It's a Team's Life
So you want to be an Expediter?
We decided we wanted to get into expediting as a husband wife team and it took us about two years to prepare.
Our first step was to spend hours reading the Expediters Online Forums and absorbing everything we could. We read about all sizes of vehicles with all companies. In a short period of time we determined that we wanting in a D Unit straight truck or a truck that was 40' long and could haul 13,000 lbs. We continued to read and discuss with each other posts with tips on how to succeed once we made the leap.
Next we attended the Expedite Expo to talk with recruiters, truck salesman, and to drivers. We spent two days taking a plethora of notes and talking till we about lost our voices. All of the workshops were attended and more questions were asked. Those two days were a blur of making new friends, learning more about expediting, and determining which carrier would fit us the best.
Once we got home the notes were organized and we decided
that expediting was in our future.
With
this decision made we knew we needed to sell our house in southwest Kansas to
get nearer to an interstate.
We went
from a three-bedroom ranch house on seven acres to a very small apartment in
Saint Louis, MO.
Basically we sold
everything and put that money away till we were ready to buy another house.
I also started getting our finances in order and perfecting my online banking abilities. The bills were gone over to see what could be paid on line and what I would need to keep track of so that we would not be late. We started gathering truck "stuff". A truck friendly GPS was a must as well as a port-a-potty. A smaller printer, scanner, copier that is wireless is also a must. A small file box is also necessary to keep important papers in and also to keep track of receipts. This box is basically my desk and I keep my pens, envelopes, stamps, and necessary paperwork contained here. Another must is a waterproof-fireproof-lock box to keep important documents in and I keep some spare cash in here for emergencies.
I would recommend anyone that is looking at getting into expediting that does not have truck experience go to work for a fleet owner first to determine if this is a good fit. We had previous experience in the truckload sector of trucking and knew that we enjoyed living on the road and that would transfer to trucking so we bought a truck. Next came orientation and that first load.....
Bob & Linda Caffee
TeamCaffee

Saint Louis MO
Expediters since January 2005
Expediting isn't just trucking, it's a lifestyle; 

Expediting isn't just a lifestyle, it's an adventure;

Expediting isn't just an adventure, it's a job;

Expediting isn't just a job, it's a business.