Introduction
In this Q&A, we dive deep into the FedEx route business with entrepreneur Avery Tomek, who scaled from a single SBA-backed acquisition to a $25M run-rate operation. He shares exact numbers, deal structure, margins, growth tactics, remote ops, contingency strategy, and hard-earned lessons from near-failure to market leadership.
Founder Success Story QnA
Avery, give us your background before FedEx routes.
I am originally an accountant, a CPA. I knew before I started it wasn’t for me. I went to UT Austin, graduated with a masters in accounting, worked a year to get my CPA, and while working I became a real estate broker. I was buying houses, renovating them, renting them out, never selling, and kept buying. The 9-to-5 wasn’t for me so I left to do that full-time.
How old were you when you started buying apartments and how did that go?
At 26, I bought my first apartment complex, 24 units. Rents were $625; after renovations they were $1,300. I still have them. I thought about selling during COVID but decided to hold because everything was inflated and I didn’t want to sit on cash.
Why pivot from real estate to FedEx routes?
Real estate got too expensive; risk-reward didn’t make sense. I’d known about FedEx routes from a friend and saw them on BizBuySell. It was relatively little capital for a cash-flowing business with weekly pay and big growth. If you do a good job, they keep giving you routes.
How did you find your first deal and what were the terms?
I found a broker (probably via BizBuySell). It was in East Texas, Nacogdoches. It was the only SBA eligible one in Texas, so I jumped on it. Revenue was about $22,000 a week then dipped to $18,000. That’s roughly $1.1M a year at the time. I paid around a 4.6x multiple of earnings, which was high. It was valued during COVID; by close, earnings were lower. I used a variable SBA loan that later doubled with rates rising. Still, starting sooner was the right decision.
Were you running it remotely from day one?
Yes. I live in Dallas and fully intended to run it remotely. I think it’s better in many cases. When you’re not there, managers figure things out, which helps scale. I’d go occasionally, but not regularly. For many buyers, the station won’t be in your backyard, so you have to operate remotely and rely on people.
What were the first six months like?
I overpaid, had a variable loan, earnings fell, volume softened, and diesel more than doubled after Russia invaded Ukraine. FedEx was in its DRIVE cost-cutting, so no extra fuel surcharge. Many contractors failed. It was rough, but downturns bring opportunity if you know where to look.
How did you find opportunity in the crisis?
As contractors failed, routes went unserved and packages piled up. FedEx pays contingency for covering these—often 2–3x normal rates. Expenses are higher, but I used it to make debt payments and buy trucks. FedEx then awarded me some of those contracts because I was already covering them. I aggressively secured trucks by working with multiple lenders and also bought used trucks at liquidation and auction for half price or less.
Wasn’t labor a bottleneck?
Labor was tight and still is, but solvable. I have three recruiters plus an agency. The real bottleneck is trucks and financing them. I sold lenders on my background and growth. A big leasing company liquidated nearly new FedEx-spec trucks; I bought aggressively, sometimes a million dollars of trucks in a week, financed and cash, to build capacity fast.
Any near-death moments?
Yes. Getting into linehaul (tractors) hurt. I had five tractors with $15,000/month payments and revenue fell off. I switched from operating leases to debt, then sold out to another operator to get out from under it. Early on I also had lots of high-interest debt and expensive trucks before prices fell—cash flow was tight. But we survived as volumes improved and rates normalized.
When did things turn around and what’s the scale now?
Things stabilized in 2024 and have improved monthly. Express merged with Ground, adding ~30% volume. Rates improved. I’ve deployed most of the fleet. I keep 50 trucks on reserve and just bought 10 more. Today I have about 240 trucks total, about 152 running, doing around 15,000 stops per day, and last week we did $550,000 in revenue. Weekly deposits from FedEx every Friday are a huge advantage—no AR, no collections, no sales, pure operations.
How do margins work in a FedEx route business?
If you have no debt, 20% EBITDA is realistic. With debt on trucks, 8–10% is realistic for many. I’m running a lot of contingency, so my EBITDA is more like 35–40% right now. But there’s a lot of capex and financing, so EBITDA and cash flow can differ materially. I also bought many used trucks in cash, which reduced monthly payments and improved cash flow later.
Is this achievable for others?
Anyone can do this if they’re a good operator. FedEx is hungry for good operators. It’s a lot of work and changes quickly, but if you hold it together, you can make a lot of money. It’s not passive; it’s intense and demands consistency. My team runs seven days in some stations; I’m always on, but that’s my nature and it helps sustain high growth.
Could this be run truly passively at your scale?
No. To keep our current high revenue, I need to be involved—especially to hunt contingency and line up trucks. Without me, we could probably run at about half the revenue. Long-term contracts could be maintained by my managers, but the short-term high-margin work requires owner attention and speed.
What makes a good FedEx route acquisition?
The contracts are designed to produce similar margins across geographies. Urban pays less per package but more stops; rural pays more but fewer stops—it tends to wash. Look at total revenue and your inputs: labor rates, access to mechanics and towing, parts availability. Buy as big as you can responsibly, and keep buying trucks. Without trucks, you can’t take new opportunities or contingency. Multiples are typically high 3s to low 4s EBITDA for good ops; failing ops can be had near truck value.
How do SBA and resale work in this world?
For SBA eligibility, lenders want profitability and some operating history (often 1–2 years). On resale, there’s strong demand. I’d break my business into stations and sell pieces. Many people want to be their own boss with upside. FedEx designed it so new contractors can continuously enter the system.
Avery Tomek Method
I focused on speed, capacity, and relationships—covering contingency to earn trust, financing and buying trucks aggressively, and operating remotely with strong managers while keeping owner attention on high-value opportunities.
- Act fast on SBA-eligible deals to start compounding learning and growth.
- Exploit downturns: cover contingency to win awards and premium rates.
- Build capacity first: secure financing and buy trucks (cash and debt) ahead of demand.
Avery Tomek Tools
I leverage financing partners, auctions, and recruiters as core tools. Debt and cash purchases expanded my fleet quickly. Recruiters keep a steady pipeline of drivers, and close coordination with FedEx leaders surfaces high-margin contingency opportunities.
- Lenders: Multiple lenders for truck financing to remove bottlenecks.
- Auctions & Liquidators: Buy nearly-new FedEx-spec trucks at deep discounts.
- Recruiters/Agency: Maintain driver pipeline across markets.
Key Notes
Weekly payouts, no AR, and no sales make this an operator’s business. But inputs like diesel, labor, parts, and trucks can swing. Owner involvement and strong managers are critical to scale and to win high-margin contingency work.
- FedEx pays weekly; cash conversion is days, not weeks.
- Contingency can be 2–3x rate but requires speed and capacity.
- EBITDA is not cash flow; capex and debt heavily impact reality.
Get Started in Just 5 Steps
Here’s how I’d approach a first acquisition in the FedEx route business today, balancing speed with prudence and setting up for scalable growth.
- Source SBA-eligible routes with proven profitability and clean history.
- Line up lenders early; pre-approve truck financing capacity.
- Hire or contract recruiters; build a driver pipeline before close.
- Buy extra trucks (used if possible) to create immediate capacity.
- Cover contingency fast to earn awards and premium routes.
Conclusion
The FedEx route business rewards operators who move quickly, build capacity, and run tight operations. Avery Tomek compounded an SBA-backed start into a $25M run rate by aggressively acquiring trucks, winning contingency, and managing remotely with elite managers. It’s demanding, but for committed operators, the upside is real.