Three and a half years ago Diane and I were in your shoes; white collar people with no previous trucking experience considering the expediting opportunity.
Why quit so-called good jobs for expediting? In our case, we would rather try and fail in our 40's than sit around at age 70 and regret that we never tried.
It was not a blind leap. Thorough research and good financial preparation enabled us to jump in and do well from the first day.
I urge you to explore the FedEx White Glove opportunity. Your corporate background will be an asset in this work where customer service and interpersonal skills are especially important.
I think it is fair to say White Glove trucks, especially reefer-equipped ones, and fully-credentialled drivers get in and out of California easier than most other expediter trucks. The East coast is busy for virtually all expediting companies.
By way of example, we have been in and out of California three times in the last three months. We're on a run out of there as I write this and with predispatches we know we'll be back in CA next week after a stop in New England.
Family visits on the road come easy. Anytime you are close to a friend or loved one, you can go out of service to visit. We've done so numerous times. As a result, our family life has improved over what it was when we stayed in one place at home.
As others have said, it would be wise to begin with a fleet owner's truck. No matter how much research you do and how prepared you think you are, you won't know if the life is for you until you actually jump in yourself.
Starting with a fleet owner's truck gives you a way to get out intact if the life turns out to be something different than you hoped.
Another advantage of the fleet-owner start is it gives you the chance to find out what you like and dislike in a truck. You can build those ideas into your own truck at a later date. You will also gain time to chat with other drivers and truck owners about what they like and would do different if they had the chance to build their trucks over again.
The disadvantage of the fleet-truck route is it brings a fleet owner into your lives. As you will quickly learn from reading the forums, some fleet owners are better than others.
Tim and Pat Hopkins, Ohio-based brothers, come highly recommended in these forums. Diane and I have driven one of Tim's trucks and got to know both him and Pat then. You will have to look long and hard to find better fleet owners than those two.
They advertise on EO and are easy to find. Give Tim a call to visit about your income expectations and expense questions. He can tell you how his teams have done. Tim and Pat both run White Glove trucks.
Feel free to contact Diane and me in private if you wish. We'll be happty to share our experiences too.
By the way, we're from Minnesota too. Let's talk!
Good luck and if you can do the miles jump in and give it your best you can be successful.