101 Ways To Double Your Income

[dhalltoyo]

Another truck sold and a new chapter begins.

On April 8th I will board a plane headed for Puerto Princesa in the Philippines. God has truly blessed and last year I generated more income than in the previous two years combined; therefore, I have reached a plateau that will allow me to retire a couple years earlier than planned.

Several folks have asked me to consider writing a book that would be a help to newbies and veterans alike. In fact, the person who bought my truck already operates 10 units and during our negotiations I agreed to disclose what I had learned about expediting. They drove 3 hours to meet me at my hotel and spent two days with me. Many times during the course of our discussions I would hear, "I never knew that," over and over again. On several of their units I showed them how they could save over $1500 a year and I produced the documentation to verify this claim. Could you use an additional $1500? The answer is obvious.

As I will have plenty of free time, once I am settled into my new home, I will begin the task of organizing my thoughts and notes. If the requests from my fellow expediters to move forward with this project remain constant, I will begin compiling the information.

I wish everyone the very best. You have all been a blessing to me. Stay safe!

 

[LDB]

I'd certainly welcome an increase in income even if not a doubling. Keep us posted.

 

[Brisco]

Wasn't there a lady driver here on the board some 5-6 years ago that was going to write a book also that covered this same information/concept/ideas/opinions??

While I'm not out there as an Expediter, nor have I ever been, the old addage still goes like this, "what works for others may not work for all". Same goes for the LTL/HotShot Hauling and Auto Hauling industry too.

Would I pay $$$ for a "Booklet" that covers how to make more $$$ in the Expediting Industry??? Nope. Expediting is probably not that hard to figure out once 1 is out there. I would probably be a very successful Expediter just from what I've learned here on this board, and other sites online, over the last 10 plus years. I'll start buying books again when I decide to give Open Heart Surgery a try.

 

[dhalltoyo]

I too have gathered helpful information here on EO.

But successful and financially sound business people do not share their knowledge for free.

Hence, that is why I did not post pictures of the inside of my latest truck. Those designs are the culmination of many years of thought, trial and error. Mistakes for which I paid the bills. Nor did I reveal certain aspects of the truck's design as I went through three other trucks to finally acquire the most economically efficient design.

Additionally, I do not offer opinions regarding air charter services, because I do not own any aircraft and have no working knowledge of that business. I do have an excellent track record as an expediter. I have been able to purchase four new vehicles in the past 5 years and have never been upside down at the point of sale. In fact, I have made a profit on every one of them. Why? The purchaser was willing to compensate me for my sweat equity and the tips I passed along to them were beneficial to their success. One person has only been in the business for two years and has now added two additional trucks to his fleet after starting with the first one that he bought from me.

Thank you Leo for you encouragement. I consider it an honor coming from someone who is actually an expediter and has been in the trenches.

 

[layoutshooter]

I hope you sell a zillion books and do well with this project. More power to you!! I wish I knew what I was doing so I could do better!

 

[ATeam]

I too have gathered helpful information here on EO.

But successful and financially sound business people do not share their knowledge for free.

I am a successful and financially sound business person and I share my knowldege for free almost every day. That's part of how I came to be a successful and financially sound business person. You give and you get.

 

[dhalltoyo]

Brother,

I chased the rainbow for years and after much blood, sweat and tears I found the pot of gold.

Obviously, I would like to cover the expenses of printing and marketing such information, but I am not looking to make a profit. It is my way of saying thank you to those who have helped me.

Moreover, I am not coming back from my island paradise so this project would fill my days while my fiancée is working until she retires.

 

[chefdennis]

Absolutely Rev! While I have on been out here just short of 3 yrs, I feel i am doing pretty good. But as one who also runs a few other businesses and has also run a few others into the ground, I have made mone and lost alot of money, so one is never to old or in one industry too long to learn from those that have been and are successful..By all means, move forward with your project, I'd gladly buy your book.

Enjoy the next period in your life as you follow in the direction our Lord leads you, he does have a plan for us all...Enjoy!!

 

[dhalltoyo]

Phil,

I once had the opportunity to meet Minnesota Fats.

During our conversation, I asked him to help me with my game.

He said, "Would you invest $500 if you could make double that today?"

I said, "absolutely."

He spent about two hours helping me to improve my game.

I went home and increased my winnings to the point where I could not get a game within 50 miles of my hometown. Basically, the investment allowed me to become more successful at an accelerated rate.

It has taken me 5 years to crack the nut as an expediter. The information would allow folks to hit the ground running. And had you offered me that information for a fee some 5 years ago, I would have gladly accepted your offer, because I knew you were successful.

"A laborer is worthy of his hire."

I will send you some pictures from the beach at El Nido.

 

[ATeam]

Brother,

I chased the rainbow for years and after much blood, sweat and tears I found the pot of gold.

Obviously, I would like to cover the expenses of printing and marketing such information, but I am not looking to make a profit. It is my way of saying thank you to those who have helped me.

Moreover, I am not coming back from my island paradise so this project would fill my days while my fiancée is working until she retires.

If saying thank you is your goal, that can be done by publishing your info (brochure, book, photos, whatever) online and making them available without charge to anyone who wishes to download it. By using free internet space your cost would be zero or near zero. Marketing would be unecessary beyond making sure search engines can find your content.

Publishing in this Open Forum a link to your work would likely reach the industry people you wish to thank. For those not reached, you could send links directly.

It can be very satisfying to give back to the industry that has given you so much. That's part of why I do my daily blog. Diane and I learned a great deal from other expediters in our early years and continue to do so. It provides a warm fuzzy feeling when expediter wannabees and seasoned expediters alike tell me they enjoy and learn from my blog.

It would be a simple matter for you to do the same and it can be done at little or no cost.

 

[BillChaffey]

I'm still waitng on a book on 101 ways "How not to lose your income"

 

[layoutshooter]

I'm still waitng on a book on 101 ways "How not to lose your income"

LOL!!! I had to expand it to 1001 ways! It will be done soon!

 

[robh2]

Rev, just sent you a private message.

 

[blizzard2014]

I already tried to do something similar through craigslist advertising and only responses I got were "how can you make 70k a year in a cargo van!" I had more skeptical people replying to my ad than interested business people. It's just like the people who sell the how to books late at night. They don't tell you that they are only rich because millions of people are buying their books. Why would someone who is making a killing in a certain market sell someone their information and create more compatition for themselves.
Most people write books because they can make more off the books than they can by doing the actual work.

I'm gonna get a thing going soon once I get the green light to go into canada and do unplacarded hazmat in my cargo van. I am going to give everyone the information on how to start their own company with phone numbers and people to contact to make it easy for them to do so. I want there to be more independents and small carriers out here by the end of this year. That would work well, but not selling it in a book. A good way to get this info out there, Rev is to put it all on a blog and add a donations tab where people can leave you donations once they discover the usefulness of your years of information. I've thought about doing that for some time now.

You've got a good thing with the design of your truck. One of our mutual friends has described it to me and I think you could make money if you designed these types of vehicles for other people. You can be like a custom upfitter for people who want an alternative to the sprinter. Just patent your design and create a sub name for the truck. Good luck man.

 

[cheri1122]

Good luck in your endeavors, Reverend, I hope you get all that you deserve in the future.

 

[davekc]

I am happy for you with your future retirement plans. At the same time kind of disappointed with your view of others.
This quote specifically.
"But successful and financially sound business people do not share their knowledge for free"

That is not a fair assessment. Your very designs were a compilation of ideas acquired right here on EO from other experienced expediters. Many here have spent years sharing advise and helping others to be successful which you have benefited from and were here long before you were even in this business. Many offered advise dealing with a specific carriers all the way to finding loads for other members. Which I personally have done, and never took a penny from a member in doing so. I or many others could have done a book, website, blog, or whatever for a profit. It isn't about that.
Never ASSUME, that those "successful and sound business people" aren't willing to share the ideas and knowledge for a cost.
I share in Phil's thoughts (almost frightning) in how you could provide your helpful thoughts.
Again, I hope you have achieved your financial goals and enjoy your retirement.

 

[Steady Eddie]

Is there really a market for a book? There are some expediters out there that will not buy a shower, much less a book. If there were a million or two expediters then I would say you have a small market for a how to book. But heck, good luck on it, let us know about any updates....

 

[ATeam]

Between my posts here, my blog, my web site and articles written for Expedite NOW, EO and others, I have probably written three times the content that would go into a book about expediting.

Certain people have suggested that I write such a book and have even offered significant support in publishing and marketing it. But it is not a front burner project because I believe it would be a lot of work for little money. With less effort and more fun, I can share my facts, news and views online.

Is there a market for such a book? There is but it is limited. I have seen two books written about expediting that were written by expediters. Both were poorly done. Both failed. And as far as I know, both authors washed out of the business.

A truly well written book that is written for expediter wannabees and newbies would sell a few copies over time. There is a continuing flow people who research the expediting opportunity. They would be the ones most likely to purchase a book that lays everything out in one place.

It is often suggested that newbies read two years of old Open Forum posts. That's good advice but the posts are random and chaotic. It takes effort to dig out the good info that is there and people totally new to the business will have to climb a significant learning curve before they are able to distinguish the good from the bad. A book's value to them is not in getting information that cannot be found elsewhere. The value is in organizing the information into useful and convenient form and filtering out the bad.

Years ago, it was rumored, falsely, that I was a newbie who had plans to compile information off EO into a book and profit from what other people had freely shared. Now, when the Reverend announces plans to produce a book (or some other kind of publication), people are voicing the same objection.

Those objections are off base. First of all, even if such a book is brought to print, the profits, if any, would be small. Second, it takes a tremendous amount of work to write a book. Posting a few paragraphs here is easy. I don't even have to proofread them. Writing something for actual publication is a whole 'nother ball game. No one should begrudge a writer payment for very hard work that goes into writing a book.

Tom Brokaw wrote a wonderful book called The Greatest Generation. In it he told the stories of the people on the front lines and at home who helped the U.S. fight and win World War II. He identified and praised their character traits and accomplishments.

I presume that Brokaw made a handsome profit from this book, but he did not fight in the war and he did not create new stories. He only told the stories of other people who produced facts and results with their actions on the ground.

The value Brokaw created was not for the people he wrote about (though they were honored in a non-financial way by being recognized). Brokaw did not even develop new content. Most of the stories told in his book had already been told in other places and publications. The value Brokaw created was for readers like me who found his book worthy of purchase. Readers saw fit to buy the book and thereby compensate the author.

So too would it be for a writer (expediter or not) who wrote a good book about expediting and the people who do it. The deal is not between the writer and the people whose stories he or she writes and information he shares. The deal is between the writer and the readers who buy the book.

Back when Diane and I began researching the industry in 2002, we eagerly read every word of every Open Forum post going back two years. Yet had a good book about expediting existed then, we would have gladly paid the asking price to own a copy. And we would have done so without giving a second thought to how the writer acquired his or information or to the propriety of the writer profiting from the work.

I don't know of a single fact ever published on the Open Forum that could not have been learned elsewhere. The forum is not an exclusive domain. People who want to keep their trade secrets secret do not publish them here. And, frankly, there are few if any trade secrets that would be of value to a wannabee or new expediter. This is a straightforward business. There are no secrets to success in this business. There are just the things successful people do.

The info posted in the Open Forum is of financial value only to the people who actually use it in their businesses. If a writer sets out to organize the information into a more convenient and useful form in a book, and if profits are earned in return for that service, I say more power to him or her.

 

[Ragman]

Thanks Phil,
That's all i can say about the time and effort you put into writting your blogs.

I wish i could put into words my thoughts as well as some of the posters on EO, but sometimes my thoughts get all mumbled together and I lose track of what I was writting.
Anyways, I find it a whole lot easier to research and read old posts and follow along with the conversations regarding this business.

Even though I am not yet on the road with you guys, I feel I have learned a lot so when the time comes to get out there I will be ready.

Having a book does not give me the opportunity to read other views on a subject.

Keep up the good work.
Dave

 

[xiggi]

Many people make a good living selling information. The most successful ones create a market for those products by creating a name for themselves and develop a demand for those products by giving away FOR FREE some information in their specialty market. By doing this they establish a reputation as a knowledgeable expert in their field, create a following and thus a demand for their products and or service.

For example take, I think his name is Kevin Rutherford on the sirrius Road Dog network. He hosts his show on being more successful in trucking giving away much info for free on the show, he also created and gives away for free his fuel gauges website which helps people save money. By doing this he is able to sell himself as an expert, hosting well priced seminars, creating dvds while doing so and makes money selling those on the back end. Also because he has created a name for himself as an expert he is paid well to consult with large fleets and to do educational seminars for their drivers.