It's a Team's Life
Expediting isn't just a job, it's a business.
Owning a business has no guarantee of income which and these down times have to be in our game plan.
Being an owner operator requires looking and planning ahead for the future, as our main source of income is a depreciating asset. Without a plan of replacement we will be with out a revenue source.
A saying our fellow Team Run Smart Pro Jeff Clark uses is "Drive it like you own it!" How true this line is. We not only keep track of our expenses we constantly analyze our expenses to get the most for our dollar.
When we purchased our first truck in 2005 we drove it like
drivers, if the speed limit was 70 mph we drove 70 mph, we started and stopped
quickly with traffic. We acted as drivers working for a business owner only
worried about the load and getting there.
In a very short period of time the business owner side of
ourselves took over and started questioning our practices.
Now came the learning part on how to become a
business owner first and a truck driver second.
This is where it started getting exciting! This is also when we started
driving the truck like we owned it not like we stole it.
Being an owner operator was not our first business so we
started knowing basically how to keep records and what needed to be filed
when.
What we started learning was the
trucking business.
I took a course from
ATBS called CABS that helped me to understand and fine-tune what load we accept
and also day pay.
Next we both attended
a Certified Master Contractor (CMC) seminar given by Kevin Rutherford.
We also attend workshop and seminars held at
truck shows, on line, and conference calls.
We are constantly expanding our business contacts and
working towards improving our knowledge of the trucking industry and that in turn
helps our business.
The volatility of trucking always keeps us on our toes to be prepared with an
emergency fund, as we never know from day to day what can happen.
We were reminded of why the business needs to
be prepared when we were hit last year and our truck was out of commission for
two months.
Bob & Linda Caffee
TeamCaffee

Saint Louis MO
Expediters 8 years been out here on the road 13 years
Expediting isn't just trucking, it's a lifestyle; 

Expediting isn't just a lifestyle, it's an adventure;

Expediting isn't just an adventure, it's a job;

Expediting isn't just a job, it's a business.