It's a Team's Life

Mentoring

Mentoring

We have been doing some planning for what our retirement might look like. As we get older we are finding that we are not enjoying the cold weather that home has during the Winter. We had visited some friends in Florida earlier this year and found the area to be very nice; however, we do not want to buy another house. After talking with other drivers about our dilemma we were shown a much less expensive option while keeping us near the neighborhood that we like. Over Memorial Day weekend we took the plunge and bought into a RV spot. We are officially snowbirds now.

You might be wondering what does this have to do with my topic of mentoring?! Mentoring comes in many forms. Mentoring can be as simple as one conversation or as complicated as helping a truck driving team grow their new business. Having a single conversation with a truck driving team that knew so much more about Florida than we could ever know gave us the help we needed to make a financially responsible decision.

Have you mentored new truck drivers or new business owners? Do you feel that you could never be a mentor? I am here to tell you that mentoring comes in all shapes and sizes. All of your trucking and business experience is valuable information that a new truck driver or new business owner needs from you. All it takes is a little time and answering questions. 

I have been mentoring two different teams this year. One team is very experienced in trucking and business. They just moved companies and were in need of how to navigate the processes at the new company. I have helped them learn how to get loads, understand the payment structure as well as show them how to work smarter rather than harder.

The other team I am mentoring is not only starting with a new company but for the first time is starting a new business. This team is very experienced in trucking; however, they have no experience in running a business. They have never had to get their own work as they were accustomed to having loads dispatched to them. They do not understand that being leased on to a company is something completely different than being employees. They did not know their numbers. They have such a huge learning curve that I have been talking to them several times a week. I feel confident that they know their numbers now. They are starting to understand that the rates they are being quoted on loads are not the amounts that will be moved to their bank account. They are still struggling to get loads that will pay them enough to meet their goals; however, I am committed to getting them to where they want to be. While mentoring may sound challenging, there is such satisfaction in helping others.

Here’s to millions of safe, profitable and MENTORING miles.

Kelly Plumb