i make it a strict rule, never to take advice from people who have failed in this business. they will never admit they FAILED, they all just say, "well, i sold my truck to do something else. " or, "i got burned out". or, whatever. in my opinion, this all = YOU FAILED! i have exposure to about 5-6 failures in the trucking business. they all ran aground, for various reasons, yet can't seem to understand why. one guy i talked to the other day was on his first trip as a company driver, said he "sold his truck", and commented on the type of trailer i pull saying i'll never make money. so i asked, "what happened to your truck?" he says, "oh, well, you can't make money in this bizness, i got a family to feed, i got a great job at xyz.......". they all failed, one way or another, YET, they are giving ME advice. silly, don't ya think? do YOU take advice from people who have failed?

Answer is no way.Reminds me of a sand pit that hired a manager that had went bankrupt in the same business.I think you know where that lad to.

I don't take their advice rather I try to figure out why they did go under so I don't make the same mistakes... but I think in all it comes down to self discipline and control. Anybody can start a business but only dedication will make it work.

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work hard, PLAY HARDER!!!

I was taught a long time ago that you can learn something from any situation, even if what you learn is what not to do.

I guess I'm odd then. I know exactly what I (or we actually) did right and what we did wrong. And I'll be the first to tell you what was wrong so hopefully you don't do it too. Problem is nobody listens. they figure they know what they are doing and they can't be wrong. So keep on putting all that money int chrome when it should go to the maintenance account. You'll be okay!! for a few years anyways.
Oh I don't mean You as in YOU, just a statement of the response you get from people when ya try to help. Personally I try to never give advice that isn't asked for, it's just a waste of breath and time

Listening to drivers that failed can actually be very illuminating in many cases. If they are frank and honest about it they learned something and may be in a position to point out potential flaws in your plans that tripped them up.

I would rather listen to someone that attempted to run a business and failed in the end as it may give me some insight as to how to AVOID that very thing in my own.

Get as many different perspectives as you can. Evaluate and weigh each and see how it may or may not apply to your situation.

Nobody likes to fail but the truth is it is failure that is the greatest teacher of all. Especially if you have the good sense to learn from said failure, get back up and try it again after you have done more research and figured out how not to repeat the same mistake.

Having an open mind and listening can actually prepare you more for the future. You need not repeat EVERY possible mistake to learn but can learn from others (if you listen anyway).

I don't know how many o/o's have claimed "you don't have to file taxes quarterly, or heck I do not need medical insurance, or I do not need a reserve account or maintenace fund cause my truck is under warranty.
All bad advice but you cannot tell those fellas anything cause they "know it all."

Of course when the IRS comes knocking or they wind up hurt and have to go the hospital or their truck breaks down and the warranty doesn't cover the repair bills they are screwed.

Having a site like this to compare notes and concepts can be very enlightening especially when you have so many divergant views,

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Knowledge is Power

He is so correct here. You have to be dedicated to making it work. That means sacrificing doing things and putting the money into the truck, doing AS MUCH of your own work as you can and your own bookwork as well. When money starts going out for this and that when you are capable of doing it you are on the way to being a statistic.

Oh gosh is he ever so right here. When you do not pay them quarterlys you can be in deep trouble. Been down that road 26 yr ago, we were new to trucking, comming out of farming a whole different tax setup, and got quite the shock. Took about 10 yrs to crawl out of that hole but once I got there I allocate in my banking program an allotment for taxes. I deduct it periodically then come quarterly tax time the money is there.

Always learn from others mistakes because you won't live long enough to make all of them yourself.

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It is not the critic who counts, not the man who points out how the strong man stumbled, or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena; whose face is marred by the dust and sweat and blood;."
THEODORE ROOSEVELT (Paris Sorbonne,1910)

Can I get an "AMEN"!

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work hard, PLAY HARDER!!!

What percentage of new trucking businesses fail, if you could take a guess?

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Dan H.
Sociology Student
Studying the Work Lives of Truck Drivers

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