Partnering with Amazon led this Austin, TX, entrepreneur’s business to success.

Before Sophia Strother launched her delivery company, Learning 2 Exhale Industries (L2E Industries), she earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in business administration, according to Business Insider. The next step in the single mother’s journey was creating Trustworthy Consulting, her consulting business, at age 20. 

By 2018, Strother came across an article that shared that people had the opportunity to work with Amazon for the cost of $10,000, which could make them an estimated $74,000 to $3 million per year.

After applying, the retail giant wanted to interview her for its delivery service partnership the following year. However, the interview was in Seattle, WA, and she didn’t have the funds for the flight nor a babysitter to be able to make the last-minute trip, so she declined.

Despite turning down the interview, it didn’t completely close the door to the partnership.

“That same year, the day after Christmas, I got an email from Amazon saying ‘Hey, are you still interested in this opportunity?,’” Strother recounted to the outlet. “This time, I knew I’d regret it if I didn’t let things play out. I went to Las Vegas for the Amazon event and there were over 200 people in the room. Each candidate had to be interviewed by an Amazon executive.”

After the interview, Strother was able to seal the deal and ink the contract for the Amazon delivery service partnership in July 2020. She launched her first route in September 2020.

In February 2021, there was a time when her business had to shut down for a week due to a winter storm. The shutdown resulted in Strother having to use money from her retirement and personal savings. She also opted not to pay herself so she could pay her employees.

With the help of a temporary business coach that Amazon provided, her business was able to bounce back through the storm.

The outlet details that now, Strother shared that L2E Industries “cleared over $3 million in less than three years.” In addition, it became a multimillion-dollar business in one year.

To date, L2E Industries has 38 vans, delivered over four million packages, and completed more than 20,000 routes.

As for the future of her business, Strother detailed that in 2024, the team will “use a certain percentage from our proceeds to form other conglomerates.”