You've Been Researching This How Long?

sanbomi1

Expert Expediter
Researching
US Army
So, this has been an extremely long journey. As you all know, things change, life happens and not always as we had planned. I started checking into Expedited Trucking around 2006/2007, I know, that’s a long time ago. I went to an evening workshop and I believe it was in Dundee, MI. I also attended my first Expedite Expo at the Roberts Center in Wilmington, OH around 2007/2008. I still had my Class A CDL, drove tractor trailer briefly a few years prior to this. Expeditors Online was a tremendous resource for my research, as was the Expo. I had to accept the results of my research that, for me, as much as I wanted a career in the Expedited Trucking arena, I just couldn’t at that time. I still had a family at home, I would be operating as a solo in either a straight truck or van, the time away from my home responsibilities and, what I felt was a limited potential income operating as a solo, were factors that I used to determine, not now.

Now here we are in 2019. A lot has changed. Obviously I’m a “little” older now. The burning desire to become an Expeditor however has not changed. My wife and I both attended the Expo last year in Lexington, KY. The workshops were fantastic, the round tables allowed us to have some great conversations with drivers, owner operators and fleet owners. The exhibit hall allowed us to get in some trucks and, especially for my wife, get a first had experience of what these trucks are like.

You Tube has also been a great resource for us. There are some people doing some great work out there to include The Crafty Trucker, The Trucking Couple and My Life’s Ventures. We had the privilege of meeting Jason and Heather from The Crafty Trucker at the Expo, got our picture taken with them and ended up in their VLOG!!

Why are we still looking into this? For me, the desire has always been there and has never decreased. I have always loved to drive, to do the road trip and have a desire to work for myself. Driving for a fleet owner fulfills these needs with the opportunity to learn the business without the risk of an initial equipment investment. I want to be successful in this business and, obviously, the fleet owner does as well. My wife and I love being and working together. She has the same desires as I do about being successful in what we do. She is excited about this possible career move, a bit nervous about the driving time, but we will both become more comfortable as time goes by and we have some experience under our belts.

Preparation for this possible career change paralleled what we wanted to do with our lives regardless. We sold a business we were working together (I was also working another full time job). We downsized our home, are debt free, and have 1 adult daughter who will be moving out on her own shortly. We are at the point now that we could leave our current jobs with a minimum of a 2 week notice (we both believe that is the right thing to do).

Now what? Well, we are continuing to prepare. My wife will be obtaining her Class B CDL this spring. We will both add or obtain as many qualifications as we can prior to this move (passports, TWIC card, enhanced licenses, HAZMAT and Tanker endorsements). We are going to be as prepared as we can be, that’s our plan. What if we don’t pursue Expedited Trucking, isn’t all this preparation a waist? We say, certainly not. What would be a waist is to jump right into a venture such as this without the adequate research, discussion, agreement with your spouse and qualifications to make you as successful as can be. There is without a doubt a learning curve that will take place but we believe that the learning curve may not be as great or that we, thru our research, may have at least some idea of what to do or where to go for advice when the need arises. If we decide not to pursue expediting, we are out a few dollars for qualifications, but we have the qualifications (you never know). We had a great trip to the Expo in 2018. Met great people, enjoyed ourselves tremendously. If we decide not to do this we will be comfortable with our decision because we know we made it with the backing of our research, we made the decision on what is best for us and we will move on not having that doubt in the back of our minds if we did the right thing because it will be right for us.

I have said all of this to say that I encourage everyone to do their research. What is right for one person isn’t necessarily right for the next. This has been a long journey for us, but we’re ok with that. We will do what is right for us. We have confidence that if we choose to do this, we will be successful. Our fleet owner will be successful with the truck we drive. This isn’t just holding a steering wheel, this is a business and decisions need to be made on how best to make that business a success. We need to take care of our customers, we always need to arrive safe, on time and with the freight undamaged. We need to operate efficiently, maintain the equipment and ensure we, and those around us are safe. This is a huge responsibility. None of these responsibilities should be taken lightly nor should the decision to pursue this as a career.

Has this journey of ours taken a long time? Maybe by some standards, but for us, I don’t think so. Stay tuned.
 

Solar

Expert Expediter
Owner/Operator
They’ll be out of the business within a week.

:p

Jokes aside, congratulations. I know that feeling of excitement.
 

sanbomi1

Expert Expediter
Researching
US Army
Hi Solar,

I hesitated to post this. I don't typically post much at all on any social media, I just don't like how so many posts, or comments to them, take off on a negative tangent. "They’ll be out of the business within a week"...I don't think so. As you stated, "jokes aside", so I accept it as just that, an all in fun statement.

My reason for sharing our journey was to maybe help some to understand it's ok to take some time in making such a big, life changing decision. I needed to put this on hold for many years, I had to accept that. Many times things don't work out the way we think they should. Things happen, life happens, and we all need to make decisions that are best for us and our families. Too many times I read here where people are jumping right into this business with, what seems, as little knowledge, little time studying and little preparation. Too many times I read where someone has purchased a truck or van and, now what? Well, in my opinion, most have gotten the cart before the horse. Drive for a fleet owner, learn the business without as much risk, prepare yourself for truck ownership if that is what you desire just don't rush it.

My post was only to try and help. That maybe some would pause, take a step back and make sure that they have done their research, that this is the life that they want to pursue.

Best regards,

Mike
 

sanbomi1

Expert Expediter
Researching
US Army
Had some great conversations with some great expediters this week. Learned alot and am excited. You never stop learning.
 

Lawrence

Founder
Staff member
So, this has been an extremely long journey. As you all know, things change, life happens and not always as we had planned. I started checking into Expedited Trucking around 2006/2007, I know, that’s a long time ago. I went to an evening workshop and I believe it was in Dundee, MI. I also attended my first Expedite Expo at the Roberts Center in Wilmington, OH around 2007/2008. I still had my Class A CDL, drove tractor trailer briefly a few years prior to this. Expeditors Online was a tremendous resource for my research, as was the Expo. I had to accept the results of my research that, for me, as much as I wanted a career in the Expedited Trucking arena, I just couldn’t at that time. I still had a family at home, I would be operating as a solo in either a straight truck or van, the time away from my home responsibilities and, what I felt was a limited potential income operating as a solo, were factors that I used to determine, not now.

Now here we are in 2019. A lot has changed. Obviously I’m a “little” older now. The burning desire to become an Expeditor however has not changed. My wife and I both attended the Expo last year in Lexington, KY. The workshops were fantastic, the round tables allowed us to have some great conversations with drivers, owner operators and fleet owners. The exhibit hall allowed us to get in some trucks and, especially for my wife, get a first had experience of what these trucks are like.

You Tube has also been a great resource for us. There are some people doing some great work out there to include The Crafty Trucker, The Trucking Couple and My Life’s Ventures. We had the privilege of meeting Jason and Heather from The Crafty Trucker at the Expo, got our picture taken with them and ended up in their VLOG!!

Why are we still looking into this? For me, the desire has always been there and has never decreased. I have always loved to drive, to do the road trip and have a desire to work for myself. Driving for a fleet owner fulfills these needs with the opportunity to learn the business without the risk of an initial equipment investment. I want to be successful in this business and, obviously, the fleet owner does as well. My wife and I love being and working together. She has the same desires as I do about being successful in what we do. She is excited about this possible career move, a bit nervous about the driving time, but we will both become more comfortable as time goes by and we have some experience under our belts.

Preparation for this possible career change paralleled what we wanted to do with our lives regardless. We sold a business we were working together (I was also working another full time job). We downsized our home, are debt free, and have 1 adult daughter who will be moving out on her own shortly. We are at the point now that we could leave our current jobs with a minimum of a 2 week notice (we both believe that is the right thing to do).

Now what? Well, we are continuing to prepare. My wife will be obtaining her Class B CDL this spring. We will both add or obtain as many qualifications as we can prior to this move (passports, TWIC card, enhanced licenses, HAZMAT and Tanker endorsements). We are going to be as prepared as we can be, that’s our plan. What if we don’t pursue Expedited Trucking, isn’t all this preparation a waist? We say, certainly not. What would be a waist is to jump right into a venture such as this without the adequate research, discussion, agreement with your spouse and qualifications to make you as successful as can be. There is without a doubt a learning curve that will take place but we believe that the learning curve may not be as great or that we, thru our research, may have at least some idea of what to do or where to go for advice when the need arises. If we decide not to pursue expediting, we are out a few dollars for qualifications, but we have the qualifications (you never know). We had a great trip to the Expo in 2018. Met great people, enjoyed ourselves tremendously. If we decide not to do this we will be comfortable with our decision because we know we made it with the backing of our research, we made the decision on what is best for us and we will move on not having that doubt in the back of our minds if we did the right thing because it will be right for us.

I have said all of this to say that I encourage everyone to do their research. What is right for one person isn’t necessarily right for the next. This has been a long journey for us, but we’re ok with that. We will do what is right for us. We have confidence that if we choose to do this, we will be successful. Our fleet owner will be successful with the truck we drive. This isn’t just holding a steering wheel, this is a business and decisions need to be made on how best to make that business a success. We need to take care of our customers, we always need to arrive safe, on time and with the freight undamaged. We need to operate efficiently, maintain the equipment and ensure we, and those around us are safe. This is a huge responsibility. None of these responsibilities should be taken lightly nor should the decision to pursue this as a career.

Has this journey of ours taken a long time? Maybe by some standards, but for us, I don’t think so. Stay tuned.

Welcome to EO! Hope to meet you at the Expedite Expo in FT Wayne, Indiana!
 

sanbomi1

Expert Expediter
Researching
US Army
Thank you Lawrence. We are registered to attend the Expo and will be attending if we aren't on the road by then. We would enjoy meeting you and discussing
the industry.

Best regards,

Mike
 

sanbomi1

Expert Expediter
Researching
US Army
Renting a 26' straight truck for tomorrow so my wife can get some experience driving a bigger truck before she does her CDL training next week. I know she'll do great. One step at a time. Our goal is to begin this new career around August. We have a fleet owner who we have been working with. Yes, this is becoming more real as each day passes. Exciting and yet a little bit nervous.
 

LDB

Veteran Expediter
Retired Expediter
I've always told everyone expediting is a career, just like plumber or electrician or any other. You don't decide on a weekend to be one of those and start on Monday. You get the proper education and background and then enter the career. That leads to success. I tell everyone the minimum education for this career is to read back 3 full years in the General, Newbies and Recruiter forums reading every single thread title. For every thread that sounds even remotely applicable to this career you read every post. Yes, there will be a lot of junk in there, but there will be a lot of valuable education as well. That education will lead to having many new questions and knowing enough to know what to ask. Only then should there be an attempt at this career.

You have obviously done the work and the learning that should be done prior to starting this career. You should have no trouble succeeding. You'll probably hit plenty of bumps along the way but you'll be able to handle them. Congratulations on doing the research and studying that should be done. Good luck in your new career.
 

sanbomi1

Expert Expediter
Researching
US Army
So, my wife and I are still together after she attended my 1 day straight truck training course. We're even still talking to each other!! We actually had a great day yesterday. I thought she did fantastic. Rented a 26 foot straight truck from Ryder (it had air brakes which surprised me). I drove it to an empty parking lot where she was able to get in the driver's seat and get a feel for the truck, turning radius, brake feel, did some backing exercises then had her hit the road. She drove about 30 miles on a two lane road to where we live, had her back into a dock at a store by our house, she did great. Had her drive around town doing a lot of left and right hand turns then we found another empty parking lot where I set out some cones and had her backing into our pretend dock. Had her do some straight line backing and then some alley type docking. Helped her a few times then she was on her own. Stressed the importance of GOAL (get out and look) which she did. It was good training and a fun day for both of us. She has her Class B CDL training next week and I wanted her to have at least some experience in the type of truck she will be driving. I want her to have one less thing to stress about during her training. I believe with her now having some time behind the wheel of the same type truck she will be training and testing in will give her sense of comfort allowing her to better focus on all aspects of her training. We continue moving forward towards our expediting goal, one step at a time.
 
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