Picking my own freight baby! My journey to & of being on Schneider choice, the Adventure & Numbers!

Actually there is a Uber like app for owner operators, it's called Convoy. I haven't done much research into it yet, have the carrier agreement open on my computer to remind me to complete it and send it back. The nicest part I see so far is the pay you within 24 hours if delivery if the paperwork is turned in correctly.

This statement just screams of an under educated, 25 to 30 something male still living in mommies basement with nothing better to do then act like he's entitled to be a millionaire because he can pass the mirror test.

As @TennMan, @freightwipper, @drvrtech77, and many other very successful business owners have said and even pointedly tried to tell you, this is first and foremost a business! Being an independent contractor or an owner operator does not mean you're an over glorified company driver that gets to drive faster and go home when you want and expect bigger checks. Go read up on entrepreneurs and how long they usually take to see a profit on any new business they start. It's usually between years 3 and 5 if the business makes that long. Why do most businesses fail? It's because of 3 big things; not enough capitalization at the start up (that means not enough money saved up to make it through the first 3 to 5 years), lack of proper market research (you have no clue who or what your competitors are or even who your customers are), and lack of a proper business plan (failure to plan is a plan to fail). Go spend some time looking around the SBA website and see what it takes to run a business.

We don't need more regulations, government controls, and set minimums for freight. What we need are reading lessons for the entitled kids who want to just show up and breath and expect $15/hr for that instead of actually earning the money. Proper training on how to be a professional truck driver that looks similar to what it takes to get a pilots license (when was the last time you got on an airplane and saw the pilot and crew wearing pajams and flip flops? Don't know about you, but I would be turning right around and getting off that plane of they were!) Last but not least, we need to stop taking cheap freight!

The moment you start getting into a price war on anything with a competitor, it turns in to a game of who can go out of business first. You cheapen your company when all you are focused on is price. Go read a sales book from one of the best sales coaches out there like Zig Zigglar or Brian Tracey (oops, forgot the entitled generation doesn't know how to read more then 144 characters at a time), you'll learn that everything in life is a sales job, even being a janitor you have to sell yourself to your employer each day that you're worth being there. If you did a half ### job do you think you'll be working long? Why is it someone can command $25/hr to clean a toilet and have a waiting list of customers while the guy offering the same service for $10/hr can barely get a customer?

When I was in college 14 years ago I was able to get double the going rates for house cleaning and janitorial work in a town with 3 colleges in the middle of no where eastern Washington. Here I was a 19 year old kid beating out the other janitorial companies in the town. Why was that? It's because I was selling myself and not just cleaning services. I would show up looking professional wearing nice clothes that didn't hang down to my knees or have holes in them. I would go above and beyond there expectations like changing out the toilet paper roll and folding the end into a triangle or cleaning the dishes in the sink even though it wasn't part of my job. I would always leave a nice tent folded card with my company logo that showed what time I arrived and left, what was done in each room and when the next time was I would be back. I sold myself as someone who cared about there needs and made them feel like they were the most important person in the world and they gladly paid for the quality of service the received.

I go my own authority and trailer 34 days ago. I had made contacts with customers prior to doing this to check on lanes, see what kind of trailer they needed and what there insurance requirements were all before I pulled to trigger to get my numbers. Because of that I've been able to put together a loop that is paying me $7,000 a week on 3500 miles and the load each direction is less then 15k lbs. My 2 customers/brokers already have more loads for me when I decide to get more trucks. This was only possible because I communicated with them above and beyond what they required, was prompt with getting them paperwork (usually had pod turned in before I left the receiver), and showed interest in a relationship with them instead of a one time wham bam thank you way most carriers treat brokers and customers. Some of you will say I was just lucky and it's the exception to the rule, but I'm not lucky. It took hard work and a couple months of communication with these brokers before I got here and that was all done before I got my authority. Oh yeah, that's getting me home every weekend as well.

One of my favorite quotes from Zig Zigglar sums this all up the best, "If you help enough people get what they want in life, you'll get what you want". Take some time and think about how that applies to what we do here. I know a good number of you won't even bother to think on this but instead ignore what it takes to be successful and scream it's all unfair and it should just be given to you. If you won't help yourself improve your life no one can.

 

3500 miles on an eobr every week , good luck with that......

And I know there is an exemption for less than 5 trucks (for now)

 

Good stuff Red. Luck is where preparation meets opportunity..

 

Not hard at all actually. I can maintain an average of 65 mph which means I would only use 53.8 hours of my 70 for the week. Or I'll put it another way, Even at 53.8mph average, which most loads are planned at 55mph, it would only take me 65 hours a week to run. It's all about knowing your route and planning ahead. There are these things that use to be around before the interstate system called US Highways. Now days they are rarely used because drivers are trained to follow there eobr's like mindless drones and have no clue what an atlas is or how to use it.

The average posted speed limit on my route is 70mph, some stretches the speed limit is 80mph. So not sure where the problem is here. Just goes to show and prove my point of the entities generation.

Oh yeah, I'm getting 8.8-9.3 mpg as my average on this loop. But that's because I made sure when I purchased my used trailer it had good rolling resistant tires, auto inflation to keep the tires at the optimal pressure, air ride suspension (which my outbound customer requires, no spring suspension at all), a 2013 or newer (both customers required this), skirts, and tails (the tails alone add 0.5 mpg).

This all took research, planning, relationship building, and hard work. None of this was a handout or luck.

 

Thank you! I know I'm really "lucky" because of all the hard work and preparation I've put into this . Oh yeah and all that government handout and regulations as well

 

I have to agree with 95% of what you said. But I didn't become an OO to be a slave to my truck. And having to average 500 miles 7 days a week is being a slave. Nothing wrong with that but I'll stick to my 1200 miles a week. It provides me a much better lifestyle.

 

3500 miles a week X 48 weeks is 168,000 miles whatever........

 

Out of everything he said, that's the part you choose to focus on? SMH

 

Not my plan to be that forever. Just the next year or so as I build up more reserves and finish paying off the last of my debt this year. Plus, the really good stuff that pays even better requires my authority to be a year old at least.