Main Reasons for High Initial Failure Rates

It depends but soooo many just jump in and then ask for help to find work, stupid move.

 

To succeed in this market...you have no choice!

 

Good drivers already have jobs and a one truck carrier won’t have enough to offer to hire them away from their current job.

 

Yeah, me too but just because you can drive and you have good enough credit to buy a truck, doesn’t mean you have any business owning one.

It’s possible some can’t find break even loads but if your on your own authority and work at it, while keeping your costs and efficiency in check, you should be able to make it.

One thing I’ve noticed on the drivers I’ve hired that were owner ops prior... they like to work 10 to 12 hours per day. While my company drivers max their 14 everyday unless they reach their destination or run out of drive time. By the end of the week my truck will get an entire another load done which means enough revenue to be the difference from getting by to being successful.

Also, last owner op who went broke that I hired said he was getting 5.3 mpg. I told him I was spending about $400 less per WEEK on fuel. That alone combined with maxing hours instead of quitting early is the difference of say $50,000 per year in profit per truck which is difference like I said of scraping by or being successful. Sometimes owner ops don’t max out their revenue generation or efficientcy because they don’t have too since they drive themselves. Big mistake.

 

Yes, work ethic is a big factor as well in new owners failing. Its either something you desire and are willing to sacrifice and work hard to get to the other side, or you fail. It's perseverance, and there's a lot of people out there that don't have any.

 

What type of truck are you getting?

"A red Cascadia"

What transmission?

"A red Cascadia"

What is your truck payment?

"A red Cascadia"

What is your target revenue?

"A red Cascadia"

What lanes do you want to run?

"A red Cascadia"

What is your insurance going to cost?

"A red Cascadia"

 

Is there a way to encourage a good work ethic in hired drivers as a fleet manager/owner? Increasing pay/mile or the percentage they get are the obvious solutions, but anything else you would recommend?

 

Ha

 

No it doesn't work that way. I found that money for good drivers is not the issue, there are other factors involved and I would not say what attracts drivers because that is something I build on with every new hire.

 

Kidnap them as little children and raise them right?

Seriously, a good work ethic starts early. Look at the guys and gals that came off the family farms. Those people, generally speaking, have GREAT work ethics! Especially compared to Stanley Snodgrass who finally got kicked out of his parents' basement and is more concerned with playing his video games than doing his job.

I'll use myself as an example here. I consider myself to have an average level work ethic. I run my clock based on maximizing my income every week. I plan each trip with an eye towards kicking off the current load as early as possible and grabbing the next one quick. My best weeks are the ones where I outrun dispatch. I've always run this way. And, generally speaking, I hit the higher pay levels over the rest of the fleet because of it.

I work the same way no matter who I work with. If the company doesn't appreciate what I do, I find another. I have two very simple rules. Don't screw with my pay (in other words, pay me the agreed to rate for work performed), and don't screw with my hometime (let me go home when we agreed I was going home). Beyond that, keep me busy! I'm not out here to be a tourist, I want MONEY!

 

So true, that’s what I was going to say. It’s either prebuilt into someone or due to how they were raised. You can’t incentivize a lazy person. They will look for ways to do less work, vs ways to get the work they do have done.

And brsims you sound awesome man. That’s exactly what great companies hope to have in their great drivers.