Instant O/O and Load boards

Checked in with my new best friend this morning. There's a pretty good list of things wrong with the truck of things due or very due beyond the previously stated.

The hose and exhaust of course, needs both the mount and bellhousing which both have to be ordered from Rockford, IL, $380 (looking at Wednesday) and the tow was $475, a bit more than expected. Front brakes overdue, some of the rear ones getting bad and out of adjustment, belts weathered and cracking, the fairings are coming off behind the steps (will remove), asked me about A/C, didn't think it was working due to the condition of the compressor/clutch.. that had me worried, it blows really cold! Probably going to need replacing sometime soon.


Says the hose looked for the most part inside like most other trucks of that age, still not overconcerned about the oil residue in there, thinks the radiator was seriously overdue for a flush and it was probably present from another compressor problem or past issue. I think of course that is probably hopeful, probably no way to know exactly for sure without some serious diagnostics. He'll flush it with soap if I heard him correctly.

My thoughts on failure to come...

 

Yes I'm going down there probably tuesday morning to help out and learn as much as I can, probably spend the night since I've been invited. I'm going to soak up as much as I can in that couple of days.

 

So when you do finally hit a low, it's good to take a look at things and see what you can learn from them. I tend to be analytical to a fault, but I think it's a good thing if applied properly.

These guys who come on here and start trolling or flame wars, well they're really mean. However not completely wrong either.

Basically at this point I lose all bragging rights. I'm humiliated, somewhat beaten, but also humbled and thankful for the good friends and kindness that this trucking community possesses.

I started officially back in April. As far as I'm concerned realistically it took me less than 6 months to fail. Now there are catastrophic business-ending failures, mini-failures, lots of varieties I suppose, but it was enough that I needed to draw on others outside of myself to be blessed with a reset or restart. From the standpoint that I started out with a reasonable amount of money, worked my tail end off for 5 months and now have less than I started with, I don't know how else to judge it other than a slow but steady failure.

Further compounding the issue are the behind the scenes financials and other unresolved symptoms. For instance, even when things have been "good", meaning money flow was ok, I still have not cut myself a proper paycheck, paid social security or any taxes. I don't see really where that would have come from, and I'm not sure how serious an issue it is quite yet. For now it's not a disaster because I can claim a loss for a couple years I suppose. After that it is going to have to improve considerably to get that on track. Also no health insurance and proper things like that that one would use as a measuring stick for whether a business can be called successful or not. On these levels I continue to fail, and may do so for a further considerable amount of time.

The good news is that many of the problems outside of cheap freight and availabilty is that there has been a lot of room for savings along the way, the sheer amount of problems I have caused myself in the learning curve, generally taking on too much and the risk associated with that, and the crazy amount of truck work that I have to outsource without really being able to afford it.

I think over the next 6 months I can make strides in those areas, really learn some things about the truck, stop making mistakes that cause damage to the truck, not putting off small repairs until they are larger ones. Other things that will happen is my insurance should go down a bit next year, the following year my truck will be paid off (God willing), and some other signs for optimism.

But the summary is that I tried and failed inside 6 months. The takeaway point is for new and old readers of the thread, the newbs, the prospective O/O's, anyone thinking of getting into this business, that you need to know realistically what you are looking at and just the plain insane amount of luck that plays into successes and failures even if you believe you can manage it well. The largest lesson, especially for people like HKP2, BCTINC, if these are in fact different people, is that you cannot be smug, disprespectful, or otherwise discount the real need for the best of this trucking community because you will someday need someone, a friend, a series of friends all over these United States because you never know when and where it's going to happen.

In the end, it is not entirely money and management that will keep your business afloat, but the relationships you make, the friends you keep, and the type of karma you deserve. When fate says things should be one way, it is your last line of defense... a helping hand that allows you to yell that you are not going quietly into that good night, you will survive, and you're messing with the wrong people!!!