So what about a guy like me who was running his business well and suffered first by hitting a deer and doing 2500 dollars worth of damage to my van and then suffering a blow engine.The van was not worth salvaging as it would have cost me 2500 to fix the front end and another 2-3k to rebuild the engine. Now, I had just put new tires, new brakes and rotors, and a tune up on the truck; 1500 bucks worth of improvements only to lose them.
I had around 9 k saved in the bank and after getting towed home from Utah and paying another company to come in and pick the load up from the shop, I went backwards to around 8k.
So, I was doing the right thing, maintaining my truck so that it was safe to drive. I was saving every dime in anticipation of such an event. The only money I spent on myself last year was 300 dollars to buy me some new clothes and shoes. So, you can't call me a bad businessman for needing to do what I am about to do.
I have gone through some money sitting at home since the end of october "all the while looking for a new van" and I finally found one that was under-priced. Well, I jumped on it and I have it sitting here in front of my house pending a decision on how to re-enter the business.
Now when all is said and done, replace front brakes, tune up, install e-tracking, deadhead back east for orientation, and get the van registered with DMV and properly insured, I am going to be lucky to have 1200 bucks in operating money. Does this make me a bad business man? I saved all last year and did everything I was supposed to do, but I hit some hard times with the accident and the engine failure.
So, if I decide to go with bolt myself, and I happen to take a few fuel advances "so that I can protect the 1200 I have saved to use in the event of a breakdown" does that still make me a bad businessman? Every individuals situation is different. Some people hit hard times and have to start from the bottom. I have never needed advances in the past, but they have always been convenient.
I started last year with a light duty 1500 cargo van with 270k miles on it and 250 dollars in the bank. I grew that up to 9k in about 10 months of work. Now I'm going to do the same thing again with a van that is heavy duty and has little over 100k miles on it. So, I shouldn't have a major breakdown for a while.
But I will need some help to get back on my expediter feet again. I will eat cheap, cut corners, run every load offered to me and stay out until the end of december with maybe one small break in july to get some dental work done. But I might need advances for at least 2 months to become financially strong again.
So, as you can see, there is a big diference between the driver who blows his money in casinos and the one who is genuinely trying to get his feet back on the ground after a turbulent financial event. Hard times can befall anyone of you guys out here. Please do not knock the people who have the will to take a shot at being successful. Not everyone has a million dollars sitting around in the bank or a bunch of credit cards to rely on to make ends meet.
Some of us would rather take our advances for a while at whatever percentage is presented us in order to work and remain viable as we refuse to take government handouts. I'd rather chance every last dime that I have to become successful again on the road than to sit here and take money from the government.
