Our Mission

[OntarioVanMan]

Here we have websites to mentor our future competition. To give them our years of experience and know how...only to have them sitting next to us viaing for the next load..Ironic eh?
I mean we all say theres a glut of trucks and the numbers should be trimmed and here we sit helping people pick our pockets of the remains of what was once a lucrative business opportunity. Are we crazy?

 

[arkjarhead]

You bring up an interesting point OVM. You basicly helping your competition get started. Then when they fall down you are here to dust their little knees off and send them on their way. I guess when you sit down and think about it, it doesn't make much sense does it?

 

[OntarioVanMan]

I mean here we are bidding against each other....doing the same work...
It takes a special person with a set of traits to succeed at this business...there has to be set of markers that makes us close to the same...I mean Rich and Ateam are both successful Diva and Linda are successful....whats the connection or marker that we have in common? What makes that 10% successful???

 

[dieseldiva]

Simple.......WE'RE ALL NUTS!!!!

 

[TeamCaffee]

Simple.......WE'RE ALL NUTS!!!!


I agree with that one! We also have a strange sense of what is fun and the other key is we love our jobs and we enjoy helping other people.

 

[greg334]

OVM,
You are just figuring this out?

It took me only 6 weeks being on the road to really sense it, the first night I was out I was shocked at the attitude of someone I met and how he said I was going to fail in six months. I knew he wanted to limit his competition but that didn't sway me otherwise.

Nothing against EO, but you may see my posts on certian questions related to starting out are of two types;

it is really hard to make a living here and it should not be a place for people who have already have income to become competitive to others who have no other income

AND

that you should always make informed decisions which I say includes professionals who you can trust and advise you. I know that many professionals will say to sit it out and wait for the markets to improve and this is wise advice.

Regardless, I don't want to see anyone fail. I want everyone to make money and will answer questions if I can. Sometimes I am not right and sometimes even though I know I am right, when others disagree with me, I don't care to follow up - I know it is something bad.

As for how some are successful and others are not, well many of us who have talked about this and all of us think it is the company that some are with. You can look at five or six here on EO and there is a common thing about them - the company. Many of them will not agree but you know, it don't matter - they are making a success out of it and have been for a while at the same time others try to emulate them and fail.

 

[pjjjjj]

Here we have websites to mentor our future competition. To give them our years of experience and know how...only to have them sitting next to us viaing for the next load..Ironic eh?
I mean we all say theres a glut of trucks and the numbers should be trimmed and here we sit helping people pick our pockets of the remains of what was once a lucrative business opportunity. Are we crazy?

I guess this board is the same really, as any other, in any other segment, people helping people.
With any career, there is always competition.
I'm sure once in awhile, even the experienced might learn something here too, so this board isn't all just the experienced giving, and the newbies taking. Seems to me to be lots of information here for all types of expediters.
With any career, there is always competition. Maybe it's similar to new hires being brought into a big factory, with the experienced being asked to train them.. but here there is no boss telling you that you must, but rather, it's of your own free will, to choose whether to take part or not.
I, for one, am thankful there are so many of you willing to share your stories, insight, and advice, and I'd like to think they are useful to everyone.
Just my one cent!

 

[dieseldiva]

PJ, you are correct about us old-timers learning, I learn something new most every time I log on here.

BTW, with 20 posts now, I think you should have 2 cents worth, not just one penny in the pond!!

 

[pjjjjj]

BTW, with 20 posts now, I think you should have 2 cents worth, not just one penny in the pond!!

Well thanks for sayin so!

 

[OntarioVanMan]

We are mentoring a van driver and she's doing well...I think she's over the hump...her owner keeps buttin in with sometimes bad advice because he's broke....this woman needs a good owner! This guy says she can't go home yet cause truck payments coming up and little things like that... telling her to leave an area when we know it to be a good area...she pays the gas so whats with that!! Shes been over 1500 miles the last 3 weeks in a CV.


Back to subject....what the personallity traits that are common..BESIDES NUTS!!! stubborn? tenacity?

For me I am just too soft...I look beyond the driver...the wife and kids he's trying to make a buck and put food on the table...

 

[dieseldiva]

Back to subject....what the personallity traits that are common..BESIDES NUTS!!! stubborn? tenacity?

Well what kind of a loaded question is that?? Me thinks you've known us for enough years that you would know all those traits!!

PS...some on here might get their feathers a little ruffled at the suggestion that we share any personality traits at all!!!

 

[OntarioVanMan]

Well what kind of a loaded question is that?? Me thinks you've known us for enough years that you would know all those traits!!

PS...some on here might get their feathers a little ruffled at the suggestion that we share any personality traits at all!!!

There must be some common markers that lead some to success over failure....education can't be the trait...we have the over educated ATeam and we have some that can't put together a sentance and yet they are successful....whats the glue that binds???

 

[pjjjjj]

There must be some common markers that lead some to success over failure....education can't be the trait...we have the over educated ATeam and we have some that can't put together a sentance and yet they are successful....whats the glue that binds???

Perhaps it is like someone already mentioned, the company one is with.. one who doesn't hire way too many drivers for the work they have, one who practices safety first, one who is up front about what's what, and doesn't try to find ways to gyp their o/o's/drivers, one who has quality dispatchers who perhaps have an interest in finding loads for their drivers vs just waiting for the phone to ring and collecting their paycheques, one who knows how to provide excellent service to their people, whether it's customers, drivers, whoever, like by returning calls, following up when they say they will, etc., there's got to be a lot to be said about the company one is forunate or unfortunate enough to be with? And then of course, once you have a good company, it has to be a two-way street!

 

[dieseldiva]

Perhaps it is like someone already mentioned, the company one is with.. one who doesn't hire way too many drivers for the work they have, one who practices safety first, one who is up front about what's what, and doesn't try to find ways to gyp their o/o's/drivers, one who has quality dispatchers who perhaps have an interest in finding loads for their drivers vs just waiting for the phone to ring and collecting their paycheques, one who knows how to provide excellent service to their people, whether it's customers, drivers, whoever, like by returning calls, following up when they say they will, etc., there's got to be a lot to be said about the company one is forunate or unfortunate enough to be with? And then of course, once you have a good company, it has to be a two-way street!

Wow that's a pretty tall order. I somehow doubt that the company you describe (in full) actually exists....but we can always hope now, can't we??

 

[pjjjjj]

Wow that's a pretty tall order. I somehow doubt that the company you describe (in full) actually exists....but we can always hope now, can't we??

Ha! Well.. don't forget.. we're new! Our hopes, wishes and expectations haven't been *completely* shattered.. yet, altho.. soon, I'm sure! haha

 

[OntarioVanMan]

Please when you find your dream company let us know too....!!!

 

[greg334]

OVM,
so you want to know why we do it or how we do it or what we are doing?

Just to reinforce my thoughts -

I think that the company makes and breaks the person(s).

I think that regardless who says they are successful, success is relative to their position in life and their goals. I know that there are a couple people who are not successful but think they are. My success is just what I have, a paid off truck, $1500 in bills I have to meet every month and a wife and my toys at home.

I think that if one is to understand that there are two types of expediters, one who works for a company and the other who is rather independent, then they already have a leg up.

I think that personality has a lot to do with things, many seem to think otherwise but the best people who to me are the most successful, you never hear about, they never post and they never let in on real secrets but they will always be helping not one but a few people at the same time to show them the path to the same success.

Why do we help?

I think that it is human nature for some of us, not all, to truly have some [SIZE=-1]altruism. While others have a need to help to make them feel better about their failings and the third group are the egotistical people who want to tell people what they did to succeed to make them look like a hero. The last group I see a lot in trucking but I also know that they are part of that can do attitude that we all need.

How do we do it?

Well that is obvious, isn't it. We belong to a community - virtual as it seems but nevertheless a community. Through this community we help others find answers. It seems that simple but it is not. We have people of all walks of life, some who have PHDs and MDs and others who barely made it through High school (and a couple who have not made it through grade school). we all have different facts and information to share. Some look for false or wrong information to correct while others have differing opinions on subjects.

What are we doing?

I don't really know.

I left one company because I got tired of my hands being tied on the issue of competing trucks. I knew that the guy who just came in and parked may get out before I did. I learned in my van while sitting in Indy that there is such a thing called favoritism. I learned after I left and when they were trying to get me back for some reason that most of what I thought was true was true. But my decision was a business decision and just that, a business decision and it took me out of my comfort zone and forced me to be realistic with the tools of my trade.

So I wonder why we promote our own competition, why we want to see more people involved.

Maybe it is many are blind?

On one hand we have people entering this business, this limited niche market and will end up failing. On the other hand we have people who have been in it since the dawn of time and know how to stay the course in tough times. It really don't matter where someone lands in the great big world of Expediting because the fact is it is a limited niche market and unless you are willing to turn people away for their benefit and your own, there will always the question "what are we doing?".

Is this what you are looking for?

[/SIZE]

 

[LDB]

Here we have websites to mentor our future competition. To give them our years of experience and know how...only to have them sitting next to us viaing for the next load..Ironic eh?

Unless they are with the same carrier they aren't really direct competition. Acme widgets is going to call Favorite Expedite first whenever they need a truck. If we're with the favorite we'll get the offer. If they're with the favorite they will. If the favorite isn't available they'll go down the list to Preferred Expedite, Acceptable Expedite, Disliked Expedite, Desperate Expedite and finally Last Resort Expedite until he finds someone to cover his freight.

By helping others here we potentially help ourselves. If the caliber of expediters steadily rises Acme will come to rely on expedite more and standard ground less. If we are professional enough we can hopefully capture more and more business for our respective carriers.

I don't see what we do here as very much of a competitive giveaway. I believe we do it because to some it's the golden rule, to some it's good business sense and to some it's just how they are.