Andra Rush Rush Trucking

for rolling up her sleeves

Andra Rush was modest as a teenager, the sort who seemed more likely to be taking orders than giving them when she grew up. She was a middle-class kid from Michigan, and after high school she got a nursing degree and landed a job at a local hospital.

But she felt the nurses were treated unfairly and that the hospital was run irrationally, and a feistiness began to emerge. Likewise an itch to be in charge. She looked at the hospital organizational chart and decided that the only sure way to gain real authority was to be a CEO.

Determined to learn how to run a business the right way, Rush enrolled in M.B.A. classes at the University of Michigan. At the same time, she interned at a trucking company and worked long nursing shifts on weekends. In 1984, she recalls, the emphasis was on getting a good job in corporate America, not on starting a business, but Rush liked the idea of being her own boss. Luckily for her, the trucking industry was being deregulated, and for the first time, entrepreneurs could afford to enter the business. She dropped school and jumped at the chance.

Today, Rush Trucking, based in the Detroit suburb of Wayne, makes 1,400 shipments daily with 1,000 trucks. It generated $132 million in revenue last year, thanks to major customers like General Motors and Ford. Rush, who's part Mohawk, now serves as a mentor for her fellow entrepreneurs and sits on the board of the Native American Business Alliance. More than half of her 350 full-time employees are minorities, and half are women. "She's made a lot of sacrifices to succeed," says Diane Freeman, who's in charge of GM's supplier diversity program. "She's a risk taker."

Rush has never been afraid to take chances. She started out with just three trucks (one new and two used), which she bought with her savings and a little help from her parents. She had maxed out her credit cards and couldn't afford a cell phone, so she forwarded calls to her grandmother's house while she was out drumming up sales. When she was home, she pretended to transfer customers to different lines and used phony voices to make the company seem bigger. She even learned how to repair the trucks herself. In those days, Rush specialized in emergency shipping. She made an impression by accepting every job, even if that meant getting up at 3 a.m. to deliver a shipment herself.

Rush will tell you that the only true pioneer in her family is her paternal great-grandfather, who moved from a Canadian reservation to Detroit, where he helped build many of the city's skyscrapers. She's being modest again.--Nadine Heintz

Nadine Heintz is a staff writer.

1. Jeff Bezos, Amazon.com
   because "optimism is essential"
2. Betsey Johnson, Betsey Johnson
   for her stylish life
3. Russell Simmons, Rush Communications
   for his powerful example
4. Scott Cook, Intuit
   because he learns, and teaches
5. Sergey Brin & Larry Page, Google
   for their integrity. And, well, for Google
6. David Neeleman, JetBlue
   for creating an airline fit for humans
7. Tom Stemberg, Staples
   for doing it exactly right
8. Jack Stack, SRC Holdings
   for going naked
9. Judy Wicks, White Dog Enterprises
   because she's put in place more progressive business practices per square foot than any other entrepreneur
10. Davin Wedel, Global Protection
    because he's a lifesaver
11. Pat McGovern, International Data Group
    for knowing the power of respect
12. Steve Jobs, Apple Computer, Pixar
    because we like to be seduced
13. Lance Morgan, Ho-Chunk
    because a man must make his own arrows--Winnebago proverb
14. James Goodnight, SAS
    for saying no to Wall Street (repeatedly) and yes to the people who really matter
15. Stella Ogiale, Chesterfield Health Services
    for doing good while doing well
16. Rhonda Kallman, New Century Brewing
    for seizing opportunity-- again and again
17. Laima Tazmin, LAVT
    because she's a lot like other kids--and then again...
18. Laura & Pete Wakeman, Great Harvest Bread
    for living a little --no, a lot
19. Andra Rush, Rush Trucking
    for rolling up her sleeves
20. Kathleen Wehner, Cirrus Aviation
    for refusing to quit
21. Frank Venegas, Ideal Group
    because he parlayed a little bit of luck into a lot of good fortune for others
22. Dan Wieden, Wieden + Kennedy
    because he's a true independent
23. John Sperling, Apollo Group
    because he stirs the pot, and apparently always will
24. John Stollenwerk, Allen-Edmonds
    for his commitment to U.S. workers. We also love the shoes
25. Mel Zuckerman, Canyon Ranch
    for showing the way

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