This is a posting I did a short time back. Experienced o/o have emphasiized much of this to newbies. Hopefully some will take the advice and use it.
Here are some of the questions a person should ask themselves before jumping into this business.
To start with, a person needs to ask themselve if they are financially able to ride out tough times. How long can you survive on $100 or $200 per week? When your truck needs repairs (and it will), will you have the financial backing to fix it or do you have the mechanical aptitude and tools to do the repairs yourself? Can you sit in a parking lot for 3 or 4 or more days, waiting for dispatch to call? If you are a team, can you sit there with your teammate or spouse without killing each other? Can you turn a load down because you know that there is little chance of getting a load out of the destination area? What kind of support will you get from home? Are you going to hear a lot of "I told you so"? If you have kids at home are they going to understand that you will be gone for extended periods of time and will miss significant events in their lives. Do you have the patience to sit for hours to be loaded or unloaded by people who will have no empathy for the fact that you are paid by the mile and they are paid by the hour? After being awake for 12 to 14 hours, yet having put yourself in the log book as in the sleeper or off duty, will you be able to make that hot run that has to go 600 miles in 10 hours? The dispatcher has a lot more concern for getting that load delivered on time, than he does about your physical well being. It is rare that there will be anyone out there that will genuinely care about your mental or physical health - shippers, dispatchers and receivers are concerned about the load. They do not wish you ill, but they truely do not care. You are your own responsibility, accountable only to yourself.
Those are some of the questions I believe you should consider before you even talk to a recruiter. My observations tell me that a person should not get in the expediting business without first driving for someone else. Sure, you will not make as much money, but then you are not taking any large financial risks. Drive for a while, learn the ropes, talk to other expeditors about their equipment and the companies they drive for. Learn where to get the truck repaired, where the safe and not so safe places are to park, eat etc. Miss a few holidays and special events with the family. Spend three days sitting in a truck stop 1,000 miles from home; missing a child's birthday. Drive the long hours without enough sleep and then sit for 3 hours to be unloaded at some auto plant by some guy making $20.00+ per hour that takes 15 minutes to get ready to go on a half hour break and then takes another 15 minutes trying to retrain himself on what his job is.
I know that people will read this and say to themselves, "that won't happen to me." At least take this advice. If you go off on your own, unless you can pay cash (or a huge downpayment), don't buy a new truck. Buy a decent used vehicle to keep your monthly expenses down. Too many drivers make just enough to pay truck/insurance/fuel and have little left for themselves. Many of the drivers that were posting on this web site one or two years ago are not heard from anymore. I am willing to bet most of them are no longer in the expediting business. I am also confident that the majority lost money and probably their good credit ratings.
When I drive on the open road, I truely enjoy it. But expediting isn't just driving the open road. It is about a lot of things - including how to run a small business. The O/O is a small business person and needs to understand the fundementals of running a business. You can pick up a lot of that while driving for some else. Drive Safe
