Your thoughts on a lease program

And that's why stereotyping is unfair... but, stereotyping exists because a very large percentage within the group do exhibit the stereotyped trait, and that gives the stereotype some validity....

"hey, drivers.... I have a great opportunity for you.... and I'm not interested in your credit score....." .....lol.....

 

Trees,,well said and I have to agree with what you have stated, coming from the Dark Side anyway. This is definetly the scenerio that I imagine the mega-carriers follow, though be it that most do not "feel" the way you describe. There are companies out there that do allow the driver to pick their own freight, do allow them to make decisions on what freight they take, what lanes they want to run in, how long they stay out and so on.... That being said, if a person does not educate themselves in the nth degree, before they talk to any company about leasing,,than they are setting themselves up for utter failure, regarless of how the company operates its lease purchase program.

 

Bill, I just want to know one thing....

After you completed your first lease did you...

A) say, "that was great, I can't wait to do another one!!"

B) say, "there's got to be a better way"..

 

I understand "steriotyping" and though it is unfair to some (most in some cases), I agree with it from a business stand point. It is definetly the norm that people have bad spending habbits but some, just have bad luck, if you will. I say luck, though I do not believe in luck due to its relevance. Just always being in the wrong place at the wrong time scenereo. The bottom line is, some were not educated and made bad mistakes because they didn't know better, not saying they shouldnt pay for their mistakes, just some have that learning curve is all and for a period of time, their credit score/record looks like they are worse than they are. I don't like that companies only use the credit score, to base their decision on. I have worked my whole life, as many have, since I was a young teen and that should mean something but, it does not. A mans word means nothing anymore and to live as a man of your word, has little merrit, at least in society. With me however, your word means everything....

It doesnt take much at all these days to have a bad credit score. One missed payment or late payment can ding your score pretty good. I just spend cash and that works for me. Car, Truck, home and boat are paid for. Home is a 1941/43 Holiday Rambler, Boat is a 1978 Hydra-sport, Truck is a 1990 F150 and car/van is a 1988 E150 but, they run and I am happey Got tired of trying to keep banks happy, and started to think about me and my family being happy.

 

The only way to be compensated, inho, is with a percentage of the gross......

Bill offers a truly fair percentage, (88%), and it's why I might personally contact him again sometime, as his percentage and way of doing business is inclusive of his success... and it's why I believe he has good intentions in his lease purchase endeavor, I believe he sees an opportunity and is trying to convert it into reality...I think Bill is genuinely interested in helping others to succeed in this business, I really do

 

BBB

i think trees hit a nail on the head, and illustrated the dark side (and to be honest, its much darker)

look at all of the threads on this forum from lease drivers from prime, england, stevens, jct, etc

they all use the same business model, suck a driver dry and get a new one afterwards

we are nothing more than toilet paper to them, and the drivers that do succeed are the smarter ones

first off, many drivers buy the propaganda at orientation, hook, line and sinker, and when it doesnt work, the company blames the driver (he wanted to go home more than twice a year) or he wasnt driving 55mph all day long

and now with elogs, the government has put its foot up the drivers rear a little more, yet the companies still charge higher lease payment numbers, but drivers cannot even drive the 4000miles needed to make a decent check

and forget ever going home

you said you succeeded in england, well, you were the exception, most do not

 

if a company takes advantage of people's ignorance or desires or whatever

is it the person's fault or the company?

what i find particularly interesting is that if i had applied to BBB's company, initially he may have said i didnt qualify (bad driving record, no experience in trucking, bad credit, etc)

but i did

so sometimes, what you see on paper is not indicative of the person, each person is different even if they look the exact same on paper

 

The more I am finding out about BBB's company the more I like it... I have 4 dings on my dac but, nothing serious. Unfortunetly I dont have the money to purchase my first truck outright so, I will drive on...lol

 

OK, after thinking about your idea a little bit further today, Bill, I have something a little more constructive to say, as well as a little less polarizing.
(And sorry if I offended anyone about the "bad credit = bad money skills")

After reading what Trees said about believing Bill to be genuinely caring about helping people become successful, I guess that is motivation enough for some people. Some companies make their profit by what some people may call immoral business practices, but as a Christian, I do believe that doing the right thing can and will pay off, sometimes monetarily, sometimes in other ways, but if you think you can do something good for others' lives and still make some mone doing so, then that is the best case scenario. I just happen to be pretty stubborn and critical of things that I don't understand fully.

Anyways, Bill, I think a lease program like this can be successful, but here is what I think I would do:
1) get ready for a lot more work and headache, depending on how many people you plan on putting through this
2) only take those who have been a driver for at least 2-3 years, who are familiar with the industry and the work
3) be picky about safety scores
4) expand upon your "trucking MBA" program or whatever it is you call it

Especially #4, I think if you are interesting in helping people become better business owners, a good, all-inclusive education about the industry and whatever is relevant to a business owner is needed. If you don't want people to fail, it's in both yours and the drivers' interest to really help them become educated as much as possible. And I don't know what exactly your little class offers now, but I am under the assumption that it's not totally all-inclusive of the industry. I am really thinking of something like a full 20-30 hour program over the course of a week.

And to expand on this idea, you could offer this class to anyone out there at all - not just people who decide to haul for you or lease from you.
I think something like this could work - and you could market your business through the school, and you could market the school through your business and your drivers.
But I think something like this might be expensive. If it is true that you really are taking only 12% of gross, then I think that is REALLY low compared to the industry. I think maybe you could increase your fee to 15% and use that extra 3% to fund your school. It has to be self sustaining to work.

Heck, you could even include a whole truck driver training school in this idea! Except do it the professional way, not the CDL Factory way like I went through with C1 / Driver Solutions when I went to work for PAM. You might even get a Government grant to help with this, although I am really not one that supports Government subsidies.

Imagine having a whole big facility and all. Bill's Trucking Academy. Heck, if you include a Philosophy course in there, I'd probably enroll myself!

 

Stereotyping exists so that people can easily categorize and group those people or things that they do not understand and --generally, those stereotypes have NO basis in reality. I challenge your thought that stereotypes exist because a very large percentage within the group exhibit the stereotyped trait. The problem with stereotypes lies with the stereotyper....the person who doesn't take the time to learn about the unfamiliar.