn more about becoming a Tallgrass Freight agent. Who knows? Maybe we’ll be writing about your retirement someday.