50,000 Miles, WAS IT WORTH IT ALL?
- Thread starter skyraider
- Start date
50K mile is not worth it IF one has all them expenses....yes you'd need about 100k to live...
As you know how it goes on here..."worth it" is a very subjective term and you'll get 100's of different variations...
So u had a bad year,,50k miles and a buck a mile equals 50,000 bucks gross in a cargo van. Less food,breakdown expenses, gas a least 11,000 bucks, there was xmas,birthday gifts,dental,maybe a medical thrown in there, clothes, nicknacks,oh and are u paying rent,hmmm,,,guess what U REALLY DIDNT MAKE ANYTHING, forgot to mention are u making a van payment and oil changes,,,,WAS IT WORTH IT?
U really need a 100,000 miles to say u make money IMHO.
I'm confused. You're talking about 50,000 miles in a year in a cargo van, which is basically just over 1000 miles per week (if you consider 2 weeks of vacation and a week of slowdown during Christmas), which equates to $50K gross.. and then subtracting expenses and wondering if it was worth it.
Then you're mentioning food, xmas, gifts, dental, clothes, knickknacks, and rent, which aren't expenses to your business, they're costs of living.
No wonder you don't know whether it was worth it. Hire a bookkeeper and a tax professional. If you mix up business and personal, you won't know whether you're living above your means in your personal life, or whether you're not earning enough revenue to sustain your business and meet your own income expectations.
Don't so confused...look BIG picture....after all is said and done...can one live a life doing 50,000 miles....
Don't so confused...look BIG picture....after all is said and done...can one live a life doing 50,000 miles....
Well that's the thing. If people don't do accurate accounting so they can review in detail exactly what's what, they aren't going to know the answer to that.
Many times a newbie will ask if they can count on an average of 1000 miles per week, and they are told they can't count on that. They can't count on anything really.
Considering every expediter has their own ways of doing things, it could very well be that the 50,000 miles was based on only 38 weeks of being available, or turning down piles of loads even though in service, or just saying no for one reason or another. It could be that one expediter pays attention to fuel mileage while another is heavy footed on the gas pedal. One might have an outrageously expensive vehicle payment while another got a great deal on a used model and paid cash. Some have lifestyles demanding a certain level of personal income while others might have a pension or a wife supporting them and whatever they might make is considered gravy.
Unless an expediter is able to look at meaningful financial reports over a period of time, they're not going to know whether it's the wrong business for them, whether their expenses in a certain area might be able to be greatly reduced, whether their carrier just sucks, whether they're just poor money managers, or what changes could be made to improve things. They're just expediting in the dark, and their perceptions of whether they're successful by their own standards may be completely wrong.
at least 7 out of 10 fail in this business for the above reason..there is a very high failure rate because most look at as something between jobs or just a pension top up...as long as they make their green fees...
as I said earlier
greg334
Veteran Expediter
Thanks Pjjjj
Yep sure can ... in a truck ... with higher fuel costs and other things.
The failure rate isn't JUST because of bad accounting practices, but the mindset of the person who just don't get the following statement;
Success is only derived from the company. The company will allow you to be successful, no one else can do that.
ONCE this has been entrenched into their minds, burned in, then they can look at their finances.
As Steve in another thread said, this isn't rocket science, it is simple and easy work. The hard work is actually getting a grip on your life which many of the "old timers" or "seasoned" people here seem to forget that they had to adapt to this work.
AS I have "preached" before, ask yourself about your goals and then get the right tools BEFORE you go out and apply for this work.
OntarioVanMan; said:Don't so confused...look BIG picture....after all is said and done...can one live a life doing 50,000 miles....
Yep sure can ... in a truck ... with higher fuel costs and other things.
OntarioVanMan; said:
The failure rate isn't JUST because of bad accounting practices, but the mindset of the person who just don't get the following statement;
Success is only derived from the company. The company will allow you to be successful, no one else can do that.
ONCE this has been entrenched into their minds, burned in, then they can look at their finances.
As Steve in another thread said, this isn't rocket science, it is simple and easy work. The hard work is actually getting a grip on your life which many of the "old timers" or "seasoned" people here seem to forget that they had to adapt to this work.
AS I have "preached" before, ask yourself about your goals and then get the right tools BEFORE you go out and apply for this work.
The carrier may 'allow' you enough viable opportunities maintain a profitable business, but they don't have control over your expenses, or whether you choose to take advantage of the opportunities presented.
Whether the vehicle is paid for or not, the accounting should accrue an amount in there to show the vehicle is a cost of doing business. terryandrene used what I thought was a good, simple method - the purchase cost spread over however many months/years one expects to get out of the vehicle. If all things are accounted for, it presents a clear picture which can show some aren't as profitable as they thought, while others might be more profitable than they thought. Cash flow and profitability are 2 separate animals.
What one chooses to spend their income on, is separate again. For example, I would imagine that if someone had a job and with their after-tax earnings, all of their meals were purchased at take-out places or restaurants, instead of grocery shopping and preparing their own, it would add up to a large chunk of their earnings going to food. And that has nothing to do with how well someone's business is doing or how many miles one requires to be profitable enough to be considered successful.
Well all answers/comments are good. 18 wheeler drivers, st truck drivers, and cargo van drivers all have a different set of rules for living, spending etc. U blow an engine in an 18 wheeler, 15 to 20 k bucks , sprinter blown motor 12,000 bucks, van engine 3 to 6k, all the above are estimates, not counting extras. So we all live in a different world of expenses and earnings. An 18 wheeler driver may earn enough to get a new engine, I have no clue or a sprinter driver may have enough cash on hand,,I know as a cargo van driver, I dont have enough money in the bank for a new engine at the moment, maybe 1/2 that amount. Its an expensive profession in the long run and the miles have to be there to make it. If ur running only 50,000 miles a year or less, u need to be running for 2 companies to cover ur fanny IMHO.
Drive less, make more..
..if you'd be getting $1.50 a mile you would make it....
chefdennis
Veteran Expediter
I have to ask, who is only driving 50,000 LOADED miles a yr!?!? In the 3 yrs i have been doing this, i have never run anywhere close to only 50,000 miles and I made over 50 grand the 1st yr and I didn't start until August..and took 5 days a month off...
Only 50,000 loaded miles and only $50 grand...those are both goofy numbers and I wouldn't even consider doing this for those numbers....and I have only worked for 1 carrier at a time and only 2 carriers in that time...
Only 50,000 loaded miles and only $50 grand...those are both goofy numbers and I wouldn't even consider doing this for those numbers....and I have only worked for 1 carrier at a time and only 2 carriers in that time...
purgoose10
Veteran Expediter
I agree with Chef, the numbers don,t ad up. 50k in dollars & 50k miles?? How do you do that? To me it looks like someone only worked 4 mo's or so.
I agree with Chef, the numbers don,t ad up. 50k in dollars & 50k miles?? How do you do that? To me it looks like someone only worked 4 mo's or so.
I thought the linked thread below was a pretty reasonable thread with some posts from pretty seasoned expediters, although the info conflicts with what you guys are saying. How do you explain that?
http://www.expeditersonline.com/forum/newbies-paradise-forum/45316-pay-van-o-o.html#post411602
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Never being a whiz at math, it still seems to me that fifty thousand dollars for fifty thousand miles is a DOLLAR a mile.
chefdennis
Veteran Expediter
No one is saying that $50 grand for 50,000 miles isn't a buck a mile or that it isn't good money..and yes with the breakdown that Turtle gave is about right..My point is, I wouldn't do this for only 50,000 mile and $50,000 grand a yr....The OP used those numbers to make a point..what i tried to point out was it wasn't realistic, at least for someone trying to make a living doing this..unless you do it part time...I did over $83,000 last yr and will do more this yr and the chance are good I won't drive the miles that equate to a $1.00 a mile...it will be over that....
