Is OOIDA worth it?

Not your words but my interpretation.

So if it screws the O/O or small fleet over you are ok with black boxes, but #### the government for jacking up your brokers bond?

Like I said before, blaming the OOIDA for all this is lame and when you want to place the blame in perspective look in the mirror.

Divided we stand united we fall.

 

First, to be clear. I am against government telling anyone that they are implementing a law to protect me (not saying we need to be a nation without laws but around this discussion). So no I am not OK with them telling me or my drivers that they HAVE to install EOBRs based on the reasons they have given.

And you are talking like because I stop and think about how this will effect our industry and don't take a political, knee jerk reaction towards this I am part of the problem. The problem is people putting blinders on and because they are told it will protect them that this must be that case.

STOP AND THINK FOR YOURSELF. Just because something has an R or a D or 5 letters behind does not mean it is in you best interest. You want to know how an O/O can stop getting screwed? EDUCATION

And I am not OK with them saying that they are protecting me by having an increased bond.

And why would I or anyone blame OOIDA on the bond? Because it was part of their agenda. THEY WENT TO WASHINGTON AND ASKED FOR THIS.

Anyone that takes time to think through this will see that the only people that will benefit from this is the TIA and large brokers. You and I are going to be hurt because some idiot that can't figure out how to run his business needs to be protected.

 

Hard to say what it is going to play out as. The regulations haven't been written but it looks like it is going to be worth less than the $10k bond. Apparently co-op arrangements will be legal limiting the claim amount to the level the broker is committed to. But minimum commitment would be $7500. This is what an attorney for a group I belonged to was just briefed on. But he cautioned. He was also briefed last week that the $10k was going to be grandfathered and that certified minority owned businesses would be exempt from any bond. And was told today that they are rethinking that.

But the lawsuits are being prepared as we speak.

 

I'm in some of those groups. A lot of talk,little action. Co-op's won't fly unless they operate under one authority.

 

wichris, exactly what i have been trying to say. i cant for the life of me see why a broker worth his salt would go out of business because of an increase in his bond. as you say if he has bad credit to start with and his bond is high now, he has a reason for that NOT PAYING HIS BILLS. a good , honest, trustworthy broker will have no problem with this , if he has his ducks in a row maybe a 1500 dollar expense.

frankly, its to easy for someone to set up shop as a broker, rip people off, set up shop next week under a different name. the bond would slow some of this down.

 

They are not going out of business if they have the assets/financials or cash. Many of the small guys don't clear that much a year.

 

bill, are you a broker now or are you getting your broker authority ? and i got to tell you , their are many that know how to run their business, they may not run it as you do yours, that doesnt make them an idiot.

i sometimes get from your posts you are reinventing the wheel, and have discovered a magical way to run a trucking business, and the majority of us dont have a clue. i saw in a post where you said you have been trucking for 8 years and ran other businesses for 20 years.
. bill, you have had your authority for what a little over a year?

you havent encountered much yet, the unexpected curveballs, etc., brokers or direct shippers not paying invoices, a wreck with someone under your authority, claim on an entire load, or the many other hazards that befall you in trucking. i also will say it seems you have a good head and have started out real well.

you can read every article in every trade magazine and every financial and every economic report you want, but it still doesnt make up for the college of hard knocks. as i am trying to say is i get sometimes from your posts that many are beneath you in smarts and knowledge. i am sure you dont intend that, but sometimes it comes across that way.

i hope you understand what i am trying to say and dont take my comment as a slam

 

So I am guessing you are also for EOBRs? And CSA. Or are you only for useless laws that will cost some other company money?

It seems that you feel that an increased bond is needed to protect you. So are you only doing business with companies that have a $100k bond in place right now?

 

I have my authority but it is not something I use much. More as a way to help customers get loads covered with drivers and carriers I know. If it goes away it will likely be a relief but it cost so little for me to have I may as well have it.

And I don't think that. I have talked to many O/O's that have some great ideas that will never work with my business model. These are people are thought leaders in our industry. I wish they would share more of what they are doing so that people in the business could start thinking different. But most that I talk to (and I talk to a lot of O/O's) have done zero market research. Talking about this subject this weekend with an owner of a carrier and he said his 16-year old son did more market research than most O/O's do. Thought he was making a joke. But he was dead serious.

I haven't reinvented the wheel. I saw an opportunity and I am capitalizing on it. And nothing magical about it. Simple business practices that are used 1,000's of times a day all around the world. Now I am not running my business like a typical trucking company that abuses drivers. And while some of the things that I am doing are very different from the norm I have always been able to find someone that is or has done the same thing. Actually, as we grow, I am pleased to be able to meet owners of larger, well run companies that started much the same way I did but only 10 or more years ago.

At one point I used the example of what do you think Steve Jobs would have done if a senior manager shot down some crazy idea because "it is not the way it is done" or "you don't have the experience". But I recently learned I must have read about this because it is a true story. A senior manager from the initial Mac days laughed at the idea a new designer had for the iPod and Jobs fired the senior manager. And that idea was about creating touch screens.

This is an important point

If Apple was run the way many O/O's and small carriers operate their business we would have no iPhone or iPad. And if I listened to all the people that said what I am doing is impossible I would not be able to offer O/O's the chance to make a good living, have a life and actually start to believe they can achieve their goals (like have a retirement fund, vacations, money in the bank for major repairs, buy a house, etc).

Running a successful business is a lot about balance. The balance between planning and implementation. Between learning from the past and preparing for the future. Between experience from doing and experience from education.

And I agree, there is a lot I have not experienced. But I do have people around me that have these experiences.

And I would never say that the College of Hard Knocks is over rated. The sad truth is that we are in an industry that many feel what they learned at this school 10 years ago still applies today.

And I place very little value in someones experience if they show they are unable to change with the times. Our business is vastly different than it was even a couple years ago. And while I didn't have my authority in 2006, I have several mentors that did and that are making changes based on the current environment. And I ignore those that tell me they had an authority for X # of years and "let me tell you how it works".

Do not take it as a slam at all. I know I come off as arrogant. Part of that is being busy and not taking the time to edit my quick comments. Most of it is from being frustrated at how many people bought a job and then come complaining about this or that with absolutely zero understanding of the industry they started a business in. And with this thread how people simplify what is happening.

But mostly it is just being arrogant But most of all I am happy that all the work that I have done and continue to do has helped people, gotten some to start thinking differently and have changed the lives of my O/O's for the better.

 

Upfront I have to say I am a life member of OOIDA, but don't agree with all of their views/actions. All in all they were the only trucking association I could see putting any time, money, or faith in. LandLine mag is pretty biased in their reporting and much of it is older news for the guys that pay attention to other trucking media sources. The rest of the trucking associations seem like such a joke...even many of the state trucking ones that feed into the ATA mindset.

Bill has a lot of solid points that the industry has changed dramatically in the past 2-5 years. Many guys still want the old school way of doing business, but many more shippers/recievers are thinking out side of the box. If a person or business doesn't adapt it will die (plain and simple and has been proven many times over). I know of 3 local guys still trying to make it hauling iron the old fashioned way...they all are frustrated and about to give up. Yet I know 2 others that are still hauling iron, very happy, making dang good money, and home almost every night cause they changed thier operations and thoughts. Which would you rather be, the first group or the second? Currently I am at a company that thinks out side of the box and they are expanding to double their size due to a freight volume influx that has kept growing in 3 years (how many companies can boost that with the recent economy). This influx is not just the normal freight...it is freight that actually pays what we want it to pay and not the low ball number many guys get. With this freight has come many other logistic options that have helped shore up even more of the company's business to a point that their name is really recognized in our niche market with only having 85 O/O leased to them. All 85 O/O make a great living and the vast majority drive show quality trucks while still living pretty dang good at home. This is all possible cause the business owner thought differently 15-20 years ago and he still has a different mindset than many today.

I don't think OOIDA's stance on the broker bond is correct. Like Bill stated many smaller good brokers will throw their hands up and move to big corporations like Landstar, CHR, and many others. I don't want to see this happen cause we as O/O will lose money and personal service in the long run. Goverment involvement is not the answer. We as a industry need to police ourselves. Get the word out faster on bad brokers, do our credit/background checks better, and not deal with the ones that low ball/de-value a drivers worth would solve many of the problems to where the goverment does not need to step in.

Do I think we need the EORB or CSA stuff...not all of it, but some is needed. More accountability on driver and carrier actions is really needed. We all have seen the drivers that just keep dragging around crap equipment. They are a big problem and we all know it. The only way to make it stop is with going after those drivers and carriers that continually let this happen. Is CSA the correct thing...sort of, but it still needs A LOT of tweeking. EORB recorders will change the whole industry again...are they needed? Not really if the current laws were actually easier to use and enforced. OOIDA claims EORB will "level the playing field between O/O and mega carriers" and it will...temporarily. Till the smart O/O adjust their businesses and find a way to legally expolit the EORB mandate. This is how businesses grow...finding a niche market, thinking ahead with the ability to change, and expoliting every oppurtunity they get.