Just over 2 yrs ago, I started looking into this industry. I knew what expediting was about, but i didn't know the "in's and outs" , as my tag line says, "i know just enough about this business to get myself into trouble" , and that holds true today!!
I took over a yr to make the decision to enter this business and i owe no one nothing, everything is paid for, and I had money in the bank. Fortunately, the last 6 months of last yr were good to me....the 1st 4 of this yr have not been great, time off, a van accident and large deductable to cover..slow freight.. and not enough miles...i am doin ok, but not what i was even 6 months ago.......
I don't care what business you get into as a business owner, and if you do it in a down economic time, you had better researched it so that you have a more then basic education as to what it woill take to succeed and you had better have a good finanical base to work from to cover ANY and ALL expenses for a minimum of 3 months in good times and 6 months maybe a year in slow times.......that is just good business startup info for ANY BUSINESS, not just the Expediting business.......Right now you can NOT figure on enough cash coming in to pay all of your bills, especially if you are also supporting a household along with the business expenses...its slow out here.
Now, I have said that if you set yourself up right financially to begin with, you can do this, and you can....but would you think starting a business from -0- and then spending your own money from day one for 3-6 months is a smart business decision?? Yea you might survive by Spending all of your "upfront" money, but what have you succeeded at?? There are better ways to spend your money....
One lesson i have learned about this business that i had given thought to, and others (greg for one) talked about , but ran counter to my business dealings, is that you are NOT in total control of your earnings........in all of my other businesses, both past and the ones i still own, I had/have almost total ability to control my income...(ok we all know that we never have complete control, but for the most part, what a person makes is in direct relationship to their work ethic and ability to do what they need to do) BUT, in this business, you have to depend on a bunch of other influences that can determine your income...you can't control all of them.....that can be a problem if you can't adjust, sometimes i feel like pulling my hair out, but its thin enough and i look really bad bald........
So with all of that being said, would I tell you to not get into this business today/ nope, but i'd caution you to make sure you do it right and set yourself up to succeed, and understand that it isn't all in your own hands..........
Some are doing good, alot are just getting by, and still others are leaving...we all have different situations, look at yours and don't just jump, test the waters with your toe 1st.....its chili in here right now..........
