What it Takes to Become an Owner-Operator

On a conference call with our tax accountant, he called us out personally and said “Guys, you can’t be a jack of all trades… leave the details to the professionals…” as he tried to sell us on their in house accounting products. Unfortunately, we didn’t have the privilege of the extra revenue to be able to afford such a luxury - to hand off our responsibilities as a single truck operation - that would cut a good chunk of our already small profit margins.

Overhead. Overhead. Overhead. "Location, location, location.”

Plan for the absolute worst to happen. Even when trucks are new and under warranty - if your truck is down for an extended period of time, your liabilities are still due, and there is so much more than truck payments when you become an owner. If you fall behind in less than a few months or are relying on advances to fuel up your truck, you didn’t save accordingly. Before buying your first truck, make sure to have 6 months or more of your overhead costs. Figure your expenses; truck payment, insurance payments, satellite and equipment payments, credit card payments, and any additional fees you might be accruing every month, then multiply that by 6 - and add a couple grand on top of each month to give you wiggle room for those additional expenses, like general maintenance, for a good estimate of what your nest egg should be.

Truck buying - “Don’t sell yourself short - literally.”

Whether you’re building or buying your first truck, make sure your equipment gives you options, and can sign onto multiple different carriers in case you needed to abandon ship at your current company. This is only a safety net - being able to move your equipment when things go wrong - a back up plan that you hopefully won’t have to use but is there if you need it. Then when you do want to invest in specialized equipment in a smaller market, make sure you’ve personally done your time in said segment to gain the most insight to where you’re investing. Don’t go run out and buy a truck for a specific lane that you’ve never run or are “being promised”, or when you’re new in a segment of an industry you’ve never been apart of.

Networking.

“It’s not what you know, it’s who you know.” is a sentiment we have been sharing with anyone and everyone we’ve ever met that ask us for tips to find success within trucking. Whether you’re someone who is talkative or more reserved, you’ll have to learn to be both when the opportunity is presented to you. Learn to shut your mouth and open your ears to listen to people who’ve been in it longer than you, take value in learning from their mistakes, and ask as many questions as you can. Connections are a great thing to have, and when issues present themselves (and they will) you’ll need to know where to go to find those answers. Google and Reddit will only be able to help you with so much. So, build up your network and make friends in the right areas, which means all areas.

Ask Around.

Talk to fellow owners that have insight into the truck you’re looking to buy or build, as well as the equipment attached to it; APUs, liftgates, reefers, etc. If you’re unsure of companies, talk to their drivers, ask about miles, bonuses, backhauls, etc. Looking to build or buy a truck? Then get quotes at multiple dealerships, and ask other owners where they purchased and if they have any recommendations on dealerships. Don’t just jump on the first opportunity that presents itself.

Listen to your gut.

“If something seems too good to be true, than it probably is.” The trucking industry has a ridiculous amount of scams that prey on uniformed and/or new drivers looking to move up and branch out as an owner. If a company or dealership rubs you the wrong way, look elsewhere and move on. At the end of the day, our gut has saved us from making deals with bad seeds, and kept us from getting taken advantage of in every aspect of the business.

Take your time.

The statistics for small businesses are scary and disheartening to say the least. In their first year, 20% of small businesses are doomed to fail. By year 5, less than 50% still remain. The most common causes that lead to entrepreneurs and small businesses failing is lack of planning and cash flow issues. If you want to equip yourself to avoid ending up on the wrong side of these stats, take your time, learn and absorb everything you can, and always have a back up plan.

- Run Hard, Dream Big

Finding Your Fleet (Part I)

A recent post shared by a fellow expediter made some great points when it came to finding a small fleet to work for. We’ve decided to highlight her post and add to it from a former driver and now owner’s, perspective. We're going to work through her post, point by point.

“When looking for a driving job - look at the different fleets (there are more than 3 or 4) and see what they each offer. Don’t just look at the one that has shower trucks… Look at how reliable they are; Do they pay every week? Do they give bonuses? Do they allow pets? Are there pet deposits or escrows? Do they have target amounts per month, per mile, etc.? Do they want you to only get maintenance at certain locations or can you get it done immediately?”

Choosing your fleet because they have eye catching ads or shower trucks might not make them the jewel out here – there are a lot of things to consider. Inquiring about pay and bonuses is important because newer fleets might not have bonuses whereas older fleets might have all of their equipment paid off and therefore might be able to afford larger pay percentages and/or bonuses. So not every fleet offers bonuses, just like not every fleet has an escrow or security deposits just because you have a pet. Some fleets require escrows without pets. There are also fleets who run equipment with very strict rules; using very specific shops because the equipment lacks service centers. Now, sometimes this isn’t intentional – dealers and/or fleets are constantly testing new equipment and the newer the equipment, the smaller the service center coverage you may have. Other times, it could be a smaller fleet who prefer to use small shops because they don’t have fleet accounts with the larger service centers to be able to get price breaks. See where your values are best met.

“When looking at the fleets you find that interest you; talk on the phone with a list of your questions you want to ask. Ask to talk to some of their drivers. Ask to see their contract. Write down what they tell you.”

Before we joined expediting, we spoke to the owner multiple times – sometimes just to clarify everything we asked, and we asked a LOT of questions. Writing down your questions so you don’t forget anything once you get on the phone with an owner can be a huge help, especially when you’re a team. Majority of fleets have a contract in place – asking to see it before qualifying with a carrier and moving too far forward can save you both a lot of time. Now, speaking to current drivers is great, but speaking to former drivers is even more important. Verify what you were told with current drivers, see why the former drivers left the fleet, and take both with a grain of salt, because at the end of the day - no fleet, nor driver, is perfect. Lastly, ask the owner to text or email a summary of your discussion with what their fleet offers, and follow your gut.

“Ad’s for drivers - if a fleet advertises a set amount you will earn a week, I would only believe that if it’s a dedicated run. Just because an ad says ‘shower trucks available’ doesn’t mean you will get one. Some fleets offer shower units as something you work up to. Non force dispatch is exactly that, but that doesn’t mean you can take a month off and not expect the owner to call and ask you whats up? If a fleet has 5% of their fleet doing YouTube, Tik Tok, etc. saying ‘Come see us and join our fleet’ it doesn’t mean that just because they have a presence on social media, they are the best. It means that is what they do to get the word out that they have openings for teams.”

Some job listings can be very misleading, especially in our industry. Units fitted with bathrooms are some of the most expensive upgrades our sleepers can get, so they are usually given to top earning teams, or the teams with the most seniority. Now if a job listing is guaranteeing you a certain pay weekly, they should either have a minimum weekly guarantee or you will be running a dedicated route. So, she’s right. Outside of those two circumstances, there is no guarantee of pay out here, because you are in control of your fate. How much money you make will depend on how you work, the loads you do or don’t take, the qualifications you have, and/or the kind of equipment the fleet operates. Not all fleets have refrigerated units or newer units that can even qualify to run controlled freight. Not all fleets will mentor you or give you the resources and knowledge to help make you successful, and these basic needs can make or break you in expedite. Every fleet advertises differently so again, don’t look for the most expensive or most eye-catching ads - stick with your gut.

“Every trucking company has their good and bad qualities... you talk to any one of their drivers, you will hear ‘they are great’ and ‘they are horrible’. It’s like that with any job, in any industry. It’s the individuals experience; how they act, how they treat others, and how well they do their job - that is the difference between “we love this company” or “we hate it.”

When speaking to drivers and/or owners, take everything with a grain of salt. Your experience can be very different. The driver you speak with might have trashed a truck but they only told you the owner deducted a cleaning fee out of their last settlement. On the flip side, the owner might tell you they offer bonuses, but when you speak to one of their drivers, you might find that the owner will find any reason not to pay it out, or they have to chase after it with multiple phone calls and emails. You will likely find a driver that has been disqualified from driving for a specific expedite company, but they won’t tell you that they were reported countless times for not wearing their uniforms at customers, or have multiple OOS violations. Sometimes, we can work and live with integrity and don’t receive it back. However, don’t let the bad owners ruin your outlook on the industry and if you find yourself in a rotten egg of a fleet, start asking around and find a fleet that will value you, and show you integrity still exists.

Don't forget that you can reach out to us with any questions, or if there's something we've covered that you would like us to expand on, let us know. You can even stay anonymous.

Run Hard - Dream Big,

- M.I.T.

Mental Health and the Reality of Driver Burnout

Mental health has been much less stigmatized within the millennial generation. In fact, you can frequently overhear conversations between us regarding mental health; going as far as sharing tips and insight from recent therapy sessions or bonding over triggers and sharing our stories of ways we learned how to better process those past traumas. We aren’t ashamed to discuss these issues, because we inherited just as much of the culture as we did the industry.

Now we’re trying to fix it, and the best way to start is by talking about it.

Truck drivers suffer the highest rates of mental and physical exhaustion. The truck driver turnover rate in 2019 was at 91%, estimating that a mere 9 of every 100 new drivers would stay in the industry. We have a long list of issues in the trucking industry, but one of the root causes for this high turnover rate was driver dissatisfaction. So if you really love trucking, see yourself in it for the long haul, and want to lessen the load of your burnout before it drives you to hang up the keys - you have to start with you as the driver.

Driver burnout is real, and we’ve all felt it at one time or another. You finish out the week, just to end up laying in bed all weekend - only getting up for snacks or to pick up a mobile food order at best. Finding the motivation to do your laundry, tidy up your truck, or taking the dogs out, all of a sudden feels like a burden. These days will happen - allow yourself to have a bad day, it's okay. Be lazy and don’t feel bad for it - you need the rest.

We know that trucking is a balancing act because home time isn’t always timely, or even certain at some points. So setting aside time for therapy, your hobbies, or some self-care can seem like a daunting task with more reason not to do it. We’re here to tell you however, you can do these things over the road, and we hope we’ve convinced you as to why you should.

We are more than thankful for today’s technology, as it opened the door to telehealth so now there are multiple sources for therapy on the go. A few we can personally recommend are DrOnDemand and Teladoc. Both of these platforms allow you to have both video and phone calls with licensed psychologists, or psychiatrists if you need medicinal treatment in addition to talk therapy.

Start to implement gratitude and refocus your energy on self-care. Treat yourself to a manicure and/or pedicure at a salon, or really splurge and go for a full body massage at the spa. Get out of the truck, save money, avoid people, connect with nature and go camping or find a nice walking path in a local park, an all around win. Then on days when you’re feeling unmotivated, or just down overall - remind yourself of all of the things you’re grateful for. You can even start a gratitude journal, and on those bad days when you feel like you can’t find a reason to be thankful, you can reread what you’ve written on days before, and it can come as a small reminder that the moment is temporary.

Reconnect with your hobbies by making them mobile and taking them with you on the road. Do you have a love for exercise? Kettle bells, dumbbells, and resistance bands are some of the easiest pieces of workout equipment to travel with. Love photography? Grab your DSLR, GoPro, or your drone, and find the best area near you with the subject you love to photograph most. Or maybe you’re more a gamer? Draw the curtains and get lost in your favorite video games! Maybe you’re a foodie or grill master? Find yourself a portable grill or slow cooker to fit your needs and treat yourself to a home cooked meal in your down-time. Make the road your home, because that's where you're spending most of your time.

It’s easy to lose yourself over the road, but we want you to stay en route. Before you log yourself into the sleeper and head back to the bunk, we want to remind you to show yourself compassion. Allow yourself that time to decompress, to breath, to accept your mistakes, to grow, to heal, and to better enjoy the roads trucking can take you on.

We live life with a “day by day” or “one mile at a time'“ mentality, and we challenge you to as well.

There are resources readily available for you when you’re ready to take the journey to improve your mental health - you can start with the National Alliance on Mental Health, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, or the Trevor Project, specialized in helping our LGBT community.

If you or someone you know, is struggling or in crisis, help is available and you are not alone.

Call or text 988.

As a reminder, please feel free to write into us with any questions or topics you’d like us to cover - you can even do so anonymously.