jimby82
Veteran Expediter
Good morning everyone,
After lurking here for several months, I thought I would go ahead, jump in and introduce myself. (I’ll apologize for the length right now!) My name is Jim and I am researching the expediting business as a possible second career for my wife and I. IF we decide expediting is for us, we would be looking at starting no sooner than September 2010. I think 2 years would give us enough time to make an informed decision!
First of all, I am continually amazed and thankful for the amount of excellent advice that is posted on this forum. I realize most posters here are in this business primarily to make a profit. That fact that all of you would take the time and effort to answer all the newbie and wannabe questions speaks volumes about these forums members. Thank you for your patience!
My wife and I are both employed as administrators with the same public school here in northwest Ohio, she as a curriculum director and I as a technology director. We have been working together for almost 7 years now. (Very happily married for 19). At the present, I am 44 and she is “slightly” younger than I am. (She takes great pleasure in reminding me of this fact.) We have three “almost” grown children. Our oldest started college this fall at Bowling Green. Our 2 youngest (twins) are currently Juniors in high school. We planning for that “empty nest” that will happen in two years when the other two head off to college.
We both like our current jobs, (Her more than me I am afraid.) but we would both like to have a little more “freedom” once our children are out of the house. We have both talked about retiring somewhere down the road, selling our house, buying a RV, and seeing the country. The fact is, I don’t want to wait till I am too old to enjoy it! Some recent personal events have reinforced the idea that life is short. That is why I am looking at expediting as a possible career “down the road” a bit. It would potentially give us some of those things “now” without having to wait. I do realize this would first and foremost be a business. The side benefits of more freedom, travel and adventure would be just added bonuses. We are both hard workers. We are not looking for an easy living, but one that gives us a little more control with the possibility of greater success. We are both willing to work hard to achieve our goals, once we figure out what those are!
Soooo…..
At this point, neither of us have our CDLs. I am studying now with the hope of taking the written test within the next month. I am no stranger to the trucking industry though. My father was an O/O for over 30 years and I practically grew up under/over/in a truck. I can remember going with him in his 1963 GMC when I was young enough to stand in the seat with my arm around his neck. Starting in the early 1960’s he owned a series of straight trucks, then moved on to T/Ts in the early 1970’s He was eventually forced to retire due to health reasons in 1995 and passed away in 1997. I am almost positive his last thoughts on this planet were of driving. He truly had driving in his blood. My mother kept the books for Dad, and went with him as often as she could. She even drove from time to time, although she was much more comfortable with driving straight truck vs a tractor / trailer. I think they would have enjoyed expediting!
I drove Dad’s trucks sometimes and helped do most of the PM on all his trucks. (He did not believe in having other people work on the truck if he could do it himself. He was a former Air Force motor pool sergeant and was a very competent mechanic. )Due to my parents being involved in an accident (at home in a car, was not their fault. Another lady went left of center and hit them head on) I took a year and a half off college and bought my own straight truck in 1985. I was mainly hauling hay and straw from Ohio down to the horse farms in Lexington, Ky, and produce back out of Florida and Ga during the summer. My wife grew up around farms, so you know she is no stranger to hard work either!
I guess some would describe us as “boring”. Neither of us drinks (OK the occasional beer or two), smokes or has ever done drugs. We don’t go out much or have an active social life. We are both involved with our church. Our focus the last few years have been our children and their varied sporting and school events. Neither of us have ever had any run-ins with the law and our MVRs are clean as far as I know. (She did have one or two tickets for speeding, but that was a long time ago. The last I think was in 03, but that was for 30 in a 25 in a local speed trap.) For the last 4 years, we have been putting in about 60 – 70 hours a week in at school, but this is by our choice. If something needs doing, we do it.
I have taken everyone’s advice and have been taking the time to look back through the last 2 years or so of the forums. I have been taking notes and bookmarking interesting posts. There is a world of information there! I should say I first found this site through Phil’s blog. (I have read that from beginning to end, and I am really looking forward to meeting Phil and Diane someday. Phil, we are Lutheran also. I too understand the “Crown Him With Many Crowns” symbolism!) I will continue to read and digest the forum. Hopefully, I’ll have something to add from time to time also.
Should we decide expediting is for us, I think we would be looking at trying to get into a C or D unit, probably with one of the larger carriers. (FedEx or Panther but possibly another carrier if the situation was right.) I think it would be wise in our situation to obtain every certification and endorsement available, once we both have our CDLs. This would just open up more opportunities. The advice to drive for a fleet owner first is well taken, and should be decide on this path, we will be looking! (Shameless plug for our services.)
The one thing that has puzzled my when reading the last few years of the forums, has been those newbies or wannabes who want to do as little as possible, but still expect to “get rich” or complain that they are not busy. If we decide to get into this business, it will be an all or nothing proposition for us. At the risk of offending anyone, I tend to see two categories of expeditors posting here; those who make it a “job”, and those who make it a “career”. (I believe that holds true for any industry.) Those who consider it a job look forward to downtime, while those who consider it a career look forward to work time. Those who consider it a job do as little as possible to get by. Those who consider it a career, do everything in the power to assure their own success, even if it means going far above and beyond the “job description”. I hope my wife and I would fall within the latter category.
At this point, I am intrigued by the expediting industry. I think this may prove to be a viable option for my wife and I at some point. I definitely will not jump into something without doing the proper research. I have already seen too many posters here making the mistake of jumping without the proper preparation. We will continue the research over the next year or so. I plan to attend the MATS show in Louisville in March and the Expedite Expo in July. I look forward to any advice anyone is willing to give us while doing our research. One of the best pieces of advice I have read so far is obtain a mentor, and hopefully we will develop that relationship with some of you down the road.
Again, sorry about the length! Thanks to everyone in advance! Now get back to work!
Jim
After lurking here for several months, I thought I would go ahead, jump in and introduce myself. (I’ll apologize for the length right now!) My name is Jim and I am researching the expediting business as a possible second career for my wife and I. IF we decide expediting is for us, we would be looking at starting no sooner than September 2010. I think 2 years would give us enough time to make an informed decision!
First of all, I am continually amazed and thankful for the amount of excellent advice that is posted on this forum. I realize most posters here are in this business primarily to make a profit. That fact that all of you would take the time and effort to answer all the newbie and wannabe questions speaks volumes about these forums members. Thank you for your patience!
My wife and I are both employed as administrators with the same public school here in northwest Ohio, she as a curriculum director and I as a technology director. We have been working together for almost 7 years now. (Very happily married for 19). At the present, I am 44 and she is “slightly” younger than I am. (She takes great pleasure in reminding me of this fact.) We have three “almost” grown children. Our oldest started college this fall at Bowling Green. Our 2 youngest (twins) are currently Juniors in high school. We planning for that “empty nest” that will happen in two years when the other two head off to college.
We both like our current jobs, (Her more than me I am afraid.) but we would both like to have a little more “freedom” once our children are out of the house. We have both talked about retiring somewhere down the road, selling our house, buying a RV, and seeing the country. The fact is, I don’t want to wait till I am too old to enjoy it! Some recent personal events have reinforced the idea that life is short. That is why I am looking at expediting as a possible career “down the road” a bit. It would potentially give us some of those things “now” without having to wait. I do realize this would first and foremost be a business. The side benefits of more freedom, travel and adventure would be just added bonuses. We are both hard workers. We are not looking for an easy living, but one that gives us a little more control with the possibility of greater success. We are both willing to work hard to achieve our goals, once we figure out what those are!
Soooo…..
At this point, neither of us have our CDLs. I am studying now with the hope of taking the written test within the next month. I am no stranger to the trucking industry though. My father was an O/O for over 30 years and I practically grew up under/over/in a truck. I can remember going with him in his 1963 GMC when I was young enough to stand in the seat with my arm around his neck. Starting in the early 1960’s he owned a series of straight trucks, then moved on to T/Ts in the early 1970’s He was eventually forced to retire due to health reasons in 1995 and passed away in 1997. I am almost positive his last thoughts on this planet were of driving. He truly had driving in his blood. My mother kept the books for Dad, and went with him as often as she could. She even drove from time to time, although she was much more comfortable with driving straight truck vs a tractor / trailer. I think they would have enjoyed expediting!
I drove Dad’s trucks sometimes and helped do most of the PM on all his trucks. (He did not believe in having other people work on the truck if he could do it himself. He was a former Air Force motor pool sergeant and was a very competent mechanic. )Due to my parents being involved in an accident (at home in a car, was not their fault. Another lady went left of center and hit them head on) I took a year and a half off college and bought my own straight truck in 1985. I was mainly hauling hay and straw from Ohio down to the horse farms in Lexington, Ky, and produce back out of Florida and Ga during the summer. My wife grew up around farms, so you know she is no stranger to hard work either!
I guess some would describe us as “boring”. Neither of us drinks (OK the occasional beer or two), smokes or has ever done drugs. We don’t go out much or have an active social life. We are both involved with our church. Our focus the last few years have been our children and their varied sporting and school events. Neither of us have ever had any run-ins with the law and our MVRs are clean as far as I know. (She did have one or two tickets for speeding, but that was a long time ago. The last I think was in 03, but that was for 30 in a 25 in a local speed trap.) For the last 4 years, we have been putting in about 60 – 70 hours a week in at school, but this is by our choice. If something needs doing, we do it.
I have taken everyone’s advice and have been taking the time to look back through the last 2 years or so of the forums. I have been taking notes and bookmarking interesting posts. There is a world of information there! I should say I first found this site through Phil’s blog. (I have read that from beginning to end, and I am really looking forward to meeting Phil and Diane someday. Phil, we are Lutheran also. I too understand the “Crown Him With Many Crowns” symbolism!) I will continue to read and digest the forum. Hopefully, I’ll have something to add from time to time also.
Should we decide expediting is for us, I think we would be looking at trying to get into a C or D unit, probably with one of the larger carriers. (FedEx or Panther but possibly another carrier if the situation was right.) I think it would be wise in our situation to obtain every certification and endorsement available, once we both have our CDLs. This would just open up more opportunities. The advice to drive for a fleet owner first is well taken, and should be decide on this path, we will be looking! (Shameless plug for our services.
)The one thing that has puzzled my when reading the last few years of the forums, has been those newbies or wannabes who want to do as little as possible, but still expect to “get rich” or complain that they are not busy. If we decide to get into this business, it will be an all or nothing proposition for us. At the risk of offending anyone
, I tend to see two categories of expeditors posting here; those who make it a “job”, and those who make it a “career”. (I believe that holds true for any industry.) Those who consider it a job look forward to downtime, while those who consider it a career look forward to work time. Those who consider it a job do as little as possible to get by. Those who consider it a career, do everything in the power to assure their own success, even if it means going far above and beyond the “job description”. I hope my wife and I would fall within the latter category.At this point, I am intrigued by the expediting industry. I think this may prove to be a viable option for my wife and I at some point. I definitely will not jump into something without doing the proper research. I have already seen too many posters here making the mistake of jumping without the proper preparation. We will continue the research over the next year or so. I plan to attend the MATS show in Louisville in March and the Expedite Expo in July. I look forward to any advice anyone is willing to give us while doing our research. One of the best pieces of advice I have read so far is obtain a mentor, and hopefully we will develop that relationship with some of you down the road.
Again, sorry about the length! Thanks to everyone in advance! Now get back to work!
Jim
Last edited:
