Fuel for Thought

Limitations

We all have our limits. That line we will not cross. Some limits we place on ourselves, other limits are forced upon us. There are as many reasons for placing limits on ourselves as there are limits to be put in place.

As business owners, we can set the ceiling on what we will or will not do. Obviously, the higher the ceiling, the more options we have to help our businesses thrive. Some limitations are absolute and necessary, but others may be set for us by default, and it is up to us, as business owners, to remove these restrictions for the benefit of our business goals.

Many limitations in trucking come in the form of regulations. Hours of service being one of the biggest limits, but also limits such as truck accessible roads, weather, traffic, equipment compliance and even shipper and consignee hours can limit our abilities.

In trucking, some limits we may place on ourselves may include not going to a particular area, such as Canada, California, Florida or even just the Northeast. These types of restrictions are self induced and can be easily remedied if need be. Not going to particular areas can greatly affect the amount of loads offered to you.

Other ceilings such as endorsements or equipment are also self inflicted. These too, can be be alleviated, but not just as easy and changing your mind like in the case of areas you are willing to cover.

Adding equipment can be costly and will take time to recoup the expense. However, adding necessary equipment will open doors to opportunities that you may not currently have available. Likewise,  adding endorsements can also add value to your business and remove some limitations.

Endorsements will also add the element of risk, so you must weigh out the risk vs. rewards.

Hazardous materials endorsement and tanker endorsement are probably the most common. Adding one or both to your available services can be lucrative to your business if you are comfortable hauling it. Comfortable NOT complacent. Proper knowledge and training are essential and mandatory. If you are considering either of these endorsements and the thought of hauling it makes you anxious,  please learn all you can about hauling hazmat or tankers. The more you learn, the more confident you will be. The more confident you are, the safer you will be.

Confident and comfortable should never become complacent.

Look at your business operations and see if you have any self inflicted limitations,  you may just find a few doors you have yet to open and grow your business to the next level.

See you down the road,

Greg