Sometimes, the best business stories don’t start with a business plan—they start with a copper-colored 1983 GMC van, a love of sushi, and a whole lot of heart.
In the first episode of Along For The Ride, the founders of GWC Packaging (Cathy and William Shih) share how a family luggage business evolved into a growing packaging company serving warehouses across the U.S. What started as after-school hangouts in the warehouse eventually turned into delivery runs, then business operations, and finally, a full pivot to packaging solutions.
William and Cathy didn’t set out to launch a startup. After marrying and joining the family business, they saw the luggage side winding down and realized that every warehouse used packaging like tape and stretch wrap. Without formal sales training or a marketing strategy, they went door-to-door, face-to-face—simply asking questions and listening. Their curiosity about how other businesses worked became their greatest asset.
They didn’t approach their work like traditional salespeople. There were no quotas or pressure, just the drive to see how many accounts they could build by being genuinely helpful. And customers responded. The relationships they formed, the insights they gathered, and the lessons they learned—especially about domestic vs. imported materials—shaped GWC’s direction.
It wasn’t always smooth. There were disagreements, tough calls, and plenty of trial and error. But what made the journey successful was a shared belief: growth comes from showing up, asking good questions, and caring about the people behind the business.
Five to six years later, GWC had built a sustainable packaging business and they did it their way—through relationships, resilience, and reinvention.
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