It really doesn't "say it all". Because even if I don't know the expediting business, I DO know the automotive industry. With the price that I paid for the van, if it didn't work out, I could sell it quickly(wholesale) for a thousand dollars in profit. I wasn't venturing anything by purchasing the van. I was simply preparing in order to make the transition to doing expediting a quicker process later on. I bought the van while still working at my other job, and used the last 2 months or so to drive it, find out what needed fixed, and fix it. I also spent the last year saving a good amount of money as operating capital to cover me in the case of an emergency.
I've got a degree in automotive technology, and over 15 years experience in fleet management, business management, and automotive repairs. Why am I not continuing in this arena? I don't want to work for someone else any more. If I want to take a day off after working 14 hours a day for 3 weeks straight, or if I need to go to the dentist, I don't want to have to justify it to some corporate bean counter. And I don't have a quarter million dollars to start my own brick & mortar business in the fields I've worked in. So here I am.
I did most of the research online that I could. What I DIDN'T do was contact any recruiters, because I didn't want to get a reputation for being flaky with them by inquiring about driving for them and not following up. I also didn't join any forums and ask questions first, because I assumed most questions would have been asked and answered as best as they could be expected to be before I ever joined a forum, since that's what it's for. As for the questions I had, I had those questions because it's incredibly difficult to get any straight answers from people in this business, apparently. All over the internet, you get conflicting information. You get newish drivers saying they're making tons of money working out of a cargo van, countered by 2 other guys saying there's no money in it. It's all over the place, and no one seems to want to say, "I've had a good experience with X company, and have averaged making Y, while working for them for Z amount of time. Normally made it home about A times a month for B days at a time."
That's the sort of thing that would be helpful. Not one-line smart-alek comments about how you personally disapprove of someone else's life decisions.
The only way I've got a straight answer so far is from a driver I know in person(I did all of his van repairs), who said they typically average about 1.00 per mile working for Prestige, and they can normally get 2000 miles a week pretty consistently. He said he normally goes out on the road for a week or two, then comes back home and messes around for a week or two.
So, I would like to end this by politely asking you to either add to the conversation in a constructive manner that might assist myself and other newbies who might stumble on this thread in their quest to get started in this business, or move on to a different thread where your negativity and one-line pot-shots are appreciated. Try 4chan. They love that sort of thing.
