Concluding Our Rookie Year

[davekc]

I don't know that anyone knows what "his" definition of success is. I don't know that it matters. I am sure it is much different than my own.





Davekc
owner
23 years
PantherII
EO moderator

[ATeam]

The post is here because a number of people "gives a rats #####."

When I write about expediting, I do so mostly with expediter wannabees in mind, and I write from the personal experience of once knowing nothing about the business and later doing well in it.

The people who "gives a rats #####" like to hear about expediter experiences as they consider their own course. At least that's what they tell me privately. That's why I post items like this and write a blog and stories from the road (links below).

These same readers would like very much to hear about other peoples' successes too. I really wish more successful expediters would share their stories and information about how they do what they do. Though, I also understand their reluctance to do so here. This is the EO Open Forum, where no good deed goes unpunished. Witness this very thread.

Technically, Greg, our rookie year as owner-operators began when we bought our truck in June, 2006. I used calander year because it is a more meaningful financial period that corresponds to our tax year. It does not matter. The story is the same, whichever 12 months you wish to talk about. We are first-time truck buyers and first-time owner-operators who have done well as such.

Yes, we are also expediters with three years of prior experience in fleet owner trucks. That fact has been mentioned so many times in other posts, I saw no need to mention it here. But since it seems to matter to others, I'll say one more time, we drove other peoples' trucks for three years before buying one of our own.

That said, it is also a fact that as first-time owner operators, we beat the odds, so to speak. No one repossessed our truck. We did not labor hard to make the truck payments. While we had a truck loan to deal with, we never once took a bad run offer because we were desparate to make a payment on time.

While we had some setbacks, and live a lifestyle that is not for everyone, all of our financial and personal goals have been met in this business. That is a great story to tell. And I tell it in hopes of providing options for people who, for whatever reasons, are looking for careers different than they have now.

Yes, there are benefits to having truck driving experience. But I want expediter wannabees to know that experience is NOT REQUIRED to jump in and succeed from the first day. That is not to say you can do so unprepared. If you do that, this business will eat you alive and leave you very much the worse for wear (as in bankrupt). But if you are prepared, expediting is a fantastic business opportunity, even now, as we stand in a slowing economy and on the threshold of a recession. Key words...IF YOU ARE PREPARED.

Who "gives a rats #####?" A whole lot of people don't, and they will eagerly say so. In fact, some of them read my every word, and then seldom miss a chance to say how much my writing does not matter to them and should not matter to others. I really wish these folks would talk more about what is right about their own success than what is wrong with ours. If they did, readers of all experience levels and the Open Forum itself would benefit more.

While a whole lot of people don't "gives a rats #####", there are those who do, including certain expediter wannabees who read this site. I want them to know that despite all the sour grapes and casting about of blame for failure that is seen on this site; plain, old-fashioned, pure-and-simple success stories are also found in this business.

I believe other people can enter the business and succeed. That's why I post items like this. I want people to know about the success side of expediting. Goodness knows the failure side gets its full share on these pages. That too is good. Expediter wannabees deserve to hear the full story, not just one side or the other.

In an attempt to return this thread to the spirit in which the first post was made, let me say again...

...Thanks to all here in the Open Forum. The year would have been less interesting, informative and entertaining without you.

[davekc]

Might be of value to mention when you ACTUALLY started. Your post is misleading to someone new. Dump the other stuff on your blog for those that care to follow. I am getting too many people wondering why this post is here.











Davekc
owner
23 years
PantherII
EO moderator

[arkjarhead]

Phil what kind of goals did you all achieve? I'm just curious.

[davekc]

Only basing it on the information I am getting. As mentioned, I have no interest either way unless he is sharing his pot of gold.










Davekc
owner
23 years
PantherII
EO moderator

[RichM]

I have to agree with Dave, why is this post necessary? What it is, is simple bragging that he has made his goals for the year in 11 months. Well who in the ##### cares what his goals are and how he obtained them.

What I find amusing is that A Team has generated several posts predicting recessions and dire consquences for the future in expediting ,but he can take a month off. He claims this post is to help and inform new people to this industry but he contradicts himself on others posts. There will be changes within Fedex next Febuary that will make him regret taking December off. Greg knows what I am talking about.

[LDB]

I guess the simple answer would be the same every time. The thread you asked about is there because that's what the author of the thread chose to post. I am not the author and can't give you a definitive answer so there's really no reason to be questioning me about it. If there's something in it that violates our terms of service we'll address it immediately, otherwise you'll have to talk directly with the author to get specific details on the post. Please contribute to it if you have something worthwhile to add and if not please move on and enjoy the many other threads offered up.

Leo Bricker, 73's K5LDB
OOIDA Life Member 677319, JOIN NOW
Owner, Panther trucks 5508, 5509, 5641
EO Forum Moderator
----------
Support the entire Constitution, not just the parts you like.

[are12]

Phil,

Your idea of success is very different from ours. We have been in expediting about the same amount of time (as you) but we started as owner operators (in a used truck and within a year and a half bought a new one).

If you have learned anything about expediting, you would realize this is not the time to go home - especially with all the doom and gloom that has been said in the past. We all know that business drops in January so why not get a jump on the new year by staying out til just before Christmas and take a month off then??

How long ago was it that you were telling everyone, now is the time to get out of expediting? Now you want to be an inspiration to wannabee expediter's? I just don't get where you are coming from!

There are many expediter's that don't only own a truck but also run a household on what they earn. To me, they might want to share their experiences on how they manage to do both, with the way the business is going.

Sometimes I get the feeling you post topics just to get a rise out of certain people.

Look, have a nice holiday but some things are better left to your blog.

[davekc]

I agree. Delivery is everything.
The wife and I have been doing the time lately from Aruba.
Who in the %&*%&* cares.
It isn't relevant to anything other than our drivers so why discuss it.








Davekc
owner
23 years
PantherII
EO moderator

[ATeam]

>Phil what kind of goals did you all achieve? I'm just
>curious.

We have had the same goals since we entered the business. They are (1) increase our income, (2) simplify our lives, (3) spend more time together, (4) share a business project, and (5) see the country. All have been achieved each year we have been in the business (entered August, 2003).

These goals were set with our past careers in mind, which makes sense since we set the goals when we were still in those past careers. Now that we are well-settled in this business, goals 2-5 are pretty much taking care of themselves. Increasing our income was goal 1 in the beginning and continued to be through 2007.

Above, you mentioned setting new goals for 2008. We are in the process of doing that now, as we review our year-end numbers and year-ahead plans. I cannot tell you today what our 2008 goals are because I do not know myself.

With our truck to be soon paid for (two to three months until it is fully paid off), 2008 will be a different kind of year for us. We are thinking about a proper, away-from-the-truck vacation, something we have not given ourselves since we got into the business.

Since we don't make money if we don't haul freight, vacation goals and revenue goals conflict. Increased industry involvement that would take us off the road also conflicts (truck shows, conferences, etc.). Those are the kinds of trade-offs we are weighing now.

While the above goals do not address the need to retire, we did take certain actions in 2007 with retirement in mind. Retirement is not a goal for us. It is something we will be forced to do when our health deteriorates to the point where we can no longer haul freight and/or live on the road. Some of the money we made in 2007 was invested with that in mind. We may set some specific retirement-savings goals for 2008. We'll see.

Let me mention two things. First, setting goals has been very helpful to our business success. Doing so helped us know if we were on track or not and what changes needed to be made. Taking the entire month of December off would seem not to support goal 1. But goal 1 also told us we made it by November 30. That gave us the freedom to take December off without feeling guilty about not working.

Second, our goals are exactly that, our goals. To highlight the fact that individual goals are unique to individual expediters (at least for the expeiters that have goals), I started a thread called "How Do We Expedite? Let Us Count The Ways." See:

http://www.expeditersonline.com/dcfo...mID1/6474.html

While I have often advised expediters to set goals, I have never said what one's goals should be...except that business profitability should be one of them. Without profits, an expediting business will not be around long enough to help achieve other goals.

[are12]

<<<I agree. Delivery is everything.
The wife and I have been doing the time lately from Aruba.
Who in the %&*%&* cares.
It isn't relevant to anything other than our drivers so why discuss it.>>>>

Dave,

If you are in Aruba, what are you doing on this site?? Jim wants to know, shouldn't you be out on the beach chasing bearded clams??

[ATeam]

>Phil,
>
>Your idea of success is very different from ours.

And that is as it should be. I would never presume to tell you that your idea of success should be the same as ours.

We have
>been in expediting about the same amount of time (as you)
>but we started as owner operators (in a used truck and
>within a year and a half bought a new one).
>
>If you have learned anything about expediting, you would
>realize this is not the time to go home - especially with
>all the doom and gloom that has been said in the past. We
>all know that business drops in January so why not get a
>jump on the new year by staying out til just before
>Christmas and take a month off then??

Actually, I do not know that the business drops in January...at least not for us. What I do know is two things. I know that industry wide and at our carrier the business slows down. I also know that during the January slowdown, some trucks stay busy. That has been our experience. January has been a strong month for us, not slow.

We also know that December has been one of our weaker months. The mad, pre-Christmas freight rush that we hear other people talking about seems to elude us for some reason; and we are usually a team to stay out until the last possible day before Christmas. Knowing what we know about our own history in Decembers and Januarys, it is our best guess that December is a better month to take off.

>How long ago was it that you were telling everyone, now is
>the time to get out of expediting? Now you want to be an
>inspiration to wannabee expediter's? I just don't get where
>you are coming from!

If you are not prepared to get into or to be in this business, it is the time to get out...especially with a recession looking more and more likely. If you are prepared, expediting is as good a business opportunity. It may not be as good as it was in the so-called good old days, but it is a good opportunity nevertheless.

>There are many expediter's that don't only own a truck but
>also run a household on what they earn. To me, they might
>want to share their experiences on how they manage to do
>both, with the way the business is going.

Exactly! As I said elsewhere in this thread, "These same readers would like very much to hear about other peoples' successes too. I really wish more successful expediters would share their stories and information about how they do what they do."

>Sometimes I get the feeling you post topics just to get a
>rise out of certain people.

Other people have said the same thing and are incorrect. While certain people allow themselves to be set off by some of the things I write, I do not write to set them off. I share what I share because I want people, especially expediter wannabees, to know that successful expediting is indeed possible.

>Look, have a nice holiday but some things are better left to
>your blog.

You have a nice holiday too. (No buts). I hope you can look back on 2007 with pride and ahead to 2008 with confidence and joy.

[davekc]

If you are in Aruba, what are you doing on this site?? Jim wants to know, shouldn't you be out on the beach chasing bearded clams
============================================
Not usually when it is dark. Rain is another downer for a couple of hours.










Davekc
owner
23 years
PantherII
EO moderator

[ATeam]

There will be
>changes within Fedex next Febuary that will make him regret
>taking December off. Greg knows what I am talking about.

At the risk of moving this off topic, RichM, your words about upcoming changes at FedEx raise more questions than they answer. Would you or Greg care to elaborate? What changes are coming? Since you saw fit to mention it, could you say a bit more?

I'm sure I'm not the only FedEx contractor or fleet-owner-truck driver who would like to know what changes are coming in February. Do we have something to worry about that we do not not know about? If so, how did you come to know this while the rest of us do not?

Yes, we are home now, but we can go back in service in minutes if there really is something coming in February that would lead us to regret taking December off. What's up guys? Please share.

[are12]

You're right, it is a little difficult to enjoy the beach at night, especially if it is raining.x( x(

Enjoy your vacation!