At Truck Parking Club, we love sharing stories of Property Members who’ve found success in the truck parking industry. Today, we’re excited to spotlight Adam Tello, COO and Partner at ALC Investment Group, whose journey from nutrition store owner to truck parking entrepreneur is nothing short of inspiring. In our latest podcast episode, Andrew Jones (VP of Property Member Optimization) sits down with Adam to discuss how he built a truck parking empire from the ground up.
The Unexpected Pivot: How a Customer Invoice Changed Everything
Adam’s story begins in an unlikely place—a nutrition store in Arizona. After playing Division I football at ASU and losing 80 pounds, Adam developed a passion for helping others with health and fitness. He ran his nutrition business for eight years before the rise of social media and Amazon made competition increasingly difficult.
That’s when fate intervened. Manny, a longtime customer who had been coming to Adam’s store for eight years, invited him to his office in Norco, California. During their visit, someone brought Manny an invoice for a storage yard, and the lightbulb went off.
“Once I seen the invoice, I was like, well, what is the storage yard?” Adam recalls. “He explained what it was, and that’s when kind of our light bulbs went off and like, well, let’s just do this together.”
Divine Intervention and Rapid Growth
What happened next sounds like something out of a movie. While driving through Ontario, California, Adam felt a divine calling to knock on someone’s door and offer money for their property. He followed that calling, and within 14 months, ALC Investment Group had grown from one location to seven locations.
The key to their success? Identifying a gap in the market. “Manny kind of clarified that there was a lack of care when it came to storage yards,” Adam explains. “A lack of service when it came to the customers being responsive, knowing, having the proper security, the proper lighting and all those other things.”
The Truck Parking Club Partnership: A Game-Changer
Adam was one of Truck Parking Club’s earliest adopters, joining when the platform had only seven locations. Today, he describes the partnership as transformative for his business.
“Truck Parking Club makes it so easy,” Adam says. “As long as you have the dirt, as long as you have the amenities, you’re going to find the customers. Every day I’m getting 30, 40 text messages a day—new booking, new booking, new booking, expired booking, expired booking.”
The platform handles everything from marketing and customer acquisition to payment processing and security notifications. “You have five different jobs that you’re doing on a daily basis,” Adam explains. “What I mean you guys are doing for us, right? So Truck Parking Club makes it so easy.”
Beyond Basic Parking: Evolving Amenities
What sets ALC Investment Group apart is their commitment to continuous improvement. Starting with basic dirt lots, fencing, and lighting, they’re now working on facilities that include:
- Driver amenity lounges and showers
- Office space for rent
- EV charging stations
- Mechanic shops and tire shops
“We pride ourselves on how can we get better,” Adam says. “How can we evolve? How do we offer more for our customers? Obviously starting with just bare dirt was awesome, right? And the fencing, the lighting, all that stuff. But it’s like, how do we evolve and continue to offer more for our customers?”
The Truck Parking Advantage: Consistency and Customer Quality
One of the most surprising aspects of Adam’s journey has been the quality of his truck parking customers. Contrary to common misconceptions, he’s found truck drivers to be some of the best customers he’s ever had in real estate.
“These are all hardworking Americans that are on the road, that are away from their families that just want a place to stay,” Adam explains. “Have we had some instances? Maybe a guy maybe scraping another one. Obviously that’s kind of inevitable, but that’s why you have the security, the lights, cameras.”
The revenue consistency is another major advantage. “When it comes to fleet deals, you can get 20, 30 units, but you can lose them in a month, right? Whereas with truck parking, it’s pretty consistent. Those guys are going to stay in those slots as long as you allow them to.”
Advice for Newcomers: Location, Hard Work, and Customer Service
For anyone considering entering the truck parking business, Adam offers three key pieces of advice:
- Choose the Right Location: “Look at up-and-coming communities that are growing at a rapid rate where there’s heavy industrial coming in. Location is key, and when you’re by warehouses and in those heavy industrial areas where there’s communities right next to it, that’s a great place to be.”
- Be Willing to Get Your Hands Dirty: “Don’t be afraid of getting dirty. Don’t be afraid of getting out there and building relationships. When we opened that first yard, we were on the rollers, we were in the trenches, we were setting up fences and doing a whole bunch of stuff.”
- Deliver on Your Promises: “You have to deliver the service that you say you’re going to deliver. You are going to make mistakes along the way, but that’s part of the learning process and part of being an entrepreneur.”
The Future: One-Stop-Shop Solutions
Looking ahead, Adam sees the future of truck parking as creating comprehensive, one-stop-shop solutions for drivers. “I think creating more of a one-stop-shop solution for these drivers is the key and the future of staying in this business and staying ahead.”
His approach to growth is humble and opportunistic. “I just take it as it comes. If opportunities come to me, then obviously I take advantage of them. I like problem solving. Yes, I go hunt when it’s needed, but the Lord has been in my favor and he’s brought a lot of opportunities my way.”
A Testament to Partnership and Growth
Adam’s story demonstrates the power of strategic partnerships and the untapped potential in the truck parking industry. From his early days as Truck Parking Club’s eighth location to now approaching six figures monthly in revenue, his journey shows what’s possible when property owners combine quality facilities with the right technology platform.
“At the end of the day, the partnership between ALC and Truck Parking Club has been amazing,” Adam reflects. “We started off with the onesie, twosie booking, and now we’re getting fleet deals and approaching six figures a month with you guys.”
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Want to learn more?
Listen to the full podcast episode for more insights, stories, and advice from Adam Tello. And if you’re a property owner interested in joining Truck Parking Club, reach out today to see how easy it is to get started!