When Brittany Davis started the Executive MBA (EMBA) program at Georgia State’s Robinson College of Business, she expected transformation. But it happened more quickly than she anticipated. Her new knowledge keeps reshaping her family business in tandem with her studies.
“Our first residency weekend was a game changer,” she said. “I learned how to manage crises on the spot, record data properly, and understand the numbers. I went from using simple spreadsheets to running a real accounting system.”
Alongside her husband, Davis runs a trucking company that she built from the ground up. Now the mom-and-pop shop is evolving into a full-fledged corporation.
“The EMBA program is accelerated, and I’m already applying everything directly to our business,” she said. “I’m learning how to delegate, assemble a team, and plan for long-term growth.”
In addition to broadening the family company, Davis is a financial consultant and aims to spark innovation within her field. She’s currently developing an app that will simplify the process for financial services companies to provide comprehensive financial evaluations to customers. That process can be laborious, as it involves data management, regulatory compliance, the translation of data into actionable recommendations, and one-on-one meetings with clients.
“This project could save agents hours and make clients feel more comfortable sharing their information,” Davis said.
Davis hails from a family of truck drivers who always owned their trucks but never ran their own business. The level of success she’s achieved feels hard-won.
When her youngest son was diagnosed with severe autism, Davis decided to stay home to focus on caring for him while her husband continued long-haul routes. The distance and schedule were hard on everyone. Davis wanted to bring her family closer without sacrificing income.
“I’d written a food truck business plan in undergrad,” Davis recalled. “I loved the flexibility business owners had—the control over their time and money. So I figured out how to build a company around the skills my husband already had in trucking.”
Davis fleshed out her idea with help from Becky Brownlee, a consultant from Robinson’s Small Business Development Center.
“Ms. Becky had a way of helping me organize my brain,” she said. “I told her everything I was working on, and she helped me turn it from a vision into an operation.”
Over the course of five years, Davis and her mentor refined rates, streamlined operations, and planned expansion. Before Brownlee retired, she wrote a recommendation letter for Davis to include in her application to the EMBA program.
“She took this ball of fire and showed me how to be valuable with all my flaws,” Davis said.
Outside of work, Davis advocates for families of children with autism. She substitutes in special education classrooms in Gwinnett County, engages with parents through online support groups, and shares resources with fellow moms.
“It’s hard to find people who truly understand our kids,” she said. “Showing up matters.”
Davis’s resilience has been repeatedly tested, between raising four children, facing personal loss, and caring for her parents through cancer. Her father, who visited Georgia State’s campus with her when she was 17 years old, passed away earlier this year.
“Everything I’ve been through—good or bad—made me who I am,” she said. “You can let it break you, or you can use it as fuel.”
Davis’s journey to Robinson hasn’t been easy. Her four children watched her pull night shifts at FedEx while going to school during the day. She finished her associate of arts degree at Itawamba Community College in Fulton, Mississippi, in 2016 and her B.A. in sociology at Indiana University Bloomington in 2020.
For Davis, entrepreneurship isn’t just about business—it’s about leaving a legacy. She’ll wrap up her EMBA in spring 2027, just as her daughter finishes high school. Davis’s daughter was once unsure about college, but because of her mother’s example, she plans to study theater at Georgia State.
“I want my children to see that no matter what happens, you don’t stop,” she said. “If God gives you the vision, you keep going until you make it real.”