Prime Orientation Complete!! :)

Well done!

 

Outstanding!!! You Da MAN!

 

Good job! Now I believe it is beer-thirty for you! Enjoy your weekend.

 

One more time... ANY detectable alcohol in your system during training will lead to immediate dismissal. Prime has zero tolerance for this in both PSD and TNT trainees. Be warned!

 

Not while you are housed on Prime's dime at Campus Inn, it isn't.

 

Good job sly. I finished on thursday here in Pittston. We lost 5 for various reasons. I came in as a A seat, took alday yesterday to get the truck ready. Now I'm just sitting here waiting for a load.

 

are you going company or lease. Im a b1 seat and im gonna be out for about 3 weeks with a trainer. I leave tonight for Pittston start orientation

 

OK... here's the spiel. I'm a successful lease operator - and it isn't easy. I tell EVERYONE to go on the company side for a year or two for a number of reasons. First, it builds your driver rating so you can get access to good freight if you do go lease. Second, you need some time to figure out how Prime goes about this business, and you need some time to decide whether you like Prime enough to get locked into a lease for 3 years or 3 months. Third, you need to have some cash built up - $3,000 minimum OR three months of the cash equivalent of all of your bills. Fourth, if you are in debt you need to get as much of that paid off as possible BEFORE you add a truck payment on top of all of that other debt. Fifth, if you're new to maintaining your own vehicle (and even if you aren't) you need to get a good idea of what a class 8 truck is, how it works, and what likely is wrong when it starts making really bad noises, and smoke starts coming out of places it shouldn't! JK!!

Leasing a truck IS starting a business. Do you know how to run a business? Are you willing to put in the extra work it takes to make a lease profitable? This means doing your own accounting so you are plugged into your numbers... you have to know where your money is going, and whether you are actually making money. This stuff can't be left to a "CPA" - you have to do this monthly if not every week when your settlement arrives in your email.

Your truck payment shows up EVERY week... so ditch the myth that you can take as much hometime as you like. You WILL be working harder than a company driver. OTOH, there is a lot to recommend it as well. The pride in the accomplishment of being a successful business person, not having to chase miles in order to get paid, and if you're any good at the truck driving end of it AND the business end - you'll make more money than the company guys. Maybe.

Read the Leasing at Prime thread...

http://www.thetruckersreport.com/tr...sing-at-prime.html?highlight=Leasing+at+Prime

Search through the bad trucking company folder and look for all of the threads complaining about Prime's lease program... and take that to heart. These folks had high hopes, and FAILED. Some failed very badly... there is risk and reward in this.

Finally, while you're a company driver run a "shadow business." Ask your FM for the revenue numbers on each load, and see how the money works - and whether the revenue and net profit before taxes meets your needs and expectations. After you're employed, stroll down to the leasing office, and ask for a copy of the lease. READ THE DARN THING, and UNDERSTAND IT!!! Before you even think of signing it!!!

Now... if you're still really stuck on leasing, go for it. But, if you're in the EPIC FAIL category... make sure you mention you were warned! OTOH, you might do dang well too!! Remember, business IS risky at best. 80% of all new businesses in America fail in the first couple of years - and one of the big drivers of this is not having enough money to make it work. You need to get the odds on your side - because they're stacked against you just jumping in with no experience and no money.

"Failing to prepare is preparing to fail." John Gruden, NFL head coach.

 

I really appreciate the words of wisdom. You've given me alot to think about and lots of questions to ask at orientation.