Anyone Quitting??

Thats pretty much me.

Hurst

 

if i was going to quit i should have done it 20 years ago .
i am changing modes tho having got fed up with the the reefer biz i bought a pre emissions truck yesterday and am going flatbedding on a dedicated haul .

 

99%

Carrier has some direct shippers in Chicagoland. They used to pay well,..but not lately. Their rates are down 50% from 1 year ago. I have not pulled a good paying load out of Chicagoland since last spring and that was a container.

But yes,.. pretty much 99% of what I run is off DAT360 and ITS.

I do have 2 brokers asking me to call when I get into an area because they have a load they want me to pull. I'm working on making more contacts like that. Plus here in Fla I have 3 places I can call to get me out of Fla and actually make a profit.

Its like anything else. The longer you do something the better you get at it. Keep in mind,.. next March will mark 2 yrs as an O/O for me. I'm still learning this business. I'm still working on making business contacts and as much as I respect my carrier,.. my end goal is to break away and go 100% with my own authority.

Also the dispatcher I have is probably the best I have ever dealt with. She knows the freight lanes,.. she watches the boards like a soap opera. We have a very good working relationship. She knows what kind of loads I like, but she is brutally honest with me and tells me to toughen up,.. nothing is moving, she needs to get me into a lane thats moving better.

I have been in her office when she is on the phone with brokers. She was trying to negotiate a rate with a Coyote Logistics broker,.. next thing I know she tells the guy that she doesnt have time for #### chat,.. to call her back if he wants to talk business and hangs up on him,.. then she has the next broker on speed dial and working on that load. She is ruthless when it comes to booking loads. Much better at it than I am. Carrier pays her a percentage of what we run. So the more we make,.. the more she makes. She is very motivated and I owe much of my success to her.

Hurst

 

This is not how I plan to run permanently. Normally I only go out 3 - 5 weeks. Then come home for 1 - 2 weeks.

When my truck went down it put the fear of God in me. Losing all the money I had saved up thinking I had a pretty good nest egg only to discover it was chump change in this business.

I vowed never again. Never going to be in a position where my very survival depended on the graciousness of others. I need to be able to stand on my own 2 feet and weather out anything that comes my way. Since $30k clearly is not enough for me,.. I'm running hard till I have $100k in the bank. Then I will slow down and re-evaluate how I want to continue in this business.

The stress of almost losing everything I had worked for changed me. I will do what ever I have to do in order to succeed. Failure is not an option for me.

Hurst

 

Next week I start attending college 2 days a week . So my running will be part time then, now with the cheapness of rates my running has been part time for several months already. Not really a question if you're going to quit or not, when the industry is quitting US. Except those who'll work for the new and improved lowered rates.

 

Hurst is a great example on HOW to get by in trucking........Many failures are due to "its too hard" or I don't like to work folks.....

You know the hardest part is to swallow Hurst?? That 30k you went through probably took months (if not years) to Save, And like that-Poof its gone-

When I worked with Brokers- I'd kill myself all year long- Pray nothing happened- And STILL had a Hard Time putting $20k in the bank (After all operating and personal bills) NOT GOOD ENOUGH FOR ME

I made a change- The Brokers wont budge to MY freight terms- I started hauling my own customer base outbound and some inbound- And What A change in my savings account- If I cant Put 50k in my bank Annually for the work I do- Its not worth it

Its like the Brokers give you jjuuuuust enough to get by running your business, And that's it- Many see it like I do

Keep up the good work Hurst- Once you get to that 100k mark in the bank- (Clear money that you do what you want with)- Your CONFIDENCE levels rise- ands Nothing will drop your spirit

 

You da man !!!!

 

My biggest hurdle is that I live in a poor freight area. I'm about an hour north of Tampa, Fl.

I have made so many calls to so many business From Tampa, to Orlando, Jacksonville and every thing in between.

I managed to score a few places that are willing to work with me on outbound rates. One is a place that does over size tanks in Orlando. Another is a place in Clearwater that builds crematoriums. Problem is that they dont have enough steady freight to keep me busy and earn what I want to be making. So till I find enough outbound freight to keep me busy I have to run the boards to fill the gap.

Its not ideal,.. and certainly not how I plan for things to stay. But it pays the bills for now and it is doable if you are willing to run hard and stay out like I have been doing.

I have no plans to move out of Fla,.. I love it here too much. The beach, the weather, car shows, drag racing, road racing, boating, jet ski, night life,.. its serenity for me.

Hurst

 

So THATS what happened to my customer in clearwater. Just picture captain kirk yelling huuuuurst!!

 

Well I didnt see any signs that said Spyder's only.
Plus I've only done 3 loads for them. Doesnt seem to be a huge demand for custom crematoriums.

I guess its like the girl in that video said,.. "Two truckers can go in a house of prostitution together. Chances are they will come out screwing each other".

Hurst