We Have Lost Our Focus

[TeamPaul]

My wife and I are not expediters yet. We had a huge surge of interest in the industry following the Expo in July, and after letting life get in the way, we have lost our momentum, our focus. Much about the industry scares the heck out of us, yet we can see that it can be balanced out by all the positive possibilities. Just this morning my wife said that she wants to start researching expediting again. This may be due in part to the Crafty Trucker video, in which they divulged their income for 2015... Anyway, we may have not asked all the questions we should, or we just have flat out not asked enough questions at all... With a new administration now being selected, hopefully the Expediting industry will start to pick back up. Right now we are looking forward to the Expediter Services EGG event, which hopefully is coming up this Spring.

 

[davekc]

I would re-watch that video many times. Don't get blindsided just by the numbers Well maybe a little since they drive for us. lol. All kidding aside, lot of factors go into it just as they mentioned. They do a awesome job for us and will tell it to you straight without a lot of sugary bs. If you are serious, really read and ask questions before you make that jump. It isn't just a job and the financial side you are taking on it is a whole lifestyle.

 

[TeamPaul]

Thank you Dave, we appreciate it. We watch other Expediter related videos as well. One group in particular, that really gives us pause for thought, is the great guys at Expediter Boogie... They seem to "sit" more than most other Expediters. They get lots of "offers" but seem to "cherry pick" their loads. Now I know why, as they explained that their owner has told them not to accept loads under a certain pay amount, unless they want to make the truck payment themselves. Nevertheless, the sitting for days on end was bothersome to us.

We recently watched another video of a young couple that drive for Panther, and in this video they got to go to Canada. We want to go to Canada, so this was another video that has re-ignited our focus. My wife looked at me and says, and I quote, "we can do this..."

 

[davekc]

We or they (Jason and Heather) look at numerous things when deciding to run a load. I believe they have a video on that. lol. Canada in of itself has different challenges. One of those, depends on what one wants to tolerate.
As far as sitting, just depends on where you are at, how many other trucks, weather, all kinds of factors. Never want to run at a loss unless it is absolutely necessary. You will see a lot of criteria folks use when reading through the forum.

 

[TeamPaul]

And we do try to keep all of the situations in mind... One of the many reasons we do not ask "how much can we expect to make in Expediting..." Needless to say we were watching Heather and Jason's video very close. My wife took lots of notes, and compared them to notes she has taken from many of the posts she has read here on the forum. I think having a "ball park goal" has really help to bring us back in focus TeamHutch Thank You!!

Dave, we would like to pick your brain some more, maybe after the holidays, or maybe after we watch a few more of Heather and Jason's videos...

 

[davekc]

Sounds like a plan!

 

[TeamHutch]

We are glad y'all are relooking into expediting and we commend you for taking your time to take in all the info you can. If we can ever help with anything y'all have our email


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[TeamPaul]

In October I had a shot at a logistics position that was the ultimate job (to me). It consisted of driving a road train used to carry top secret missile systems to and from Redstone Arsenal (Huntsville, AL) to Dugway Utah, or other similar military installation. I had most of the qualifications, but unfortunately not all of the experience, so the company, SAIC< went with another candidate. This led me to looking at over the road jobs, and had me even submit a few applications to prospective companies... And then this thread pops up:

http://www.expeditersonline.com/forums/threads/teams-dont-make-more-money.69162/

...The thread makes me wonder if I could start out solo in straight truck doing expediting, with my wife coming along towards the end of summer so that we can team(?) Something we had not really considered before...

 

[TeamPaul]

We are glad y'all are relooking into expediting and we commend you for taking your time to take in all the info you can. If we can ever help with anything y'all have our email


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We appreciate you guys so much! We appreciate all of your hard work on providing the most extensive expediting info is proving to be quite invaluable to us. You should see the note we have accumulated from watching your videos. We will definitely be in contact with you, as we still have many questions about "the job" so to speak. Per Dave's advice, we started re-watching all of your videos on how you handle your business, as we are becoming more streamlined in our focus again.

 

[TeamPaul]

Okay, scratch the straight truck solo idea... My wife and I are more focused on teaming, so that is our path forward!

 

[TeamCaffee]

Glad you decided to scratch the solo... Being a team out here is much more profitable and fun. Learning what loads to choose and getting all of the qualifications you can is the key to success out here.

 

[TeamPaul]

Glad you decided to scratch the solo... Being a team out here is much more profitable and fun. Learning what loads to choose and getting all of the qualifications you can is the key to success out here.

Thank you, we appreciate it! I'm working on the learning instead of just hearing... of course I am referencing a recent blog post.

We are both quite pumped with our second wind... what with my wife and I both wanting to leave our desk jobs for some seat time and some miles...

 

[Lawrence]

Okay, scratch the straight truck solo idea... My wife and I are more focused on teaming, so that is our path forward!

I think the rewards for a same-household team are the best our industry can offer. Many great fleet owners here that can help you get started. Keep us posted on your next steps!

 

[TeamHutch]

Thank you, we appreciate it! I'm working on the learning instead of just hearing... of course I am referencing a recent blog post.

We are both quite pumped with our second wind... what with my wife and I both wanting to leave our desk jobs for some seat time and some miles...

I loved this blog Greg wrote.


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[TeamPaul]

The holidays have passed, and we are once again focusing back on expediting. Some options we are considering are driving for an owner, or maybe even Expediters Services. Panther, and maybe has always been a consideration, but we would like to look in the direction of Load One and maybe Landstar at the beginning of this new year.

 

[Moot]

We Have Lost Our Focus

Did you check here?
.
.

 

[TeamPaul]

Looks like a couple Schneider's in the mix...

 

[Greg]

The holidays have passed, and we are once again focusing back on expediting. Some options we are considering are driving for an owner, or maybe even Expediters Services. Panther, and maybe has always been a consideration, but we would like to look in the direction of Load One and maybe Landstar at the beginning of this new year.

TeamPaul , Don't take this the wrong way, but if you are just starting out, I would look at carriers that have a dispatch system. It will help with the learning curve. Landstar is a great carrier, but the lack of experience coupled with a self-dispatch system might make for a rough start. I'm not saying it cannot be done, I am at Landstar and very happy with the system. It looks like you are narrowing down the choices, so your research is paying off.
A carrier with a dedicated dispatch can be very beneficial for learning the ropes.
It seems that you have been researching for some time now. That's great! EO is full of great info and helpful people.
Best of luck to you in whichever path you choose.

 

[TeamPaul]

Yeah, we had a long talk last night with davekc and he said pretty much the same thing. I was going back through some of our older posts and PM's to make sure I had looked at everything I needed too, and ran across a PM from TeamCaffee regarding my wife and I driving for an owner they had in mind. We thought it prudent to take a closer look at Landstar. As it turns out, neither of us would meet the minimum 1-year experience for employment.

That brings up more research regarding the acceptable amount of experience we can use in order to enter the industry...

Our researching may come to fruition in late May or early June, which is an early jump, as we were shooting for a July start anyway.

 

[TeamPaul]

A quick update to this thread; back in April I changed careers and went over the road driving TTR. I spent the first 8-weeks with a trainer before being assigned my own truck. This lasted a short while, as on July 8 I had a kidney stone shake loose. I was out of work two weeks as 2 attempts were made to remove the stone. 3-days after the stone came out, I was rushed to the ER, where I was diagnosed with multiple blood clots in the lungs... seems like the 11 to 14 hours in the drivers seat had caught up to me as I was recovering from the kidney stone procedure. Deep Vein Thrombosis was the diagnosis, and I am now on a blood thinner called Xeralto. At first I was told 6-months, but a few specialists later, a "blood doc" told me 3-months at best, and I should all clean!! That third month is about to come to an end as I go for a CT scan on November 1...

So the thought was, I would get my feet wet out on the road, and once the kids were settled, my wife and I would strike out on a journey of expediting... Well, as it turns out, based on the events outlined above, I am no longer driving, but am in fact back at work at my old job.

I have recently (3-days ago) renewed my interest in Expediting, and have started the research trials over again. My wife, however, taking recent events as a sign that "its-not-meant-for-us-to-Expedite" is less than enthusiastic, and is currently not shouldering up with me at the computer... Time will tell.