Want a deeper dive? Check out Episode 3 for a more detailed breakdown of authority and setup.

In this episode, we break down the concept of “friction” in your business—those small inefficiencies that slow things down, frustrate customers, and quietly cost you money. From communication gaps to messy invoicing, we cover where friction shows up and how to eliminate it so your operation runs smoother, faster, and more profitably.

We also tie it all back to real numbers with a look at February’s financials and what’s driving strong performance right now.

What You’ll Learn:

• What “friction” actually means in a trucking business • How small inefficiencies compound into lost time and revenue • Where friction commonly shows up (communication, onboarding, billing) • Why anticipating customer needs is a competitive advantage • How cleaner systems directly improve cash flow and repeat business

Key Takeaway:

If your customers have to guess what to do next, chase you for information, or deal with unnecessary steps, you’re creating resistance—and that resistance is costing you.

February Snapshot:

• Total Miles: 101,755 • Revenue: $251,077.05 • Rate per Mile: $2.48 • Net Profit: $44,496.50

Call to Action:

Ask yourself: Where am I making this harder than it needs to be?

If you’re not sure—or you want help building systems that actually make your business run smoother—that’s exactly what we do at MCHQ and Haulin Assets. Reach out and let’s fix it.

We kick things off with January 2026 performance numbers, then dive into the financial realities every owner-operator should understand before shopping for equipment.

Topics include:

• Knowing your numbers before talking to lenders

• New vs. used truck math — payments, depreciation, and maintenance tradeoffs

• Financing options explained: banks, equipment lenders, dealer financing, lease-purchase, and SBA loans

• How down payments impact your break-even point and freight flexibility

• Financing (or renting) trailers strategically

• Hidden startup and compliance costs most new operators overlook

• When you should not finance a truck at all

• A real-world example breaking down payments, miles, and revenue required to make a truck profitable

The truck payment alone won’t sink your business, poor planning will. Understanding costs, cash flow, and financing terms is what separates sustainable operators from those forced to run nonstop just to survive.

1. Direct shipper relationships would be easy to land. I thought showing up and doing great work would be enough. In reality, most shippers don’t change carriers unless they have to—and it can take dozens of conversations just to get a shot.

2. Being financially conservative was the main key to success. Important? Absolutely. But it’s not even top three. Strategy, relationships, and timing matter just as much—if not more.

3. Broker freight could carry us long term. Maybe as an owner-operator. Not if you want to grow. Market cycles expose that weakness fast.

After growing too fast heading into a freight downturn, the approach shifted: slower, controlled growth, bringing on a partner, and building smarter through market volatility.

More energy. More entertaining content. More focus on the operator’s day-to-day life—not just ownership, but life on the road and how to make it better.

Growth without strategy will humble you. Relationships take longer than you think. And broker freight alone isn’t a long-term plan if you want to build something that lasts.

If this episode resonates, share it with another driver or fleet owner in the grind. Subscribe so you don’t miss what’s coming next.

We’re just getting started.

In this relaunch episode, we look at why the podcast started, what it was meant to solve, and what’s changing as we move into Haulin Assets 2.0.

Haulin Assets has always been about owner-operators.

An owner-operator isn’t just a driver. You’re a business owner who also happens to operate the truck. When I owned Motor Carrier HQ, I saw drivers come through with the same goal — becoming owner-operators. The ones who struggled usually had one thing in common: they didn’t understand the business side of trucking.

This podcast started as a way to change that by letting drivers follow along with my own journey in real time.

I got my CDL in early 2019, bought my first truck shortly after, and hit the road in April of that year. I drove for a full year before hiring my first driver in May 2020.

By the end of 2020, I had bought a second truck. In 2021, Nate joined as a partner, and during the COVID boom, the business grew fast. The last three years have been survival mode, but even in this market, we recently hit a revenue record while running one fewer truck.

You don’t know what you don’t know. Learning what it really means to slide your tandems, realizing you can’t control everything, getting hit by a deer, and spending a year behind the wheel all shaped the fleet owner I am today.

Driving gave me perspective on what it actually means to be both an operator and an owner.

This isn’t a reinvention — it’s a refocus.

Expect more fun, more entertaining content, giveaways, and more attention on the operator side of owner-operator life. We’ve covered ownership well. Now we’re spending more time on what makes life better on the road.

Getting scammed out of $742 — and the lesson that came with it.

If you’ve been with us since Episode 1, thank you. If you’re new, this is the perfect time to jump in.

Follow us on Facebook and Instagram and send us your funniest or toughest trucking story. It might be featured on a future episode.

This podcast isn’t just about my journey anymore. It’s about yours. Let’s haul some assets together.

In this episode, I explain where we’ve been, why the podcast went quiet longer than expected, and what’s changing as we relaunch. Quarter four was busy, the market shifted quickly, and between operational changes and a major accident, it was time to pause, reassess, and reset.

This episode will feel familiar, but it also marks a more focused direction going forward.

Where We’ve Been

Q4 snowballed faster than expected.

I talk through:

• Why I needed to step away
• How the break stretched longer than planned
• What we’ve been rebuilding behind the scenes

The goal wasn’t just to restart the show, but to make sure it continues to deliver real value.

Financials: The Real Numbers

Here’s how the business performed late last year:

• September: $23,428 profit | $2.16 per mile
• October: –$6,143.88 | $2.26 per mile
• November: $12,877 profit | $2.18 per mile
• December: $27,818 profit | $2.16 per mile

All P&L documents are available in the show notes.

Changes in How We Operate

In October, I took a hard look at our lanes, shippers, and loops.

The takeaway was clear: some lanes we ran regularly were significantly less profitable. As a result:

• We avoid underperforming lanes whenever possible
• We largely stay out of the Southeast
• When we do go there, we head straight back west instead of drifting northeast

That approach saves roughly 2.5 days of transit time, and with a truck costing about $400 per day to sit, those decisions add up quickly. This analysis is now a monthly process.

Market Shifts and a Major Loss

We also saw one of our strongest Q4 pushes in several years, along with new freight contracts coming online.

At the same time, we experienced a major accident that resulted in the loss of a truck and trailer—an event that had real operational impact and contributed to the reset.

The Relaunch

Going forward, Haulin’ Assets is refocusing on the owner-operator.

That means:

• More business-focused topics
• More attention to both the owner and driver side
• More discussion of the owner-operator lifestyle

What To Expect From Episode 186

This year is feel more like a regular freight market, something I don’t think we have felt for 6 years, since 2019. That is good and bad. Good, because I think we are going to feel a good 4th quarter bump, which we haven’t seen in a long time. Bad because summer is always pretty tough, and August wasn’t super pretty for us. Let's take a look at the numbers:

• Total miles ran– 104,346
• Deadhead miles– 7,540 (7.2%)
• Total revenue- $209,337.10
• All-in rate-per-mile- $2.01

Haulin Assets had a loss of $6,767.91. We did not get enough miles. We really have to be over 110k to even have a fighting chance. Considering we were so far under, it could have been worse.

Here are the P&L Items we are going to discuss in more detail.

• Revenue
• Damages
• Fuel
• Repairs and Maintenance
• Taxes and Licensing

What to Expect in Episode 185

It’s a pretty normal reaction to be scared of the unknown. Just like Dorothy, the Tin Man, and the Scarecrow were scared of the unknown that lurked in the forest as they journeyed to Oz, changes lurking in the trucking industry can be scary too.  I thought it would be interesting to talk about some of the topics that seem to be getting a lot of attention these days. Here's how this episode breaks down.

Electric Trucks

I talk about my experience driving an electric vehicle for the last 7+ years and how I think it relates to trucks.

Driverless Vehicles

My Tesla has the "Full Self Driving" feature. It's good, but I think it's going to be a while before we see anything of any significance in capability and quantity in the trucking world. Craig and I talk about why.

The English Proficiency Mandate

A recent crash in Florida that killed 3 has brought this topic to the forefront of the highway safety discussion. Craig and I talk about some of the specifics and how this has the potential to have a significant impact in the not too distant future.

What To Expect From Episode 184

June was a pretty rough month and July was even worse. The summer months are always hard to get through. I still think the market is in the very early stage of a rebound. The biggest problems we had in July are really driven by internal factors, not external ones. Let's take a look at the numbers:

• Total miles ran– 107,335
• Deadhead miles– 8,546 (8.0%)
• Total revenue- $235,064.03
• All-in rate-per-mile- $2.19

Haulin Assets had a loss of $8,939.48. We just did not get enough miles, especially considering the bump in expenses we had in a few areas.

Here are the P&L Items we are going to discuss in more detail.

• Revenue
• Damages
• Repairs and Maintenance
• Fuel

We walk through the current market forces, how we got here, and why I believe the 4th quarter of 2025 could be the best we’ve seen in quite a while.

You can listen to the full episode here or on your favorite podcast app.

We start off with a quick story about a rental truck and a call I had with a judge in Oregon who, until now, had never let anyone off the hook for an OR citation. After I explained how Oregon’s system works—and how it differs from other states—she had a change of heart. It was a good reminder of how misunderstood the trucking world can be from the outside.

Then we dig into the big topic: how the freight market has evolved over the past five years, with a focus on:

• A quick refresher on supply and demand, complete with a graph analogy:

  • Y-axis = freight rates

  • X-axis = number of trucks and volume of freight

  • Where the lines cross is market equilibrium—where supply meets demand

• What happened during and after COVID:

  • Massive consumer spending on goods instead of travel

  • Skyrocketing freight volume and rates

  • A wave of new entrants into the trucking industry

• How it all began to change around March 2022:

  • Too many trucks on the road

  • Freight rates dropping consistently for nearly two years

• Signs of stabilization in 2024–25:

  • Truck count slowly decreasing

  • Demand holding steady

  • Recent holidays (DOT Blitz, Memorial Day, July 4th) showed stronger rate spikes than we’ve seen in years

For the first time in a long while, we’re back near equilibrium. There’s very little excess capacity in the market right now, and when capacity dips—even a little—rates jump. That’s a good sign.

I think we’re heading into a much stronger Q4 than we’ve had in recent years. If you’ve been hanging on, it might finally start paying off.

What To Expect From Episode 182

June was another pretty rough month for us. The good news is that is that the biggest contributing factor was not the market, but some short-term issues that we were able to work through. Let's take a look at the numbers:

• Total miles ran– 94,128
• Deadhead miles– 7,658 (8.1%)
• Total revenue- $219,217.73
• All-in rate-per-mile- $2.33

Haulin Assets had a profit of $152.17. Our saving grace this month was a better rate per mile than we have seen in a long time. Even though it was profitable, it was a negative cashflow month so we need to keep fighting to see a significant improvement to that number.

Here are the Profit & Loss items we discuss in more detail:

• Revenue
• Fuel
• Repairs and maintenance

Starting your own business is never an easy decision. It requires a huge leap of faith and a lot of guts. Most people just are not willing to jump into the unknown like that. I commend you for even thinking about it. The entrepreneurial spirit is one of the biggest, if not the biggest reason the United States is the greatest country in the world. The right time for you to start a trucking company is a very personal decision and I hope this episode will give you some insight to help you make that very big decision.

I think there are different 4 scenarios or "triggers" that when you meet at least one of them you are increasing your likelihood of being able to run a successful operation. The first three are things that are well within your control. The last one is not in your control and I think it is also the one that involves the most risk and most prone to failure. It is also the one that entices most people to make the leap.

Get the full show notes: http://bit.ly/haulinassets

Motor Carrier HQ: http://bit.ly/motor-carrier

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/haulinassets

Podcast/ iTunes: http://bit.ly/ha-itunes

Google Podcasts: http://bit.ly/ha-google-podcasts

Stitcher: http://bit.ly/ha-stitcher 

What To Expect From Episode 180

The ups and downs of trucking are not limited to crazy or mundane weekends, the profitability of trucking is also one heck of a roller coaster. After a better start to the year than we have experienced the last several years, May hit a brick wall. I don't think the difference we saw in May is due to the market, but more because of internal factors we experienced. Let's take a look at the numbers:

• Total miles ran– 99,880
• Deadhead miles– 7,985 (8%)
• Total revenue- $205,682.73
• All-in rate-per-mile- $2.06

Haulin Assets had a loss of $27,150.76. Wow, that was hard to type, that is almost a $75,000 difference between April and May, even though May even had a slightly higher rate per mile. There is A LOT going on in the P&L and we talk about it in more detail than normal. You'll want to listen to the episode to get the full story.

Here are the P&L items we dive into:

• Revenue
  • Low revenue was the largest contributing factor to the loss, we spend a lot of time talking about it
• Fuel
• Repairs and Maintenance
• Taxes

What to Expect in Episode 179

In this episode I am going to cover 3 things I think every business owner, whether you are an owner operator or you manage a fleet, should do on a regular basis. They are:

1. Look for new revenue sources
2. Review all your expenses to trim the fat
3. Conduct a SWOT Analysis

The first two are pretty self explanatory and we don't take up too much time covering them. I am sure there are several people out there who haven't heard about a SWOT Analysis or know much about them so that is where we spend the majority of our time. SWOT stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats. Doing a SWOT Analysis and then using the information you learn from it is a great way to make a big impact on your business. 

Craig and I walk through a very simple SWOT Analysis from the perspective of an Owner Operator and use some examples to help show how they are used. They truly are a great tool and I hope you take the info we share and use it to conduct one on your business. Not in business for yourself yet? No worries, it is also a great tool to use to help you decide if there is an opportunity for you to go into business and help you be better prepared when you make the leap. A good SWOT Analysis is a critical element of any business plan.

Find our courses at haulinassetsacademy.com

See the profit and loss statement at haulinassetsllc.com

Before Craig and I dive into the April 2025 financials, we talk about a fun little adventure I had. It had been a while, but I finally got to jump back into a truck for the first time in several months. This adventure included a Mother's Day departure, several Uber rides, a flight and "breaking" the truck out of a lot at 02:00 in the morning and then "breaking" into the parking lot at the shipper.

What To Expect From Episode 178

April has continued the trend of year over year improvement. Let's take a look at the numbers:

• Total miles ran– 112,158
• Deadhead miles– 7,746 (7.3%)
• Total revenue- $229,695.19
• All-in rate-per-mile- $2.14

Haulin Assets had a profit of $47,211.69. The bottom line number is pretty good, but I think it is a little deceptive. There are some things in the P&L that we expound upon that give a more realistic picture of how things are going. You'll want to listen to the episode to get the full story.

Here are the P&L items we talk about in more detail:

• Revenue
• Fuel
• Insurance
• Repairs and Maintenance

What To Expect From Episode 177

Last month I said February was a pleasant surprise, March was an even more pleasant surprise. Let's take a look at the numbers:

• Total miles ran– 115,070
• Deadhead miles– 7,746 (6.7%)
• Total revenue- $246,412.65
• All-in rate-per-mile- $2.14

Haulin Assets had a profit of $49,849.00. The best month in over a year and the second best month since March of 2022. I hope it's a sign of things to come. The P&L was pretty normal, but here are the things we talk about.

• Revenue was strong
• Manageable fuel, 27.1%
• No insurance payment

What to Expect in Episode 174

We just completed our insurance renewal so insurance is fresh on my mind and now is a great time to talk about it. Here are some of the topics we discuss.

The Biggest Contributors To The Cost Of Your Policy

1. Your loss run report
2. Your CAB (Central Analysis Bureau) Report
3. Drivers

Who Are The Key Players

1. Insurance Carriers
2. Underwriter
3. Insurance Agencies/Agent

We spend the bulk of the episode in this section and go into some pretty extensive detail about who each one is, what their role is and we give some best practices for how you should interact with them.

What You Will Need To Provide For A Quote

Get everything to your agents 45 days before your policy expires. Here is what they will typically need.

1. 4 Quarters of IFTA Returns
2. Loss Runs for the last 3 years
3. Updated Equipment List
4. Updated Driver List
5. Your Current COI (Certificate of Insurance)

The timing of when you sign on the bottom line and bind your policy is critical. Make sure you listed to the episode to know when you should do this and what you will need to do it. 

Getting the best price on your insurance is something that does not happen overnight. It takes you being intentional about several things. You have to work on the things we talk about throughout the episode all year long to make sure to get the best price possible and are able to control your costs. Remember, trucking is a low margin business and profits are earned by the penny. A dollar you save in expense is a dollar that hits your profit line.

What To Expect From Episode 175

February was a pleasant surprise. I really hope it's an indication of things to come, because I am really getting tired of low profits. Let's take a look at the numbers:

• Total miles ran– 103,728
• Deadhead miles– 6,730 (6.5%)
• Total revenue- $227,885.97
• All-in rate-per-mile- $2.20

Haulin Assets had a profit of $30,707.01. The best month of profits we have had in a very long time and really knocking on the door of being cashflow positive. The P&L is pretty bland, but here are a few things Craig and I talk about

P&L

• Revenue
• Fuel
• Maintenance and repairs

Check out MotorcarrierHQ.com 

Find our courses at haulinassetsacademy.com

Before we get into talking about truck driver pay, I talk about a recent incident where one of our trucks had its hood damaged by a driver who decided to make a left hand turn where he shouldn't have. His trailer didn't even come close to making the corner and caused some pretty good damage to the front of our parked truck. There is always something exciting going on in a trucking company.

What To Expect From Episode 174

Truck driver pay is a complicated subject. There are a lot of different factors, probably the biggest being if you operate locally or over-the-road. Most local drivers are paid hourly and most over-the-road drivers are paid by the mile. Hourly paid is pretty straightforward, over-the-road, not so much. We spend most of our time talking about that. Here are some of the areas we touch on:

• Deadhead miles
• Bonuses (There is a lot that goes into this one.)
• Why I feel torn about incentive type pay

We finish off by discussing how to figure out how much to pay and what are some of the things you should think about in that regard are.

What To Expect From Episode 173

Let's take a look at the numbers:

• Total miles ran– 119,570
• Deadhead miles– 8,559 (7.16%)
• Total revenue- $247,795.86
• All-in rate-per-mile- $2.07

Haulin Assets had a profit of $15,862.03.

P&L

• Damages
• Fuel
• Worker's Compensation
• Maintenance and Repairs
• Parking
• Fuel Taxes

What To Expect From Episode 172

We have all been driving down the interstate and seen a billboard that says something along the lines of, “Have you been hit by a semi, give us a call and we’ll make sure you get what you deserve.” Basically, that just means they know there is big insurance money behind trucking companies and they will try to sue the pants off them. Sometimes even if the accident wasn’t the trucking company's fault. We talk about some things you can do to help you get the best possible outcome.

Prevention (Before the Accident)

• Follow the FMCSA rules
  • Make sure you are hiring qualified, safe drivers
  • Maintain up-to-date driver qualification files
  • Keep your vehicles well maintained
  • Don't break Hours of Service rules
• Install forward facing cameras on your trucks

When An Accident Happens

• Turn on your hazards
• If physically able, place warning triangles, flairs, etc. (make sure you know how to do this correctly)
• Take lots of pictures, from multiple angles, including some from far enough away to capture the entire scene
• Once things have calmed down, call your insurance company ASAP, ideally before you leave the scene, for sure within 24 hours
  • I can't emphasize this enough, I explain why this is so important in the episode

Post Accident

There are lots of things that need to happen. We aren't going to cover them in this episode, but make sure you do them. If you don't know what to do, contact your insurance company. They should be able to help.

What To Expect From Episode 171

The numbers this month were good, not great. I am however starting to feel a little bit of optimism that this year is going to see some improvement in the market. I have my fingers and toes crossed that things do get better. Let's take a look at the numbers:

• Total miles ran– 121,021
• Deadhead miles– 7,282 (6%)
• Total revenue- $253,288.09
• All-in rate-per-mile- $2.09

Haulin Assets had a profit of $12,042.27.

P&L Items

• Payroll
• Fuel
• Maintenance and Repairs

I know this is not the most sexy topic in the world, it doesn’t bring in revenue, it’s not a task that requires your immediate attention like a broken down truck, but it will have an impact on your bottom line and can have catastrophic consequences if ignored. Here are the things we cover in this episode:

1. Why does safety matter
2. How do you build a safety culture
3. Where can I find resources to help

There is a lot that goes into this and we cover a lot in the episode, but it all boils down to a few things. We have a moral obligation to the public to do what we can to keep roads safe and the financial health of our companies depends on it. In trucking, profit margins are thin and we can't afford unnecessary expenses. Damage to equipment and injuries are often preventable and are big expenses we can largely avoid.

It starts at the top. Here are some of the topics we cover:

1. Make safety a priority and ensure your drivers know it
2. Show your drivers safety is more important that on-time deliveries
3. Have regular safety meetings/talks

• Your insurance company
• YouTube
• Haulin Assets Academy (Coming Soon)
• The FMCSA
  • Resources for Drivers
  • Resources for Carriers

What To Expect From Episode 169

Sorry there has been a bit of a break since the last episode, with me taking a trip in a truck and the Holidays, I just couldn't get an episode out. November was an interesting month in a few ways, mileage dropped, but revenue increased. That makes for some pretty good talking points. Let's take a look at the numbers:

• Total miles ran– 109,155 (One of the lowest mileage months of the year)
• Deadhead miles– 7,147 (7.1%)
• Total revenue- $236,053.07 (With the holiday, ran fewer miles, but more profitable miles)
• All-in rate-per-mile- $2.16 (Best in several months, third best of the year)

Haulin Assets had a profit of $16,837.14. With as low as our mileage was, profit could have been a lot worse, our saving grace was definitely the better rate per mile.

P&L Items

• Maintenance and Repairs
• IFTA Payments
• Fuel, 26.4% of revenue
• We sold a piece of equipment

What To Expect From Episode 168

Revenue dropped a bit last month. I wish I know what caused it. I think there are several factors, one of them just being that the market is still bad and it is volatile.

• Total miles ran– 119,607 (Higher than last month)
• Deadhead miles– 8,542 (7.1%)
• Total revenue- $227,931.30 (Lower than expected, I think partly due to lower fuel prices, brokers are being more stingy on rate)
• All-in rate-per-mile- $1.96 (Our worst rate per mile all year)

Haulin Assets had a profit of $5,062.43. With as low as our revenue was and as bad as the rate per mile was, I am kind of surprised we turned a profit.

P&L Items

• Work Comp
• Maintenance and Repairs
• Fuel

Check out MotorcarrierHQ.com 

Find our courses at haulinassetsacademy.com

The end of the year is a crazy busy time with the Holidays and everything else going on so taxes typically are not at the forefront of your mind, but they need to be. There are certain things you can do to improve your tax situation before December 31st that you can't do after January 1st, so you need to have a plan. I usually try to have a general idea about what I want to do by the end of October or the beginning of November. During this episode we are going to give you somethings to think about so you can start to build the right plan for you.

What To Expect From Episode 167

So you own a business, does that mean you need to file a business tax return? The answer is maybe... We are going to help you answer that question and so much more. Here are some of the things we will cover.

Filing deadlines, April 15th, right? Not always. Here are some other deadlines we talk about.

• Partnerships and S-Corps (March 15)
• Single Member LLC, Sole Proprietor, Corporations (April 15)
• Extensions (September 15th and October 15th)
• Quarterly Tax Payments ( 15th of the month after a quarter ends)

One of the most important things you need to decide, is what is more important to you… show a profit or reduce how much you have to pay in taxes. You really can’t do both. No one wants to pay any more taxes than they have to, but to lower your tax bill you have to lower your profit which then hurts when you try to get financing.

Tax Strategies

• Reduce Taxes
• Maximize Profits

Strategies for reducing income:

• Business Strategies
  • Purchasing equipment and different types of depreciation
    • Use of accelerated depreciation
  • Expense planning
    • Prepaying expenses
    • Negotiating payment plans or future payments
  • Ensure you capture all your expenses, and account for all your deductions
    • Home Office
    • Business use of personal vehicle
    • Child Care
  • Revenue Recognition
    • Cash Basis vs Accrual
    • When does it need to be
• Personal Tax Planning
  • Retirement accounts
    • SEP
    • Traditional IRA
    • 529 College savings account
  • Health Savings Plans
  • Itemized Deductions
    • Mortgage Interest
    • Charitable Contributions
    • None-reimbursed medical expenses

If you have been slacking on your bookkeeping, get caught up now so you don’t have surprises early next year when you can’t do much about it

• Be ready to provide a summary of your business operation
  • Factoring company statements
  • Business bank account and transaction categorization
    • Some banks track your spending and categorize expenses. May require specific accounts or
  • Use an accounting firm
  • Multiple years of taxes needed, start with today and filed the current year. Don’t get overwhelmed. Strategically work your way backwards until it’s done. Small wins will get you there.

Check out MotorcarrierHQ.com 

Find our courses at haulinassetsacademy.com

It's Halloween, which is a fun time of year. I love driving down the road and seeing how drivers deck out their trucks. It's fun to see their personalities come through.

What To Expect From Episode 166

We are still slugging through this unprecedented freight market. I wish I knew when things would turn around, I keep thinking it has to be right around the corner, but I have thought that for a year now. I expect we'll see at least a little relief due to the holiday push, but I don't expect it to blow anyone's socks off. Here are the numbers for September.

• Total miles ran– 107,902
• Deadhead miles– 5,141 (4.8%)
• Total revenue- $227,931.30
• All-in rate-per-mile- $2.11 ($0.02 better than last month, $0.20 better than last year)

Haulin Assets had a profit of $16,024.48. Which is more than I would have guessed, based on the revenue number. Still not close to where we want to be, but… all things considered, it could have been worse.

Here are the P&L items that we'll talk about.

• Maintenance and Repairs
• Fuel

Check out MotorcarrierHQ.com 

Find our courses at haulinassetsacademy.com

In this episode we are going to step out of the truck and away from the business and focus on you and your health. This can be a sensitive topic and it's something I have struggled with most of my adult life. I have found something that is working for me better than anything else I have done and want to share it. I'm no health expert, but want to share my story. It a change is something you are looking for, I hope this helps. Before we get into the meat and potatoes of the topic, Craig and I talk about some of the challenges the trucking industry is facing because of the crazy amount of fraud going on.

What To Expect From Episode 165

Not everyone cares about their weight. With this and most things in life I take the attitude of to each their own. Do whatever makes you happy in life as long as it isn't impacting someone else. For me, weight is one of those things I love and hate. Because I am in the National Guard, I have to maintain a certain weight standard and it is something I constantly struggle with. I like food too much and I like to eat too much food. I tend to yo-yo. Most years during the summer I lose 20-30 pounds and then gain it back in the winter. This summer I tried something different that is working better than anything else I have ever tried. It is something you can do while on the road so I thought it would be good to share it with you.

It's nothing new, you have probably heard of it. I've been counting macronutrients, commonly referred to as macro nutrients. Neither Craig or I are nutritionists so I am not going to go into the science of it, but I talk about my experience and share what I have been doing in more detail. Basically, I figure out what my macro breakdown needed to by, actually a professional figured that out for me. I use an app to track my macros on a daily basis to make sure I am eating a little less than what my body actually needs so that I lose about a pound a week. Like I said, we go into this in more detail during the episode.

Here are some of the things I typically eat for each meal.

• Breakfast
  • Greek yogurt (It's higher in protein than regular yogurt)
  • Cottage cheese
  • I often mix the cottage cheese and yogurt (I like it my wife doesn't)
  • Oatmeal Mix (Oatmeal with water or milk, protein powder, I like vanilla, and fruit)
  • Reese's peanut butter cup protein shake (8 ounces of milk, ice cubes, spinach, half a banana, two scoops of PB Fit, one scoop of chocolate protein power, mix it in a blender)
• Lunch
  • Chicken breasts 8-11 ounces, grilled or baked with seasoning. You can cook it with a Road Pro 12 volt stove.
  • Sandwiches using pitta bread and filled with cold cut lunch meats and cheese or healthy chicken salad.
  • Cold cut lunch meat wrapped in cheese for a lower carb option
• Dinner
  • Rotisserie chicken from the grocery store, makes several meals
  • Breakfast burritos or an omelet
  • Fish
  • Shrimp cocktail, if I want to treat myself
  • Tons of healthy dinner recipes, we make a big meal and eat leftovers. I always took as many leftovers as I could when on the road.
• Snacks
  • Protein drinks
  • Protein bars
  • Snickers, not the king size
  • Beef jerky
  • Boiled eggs
  • Egg muffins
• Eating Out
  • I still tend to get a burger and fries at least once a week. I just usually don't have the bun, some places call it protein style others call it a lettuce wrap and I only get a regular fry.
  • I make healthier choices. When I go to Texas Roadhouse I only eat one roll instead of five
  • For example, I recently went to Buffalo Wild Wings. I got the traditional 10 piece non-breaded wings, half with a dry rub half with a sauce and I only dipped a few of them in ranch.

Tips for being successful

• Don't let yourself get hungry
• Focus on hitting your protein goal
  • You'll feel fuller and have less cravings
• Don't drink sugary drinks
  • Coffee and diet sodas are good
  • Water is the best
• Don't beat yourself up if you aren't perfect, you are going to have bad days. If you can follow the plan 80-90% of the time you are going to be successful.
• Eat for fuel, not for fun

Check out MotorcarrierHQ.com 

Find our courses at haulinassetsacademy.com

Holy cow, Hurricane Helene has caused some serious problems. It seems like it has been a while since we have had a hurricane that was this bad. Ashville, NC received over 2 feet of rain and is a zone of devastation. It's not an area we deliver to often, but guess what, we have a load trying to deliver there now. The receiver's parking lot is full of mud and can't take trucks. It could be weeks before they are up and running again. I'll keep you posted on what happens.

We are constantly trying to improve. We start off this episode talking about a few things we have decided to do a little different. We hope both changes will improve our bottom line. One of them should also have a positive impact on our maintenance BASIC score and hopefully on our overall maintenance costs.

What To Expect From Episode 164

We had a really good revenue month, but overall numbers are still not where we want them to be. There are some positives in the numbers that we will talk about throughout this episode.

• Total miles ran– 136,000 (That's a new record)
• Deadhead miles– 10,513 (7.7%, down a little from last month.)
• Total revenue- $283,586.73
• All-in rate-per-mile- $2.09 ($0.03 better than last month, $0.10 better than last year)

Haulin Assets had a profit of $5,189.78. With the big revenue month, I was expecting more. There were some P&L items that impacted net profit.

Here are the P&L items that stick out, we'll talk about them.

• Damages
• Payroll
• Maintenance and Repairs
• Fuel

In these two episodes, Craig and Chris are joined by Alex from Motor Carrier HQ to pick her brain about her experience with the FMCSA, maintaining good ISS scores, and how to get yourself out of a hole if you find yourself in one.

Get the full show notes at haulinassetsllc.com

Check out MotorcarrierHQ.com 

Find our courses at haulinassetsacademy.com

In these two episodes, Craig and Chris are joined by Alex from Motor Carrier HQ to pick her brain about her experience with the FMCSA, maintaining good ISS scores, and how to get yourself out of a hole if you find yourself in one.

Get the full show notes at haulinassetsllc.com

Check out MotorcarrierHQ.com 

Find our courses at haulinassetsacademy.com

Full Show Notes

Haulin Assets T-shirts and More

This year has been better than last year, but we are still not where we want to be. Hopefully, things continue to gradually improve as the year goes on. Here is what July looked like.

• Total miles ran– 118,563
• Deadhead miles– 9,649
• Total revenue- $243,804.91
• All-in rate-per-mile- $2.06

Haulin Assets realized another small profit of $10,342.41. That continues our profitability streak of 10 months, but cashflow is still negative and we talk about that a bit, including a big change to help alleviate some of the pressure that causes.

Here are some areas of the P&L that we highlight.

• Factoring
• Fuel
• Repairs
• Taxes and licenses

BLUF (Bottom Line Up Front), If you want to have good CSA scores, be safe, maintain your vehicles, obey traffic laws, and don't break the hours of service rules. With that being said, we give a lot of tips about what the CSA scores are, how they are calculated, and some of the best practices to keep them low. Lower is better. Here is an outline of what we cover.

Most Motor Carriers receive scores in 7 Behavior Analysis and Safety Improvement Categories, which wrapped up in a nice little acronym called BASICs. The categories are:

• Unsafe Driving 65%
• Crash Indicator 65%
• Hours-of-Service Compliance 65%
• Vehicle Maintenance 80%
• Controlled Substance 80%
• Hazardous Materials Compliance 80%
• Driver Fitness 80%
• Insurance and Other (This one isn't really scored, it's more like pass or fail)

The percentages are the thresholds, we explain those during the episode.

The simple answer to this question is they come from interventions with the FMCSA/DOT Officers. Those can be anything from roadside inspections to an audit. Most inspections occur at Ports of Entry or because of an inspection that happens when a driver is pulled over for a moving violation or obvious vehicle maintenance issue. One of the biggest contributors to the number of inspections you get is your ISS Score (Inspection Selection System). You can check your score and a lot of other important things regarding your company's history with the FMCSA by logging into their system here.

The scoring process is a bit complicated. I am going to over simplify it, but here is the general idea. Every time you are inspected your company receives a score. If there is a violation, you get bad points. If the inspection report is clean, you get good points. The formula the FMCSA uses basically divides the bad points by the good points. If you have more good points than bad, your resulting "measure" will be less than one. If you have more bad points than good points, your "measure" will be higher than one. Good inspections will give you more good points and lower your "measure". Your "measure" is then compared to all the other fleets that are roughly your same size. If you are right in the middle, meaning half the companies have a "measure" lower than yours and half the companies have a "measure" higher than yours, your BASIC score will be 50%. If you are in the top 10%, your score will be 10%, etc. Every BASIC has a threshold, if you are above the threshold you are going to be on the FMCSA's radar. You just became low hanging fruit, if you don't know what that means, listen to the episode.

If you really want to nerd out and dive deep into the methodology and calculations, you can learn a lot by clicking on this link and reading the document.

There are several things that happen if your CSA Score exceeds the threshold.

• You are going to get a letter from the FMCSA saying you need to behave and do better
• Your ISS Score is going to increase and your are going to get inspected more, when that happens, most scores get even worse
• If your score stays elevated for a while or if you exceed the threshold in multiple categories, you are way more likely to be audited, that's when the fun really begins

Most audits result in a Safety Rating, either Satisfactory, Conditional or Unsatisfactory. In part two of the series we will talk about what happens if you get a bad safety rating or if the FMCSA tells you that you need to complete Corrective Action Plan.

Motor Carrier HQ: https://www.motorcarrierhq.com/ 

This is a topic I wish I did not have to cover, but fraud in the trucking industry is going crazy right now and it is affecting all of us. Being dishonest is very short sided and will catch up with you in the long run. There is no place for dishonesty in the business world. In my opinion, fraud is one of the worst forms of dishonesty.

Why is fraud so rampant right now? I have my theories that Craig and I discuss, but I think it stems from the tough market we are in. Here are some of the more common types of fraud that we talk about:

• Double brokered loads (We spend a lot of time on this one)
• Companies that pretend to be the FMCSA, DOT, IRS or State Agency
  • Emails from government entities should end with a .gov not .com
• Card skimmers
• New Entrant Audit scams
  • Watch out for these domains
    • compliance@dotfilings-fmcsa.com
    • compliance@usdots-fmcsa.com
    • @fmcsa-gov.com
    • @safer-usdot.com

Being vigilant and skeptical is your best weapon. Here are some of the things we talk about watching out for:

• Formatting is off on the rate confirmation
• Rate confirmation is missing information, like your company name
• The logo looks blurred or otherwise messed up
• The rate is well above market rate
• Email addresses with a domain that does not match the company
  • Gmail, Outlook, iÇloud, Yahoo, etc email domains are a big red flag
• New domains, you can check the domains age at https://www.whatsmydns.net/domain-age

Verify everything, especially when working with someone for the first time

• Independent internet searches
  • Call the phone number you find independently, not the one on the paperwork they gave you
• Your factoring company
• Get a second opinion from someone you trust or someone who is an expert

I start off this episode ranting a bit about a couple of challenges I faced recently. One involved being dropped from a load that I think was completely unwarranted. The second situation was because of a strong oder in a trailer that wouldn't go away, even after a washout. 

What To Expect From Episode 158

We are not where we want to be, but if you look at June of last year verse June of this year, we are in a much better spot. All the trucks are running. Here are the numbers:

• Total miles ran– 118,237 (The sitting truck was back working for about half the month)
• Deadhead miles– 8,806 (7.5%, Creeping up. I have expected this and explain why)
• Total revenue- $244, 523.12
• All-in rate-per-mile- $2.07 (Drop from last month)

Haulin Assets realized a profit of $23,521.93, that is the second best of the year. What has me even happier is that it is $46,983.01 better than last year when we had a loss of $23,461.08. We continue to extend our streak of being in the black, that makes me happy. If we continue to see profit through the summer I will continue to get more and more optimistic that the market is finally turning the corner.

The P&L was pretty bland this month. Additionally, I explain why we were able to have a lower all-in rate-per-mile, but had a higher profit than last month.

Throughout my military, business ownership and corporate careers I have held many different types of leadership positions. I have lead groups with just a few people to groups with hundreds of people. I am a much better leader today than I was 20 years ago. I hope this episode will give you some things to think about so you have a leg up to becoming a better leader. Keep in mind that a great leader positively impacts an organization in ways that are immeasurable. Great leadership is a multiplier for your organization.

What To Expect From Episode 157

Whether you are a single owner operator or the owner of a fleet of trucks, you are the leader of your trucking company. I want to share some of the things I have learned over the years about being a good leader. Some of the greatest leadership lessons I have learned came during difficult circumstances. Here are a few of the leadership experiences I have had that have helped me gain experience: Army Engineer Company Commander in Afghanistan, starting and running multiple businesses, running businesses in difficult times and learning how to lead at the Army's Sapper Leader Course under extreme hunger and fatigue.

During this episode, Craig and I break down and expound on the following keys I feel like are imperative to being a good leader for your trucking company. Here they are:

• Provide good direction and guidance
  • Good company policies
  • The type of drivers you hire
  • How big of a company you will be
• Build a good culture
  • Safety
  • How hard your drivers run
  • How your drivers are treated
  • Hiring process
• Be a servant leader
  • Find ways you can serve your drivers
• Find ways to give your drivers a win
• Be self-aware
  • Be honest with yourself, change the things you do that cause problems

Leadership is a life-long endeavor. You should always work on your leadership skills. Here are some ways I like hone my leadership skills.

• Read great books on leadership, here is a list of some of my favorites:
  • Good to Great, Jim Collins
  • Speed of Trust, Steven
  • Start With Why, Simon Sinek
  • Biographies
    • Ulysses S Grant
    • Alexander Hamilton
    • Buffet: Making of an American Capitalist, by Roger Lowenstein
    • Steve Jobs, Walter Isaacson
    • Elon Musk, Walter Isaacson
• Be reflective
• Get feedback

What To Expect From Episode 156

We took a step back this month. Largely because of the truck without a driver. Here are the numbers:

• Total miles ran– 109,840 (Lowest since September of last year)
• Deadhead miles– 7,578 (6.9%)
• Total revenue- $239,743.84
• All-in rate-per-mile- $2.18 (Moving in the right direction, three months in a row of improvement)

Haulin Assets realized another little profit of $4,688.82. This is a decrease from last month and we ended our streak of doubling every month. But, at least we extend our streak of being in the black. June of last year was the beginning of a really bad streak of losses, I am super interested to see what happens this June. I am crossing my fingers that we can keep the numbers in the black through the summer. That will be a win compared to last year.

There were a few expenses to take note of on the P&L, here are the areas we dive a little deeper into:

• 5 Payrolls
• Tolls keep going up and up
• Fuel is 27% of revenue

What To Expect From Episode 155

Buying truck insurance is a pretty complicated and sophisticated purchase. The better you understand it, the better product and service you will receive and the better price you will pay. Understanding the players in the truck insurance world is step one in building your insurance knowledge. Craig and I start off the episode talking about the difference between insurance agents/agencies and insurance companies. We also discuss how many agents should you have giving you quotes. I typically recommend that you work with 2-3 agents, because that is usually enough to get you quotes from most, if not all of the major truck insurance companies.

It's good to get an early start whether you are getting a quote for the first time or working on a renewal. I recommend you start gathering all the information needed for the agents giving you quotes around 60 days before your renewal. Here is what you will usually need to provide:

• A completed application, your agent can often take the information over the phone, fill it out and provide you a document to sign.
• Your equipment list with all your trucks and trailers listed along with their current values. The value you list is critical. Listen to the episode and I explain why.
• Driver list
• Loss runs

Timing is critical. I recommend you have all the info your agent needs to get a quote to them at least 30 days before your policy expires so you get the quotes back in a timely manner. I also recommend you bind the new policy, that means making the down payment, at least 1 week before your policy ends. That ensures you don't miss out on any loads. About a week before your policy expires some shippers and brokers won't book loads with you because they see your policy is expiring and they want to see you have a new one in place first.

How much your policy is going to cost depends on a lot of different factors. It really boils down to risk. We talk about some of the main risk factors that affect your pricing, to include:

• How long you have been in business
• How many claims you have had and how much has been paid out in the past
• Experience of your drivers
• Equipment values
• Where your home base is and where your truck(s) travel to

Not all insurance policies are equal. Price is an important factor, but you also want to make sure you are getting adequate coverage for the type of operation you run. For example, if you have reefers, make sure you get reefer breakdown coverage. If you are hauling something super expensive, make sure your cargo insurance is high enough. If you haul HAZMAT make sure you have the right coverage at the right limits. A good agent who primarily does truck insurance will be able to help you through all of this. Don't work with an agent just because they are someone you know. If they don't regularly write truck insurance they can get you in a lot of trouble by not providing you the coverage you need.

What To Expect From Episode 154

Even though we keep moving in the right direction, there is still a decent way to go. Here are the numbers: 

• Total miles ran– 113,066 (Lowest in a while, had a truck sitting for a while. Larry had to step a way from over the road for a while. He is a great driver, we’ll miss him)
• Deadhead miles– 7,551 (6.7%, slight increase)
• Total revenue- $241,614.25 (Decrease, for the number of miles, it’s an improvement)
• All-in rate-per-mile- $2.14 (Moving in the right direction)

Haulin Assets realized another baby profit of $10,565.31. That is also 7 months in a row in the black.

Here are some of the P&L items we discuss during this episode:

• Revenue was down
  • Rate per mile was up.
• Most expenses were pretty normal, but here are the exceptions:
  • Bad debt
  • Maintenance and repairs
  • I did another CPM analysis and we went from $1.97 in October 2023 to $1.87 now

What To Expect From Episode 153

Let’s define each.

Independent Owner Operator, just like the name implies, you are truly independent. You have your own DOT number, you own or lease the truck you drive, in most cases, you have your own Operating Authority (MC Number) with the FMCSA (Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration).

Leased Owner Operators, own or lease a truck and operate under the authority of another motor carrier.

Where things get confusing is the term leased is also used when leasing vehicles, think of that kind of lease as a long-term rental of the vehicle. That type of vehicle lease/rental is different the leasing on as an owner operator, they are two very different types of leases, but often happen at the same time between the same companies and can cause some very serious problems. We talk about that and why you have to be super careful in that type of situation. I'll put it this way, we don't recommend leasing or buying a truck directly from the motor carrier you are going to lease on to. Craig and I talk about why that is.

There are pros and cons of both and we talk about each.

Independent Owner Operator

Pros

• Truly Independent
• Higher financial upside
• You get to decide the type of loads you haul
• Lots of tax benefits
• Investment control
• Strong sense of ownership

Cons

• You have to find your own loads
• All responsibility falls on you
  • Bookkeeping
  • Sales
  • Maintenance
  • Admin tasks
  • MCHQ and Trackin Assets can help you navigate a lot of these
• Higher stress
• Takes more money to start
• Your insurance will likely be higher for the first year or two
• Isolation
• Unknown, unknowns 

Leased Owner Operator

Pros

• Many administrative tasks are handled for you
• You don’t have to find loads
• You will get some cost savings operating as part of a larger fleet
• Less financial risk
• Should have access to steady work
• Training and safety programs
• Great way to gain experience and use it as a stepping stone to becoming an independent OO

Cons

• You sharing the profit with another carrier
• You’re working for someone else and have to follow their rules and do what they say, you lose control
• Some companies will take advantage of you
• You may be the low man on the totem pole
• Some contracts can be very restrictive
• Ownership transfer issues

Other considerations

Independent Owner Operator

• Fraud
• You'll need a bigger reserve of money

Leased Owner Operator

• Talk to several owner operators who do work for the any company you are thinking about leasing on to
• Make sure you read through the entire lease agreement. Consider having an attorney review it. I know it costs money to do so, but it could save you money in the long run and prevent a lot of heartache.
• At Haulin Assets we don’t come down hard on either side of Independent O/O vs Leased O/O. We generally advise against lease to own. It’s not the subject of this episode so we won’t go into depth but things just seem to be more likely to go wrong with lease to own. The agreement is riskier, the lessees are generally not starting on a firm footing, and the lessors can have incentives for you to fail.Buy or lease your own truck, from somewhere other than the company you are leasing on too
  • Do your own truck registration/IRP plan (Another way they trap you)
  • This will take a bit more money, but is a much safer way to do it, less likely to be taken advantage of

What To Expect From Episode 152

Our trucks ran harder in March than they ever have, setting a new record for the most miles ran in a month. The high miles, however, weren't enough to give us a meaningful profit. Here is how things looked:

• Total miles ran– 130,151 (New Record)
• Deadhead miles– 7,615 (5.9%, about the same as last month)
• Total revenue- $261,567.02 (Better than last month, but not as good as January)
• All-in rate-per-mile- $2.01 (I would have liked to have seen a little better number, hopefully we do in April)

Haulin Assets realized another baby profit of $4,199.19. That is double what we did in February, if we can double our net income every month for the rest of the year, I’ll be happy, okay, that's not realistic, even we can do it for the next 4 months would be fantastic. 

There wasn't much in the P&L that really sticks out. The only thing outside of normal is an increase in fees for legal and professional services. That was mostly a payment to do the Haulin Assets taxes for 2023.

In 1972 psychologist Walter Michel of Stanford conducted a study on delayed gratification with some kids. It was called the Stanford Marshmallow Experiment. We talk about the experiment and how it relates to trucking, especially business ownership. The study largely focuses on self-control and willpower and how those two skills or traits have an impact on a person's ability to be successful. Listen to the episode as Craig and I talk about the study and how important those two skills or traits are. We also attempt to answer the questions whether those traits are something you are born with or can learn or develop as you age. 

Here are some interesting additional readings about the Stanford Marshmallow Experiment.

• UCLA Anderson Review
• University of Colorado Boulder

Check out Fuelstream here: https://www.fuelstreamservices.com/

Traditionally, February is the low point of the year for the trucking industry. If that is the case this year, we have reason to celebrate. Although we didn't rake in huge profits, we did a lot better than we did during the really tough period we had during the middle of last year.

Before we jumped into the heart of this episode, Craig and I talked about two different situations we ran into recently. The first is about a frustrating receiver we regularly deliver to in the Miami area of Florida. The second is about a ruptured reefer fuel tank, that's a new one for me.

What To Expect From Episode 150

The numbers this month are pretty bland, nothing to write home about, but what more do you expect in February? I am actually fairly pleased with how things turned out and I expect things to get better and better as the year goes on. Here are the numbers:

• Total miles ran– 114,044 (Lowest miles we have had in 5 months)
• Deadhead miles– 6,474 (5.7%, about the same as last month)
• Total revenue- $234,532.17 ($56,426 less than last month)
• All-in rate-per-mile- $2.06 (If this is the low point of the year, which I think it should be, I’ll be happy)

Haulin Assets realized a baby profit of $2,046.87. 

Here are the P&L items we talk about:

• Revenue
• A new expense category
• Fuel

We start this episode off with a funny story about Cruella de Vil the truck, it makes for a good listen. Finding the right loads is one of the most important things to do well with your trucking company. It is also one of the most challenging. That is why I decided to do a series on the subject. This episode is going to wrap the series up and tie it all together with a neat little bow. If you have not listened to the previous three episodes, go back and listen to them first. As a reminder, they were: Episode 144, Finding Loads, They Systems I Use, Episode 146, Finding Loads, The Process, and Episode 148, Finding Loads, Relationships.

The spot market, that mostly lives on load boards, has its purpose in the trucking industry. However.... if that is all you are using, you probably won't last long as a company and you definitely won't be as profitable as you could be. There is both a science and an art to find the best loads available. The the science is the systems, processes, and number crunching and art is the relationships and negotiation. We break down the science and art and talk about the following keys to success:

• Having good systems
  • Load board
  • TMS
  • File Storage
  • Tracking weather
• Having a good process
  • Early to bed, early to rise, makes a dispatcher successful and wise
  • Don't wait
  • Be efficient
• Know your numbers
  • Variable and total cost per mile
  • Target rate per mile
  • Revenue per day is as important as rate per mile

• 80-20 Rule
• It's about relationships
• Where to find the best loads
• How to negotiate

What To Expect From Episode 148

Anyone can find loads, it is a lot more difficult to find loads that are profitable and keep drivers happy. The biggest difference between finding just any load and finding consistent, good paying loads is building good relationships. When I first started dispatching, I was getting all of my loads, that weren't direct shipper loads, off load boards. Last month I booked 41 loads through brokers, I only got 20 of them came from a load board. The other 21 were all via a few broker relationships where I was able to reach out directly to the broker and get a load before they had posted it.

The meat and potatoes of this episode covers some of the things I have been doing to find and build those relationships. This may seem like a simple thing, but it's not easy. It takes time, commitment, compromise, and a good attitude. Doing it right can have one of the biggest positive impacts on your trucking company. Like many hard things, it's worth the time and commitment it takes. Being willing and able to do hard things is one of the biggest factors that separate the successful from the unsuccessful.

THE CHECKLIST Whenever I book a load with a new broker I...

1. Make sure I communicate well throughout the entire load
2. Do everything they ask
3. Follow through with what I commit to them
4. Send a follow up email thanking them for the load.
5. If I think they are someone I would want to do more business with, I follow up with a phone call:

5a. Try to guage if we are a good fit for each other. Common lane, are their rates good enough

5b. Make regular contact

5c. You might have to take a load that fills a need for them, but might not be the best for you

The last 4 months have been some of the hardest months of my career. They have been tiring and stressful, but it is so nice to see positive results and it is making all the sacrifices feel worth it. With that being said, we still have work to do. Like I said in the story I told at the beginning of this episode, we can't get complacent and we can't settle into a routine. If we continue to push, good things will happen.

I feel like we need a drum roll. I'm really excited to share this month's numbers, so without further delay......

• Total miles ran– 120,930
• Deadhead miles– 6,347 (5.2%)
• Total revenue- $290,958.59 (New Record)
• All-in rate-per-mile- $2.40 (Best number we have seen since August of 2022)

Haulin Assets realized a good profit of $59,546.22. Last month I said I was not going to feel good until I see our net profit number in the $50-60k range. I feel pretty good. We haven’t seen a number like that since the height of the market at the beginning of 2022, right before the crash started. I think we have made a muckle, at least for this month.

Most of the expenses on the P&L were pretty in line with normal so we don't talk much about those. The only exception was fuel, which was only 24.3% of revenue. That is the best we have seen since the beginning of 2022. Hopefully, fuel stays relatively low and revenue stays high.

We finish off the episode by talking about some of the changes happening that have produced good results.

What To Expect From Episode 146

Dispatching is not an easy job. It's busy, hectic and requires you to be detail oriented at a very high level. Having a well defined process and following it is critical to keeping your trucks rolling efficiently with high paying loads. One of the keys to success is starting your day early. Load boards see their highest level of activity between 0800-1100 Eastern Time Monday-Friday. Activity on load boards tend to see another uptick around 1500 (3:00 PM). You need to be up and glued to the load boards during those hours if you are looking for loads for a truck. Here are some of the other things we talk about:

1. Staying ahead of the game
2. Your company information
3. Sending a driver out
4. When to start looking for the next load
5. Relationships
6. Take notes

Impact Tip

Register for the Haulin Assets Academy email list. Go to haulinassetsllc.com and look for the popup on Episode 146's page.

Craig and I start this episode off with a funny story about one of our drivers crossing a scale while pulling a reefer trailer full of bulk liquid totes. 

What To Expect From Episode 145

This was another month that did not produce the results I was hoping for. On a good note, we were slightly in the black. Here are the numbers for December. 

• Total miles ran– 123,557 (315 more miles than last month, you can’t say we aren’t constant)
• Deadhead miles– 7,455 (5.1%)
• Total revenue- $268,143.84 (Second best ever)
• All-in rate-per-mile- $2.16 (One of the better all-in rates of the year, but still not where we need it to be)

I am really happy with the total number of miles ran, total revenue and our all-in rate-per-mile is moving in the right direction. The net income did however disappoint me. This month Haulin Assets realized another small profit of $1,633.76. There were several contributing factors that kept us from better numbers. Here are some of the areas we dive a little deeper into:

• Bad debt
• Payroll
• Fuel compared to revenue
• Repairs, especially Truck 02, our only active truck that we bought used
• Tolls

I also spend some time talking about a new goal I have regarding working with brokers. I have already seen some good benefits. Listen to the episode to find out what I am learning and what I am trying to do different that is bearing fruit. 

Finding loads and dispatching trucks is a very fast paced, intense job, whether you are managing 1 truck or 10. It requires lots of different skills, you have to be able to multitask, pay attention to detail, build relationships and stay organized. Having good systems and processes in place is critical to being successful, that is why I am dedicating the first episode on this series to the systems I am using to stay on top of everything that is going on. Here are the different systems I am using, we cover each one in more detail throughout the podcast. I hope this episode is helpful.

1. 1. Computer
      1. Two monitors, scroll down to see what my computer setup looks like.
      2. Email, kind of goes without saying
      3. You want any system you use to ideally be able to operate on your phone so you don't have to be by your computer all the time. However, the apps are never as good and there are typically things that are harder to do from your phone.
   2. Phone system
      1. A VOIP based phone system, something that records calls and can text. I use my cell to communicate with drivers and my VOIP phone to interact with brokers.
         1. Ring Central seems to be the most popular
         2. Nextiva
      2. A cell phone
   3. Loadboards
      1. DAT
         1. Seems to have more loads
         2. The app is not as good as the computer. You can't do multiple searches at the same time.
         3. Audible alarm
         4. Heat map that shows inbound and outbound volume of loads
      2. ITS, truckstop.com
         1. Cheaper
         2. They say they have brokers who either use them exclusively or post to their site before they post on other load boards
   4. TMS (Transportation Management System) or an Excel Spreadsheet
      1. One of my favorite things about spreadsheets is they are free or very cheap, Google Docs, Excel
      2. I think you can manage 5 trucks okay with a spreadsheet. Once you get over 5, I would definitely recommend using a TMS. You may even want to with 3.
   5. ELD
      1. Motive
   6. A program to digitally sign docs, lots of options
      1. For a Microsoft Windows based computer, Adobe Acrobate DC, it's free
         1. Comes installed on most computers
      2. For Macs, Previewer
         1. Comes with the computer
      3. Android, Adobe Fill and Sign Mobile App
      4. iPhone, you can sign with the native pdf viewer
   7. Credit Checks
      1. DAT
         1. I take this with a grain of salt
      2. Factoring companies
         1. Their systems seem to be the most reliable
   8. Weather
      1. National Weather Service, look at the loop and select weather.
      2. State Road Conditions, every state has something
         1. Look at the cameras
         2. WY, I-80
         3. OR
         4. WA
         5. NE
   9. Cloud based share point for document storage
      1. Accessible from your phone
   10. Evernote
       1. Knowledge is everything. The more you know the better you are going to be. I don't remember everything well, so I take notes and review my notes regularly
       2. Free and paid versions

What To Expect From Episode 143

Another month in the black, but I still feel like we are running on a treadmill getting nowhere. I am beyond ready for a change in the freight market. I was expecting a little better 4th quarter than we are seeing. At least it isn't as bad as this summer was. Here are the numbers:

• Total miles ran– 123,557 (11,232 average per truck. I am happy with that)
• Deadhead miles– 7,455 (6%, backdown to a respectable number)
• Total revenue- $246,357.69 (Second best ever)
• All-in rate-per-mile- $1.99 (I really want to see this number above $2.25)

Haulin Assets realized another small profit of $9,471.77. I was hoping for better, but it does feel good that we are not bleeding as badly as we have been.

The P&L was pretty bland so there was NSTR. (Army acronym, can you guess was it means?)

Your CPM (cost per mile) is one of the most important things you should know and understand well about your trucking company. This is the second time we have dedicated an entire episode to this subject. The first time was over 4 years ago and a lot has changed so we're overdue to dive into it again. We cover a lot in this episode and it is definitely a must listen. The excel spreadsheet with our CPM data is below. It is best to look at it while you are listening to or watching the episode. 

Here are some of the things I feel like you need to consider when it comes to your cost per mile, we discuss each in detail.

• How often you should figure out your cost per mile
• Is it better to calculate your CPM based off one month of data or the average of 6 months worth of data
• When should you re-evaluate your CPM

I dive into the mechanics of how I do it. Here is an overview:

1. I pull a Profit and Loss Statement for the most recent month and one for the previous 6 months and export them into Excel.
2. I delete the revenue info. I like a clean workspace without unnecessary data and the revenue info is not needed.
3. I categorize all my expenses as either fixed or variable and group them together. 
   1. Fixed costs-costs that are based on time rather than the quantity miles driven. (I give some examples in the podcast.) 
   2. Variable costs-costs that change as the number of miles driven changes. (I give some examples in the podcast.) 
4. To simplify things, I lump the smaller less significant fixed costs into one group I call G & A (General and Administrative). I do the same thing for smaller variable costs and put them in a group called miscellaneous. 
5. I like a hybrid CPM calculation where some of the expenses are based off the most current month and some of them I use a 6 month average. I explain this better in the podcast. 
6. I take the mileage from the most recent month and divide each expense by the mileage to get the CPM. Using a spreadsheet makes this step pretty easy. 

In the podcast I cover a bunch of different ways I use the CPM to help me make better business decisions. With that being said, just because I know my CPM doesn't mean I won't take a load that I essentially lose money on. I use some examples of recent loads to explain this better. 

If you haven't actually started your company yet and you want to estimate your cost per mile, Motor Carrier HQ has a great online CPM tool. You can use it to get an idea of what you think it will cost you to operate and that will help you know if you can be profitable based on the rate per mile you think you can get from loads you will be hauling. You can access the calculator by clicking on here. 

To close out, Craig and I talk about how using my CPM as a comparison to yours could be a great tool to give you better insight into your operations.

What To Expect From Episode 141

There have not been many months where I felt like all the trucks and drivers were running on all cylinders, but they certainly were in October. On average, the trucks ran almost 12,000 miles, all of them over 10,000. I don’t think that has happened since we have had more than two trucks. Check out the numbers for the month:

• Total miles ran– 128,771 (Almost 20k more miles than we have ever run)
• Deadhead miles– 11,398 (8.9%, The highest we have had in a while, there were some really long deadheads)
• Total revenue– $274,59
• All-in rate-per-mile– $2.13 (Highest in 4 months, only 2 months this year that were higher)

Haulin Assets realized a small profit of $8,781.56. I was hoping for better, I would have like to have seen closer to $30k. Many mickle make a muckle, we have more mickles to make. One of the positives of a hard market/economy is it forces you to be better as a company. We have made a lot of changes that I think are good changes. It’s clear that there are additional adjustments we need to make. Those adjustments will help us get through these tough times and will make us that much more profitable when the market takes a positive turns.

HERE ARE THE P&L ITEMS WE DIVE A LITTLE DEEPER INTO:

• Payroll was higher because of the extra miles
• Last work comp extra payment from our audit – $2,900
• IFTA

o    Oregon $2,000

o    NM $500

o    KY $200

o    UT $500

• Repairs

o    $8,000 Truck 02 – It’s these kind of repair bills that add proof that older trucks can be a money pit.

o    $4,000 Truck 07 – Worn wiring harness from rubbing, not under warranty, but hoping to get some back. $3,500 of it was towing. Barely over 1 year, a wiring harness shouldn’t rub. I hope freightliner will do the right thing.

Over the past 6 months, our outbound loads have shown significant improvement, particularly the last 3 months. The rates we are getting are respectable. We are getting sent to the same areas more regularly. This consistency will enhance our understanding of those lanes and enables us to build relationships that contribute to more profitable outcomes when operating in those regions.

Here are a some things we are going to be working on next:

• Better understand what routes will get us home more profitably and quickly
• Since our most profitable loads are the ones leaving Utah, we need to get back to Utah quickly
• We need to start making more contacts with shippers in those areas we are traveling to on a more frequent basis so we can work our way back with direct shipper loads

October brought a mixed bag of achievements and challenges for Haulin Assets. While we managed to break the losing streak and witnessed positive records in various aspects, there’s an undeniable sense of room for improvement, particularly in the financial realm. The month’s financials didn’t quite reach the desired mark, but the positive strides in operational efficiency and increased average mileage per truck indicate that we’re on the right track.

What To Expect From Episode 140

September is our 4th month in a row with a loss, but I am pretty confident that streak is going to end with October. The freight market continues to struggle and so does our bottom line. Here are the numbers for September.

• Total miles ran– 103,808 (We essentially had one truck sitting in September)
• Deadhead miles– 7,021 (6.8%)
• Total revenue- $198,099.60
• All-in rate-per-mile- $1.91 (really bad, again)

Haulin Assets realized a loss of $49,554.61. We did finally sell Truck 01 and $23,001 of that hit the P&L as other income, so the true loss was slightly more palatable at $26,558.11.

There is a lot to digest in this P&L. Here are some of the things we discuss in more detail.

• Damages
• An extra payroll
• Hiring costs
• Work comp audit
• Maintenance and repairs

What To Expect From Episode 139

Your 20 Dispatch has been with us since day 1 and has been a huge part of our business. I wouldn't know how to slide tandems if it wasn't for Jake. It just makes business sense for us at this point in our business to bring dispatching in house. We have known for a while this day would come and have been communicating about it for a while.

To make the transition easier on both of our businesses, we are going to do it over a long time. The plan is to transition 2 trucks per month for the next 5-6 months. That will allow us time to build good processes and it will prevent a big shock in Jake's business as well. If you are interested in using Your 20 Dispatch, give Jake a call or shoot him an email, his contact info is (208) 717-1681 or jake@your20dispatch.com.

Here are a few of the topics we touch on:

• Minimizing driver impact
• Sharing workload
• Learning process
• Future podcast episodes
• Handling direct shippers

This is a bitter sweet change. In the long run, I think it will be good for our business and great for the podcast. 

I think this is a great episode with some really good wisdom. I hope you like it as much as I do. Many a mickle makes a muckle is probably more true in the trucking industry than any other. Money is made from pennies on the mile. Lots of pennies and lots of miles add up to something big.

If you have been following the financial episodes, you know that the last several months have been a real financial struggle for Haulin Assets. There is no silver bullet to solve this problem. Fixing it is going to take a lot of little tweaks and changes that together will have a big impact on our bottom line.

Over the last couple of months we have been working on making those tweaks. Here are some of the little changes we have been or will be making to realize the big impact we so desperately want to have.

Changes we are already making:

• Regular visits to customers
• Shaving costs off our fuel expense
• Management driving more often
• Revisiting how and where we get tires
• Getting our vendors on 30-day terms to improve cash flow
• Being more deliberate about all our expenses
• Load analysis
• Following up on warranty claims
• Staying on top of our A/R

Changes we are are in the process of implementing:

• Reducing the down days of our trucks (I hope this will be on the larger side of an impact)
• Getting some direct shipper backhauls
• Being more efficient in the office, maybe use a TMS (Transportation Management System)
• Doing minor repairs and maintenance ourselves
• Constantly reevaluate all we do
• Consistently find time to work on the business, instead of just in the business

We have a bigger change that is likely to happen in the not too distant future, but there are some pieces that need to fall into place before we are ready to make an announcement. Stay tuned!

Making lots of little changes is hard. It requires patience, dedication and a willingness to be deliberate in all you do. That is not easy, but people who are willing to do that are usually the people who are successful. Jump on the wagon with us, let’s go down this path together and work diligently on solving this problem.

Go find many mickles. Lots of little changes can have a big impact on your business. Go find a bunch of little things you can do to improve; that together, will have a big impact.

What To Expect From Episode 137

It was another tough month, but I am seeing more and more signs that we are turning the corner. I have my fingers crossed that we are almost to greener pastures.

• Total miles ran– 100,053 (Less miles, two trucks sat the entire month)
• Deadhead miles– 7,421 (7.4%, about the same as last month)
• Total revenue- $199,337.87
• All-in rate-per-mile- $1.99 (bad, but $0.13 better than last month)

Haulin Assets realized a loss of $25,755.42.

Here are the things we dive a little deeper into on the P&L:

• Fuel, it's getting bad again
• Work comp, we are playing catchup from an audit
• Maintenance, lots of tires
• Oregon use tax
• Repairs, highest number I remember seeing

Trucking is one of the most demanding and important jobs in the United States. This is one of the best times of the year to show our appreciation for what drivers do because this Sunday, September 10th, is the beginning of  National Truck Driver’s Appreciation Week. The American Trucking Association’s theme this year is, “Miles of Gratitude”. What do you think that means? We have some ideas that we share during the episode.

The trucking industry is one of the most critical industries in our country. Without us the economy would grind to a halt within a matter of days.  Here are some cool statistics that came from the American Trucking Association:

• $940.8 billion in gross freight revenue from trucking, that is 80.7% of the nations freight bill in 2022.
• 46 billion tons of freight hauled, that is 72.6% of the total domestic tonnage shipped.
• $29.12 billion paid by commercial trucks in federal and state fuel taxes in 2021.
• 48 billion miles traveled by single-unit and combination commercial trucks in 2021. That’s 3,521 trips to the sun.
• 62 billion miles by combination trucks, tractor and trailer.
• 750,000 active motor carriers.
  • 8% operate 10 or fewer trucks.
  • 7% operate 100 or fewer trucks.
• 54 million truck drivers

Craig and I also talk about some of the things I really like about driving and what we appreciate about truck drivers. If you ever have any doubt about how important trucking is, just look at what happened to trucking verses many other industries during the COVID pandemic. We share some pretty cool comparisons that should make any truck driver proud.

To Larry, Trudy, Tyler, Shelly, Jeanie, Thomas, Paula, Charles and Joel, the current Haulin Assets team of drivers and to the rest of you 3.54 million drivers out there my family and I would like to thank you from the bottom of our hearts for all you do to help this amazing country be what it is. Thank you!

Health and fitness can mean a lot of different things, during this episode Craig and I are going to focus on 3 different aspects nutrition, mental health and fitness. The biggest keys to be successful in any one of these areas, is to first prioritize your time on the road and second to think ahead and plan.

As we discuss on the podcast, my priorities while on the road are:

1. Delivering my load safely and on time.
2. A) Administrative business tasks 2B) Fitness
3. Sleep
4. Time preparing meals

There are things, like my family and my mental health that are important to me that aren’t on the priority list. That is because they are things I can do while driving, so I don’t feel like they compete as much for my time.

Nutrition

The hardest part of eating on the road...

Head here for the full show notes. 

Meramec Solutions is the sponsor for this episode. If you have any need to hire drivers, they are a great option that we have used several times at Haulin Assets. We have had great success using them. You can learn more by visiting their website, click here. It never hurts to give them a call to see if they are a good match for your needs.

How do you get through the hard times? If you have listened to this podcast very long, you know I am in the Utah Army National Guard. I had drill over the weekend and as part of it, did a 6 mile ruck march carrying 35 lbs of gear in the mountains of Utah. That weight isn’t really that bad, I have done much worse over much longer distances with a lot more weight, but it reminded me of some of the harder rucks I have done. How do you get through those when your body is screaming at you and you just want to be done, you put one foot in front of the other, and that’s what we are doing now. It’s not fun, but it will end at some point and life will get better. Perseverance brings rewards.

• Total miles ran– 105,356 (More trucks on the road, but less miles. Several drivers to more time off than normal, it’s July)
• Deadhead miles– 7,949 (7.5%, on the high side, have to drive further to find loads)
• Total revenue- $196,152.07
• All-in rate-per-mile- $1.86 (really bad)

Haulin Assets realized a loss of $11,890.75.   

Items we cover about the P&L:

• Maintenance and many more tires
• IFTA and use taxes
• Repairs

Let’s pray this doesn’t last much longer.

On a positive note, we did just finish up a load for a new shipper and it went well.

It’s no secret that trucking is really tough right now. That fact has caused me to do a lot of thinking lately about what can I do to help get Haulin Assets in a healthier place. One of the things I decided to do was look at the loads we have been hauling to see if I could find any positive or negative trends that we could improve on. In this episode, Craig and I are going to take a look at what I have found.

What To Expect From Episode 133

Anytime you hear the word analysis you have to get excited because you know there is going to be a spreadsheet involved. First thing I did was went into our accounting system and pulled a report of all the loads we did in April, May and June of this year and exported the data to a spreadsheet. The spreadsheet included:

• Broker's name
• Date the load was delivered/invoiced
• Invoice amount
• Then I added the following items for each load:
  • Loaded miles
  • Deadhead miles
  • Total miles
  • Direction of travel (Outbound, east to west, or other)
  • Direct Shipper or Broker

Once I did that, I singled out all the shippers and the brokers we hauled at least 4 loads for. They are who I wanted to focus on. Then I did some spreadsheet wizardry with some formulas to calculate the following for each company I had singled out to determine:

• Percentage of loads hauled
• Percentage of revenue
• Percentage of miles
• Loaded rate per mile
• Total rate per mile

I lumped all the remaining loads into one category and calculated the same items for that category. I'm going to call that category "Everything Else" and use it as our average. You can download the spreadsheet I used here. I changed all the brokers and shippers names to something generic.

Taking a look at our loads and our relationships at such a detailed level was very insightful. There were a lot of lessons learned that are going to result in some changes we are making. Craig and I talk a lot about what those lessons and some of the changes we are going to make during the episode, so be sure to listen. I think an exercise like this can benefit any business. Some self-reflection is always a good thing.

The roller coaster continues. We were pretty high last month, that means we're pretty low this month. Before we dive into the numbers Craig and I talk a little about some analysis I have been doing on the brokers and shippers we have been hauling the most for. I think it is going to help us focus in on relationships we want to develop and others we might want to let go. I think you'll see an episode on this subject in the next couple of months. We got Truck 12 on the road in June, that's exciting.

What To Expect From Episode 132

I’m glad I didn’t get too comfortable making a profit. We definitely swung the other way this month. 

• Total miles ran– 109,092 (Record, 10.25 trucks, 10,643 miles per truck. Not bad.)
• Deadhead miles– 6,837 (6.3%)
• Total revenue- $200,773.11
• All-in rate-per-mile- $1.90 (I removed Truck 12’s numbers from this, because the mileage was out of proportion with the revenue since it started at the end of the month)

Haulin Assets realized a loss of $23,461.08. There are several things that made the loss as bad as it was. Rates still suck, that is probably the biggest issue. Close behind is that we added Truck 12 in June.

Here are some of the P&L items we discuss during the show:

• Why payroll expense was so high
• Fuel was $6k more than May and was 33.4% of revenue
• Maintenance was high
• Tow bill for truck 08
• About $2k in expenses getting 12 on the road

What To Expect From Episode 131

For the first time in a while I am excited to show the numbers to everyone. So, without further delay:

• Total miles ran– 102,460
• Deadhead miles– 8,361 (8.1%, higher than it has been)
• Total revenue- $227,809.76
• All-in rate-per-mile- $2.23  (I don’t think June is going to be as good, but it should be better than April was)

Haulin Assets realized a profit of $46,444.56. The best profit number we have seen since early 2022. Again, I think there were a lot of aligning of the stars that made May look better than it realy was, but I’ll take it. Hopefully this is the beginning of the upward climb, it’s going to be a slog, but as long as we are moving in the right direction, I’m okay with it taking a bit to get to where we want things to be.

Here are some of the things we discuss in more detail as we breakdown the P&L Statement:

• A negative number in damages, how does that happen?
• Fuel was 27.2% of revenue, the best we have seen since the beginning of 2022 and in the normal range. Fuel prices seem to be stabilizing a bit.
• Hiring cost of $1,000
• If you remember last month, WC was high because of a Down payment for a new policy, we ended not having a payment this month, for some reason and we also received a refund from our old policy.
• Everything else was pretty vanilla

The FuelStream system has been in the development for over 2 years and has come about because of my time on the road and the challenges of keeping my fuel costs as low as possible. When I was driving I found that it took too much time and was way harder than it needed to be to save money on fuel. During this episode we bring on two guests, Raff and Christian from FuelStream to discuss how the FuelStream system, an app and card can help you save money on your fuel expense. Here are some of the things we talk about:

• Speed and acceleration
• Idling
• Negotiating fuel pricing
  • The monthly and per gallon savings will blow your socks off
• Easy and effective fuel planning using the FuelStream App
  • The card teams up with the app to make it easy to find the best fuel prices you have probably ever seen

Don't just take our word for it, we also bring on some clients and listeners who share some of their experiences using the FuelStream system. Special shout out to Jason and Kim, Doug, Corey and Kent for sharing their experiences with us. And a big thank you to all the FuelStream clients who have been with us the last couple of years as we have built FuelStream into what it is today. Sometimes it isn't easy being the guinea pig but you all have helped us build something that we hope will help many more people and we can't thank you enough.

Raff mentioned a special offer to the Haulin Assets family where you will get a $50 rebate after you use the card for the first time. More details are available by clicking here and filling out the contact form and entering promo code: PODFREE50. You can also call (385) 264-7610 to learn more.

What To Expect From Episode 129

I'm feeling like a broken record. The freight market continues to be tough and our numbers are not fun to look at, but sticking your head in the sand like an ostrich is even worse. Before we jump into the numbers Craig and I discuss a couple of the things that help get through the challenging times. It's a good discussion and worth listening to, especially if you are like me and could use something to help you refocus.

• Total miles ran – 97,331
• Deadhead miles – 5,239 (5.4%, not bad)
• Total revenue - $177,508.38
• All-in rate-per-mile - $1.82 (The worst we have seen in years, probably since I was driving)

Haulin Assets realized a loss of $8,221.70. No sugar coating this month. May is going to be more of the same, but things did get a little better towards the end of the month. Not sure yet if that was temporary because of Memorial Day or if it will turn into a more permanent improvement.

Impact Tip

Build the leads in your funnel. Find at least 10 shippers you call to get your funnel started. Once you have gone through them, reevaluate and improve your process and do it again.

What To Expect From Episode 128

The freight market has been really tough for a year. When is that going to change? In this episode, Craig and I discuss some of the factors that drive the freight market, what usually makes it change, and when we think that it will start to turn. We finish off the episode by talking about the two key things any trucking company needs to focus on to get through times like this.

Full show notes (with charts!) at https://haulinassetsllc.com/

What To Expect From Episode 127

The tough months keep racking up. With that being said, it could have been worse, we were positive and at least moving in the right direction. The weather was a bit better in March and so far April has been much better. I'm done with winter. Here are the numbers.

• Total miles ran – 99,992
• Deadhead miles – 6,736 (6.7%, creeping up, indicator of a tough freight market)
• Total revenue - $201,659.00
• All-in rate-per-mile - $2.02 (The worst we have seen in years, since the start of COVID)

Haulin Assets realized a profit of $9,848.55. I am actually surprised we made a profit based off the average rate per mile. Our direct shipper relationships are making a difference. An owner operator could probably survive in a market like this working only off the spot market, but anyone with employee drivers I don’t think would be able to. We're keeping our hook in the water so we'll be able to take advantage of a stronger market when the fish are ready to bite.

Website: http://bit.ly/haulinassets

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/haulinassetspodcast/

iTunes: http://bit.ly/ha-itunes

Google Podcasts: http://bit.ly/ha-google-podcasts

Stitcher: http://bit.ly/ha-stitcher

Motor Carrier HQ: http://bit.ly/motor-carrier 

Finding the type of drivers we look for at Haulin Assets has always been a challenge. That challenge got a little easier when we started working with Jake, our guest on this episode, and he helped us start recruiting on Facebook. Here are some reasons to use Facebook as a recruiting tool:

• 96% of truck drivers have a Facebook account
• On average, Facebook users spend 33 minutes a day on the platform
• It's the #1 platform for user engagement
• 73% of seekers found their last job through social media

Here are the general topics we cover:

1. What is currently generating interest in your positions and how do you leverage that?
2. What needs to be in place before launching ads, i.e. Facebook Business Manager, Facebook Ads Manager, etc?
3. Who is your target audience?
4. What content do you need to create and the basics of how to do it.
5. How many applicants do you need?
6. What is your plan after launch?

Best Practices

• Make ads mobile friendly
• Use images and video
• Have patience
• Driver testimonials are gold
• Use web automations to increase the speed to contact
• Facebook is a piece of the pie

Common Mistakes

• Failure to declare your ad as a “special ad category”
• Poor image sizing
• Using stock images
• Not running ads through the Ads Manager
• Not staying up to date on policy changes implemented by Facebook

Check out Meramec Solutions here

One of the first books I ever read that had a big impact on my financial IQ is an older book called, "The Richest Man in Babylon" by George  S. Clason. It's a great book, that teaches simple financial principles that are easy to understand and he does it in an entertaining way. You can learn more about it by clicking here. Most of what we are going to talk about is not trucking specific, but we will try to relate some of it to owning a trucking company. Here are some of the principles we'll cover during this episode:

1. Believe YOU control your own destiny (This is one of my own principles and I think it is the most important, listen to learn why)
2. Increase your income
3. Manage your expenses
4. Reinvest your earnings
5. Is your home an investment? (My answer to this question might surprise you.)

What To Expect From Episode 124

February ended up being better than I thought it was going to be, but definitely not a good month. At least we didn't lose money. Craig and I dive into how things went this month. I also talk a little about insurance because our insurance renewal is coming up in April. Less than a month away by the time this episode posts.

• Total miles ran – 83,391
• Deadhead miles – 4,142  (5.0%, Decent)
• Total revenue - $184,606.48
• All-in rate-per-mile - $2.21

Haulin Assets realized a profit of $7,279.94. The P&L for the month was fairly bland, but there are a few specific things about it that we go over.

What To Expect From Episode 123

As I mentioned, speccing a truck is something everyone has an opinion about and they are all different. It's good to do your research so you can make the best informed decision possible. This is one area of your business it is good to spend a little extra time on to make sure you get it as close to right the first time as possible. There are a few things we did differently on our 2nd and 3rd new trucks than we did on the first new truck, like ordering a TV mount and inverter from the factory. Doing them aftermarket was just a pain.

Here are the main topics we are going to cover:

• The engine
• The transmission
• The rear axle
• Items that affect the weight
• Driver comfort
• APU
• Extended warranty

Below you can see the document from the dealer that has exactly how our most recent trucks are specced. It's just some light reading, great to help put you to sleep.

We had all 10 trucks running in January for the first time. In fact, it was the first time in over a year that we have had all of our trucks running for an entire month. What does that mean, we broke some records. Check it out:

• Total miles ran – 101,915 (Record, but weather had a negative impact)
• Deadhead miles – 5,739 (5.6%)
• Total revenue - $215,780.06 (Record, but should have been $20k higher)
• All-in rate-per-mile - $2.12 (Yuck!)

Haulin Assets realized a profit of $21,131.69. Our saving grace was that we had all trucks running for essentially the entire month. The longer I have been doing this the more I realize that we need to have the wheels turning as much as possible. A sitting truck is a money pit.

According to NIOSH (The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health), Worker's Compensation Insurance is used to provide partial medical care and income protection to employees who are injured or become ill from their job. The concept is simple, the rules behind it are not. If you or one of your drivers is injured while working for your business, this type of insurance will help cover some or all of their medical expenses and typically give them a small wage while they are not able to work.

We'll cover a lot of details during the podcast, but here is the bottom line. Most states require you have either Worker's Compensation or Occupational Accident Insurance if you are an owner operator. If you have employee drivers, you typically have to purchase Worker's Compensation Insurance. As an example, the way Utah works, if you are an owner operator, you can opt out of worker's compensation by paying a $50 annual fee, submitting a waiver form to the Utah Labor Commission and showing proof that you have Occupational Accident Insurance, which is cheaper, but will still cost you money and provide some coverage.

One of the big topics we cover is how much the insurance costs and that answer varies, A LOT. Worker's Compensation for a truck driver is way more expensive than it is for an office worker. The type of work you do is the biggest determining factor, the other two main factors are how much you pay in wages and the number of claims you have had. If you are a brand new company, they use a generic factor to calculate the claims part. We cover this in more detail, so be sure to listen.

Some other good options for learning more about Workman's Compensation and Occupational Accident Insurance include:

• Your truck insurance agent, they can usually get you the coverage and tell you all about it.
• Search Engines. Google is pretty smart, google worker’s compensation in (put your state here) or Occupational Accident Insurance in ..... and you will learn a lot.
• Your state's Division of Insurance

Don't try to skirt the system. If you don't follow the rules you can get fined or sued. Worker's Compensation coverage is one of the biggest reason companies that try to use 1099 contractors instead of employee drivers get sued by their drivers.

Get your hook in the water. This impact type is brought to you by Chet, my much smarter than me brother. People have been asking a lot if now is a good time to start a business. The answer to that question depends on you. I would say your success in starting a company is 80% you and your preparation and 20% the economy and other factors out of your control. I have seen people start trucking companies when the economy is down and freight rates are terrible and succeed. I have also seen people start a trucking company when the economy is booming and freight rates are awesome and fail. The owner’s ability and their preparation are the difference maker. If you are prepared and ready, do it. If not, wait. There is one thought I would like to add to that for you to consider.

Do you like fishing? When you are fishing you want your hook in the water when the fish start biting. If you wait unitl the fish start biting to find your rod, get all your gear and bait your hook, by the time you are ready and cast your hook in the water, you will have already missed some or all of the action. To catch a fish, you hook must be in the water.

What To Expect From Episode 120

We start off the episode by talking about a driver we let go at the beginning of the month. We learned some lesson that we'll discuss that will hopefully help you avoid some of the same mistakes. Here are the highlights for the month.

• Total miles ran – 80,998 (A new record, celebrate the wins)
• Deadhead miles – 4,937 (6.1%, Decent)
• Total revenue - $194,233.65 (Much better than the last two months, also a record, but we need to keep working on pushing that number higher)
• All-in rate-per-mile - $2.39 (Getting closer to being respectable)

Haulin Assets realized a profit of $7,746.33. Not where we want things to be, but when we break down the P&L you will see why, the number is really better than that.

Overall, I would say this was our best month in quite a while, especially considering Christmas week and that rates really were not that good for a December, really for any month, let alone December. We also had quite of few anomalies this month that we talk about during this episode.

What To Expect From Episode 119

Everyone's situation is different so we are not going to answer this question for you. We are going to give you some really good data and analysis to help you make the right decision for yourself. You are going to have to listen to the episode to get all the details. I highly recommend you listen to it while following along with the P&L below, it will help things easier to understand.

Here are some of the most interesting topics we will be covering.

• The difference in fuel expense. This one really surprised me.
• Insurance
• Interest on loans
• Maintenance
• Repairs
• Operating Income vs Net Income
• Depreciation. We take a bit of a deep dive into this one.

We also cover some pros of new trucks and some reasons it might make sense to buy used.

What To Expect From Episode 118

We start off the episode by talking about some recent meetings we had with shippers and some of the lessons we learned. Make sure to listen because it will have some really good information for any owner operator or fleet owner. November was better than October and I think December will be better than November. Craig and I talk through the numbers for the month, but here is a snapshot.

• Total miles ran – 77,557 (Close to our best month, but still not where it should be)
• Deadhead miles – 3,162 (4.1%, really good)
• Total revenue - $169,215.25 (Much better than last month, but still almost $20k down from our high)
• All-in rate-per-mile - $2.18 (Still tough, but slightly better than it was last month)

Haulin Assets realized a profit of $5,015.91. Not where we want things to be, but better than a loss. With 9 trucks running, I would like to see that number consistently over $30k.

A couple of the things we talk about regarding the P&L are:

• A $2,000 hiring expense
• Fuel, 45% of our revenue, yikes!

Impact Tip

Go talk to 5 new shippers within the next two weeks. When you meet with shippers you are doing sales. I have a lot of experience in sales and sales is a numbers game. For example, for every 10 phone calls you make, you may get 3 face-to-face appointments and out of those you may get 1 sale. A big chunk of sales is having the discipline to make the "cold calls", set the appointments and meet with people. If you do that consistently, the sales will come.

What To Expect From Episode 117

October was another tough month. We had two trucks sitting and a third truck that only ran about half as many miles as it should have. That put us nearly 25,000 miles short of where we would like to be and was the biggest impact on our P&L. Here are the numbers:

• Total miles ran – 63,455 (Significant drop)
• Deadhead miles – 4,495 (7.0%, highest we have had in a while)
• Total revenue - $134,281.24 (Lowest in 8 months)
• All-in rate-per-mile - $2.12 (Significant drop, lowest it has been in a really long time. Freight rates were just not good in October. I don’t have November numbers yet, but I am pretty confident November was better, especially the latter half of the month.)

Haulin Assets realized a loss of $20,825.09. Two months in a row with a loss. Is the sky falling? I don’t think so. I think all in all we can get by as long as we don't average more than one truck off the road. Hiring drivers in a timely manner is crucial. Craig and I dive into the two main reasons I feel like we had such a big lost, a low number of miles and a freight market that is struggling.

We also talk about a few expenses on the P&L that were outside of normal.

• Fuel
• Adding Truck 09
• Maintenance and repairs
• IFTA

I have been talking about the incident that I haven't been ready to talk about for two months, well, I am ready to talk about it. Craig and I discuss a significant issue that occurred with one of our trucks and drivers in September. You'll want to listen to this episode just for this story. On top of that, there is an abundance of good content about a book I just finished that I really loved.

I recently finished listening to an audio book that I feel like I really relate to, and it is full of lots of great lessons anyone can learn from to make their life better. The book is "Can't Hurt Me: Master Your Mind and Defy the Odds" by David Goggins. David is a retired Navy Seal and one of the best endurance sports athletes in the world. His life experience and how he views our existence is inspiring and there are lots of lessons we all can learn from the book to make us better at all aspects of our lives. He also issues 10 challenges that we can follow to help us along a path of perpetual improvement. Below I list 6 of my favorite lessons and challenges from the book. I encourage you to read or listen to it. You can learn more about it be clicking here. Comment on your favorite lessons once you have had a chance to pick it up.

1. Life is not fair, don't use that as an excuse and let it hold you back.
2. Create an "Accountability Mirror". It will help you be self-aware and hold you accountable to achieve self-improvement.
3. Get out of your comfort zone.
4. Be willing to work harder than the next person.
5. Remove the governor in your brain.
6. Be uncommon.

Craig and I talk about these 6 lessons and challenges and why they stuck out to me. I hope you read the book and enjoy it as much as I did.

If you have listened to this podcast for very long, you probably know that I also own a factoring company, iThrive Funding. Factoring companies are usually pretty good at managing receivables and I think iThrive Funding does an exceptional job at it. In this episode, Craig and I bring in a guest, Farrah, from iThrive Funding to help share some of the best practices iThrive uses to keep its average days to pay low. Here is a snapshot of what we cover.

1. Gather the paperwork and create the invoice
2. Make sure the invoice and accompanying paperwork are sent to the right place (This is the number one mistake people make)
3. 7 Days after the invoice is sent, send an email that confirms they received all the paperwork and that they have all the info the need to send a payment
4. 25 Days after the invoice is sent, send an email asking for a payment status
5. 35 Days after the invoice was sent you should have received the payment, if you haven't make a PHONE CALL to see what is going on
6. Call every other business day until you have a resolution

• Identify issues early, step 3 is the key
• Make sure you are sending the invoice to the right place (We explain this one in detail so make sure you listen)
• Make sure all the paperwork is in order, common issues include:
  • Missing pages of the bill of lading or rate confirmation
  • Scans or pictures of paperwork that are difficult to read
  • Missing signatures
  • Missing BOLs (Bills of Lading) when there are multiple drops
  • Unresolved claims, shortages, etc

iThrive Funding is offering a free version of credit checks. The website to get the credit checks can be accessed by clicking here. Before you can use the system you have to get in contact with Farrah by calling her at (385) 430-2315 or you can send her an email at farrah@ithrivefunding.com. She will get you the login information you will need and give you some tips and tricks for using the system.

Do something today that will strengthen your personal finances. Why do you put your oxygen mask on before your child’s, even though it is kind of counter intuitive. If you don’t take care of yourself first (If you’re not strong) you can’t help anyone. Same goes for finances. Your personal finances are the adult and your business is your kid. If you can’t manage your personal finances, you aren’t going to be able to manage your much more complicated business finances. If you have bad personal spending habits, your personal finances are going to bleed your business dry. Make sure your house is in order.

BLUF (Bottom line up front), we lost money in September, it wasn't much, however we also had a lot of one off expenses that skewed our numbers a bit. We also had two trucks sitting for some of the month so revenue wasn't quite as high as it should have been. This month's P&L was pretty chaotic, Craig and I dive into the details and explain it all.

• Total miles ran – 78,386 (New record, but still not where it should be for 8 trucks, should be closer to 90k)
• Deadhead miles – 4,094 (5.2%)
• Total revenue - $187,637.46 (Record, but should be over $200k)
• All-in rate-per-mile - $2.39 (Drop from last month, but it is still better than average over the last 6 months)

Haulin Assets realized a loss of $5,326.76. This month was really just one of those months that was a sacrifice to the gods of the up and down trucking industry. A lot of things kind of came together, in not such a great way, this month and we lost money.

Here is a few of the things that impacted the P&L that we talk about.

• Bank charges, $2.5k in loan origination fee
• Damages, $12.5k
• About $10k in repairs and maintenance, a bit on the high side, but not crazy high
• $4.5k in HVUT (2290)
• $500 in travel, refer to the incident that has not yet been named.

Try to manage time off. October through December typically have the best freight rates of the year. Avoid taking time off during these months. I would much rather as an owner operator work hard through the holidays, and then take time off in January and February when rates are often at their worst. Same thing for drivers, try to work with them to limit time off in the 4th quarter and take it in the 1st. With that being said, don't sacrifice relationships for a few extra bucks.

What To Expect From Episode 112

Profitability has improved, but we are still struggling with cashflow. The loss we had last month and catchup from adding trucks 6, 7 and 8 in such a short period of time have really stressed our bank account.

• Total miles ran – 67,773 (About 10k less than our record last month, kind of low for 8 trucks)
• Deadhead miles – 3,095 (4.6%, really good)
• Total revenue - $170,655.41
• All-in rate-per-mile - $2.52 (Best month since March)

Haulin Assets realized a profit of $29,840.34. Our best bottom line number since March. I am hoping this trend continues. I think we are probably going to have some up and down months over the next couple of months, but I am hoping we have our cashflow smoothed out by the beginning of the year because I think the first quarter of 2023 is going to be tough.

Impact Tip

Always monitor your cashflow. Cashflow is different than profitability. A profitable company can still have cashflow issues. Any time you add a new unit to your fleet, it is going to have an impact on your cashflow, and you need to take that into consideration. Have a backup plan incase things don’t go as you planned.

What To Expect From Episode 111

Here are the challenges we will discuss in detail:

• We had to let a driver go, he is a great guy, but was just costing us too much money
• Fuel prices are really hurting the bottom line when freight rates, especially on the spot market, don't leave much wiggle room
• We have struggled to get financing for our next trucks, although we think we have it worked out through a lot of work
• Rates have dropped, we are working on direct shipper loads

What To Expect From Episode 110

We lost money in July. July must be a tough month, out of curiosity I wanted to see when the last time was that Haulin Assets lost money, it was July of last year. There are a lot of factors that contributed to the loss and we'll talk all about them during this episode. There is a lot to cover, so buckle up.

• Total miles ran – 77,238 (The most we have ever run)
• Deadhead miles – 4,419 (5.7%, pretty good)
• Total revenue - $182,752.07 (Another record)
• All-in rate-per-mile - $2.36 (A little better than last month and I am pretty sure we will see it go up in August too.)

Even with all the records, Haulin Assets realized a loss of $17,562.75, this is why we saved money early this year and last year when we were making really good money.

What To Expect From Episode 109

We asked each guest a version of the 8 questions listed below.

1. Tell us about your story.
2. What was the tipping point for you? When did you decide to take the plunge into ownership?
3. What has been the biggest impact of listening to Haulin Assets?
4. What has been your biggest challenge of starting and owning a trucking company?
5. What has been the most rewarding?
6. What is your favorite episode?
7. What would you like to learn more about?
8. If you could turn back time, would you do it all over again?

What To Expect From Episode 108 Here are the questions we answered:

Barry "Are there avenues to produce the same amount of income in a local delivery situation as opposed to over the road?"

Eldwin "Is it possible to buy or transfer someone's authority if they're retiring or getting out of their business?"

Darron "How does the timing of buying your first truck affect your success in starting your own company. Is the timing important?"

Kevin "The hiring market is extremely tight. Most of us out here are struggling with hiring drivers. What other tips do you have for hiring drivers?"

Tony "I've had my class A CDL since 1992 [been working construction since then], and I wanted to try find another way to feed my family. So I wanted to buy a rig, but the rigs are really expensive nowadays. What kind of advice can you give me?"

Visit haulinassetsllc.com and motorcarrierhq.com

What To Expect From Episode 107

There is a lot going on in June's numbers that are not really apparent just by looking at the raw data. This is a good episode to listen to so you get a full picture. For starters, we had two new trucks come online in June and that impacted the numbers in several ways.

• Total miles ran – 64,759 (More than the last several months, because we had two new trucks run part of the month, but we also had a couple of drivers take a bit more time off than normal, summer vacations)
• Deadhead miles – 4,102 (6.3%, creeping up a bit)
• Total revenue - $142,631.51 (about the same as last month, but that includes about $22k in revenue from trucks 6 & 7)
• All-in rate-per-mile - $2.20 (Lowest it has been in a long time, so far July is feeling a little bit better, but that is just what my gut is saying, we will see the truth when the numbers come out)

Haulin Assets realized a profit of $7,207.19.

June 2022 made for the third tough month in a row for financials. With that being said, I am a bit more optimistic about July than I was about May or June. We also have a pretty exciting development that we are going to talk about. Listen to the episode and Craig and I will talk all about it.

What To Expect From Episode 107

There is a lot going on in June's numbers that are not really apparent just by looking at the raw data. This is a good episode to listen to so you get a full picture. For starters, we had two new trucks come online in June and that impacted the numbers in several ways.

• Total miles ran – 64,759 (More than the last several months, because we had two new trucks run part of the month, but we also had a couple of drivers take a bit more time off than normal, summer vacations)
• Deadhead miles – 4,102 (6.3%, creeping up a bit)
• Total revenue - $142,631.51 (about the same as last month, but that includes about $22k in revenue from trucks 6 & 7)
• All-in rate-per-mile - $2.20 (Lowest it has been in a long time, so far July is feeling a little bit better, but that is just what my gut is saying, we will see the truth when the numbers come out)

Haulin Assets realized a profit of $7,207.19.

Impact tip: Be careful out there ... or something!

What To Expect From Episode 106

We asked each guest a version of the 8 questions listed below.

1. Tell us about your story.
2. What was the tipping point for you? When did you decide to take the plunge into ownership?
3. What has been the biggest impact of listening to Haulin Assets?
4. What has been your biggest challenge of starting and owning a trucking company?
5. What has been the most rewarding?
6. What is your favorite episode?
7. What would you like to learn more about?
8. If you could turn back time, would you do it all over again?

What To Expect From Episode 105

I don't think we have ever had two back to back months that look so similar. I don't think we could have replicated a month so perfectly if we had tried. The fact that things are so similar leaves me optimistic that we are near the bottom of the drop in freight rates. The main numbers are below. Listen to the episode and check out the P&L below for the details.

• Total miles ran – 58,859 (About 400 more than last month)
• Deadhead miles – 3,489 (5.9%, same percentage, 19 more miles than last month)
• Total revenue - $141,998.48 (491.02 less than last month)
• All-in rate-per-mile - $2.41 (.03 drop)

Haulin Assets realized a profit of $12,052.12. About $1,700 less than April.

We talk some more about fuel prices and the percentage of revenue that fuel is an expense. It has been interesting to track that way for the last several months.

Impact Tip

Be kind, it's good business. I have had an experience over the last several weeks that has really made me reflect on life. Listen to the episode to learn more. In honor of Grace G, who was an example of love and kindness towards all she met.

Here are the questions we answered.

"What is your opinion on using a dispatch service for a 1 truck owner operator?"

"During your 1st year as an owner operator, did you update your data or did you have someone do that for you? If you did it yourself, what was your schedule for this task?"

"It would be very helpful to breakdown the various owner/manager/administrative tasks and estimated weekly hours spent on each."

"With the price of fuel hovering around $5 in my area, what steps are you doing to try and reduce this expense as much as possible?"

What To Expect From Episode 103

The peaks and valleys of trucking are not for the faint of heart. We went from our most profitable month ever in March to one of the least profitable, since we have been running multiple trucks, in April. We will talk about what happened. Fuel is on everyone's minds, as it should be, but I think that was the second most impactful thing on our P&L. Listen to the episode to learn more. Here are the numbers:

• Total miles ran – 58,404 (Record, but the records are going to end there)
• Deadhead miles – 3,470 (5.9%, Pretty Normal)
• Total revenue - $142,489.50 (Over a $30K drop, ouch)
• All-in rate-per-mile - $2.44 (Another big drop)

Haulin Assets realized a profit of $13,750.09. A pretty big drop as well, over $50K.

What To Expect From Episode 102

I'll give a summary of what we talk about in this episode here in the show notes, but you'll need to listen to hear all the nitty gritty details. The economy is experiencing a lot of uncertainty right now, which makes people nervous. You have probably experienced it yourself. However, I don't think the sky is falling. We talk about what is driving some of the freight rates and what I think is going to happen to them. We also talk about being prepared, speaking of that.....

Impact Tip

Be Prepared. It’s the Scout moto and should be yours too. How do you prepare, save money, control your expenses and don’t grow too fast.

We break all kinds of financial records this month. We have some fun with this episode and try to trick Craig with some trucking acronyms.

What To Expect From Episode 101

We hade all 5 trucks running strong for the entire month. By the end of the month we basically had completed 3 full years in operation and having our strongest month ever was a great way to celebrate. One thing that has a tendency to surprise people when they hear about how much money we are making is that we haven't taken a dime out of the company, other than a modest salary for Nate and I. We talk a bit about that and some other cool financial topics, including continuing the conversation about comparing expenses, specifically our fuel expense, to total revenue as a percentage. Doing so can be especially helpful at a time like this when fuel is going up super fast, we use this technic to see how much of a problem the surging fuel prices are, or maybe they aren't such a problem.... Tune in to find out.

First full month with all trucks running 100%, hence all the records.

• Total miles ran – 57,475 (Record)
• Deadhead miles – 3,124 (5.4%, Back to Normal)
• Total revenue - $174,594.90 (Record)
• All-in rate-per-mile - $3.04 (Pretty Good)

Haulin Assets realized a profit of $65,714.92. Another record.

Holy Cow!! I can't believe we have made it to our 100th episode. It also falls right on the 3 year anniversary of Haulin Assets. Time has flown by and it has been a wild, but extremely fun and satisfying ride. We are going to spend the next several episodes celebrating our success. Speaking of success, that is what this episode is going to cover.

What To Expect From Episode 100

I have been doing a lot of thinking over the last several weeks about all that has happened over the last three years. We have experienced a lot of success and I thought I would share what I think have been the 10 keys to our success. Craig and I will go into some pretty good detail about each of these keys. Hopefully they can help you in your business.

10. Financing Was Critical

9. We Limited Our Risk And Got A Warranty

8. The type Of Trailer We Have Is Critical

7. Managed Our Expenses

6. We Took Compliance Seriously

5. Our Relationships Are Important

4. Longer Runs Have Been More Profitable

3. We Have Treated Our Drivers Well

2. Our Business Is Built On A Sound Financial Foundation

1. We Have Been Persistent and Endured

Impact Tip

Think like an owner. Everything we talk about in this episode really boils down to thinking like an owner.

A famous saying in the military is, “Tactics win battles, logistics wins wars.” Logisitics isn’t usually the sexy thing in war, but it really is one of the biggest, if not the biggest, difference maker. Just as in war, in business it’s often the not so sexy things that are the difference between winners and losers.

What To Expect From Episode 99

Just like logistics, managing overhead is not sexy, but doing it poorly will sink you and doing it well will put you ahead of your competition. In this episode Craig and I talk about what overhead is and what to watch out for. Low overhead can be a major competitive advantage for small trucking companies. Large trucking companies have an advantage by purchasing in bulk. They save on expenses like fuel, tires and maintenance. Small trucking companies can more than make up for that advantage by running lean and limiting their overhead.

Haulin Assets biggest overhead expenses:

• Owner salaries
• Permanent parking space rent
• Small miscellaneous expenses

Large trucking company overhead:

• Office rent
  • Utilities
  • Property taxes
• Vehicle for owner/manager/employees
• Salaries
• Sales/marketing

Listen to the episode to hear about the one mistake that is by far the biggest that I see companies make with overhead, especially small trucking companies from Owner Operators to companies with 20 trucks. Don't make this mistake, I see far too many companies go out of business because of this one thing.

Impact Tip

Get out and network! One of the more common questions I get from people is how we are getting trucks. I think there are two big reasons we are getting trucks. First, we developed a relationship with a salesperson. That did not happen overnight. Networking is important and relationships are critical. Because we had a relationship with him, he told us in in the Spring of 2021 that if we wanted trucks in 2022 we would have to place an order for them by the beginning of July 2021. The second big reason is because of that conversation, we made a plan for what we wanted in 2022 a year ahead of when we wanted the trucks. We should get our first 2022 truck around the end of April/early May, but we placed the official order for that truck in July, along with all the other trucks we want in 2022.

What To Expect From Episode 98

Had all 5 trucks running starting on about the 10th of the month, so almost a full month with 5 trucks.

• Total miles ran – 48,682 (Warning, this is a very close estimate. I don’t have the exact number, listen to the episode to learn why)
• Deadhead miles – 3,453 (7%, higher than it has been in a while)
• Total revenue - $162,139.10 (Record)
• All-in rate-per-mile - $3.33 (Better than I thought it was going to be) 

Haulin Assets realized a profit of $48,286.79. Another record, which surprises me because we had a decent number of anomalies to the P&L. We talk about those during the podcast.

The P&L for this episode looks different than the ones you have seen in the past. I added a column that compares expenses as a percentage of income. There are a lot of great reasons to use this comparison. Craig and I go over the what, how and why of percentage based comparisons. Using this tool will be a great help to your business. It can also help relieve stress when you see the dollars in an expense category shoot up. You might be worrying for no reason. I also included an Excel version of the P&L, you can download it here. 

What To Expect From Episode 97

In this episode we are going to dive deep into the 5 W's of finding a good mentor. Here is an outline of what we will cover:

• WHO makes a good mentor
• What do you look for in a mentor
• When should you look for a one
• Where do you find a mentor
• Why do you need a good mentor

Impact Tip

Don’t lose your childhood confidence. If you have ever watched a toddler, you have seen them do things you know they are probably going to fail at, but they have the confidence to do them anyway. That is how they learn. Don’t be afraid to fail. Don’t be afraid to ask a mentor to help you. You may have to ask 10 people before you find the one who is the right fit for you. The price you pay to go through the 9 failures will be worth it to find the 1 who fits.

Episode links:

Motor Carrier HQ

Small Business Administration

Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses

What To Expect From Episode 96

As usual, we cover the ins and outs of what happened financially this month. Here are some of the highlights.

• Total miles ran – 47,017 (Pretty high, just 4 trucks, but they all ran hard)
• Deadhead miles – 2,452 (5.2%)
• Total revenue - $114,170 (This was actually lower than I expected)
• All-in rate-per-mile - $2.43 (Pretty big drop from where we were at in December, but that is to be excpected. The encouraging thing is that we were still able to run hard in January, wasn’t hard to find loads and our deadhead was pretty low.) February is probably going to be in the same ballpark.

Haulin Assets realized a profit of $29,339.41. Second best net income we have ever had.

Impact Tip

Focus on scalability. How do you make a trucking company scalable? Don't know what scalability is, listen to the episode, we break it down. One of the common problems I see that cause serious problems in our clients companies that sometimes cause them to go out of business have to do with scalability. When a company is small the owner(s) can usually manage the little problems and little inefficiencies. But when the get bigger those little problems became so numerous they are hard to handle and eventually become unmanageable cause an incredible amount of stress. You want things running smoothly before you take the next step.

It is the time of year when all smart business owners start getting ready to file their taxes. In this episode Craig and I cover some important to dos in order to be prepared with your taxes and to make sure you file and pay on time.

Filing your taxes can feel like a daunting task, but if you stay on top of things and start early, it isn't too bad.  The most important thing you can do is keep good records all year long. Doing so is so important and for more reasons than just being ready for taxes. Here are some of the topics we cover in this episode:

• When do you have to file your tax return? It depends on the type of entity you are. You can learn more on the IRS website by clicking here.
• Make sure you don't mail out your 1099s and W-2s late.
• What do you need to provide your accountant. (This is not an all inclusive list, it will get you started, but get with your accountant.)
  • Income and expenses (A good Profit and Loss Statement is best)
  • Balance Sheet
  • Purchases of any assets
  • Significant changes to the business
• Extensions and how they work
• Quarterly tax estimates, how do they work and some generalities for who has to pay them. You can learn more about them, including when they are due from the IRS's Website by clicking here.

Start working on your taxes early. You should shoot for having everything to your tax person a month before they are due.

• DOT Number Status: Company Snapshot
• Operating Authority (MC Number) Status: L&I (Licensing and Insurance)

December was another great month. We cover the ins and outs of what happened financially to make it great.

• Total miles ran – 42,280 (Lower than the last few months, normal for December)
• Deadhead miles – 2,438 (5.8%)
• Total revenue - $128,720.89 (Record)
• All-in rate-per-mile - $3.04 (Highest we have ever had)

Haulin Assets realized a profit of $39,730.23. Second best net income we have ever had.

Set aside 10-20 minutes everyday where all you do is focus on increasing your knowledge. Put the 10-20 minutes on your schedule, set a reminder on your phone, do something so it doesn't get missed. This is the sharpen the ax mentality that Stephen Covey talks about. Learn about a topic that will impact you or your business. It might be something like FMCSA Regulations, fuel economy improvements you can make or accounting principles. There are a million different things.

I listen to and watch a lot of content about business. This episode about being better this year was inspired by a podcast and a YouTube video I recently watched. They have made me be introspective and make some positive changes in my viewpoints and in my life. I hope they do the same for you.

I was recently listening to a podcast that is published by the Harvard Business Review called IdeaCast. This particular episode is an interview with Heidi Grant about an article she wrote for the Harvard Business Review. Here is a link to the article, I highly recommend you read it. In it she talks about nine things successful people do differently. In this episode Craig and I talk about a few of the things that stuck out to me the most. Check out the full list, with other links, at haulinassetsllc.com.

Grab merch here.

Good times keep coming, November 2021 was another good month for the financials. It wasn't as good as the last several months, but still a solid month. In this week's intro, Craig and I talk a little about the ownership mentality.

What To Expect From Episode 92

As always, Craig and I dive into the numbers you see below. There are a few things that stick out in this month's P&L so make sure to listen as we talk about them.

• Total miles ran – 44,905 (Consistent with last several months)
• Deadhead miles – 2,061 (4.6%, on the low side, best we have had in 6 months)
• Total revenue - $115,992 (Lowest we have had since adding 4th truck)
• All-in rate-per-mile - $2.58 (Lowest we have had since July and August, which is unusual, November is usually higher than Sept-Oct, so to see a dip in November is not typical. I will be interested to see what happens with December and then really January and February. It is early to tell, but we might be seeing some of the pressure easing on the freight market.)

Haulin Assets realized a profit of $25,499.06. More than $10k lower than last month.

My philosophy with planning is that you should only have 2-3 big goals for the year. These should be very impactful for your business. If you have too many, you'll get spread too thin and either won't do them all or you won't do any of them very well. Each goal will typically have 3ish tasks associated it. We have done some of the main planning for Haulin Assets for 2022 and I want to share with you our main goals and their tasks.

1. Grow by 5 trucks
   1. Decide Direction
      1. Owner Operators or Hired Drivers
      2. Purchase, new/used
      3. Brand of trucks and trailers
   2. Work on Financing
   3. Make sure we are able to attract and retain quality drivers
2. Improve Scalability
   1. Start using a TMS (Transportation Management System)
      1. Evalute different TMS's
      2. Implement the one we choose
   2. Use a better method to track and issue driver pay
3. Establish direct shipper relationships (Probably 3rd or 4th Quarter)
   1. Create an outline with targets and dates to accomplish this goal (1st quarter)
   2. Hire someone to help us build relationships and possibly start a brokerage
4. Improve our financial strength (This one doesn't really take much time, but is incredibly important so I want to make sure we have it as a defined goal)
   1. Savings
      1. $15,000 in operating capital per truck
      2. Build savings to 10% of outstanding debt
      3. Accomplish 1 & 2 before we take any distributions
   2. Pay down debt

In this episode, Craig and I go into more detail about planning and we talk about the Haulin Assets goals for 2022.

Just Do It. Annual planning is not the most fun or glamorous thing you will do in your business. I would argue that it is one of the most important things you can do and possibly the most important thing you can do. Make it a priority and do it!

The good times keep rolling along, October 2021 was another good month for the financials and the bottom line. By the end of the month we are starting to see some mild rate increases typical of the 4th quarter. Feels like it happened a little later than normal, but this year has been anything but normal.

What To Expect From Episode 90

Some very good looking numbers.

• Total miles ran – 43,903
• Deadhead miles – 2,591 (5.9%)
• Total revenue - $121,014
• All-in rate-per-mile - $2.76

Haulin Assets realized a profit of $36,749.68

Impact Tip

Create a savings plan. Ours is to have $15,000 in operating cash in our checking account per truck that we are running. Then to maintain a cash reserve in savings equal to 10% of our outstanding debt. We currently have about $750k in debt, because we just got our 5th truck and trailer so $75k in our savings reserve. KISS (Keep It Simple, Stupid) The other plan I came up with early on was just too complicated and hard to scale. I think this one is better.

What To Expect From Episode 89 We have talked about our hiring philosophy and what we look for in a driver. In this episode we take a very deep dive into hiring drivers and cover many of the mechanics of the hiring process. We will go over the steps we take, the paperwork we collect, how we screen drivers, what we do to onboard them and how we try to make them a part of our team.

Check out the full show notes here.

What To Expect From Episode 88

Before we dive into the financials, Craig and I compare onboarding a new driver to my marriage. It wasn't all peaches and cream. We talk a bit about some of the things that will help make the process run a bit more smoothly.

Some very good looking numbers.

• Total miles ran – 46,541
• Deadhead miles – 2,376 (5.1%)
• Total revenue - $127,527
• All-in rate-per-mile - $2.74

Haulin Assets realized a profit of $38,702.03.

Impact Tip

Fail to plan, plan to fail. We are coming up on the end of a year and the beginning of a new one. Now is the time to start planning for next year. What are your goals for 2022 and to also take a serious look at your 3-5 year plan. The best companies always do annual planning. Even if you are in this by yourself, you need to do this. Don’t just have a plan in your head. Make is a deliberate process and write the plan down.

Dealing with shippers and receivers is one of the most frustrating things about running a trucking company. As carriers, we are held to their schedule when it comes to pickup and deliver times and those usually are built to benefit their efficiency, not our efficiency. We talk a bit about why shippers and receivers schedule the way they do and how that affects us as carriers.

Receiver's schedules affect our profitability so we have to take into account transit time and sit time with every load we accept. Not all loads are created equally. The wrong load may look good when you look at rate per mile, but it may not be as good as another load with a lower rate per mile when you factor in transit time. It often boils down to how much transit time the shipper and/or receiver has built into the load. Many add some extra time to make sure the carrier arrives on time and that can have bad consequences for trucking companies.

We dive into several of the factors regarding transit time you need to consider when accepting loads.

What To Expect From Episode 86

This episode is a fun one to talk about. It was low on drama and high on results. It's not often we have a month where repairs and maintenance were just over $2,000, and that is with 4 trucks running. That is a very good sign.

Here are the numbers for the month.

• Total miles ran – 46,210 
• Deadhead miles – 3,260 (7.1%)
• Total revenue - $116,991 (All 4 trucks running for the first time.)
• All-in rate-per-mile - $2.53 (Great Rate Per Mile)

Haulin Assets realized a profit of $43,017.42. 

Impact Tip

Seize the day. The freight market is very good right now. Take advantage of it. We elaborate on this tip during the episode so be sure to give it a listen or a watch.

———

Website: http://bit.ly/haulinassets

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/haulinassetspodcast/

iTunes: http://bit.ly/ha-itunes

Google Podcasts: http://bit.ly/ha-google-podcasts

Stitcher: http://bit.ly/ha-stitcher

Motor Carrier HQ: http://bit.ly/motor-carrier 

What To Expect From Episode 85

Managing your cashflow is one of the more important topics trucking company owners need to understand well. It's an important subject for any business owner, but incredibly important for trucking companies because it's a very cash intensive business and margins are thinner than they are in many other businesses. We start off the episode by explaining the difference between cashflow and net income. We spend most of the rest of the episode talking about the following times in a trucking company's life cycle when cashflow tends to be a challenge:

At startup

When you are growing

When you stop factoring

When freight rates decrease

When fuel prices increase, but rates don't

———

Website: http://bit.ly/haulinassets

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/haulinassetspodcast/

iTunes: http://bit.ly/ha-itunes

Google Podcasts: http://bit.ly/ha-google-podcasts

Stitcher: http://bit.ly/ha-stitcher

Motor Carrier HQ: http://bit.ly/motor-carrier 

Craig and I start off this episode by talking about a YouTube video I recently watched of a commencement address Admiral McRaven, a Navy Seal, gave. It's a 16 minute speech where he talks about 10 lessons for changing the world. While you may not have ambitions to change the world, these lessons will help you in your life and in your business. If you follow even a couple of them, you might just do more good than you think. We discuss a couple of Admiral McRaven's lessons:

1. Respect everyone
2. Life is not fair, keep moving forward

I highly recommend you watch his address. You can find it here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TBuIGBCF9jc&t=13s 

Here are the numbers for the month.

• Total miles ran – 33,293
• Deadhead miles – 1,960 (5.9%)
• Total revenue - $82,041 (Three trucks running, forth one hit the road the last couple days of the month.)
• All-in rate-per-mile - $2.46 (Great Rate Per Mile)

Haulin Assets realized a loss of $3,933.94.

In the episode, we cover the reasons we had a loss. The biggest two are: first, we added a new truck and there were costs getting it on the road and second, we replaced the turbo on truck #1.

Don’t spend it all in one place. I think I am going to try to figure out how many different ways I can say the same thing so saving money will probably be a reoccurring theme in the impact tip section of the podcast. If you had a great month, don't waste the profits on something you'll regret.

Craig and I start off this episode by talking about a YouTube video I recently watched of a commencement address Admiral McRaven, a Navy Seal, gave. It's a 16 minute speech where he talks about 10 lessons for changing the world. While you may not have ambitions to change the world, these lessons will help you in your life and in your business. If you follow even a couple of them, you might just do more good than you think. We discuss a couple of Admiral McRaven's lessons:

1. Respect everyone
2. Life is not fair, keep moving forward

I highly recommend you watch his address. You can find it here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TBuIGBCF9jc&t=13s 

Here are the numbers for the month.

• Total miles ran – 33,293
• Deadhead miles – 1,960 (5.9%)
• Total revenue - $82,041 (Three trucks running, forth one hit the road the last couple days of the month.)
• All-in rate-per-mile - $2.46 (Great Rate Per Mile)

Haulin Assets realized a loss of $3,933.94.

In the episode, we cover the reasons we had a loss. The biggest two are: first, we added a new truck and there were costs getting it on the road and second, we replaced the turbo on truck #1.

Don’t spend it all in one place. I think I am going to try to figure out how many different ways I can say the same thing so saving money will probably be a reoccurring theme in the impact tip section of the podcast. If you had a great month, don't waste the profits on something you'll regret.

What To Expect From Episode 83

Hiring drivers is hard. We talk a lot about the hiring process and what to look for in a driver. Here are our main discussion points:

• What type of driver do you look for
• How do you find them
• How do you keep them

A question I get asked about all the time that is related to the driver topic is, "Can I start a trucking company without a CDL?". The short answer is you can, but the first several drivers you hire are going to be the difference between being successful or not. Craig and I dive a bit deeper into this topic too.

What To Expect From Episode 82

Craig and I start off by answering a super important question. What do you think has a greater impact on your net income, your take home money, a $1 increase in revenue or a $1 decrease in expenses? Or are they the same? Understanding this principle is important for any business.

Here are the numbers for the month.

• Total miles ran – 34,523 (New record)
• Deadhead miles – 2,534 (7.3%, also a record by total miles, not percentage. It is what it is. One driver has a pretty good deadhead every time he goes home)
• Total revenue - $94,021.13 (Blew the previous record out of the water. It is nice having 3 trucks running in this market.)
• All-in rate-per-mile - $2.72 (Great Rate Per Mile)

Haulin Assets realized a profit of $29,876.82, we blew the previous record out of the water.

Impact Tip

Keep your overhead low. I saw an interesting take on a "Distribution Center" while I was in Morocco a couple of weeks ago. It made me think about keeping your overhead expenses low. Listen to the episode for the full details.

What To Expect From Episode 81

Don't be indecisive. I witnessed a train crash into a car last week and the experience was a good reminder about the importance of being decisive. Listen to the episode to hear about all the details of the crash and how I relate it to being decisive in your life and especially in business.

What To Expect From Episode 80

The word lease in the trucking industry is incredibly confusing, because it means so many different things. Craig and I start off by breaking down some of the most common ways the word lease is used in the industry and which type of lease usually creates the most horror stories. This episode's focus is going to be on the type of lease that is similar to a car lease. Here are some of the questions we answer:

• Who owns the truck?
• What happens to the truck after the lease is done?
• Are you limited to the number of miles you can put on the truck?
• Does leasing vs buying change anything for your insurance?
• Is there a per mile maintenance cost?
• Who is responsible for maintenance and repairs?
• Is one going to typically have a lower payment?
• Is the interest rate on a lease different?
• What are the tax considerations when leasing verses buying?
• Who can qualify for a lease?
• Is it easier to qualify for a lease than traditional financing?
• Is there a down payment?

What To Expect From Episode 79

Here are the numbers for the month.

• Total miles ran – 26,722 (New record)
• Deadhead miles – 944 (3.5%, really good)
• Total revenue - $56,740.16
• All-in rate-per-mile - $2.12

Haulin Assets realized a profit of $7,582.17.

Impact Tip

Make your company scalable. This is actually one of my favorite tips, especially if you want to grow your trucking company. What does it mean to be scalable? It basically means you have a business that can adapt to increased workloads. That can only happen if you have good systems in place. Systems for buying equipment, hiring drivers, billing clients, etc. It's important that you have all the necessary systems in place and aren't missing one. Imagine what happens if you can add trucks and drivers, but you don't have a system for billing clients. You will complete more and more jobs, but you won't get paid for them or your payments will lag behind, neither is a good thing.

When your company is small you can often manage the little inefficiencies and problems in your business. As you grow, if you don't solve those problems or inefficiencies they grow with you and can quickly get out of hand. If that happens, you'll have serious problems that will lead you to a nervous breakdown or even a shuttered business.

Craig and I try to shed some light on this confusing and often misunderstood subject.

What To Expect From Episode 78

We bring on a couple of business bankers, Jaron and Rob, as guests to explain some of the specifics of business credit. Here are some of the questions we answer:

• What do lenders look at when making a loan decision?
  • Brand new companies
    • Owner's personal credit
    • Owner's experience in the industry
    • How beneficial is a business plan
  • Existing companies
    • Years in business
    • Financial statements (How important is it that they are clean and organized)
• What has the biggest effect on the interest rate you get?
• Do businesses have credit scores?
• Do you need to establish business credit like you do personal credit?
• How do you establish business credit?
• What is a personal guarantee and can you get a business loan without one?
• What is a Dun and Bradstreet Number and is it important?
• What are the most common types of credit that are helpful to trucking companies?
  • Equipment loans
  • Fuel credit
  • Trade credit
  • Lines of credit

Impact Tip

Don’t make late payments, EVER! Not even after the due date, but before the grace period. Just like with personal credit, your payment history has a big impact on whether or not a lender will lend you money. Making your payments by the due date every time builds trust with lenders. It helps them see you take making your payments seriously.

I just had a PM completed by Iron Maintenance, check out this time-lapse video I shot. They have 12 locations all across the country, you can find out where all of them are by clicking here. 

Their prices are super competitive and more importantly they are fast. I was in and out in under an hour and that included dropping my trailer and hooking back up. They are going to give Haulin Assets listeners a 15% discount off their already great pricing. To qualify, all you have to do is give Mike a call at 801-678-4749 before the end of June and then have the PM done before the end of 2021. You can get the discount no matter what location you go to.

-----------

Numbers never lie, but this month, I don't think they tell the full story either. So, was April a good month or a bad month? On the surface, it looks like a bad month, but I don't feel like that is really the case. Operationally, it was a good month. We did have a loss, but that loss is all attributed to investing in growth. Craig and I break that down and explain in detail what drove the numbers. This is a really good financial episode to listen to, especially if you ever plan on growing your trucking company.

Here are the numbers for the month.

• Total miles ran – 10,437
• Deadhead miles – 800 (7.7%)
• Total revenue - $30,775.14
• All-in rate-per-mile - $2.94 (Skewed a little because we had $3,600 in revenue from leasing a trailer for a week and we only had to drive about 100 miles round trip)

In the end Haulin Assets realized a loss of $4,828.77.

Listen to the episode for the details about the loss and we talk about what the numbers would have looked like if the expenses tied to our growth would have been backed out.

After you follow through, follow up. It is always a good idea to maintain regular contact with people you do business with, or want to do business with. You should jump on any chance you have to talk to them. If you committed to do something for them or help them with something, once you have completed that task, follow up with them and let them know it's done. It is a way to casually brag about how well you are taking care of them. Follow up once you have delivered a load, let them know it's done and how everything went.

For me personally, this is one of the coolest episodes Craig and I have done. We interview Bubba Blackwell, a listener who has taken what he has learned from the podcast and started his own trucking business. When I started this podcast, one of the biggest reasons I did it was to help other people improve their lives by taking the big step into owning their own business. It was really cool to hear how we have been able to be a part of Bubba's journey.

Don't forget you can watch this episode on YouTube.

What To Expect From Episode 76

Talk about a career change, Bubba Blackwell went from an American stunt performer and motorcycle jumping world record holder to an Owner Operator. He is happy with where he is at and excited about where he is headed. Craig and I interview Bubba and talk about his journey and how the Haulin Assets podcast has helped along the way.

There is a lot to learn from Bubba's experience and it is nice to hear from someone else that the jump to being an Owner Operator is something within reach for just about anyone with the guts and determination to give it a try.

Check out some of Bubba Blackwell motorcycle jumps on YouTube or follow him on twitter, @hdjumper.

Check out the YouTube channel

March was Haulin Assets' best month ever. Craig and I will go over what made it such a great month. Also, the annual CVSA (Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance) Roadcheck is coming up May 4-6. We talk about what they are looking for this year and why you might want to not avoid it. You can learn more details by clicking here.

Here are the numbers for the month.

• Total miles ran – 24,488
• Deadhead miles – 1,741 (7.1%, higher than it has been)
• Total revenue - $69,039.09
• All-in rate-per-mile - $2.81

In the end Haulin Assets realized a profit of $20,350.74.

What really makes this exciting is that we made that large of a profit and we even started paying ourselves some non-driver pay for running the business.

Check out the YouTube channel

I start off this episode talking about a family road trip we took and some adventures we had along the way.

What To Expect From Episode 74

This is another two topic episode.

Topic #1-More about truck #3

Craig and I answer some of the following questions:

• Why a freightliner?
• Are we going to get accident avoidance equipment on the next truck?
• The two biggest reasons we decided to go new verse used
• How our long term plan with the truck is a little different than most fleets

Facing Challenges

Haulin Assets has had its fair share of challenges over the last two years. We are currently facing another one. I talk about some of the lessons I learned from a book I really like called “The Top 10 Distinctions Between Millionaires and the Middle Class” by Keith Cameron Smith and how they help me get through some of the challenges I face as a business owner.

I've been on the road the last couple of weeks. Listen in to hear why I'm back in the truck and how things have been going.

What To Expect From Episode 73

During this episode Craig and I talk all about my first couple of days driving my new truck. It's a 2022 Freightliner Cascadia. Listen to hear about what I like and don't like about it.

I also talk about what is going on with the freight market and how to make the most of it so you are successful now and even more successful in the future.

Impact Tip

Make sure your company is financially ready to hire a driver. Drivers are the most important thing in your business. The correct timing for hiring them is critical. I give my 2 cents about doing it smartly.

February was a great month and another month with some big changes. Listen to the podcast to hear all about what it going on.

What To Expect From Episode 72

Here are the numbers for the month.

• Total miles ran – 16,320
• Deadhead miles – 663 (4.06%)
• Total revenue - $31,925.18
• All-in rate-per-mile - $1.96 (In line with January, still a pretty good rate for February)

In the end Haulin Assets realized a profit of $7,713.76.

You might notice that I am no longer including the number of days on the road. That's because with two drivers, and soon to be more, that metric is no longer as meaningful.

Do quarterly draws. Once you are ready to take profit from your company, don’t do it every month. Do it once a quarter. Doing so accomplishes two main objectives. Listen to the episode to hear what they are.

John Steinbeck said: "The purpose of fighting is to win. There is no possible victory in defense...The sword is more important than the shield and skill is more important than either. The final weapon is the brain...All else is supplemental."

What To Expect From Episode 71

I recently stepped into a new role in the Utah Army National Guard and the process I take when I start a new role got me thinking about two things, using your brain and going on the offensive. In this episode Craig and I dive deep into how using your brain and having an offensive mentality can have a positive impact on your business.

Impact Tip

Establish an emergency fund. How much depends on you and your business. I think $10,000 for your first truck is a good start. As you grow you probably don't need as much per truck because the chances of having two trucks needing a major repair at the same time is slim. I explain this concept a little better during the episode, so be sure to listen. 

What To Expect From Episode 70

Here are the numbers for the month.

• Total miles ran – 12,929
• Deadhead miles – 451 (3.49%)
• Total revenue - $25,575.32
• All-in rate-per-mile - $1.98 (Not as good as December, but pretty good for a January)
• Full days on the road - 25 (Busiest month ever)
• Partial days on the road – 4

In the end Haulin Assets realized a profit of $6,554.69.

Impact Tip

Be intentional about what you do with your money. Every dollar needs to have a purpose. You have a certain amount of money set aside for fuel, a certain amount for maintenance and repairs, a certain amount you pay your drivers and if you are an O/O, you should pay yourself a certain amount. One of my biggest pet peeves is when business owners use their business as a personal piggy bank. It’s a terrible practice.

Check out the full show notes and drop a comment at HaulinAssetsLLC.com

Haulin Assets has been pretty stagnant for the last year. So what is the problem? It's me. With everything I have going on, I just don't have the time, and if I am being honest with myself, the energy to do what it takes to make it grow. There are two common ways to solve that problem. I could hire someone to run and manage the business or I could bring on a partner. We chose the partner route for a lot of different reasons. Listen to the episode to find out why we decided to go the partner route and what the partner we chose brings to the table.

Be careful with merchant cash advances. They can really blow up in your face. They look like a loan, but technically are not a loan so there are not many rules and regulations protecting you. Listen to the end of the episode to learn a little more about them, including how to recognize them.

The FMCSA is proposing a change to the yard move HOS rule. I like the changes and give my opinion at the beginning of the podcast. The comment period ends on February 3, 2021. Go to this link and tell the FMCSA what you think https://beta.regulations.gov/document/FMCSA-2020-0118-0001

Here is the comment I submitted: I think yard moves should be any move on private property that is less than 20 MPH. It would also be fair to include public roads adjacent to private property. It is common to be parked on a public road that is used exclusively for access to a private shipper or receiver as you wait for your turn to be loaded/unloaded. It would be nice to be able to use yard move as you drive from your parking spot to the dock where you will be loaded/unloaded, as long as you can safely maintain a speed less than 20 MPH. The private property would also include truck stops so you can move from the fuel island to a parking spot without using drive time.

December was a great way to end a very challenging year; it was one of our best months of the year. Numbers all looked really good and there wasn't much out of the ordinary happening. Listen to the episode to hear all the details.

What To Expect From Episode 68

Here are the numbers for the month.

• Total miles run – 8,719
• Deadhead miles – 481 (5.5%)
• Total revenue - $21,400
• All-in rate-per-mile - $2.45 (Best we have ever had)
• Full days on the road - 15
• Partial days on the road – 3

In the end Haulin Assets realized a profit of $6,040.36.

Impact Tip

Don't use your checking account balance to decide if you’re making money or have money to spend. This is a huge mistake, listen to the episode to find out why and learn more.

I'm going to start including what I call an Impact Tip of the Episode with every new podcast episode. I am hoping to share a simple tip that can be summarized in one sentence, but will be something you can implement in your business that will have a positive impact on it. In this episode Craig and I will introduce the concept.

For a while, the Impact Tips will focus on finances. Finances are the foundation of a business. If your financial situation is weak, at best, the business will never reach its full potential, at worst, the business will eventually go under.

I feel like the first tip is so important, I am going to focus an entire episode on it. Here is the tip:

Make sure your personal finances are in good shape before you start a business.  I know, this sounds like a no brainer, but listen to the episode and I bet you will learn about ways your personal finances affect your business that you'd never thought of.

What To Expect From Episode 66

Here are the numbers for the month.

• Total miles ran – 7,490
• Deadhead miles – 295 (3.9%)
• Total revenue - $14,625.31
• All-in rate-per-mile - $1.95 (Skewed low because of a 5 day load that delivered on 12/1)
• Full days on the road - 13
• Partial days on the road – 3

In the end Haulin Assets realized a loss of $2,717.11.

Check out the full show notes and drop a comment at HaulinAssetsLLC.com

In today's episode, Chris and Craig interview David and Kyle from AAOO, the American Association of Owner Operators. Together, they talk about what truckers can do on the road to better themselves both professionally and personally.

Check out the full show notes and drop a comment at HaulinAssetsLLC.com

What To Expect From Episode 64

Here are the numbers for the month.

• Total miles ran – 11,694
• Deadhead miles – 443 (3.7%, I think a record low)
• Total revenue - $23,550.01
• All-in rate-per-mile - $2.01 (About like last month)
• Full days on the road - 19
• Partial days on the road – 6

In the end Haulin Assets realized a profit of $2,631.57.

Check out the full show notes and drop a comment at HaulinAssetsLLC.com

Check out the full show notes and drop a comment at HaulinAssetsLLC.com

In addition to talking about financials, we talk about adding a truck. I'm about 90% sure I am going to do it, so I have started to look for another truck, trailer and driver. Craig and I talk a bit about that.

What To Expect From Episode 60

Here are the numbers for the month. September was an average month and that is perfectly okay with me.

• Total miles ran – 10,145
• Deadhead miles – 687 (Two months in a row that it was low)
• Total revenue - $20,720.01 (Funny we keep ending on $0.01, listen to the episode lot learn why)
• All-in rate-per-mile - $2.04 (Hope we can do that every month)
• Full days on the road - 19
• Partial days on the road – 5

In the end Haulin Assets realized a profit of $3,054.35.

Or find us and reach out on facebook

A couple of episodes ago I talked about being deliberate. One of the best ways to ensure you are deliberate in all that you do is to have a clear vision. All great leaders have a good vision. Whether you are an owner operator or the owner of a large fleet, you have to have a clear vision of the future if you want to maximize your success.

Craig and I talk about what it means to have a vision and why it is so important for a business owner. Along with vision comes personal responsibility and doing the things that will help you realize your vision. I use an example of the old Briggs and Stratton engines I used when moving irrigation pipe when I was a kid to illustrate the point. 

At the end of the episode I also give my perspective on some of the new Hours-of-service changes that just went into effect. You can learn more about them here.

What To Expect From Episode 60

Here are the numbers for the month. Craig and I go over them and talk about why the numbers are lower than normal.

• Total miles ran – 4,764
• Deadhead miles – 199 (4%, I think that is my lowest ever)
• Total revenue - $12,440.01
• All-in rate-per-mile - $2.51 (That number is very skewed because we delivered a load around the 1st, but all the miles were run in July, if you take that load out, the number is $1.98. Still the best we have seen in a while)
• Full days on the road - 8
• Partial days on the road – 3

In the end Haulin Assets realized a profit of $2,136.93.

To see the P&L and balance sheet, as well as full notes and past episodes, CLICK HERE.

Or find us and reach out on facebook

It has always been a desire of mine to be financially successful. Since I was in my early 20's, I have had two big financial goals. The first was to have a net worth of $1 million by the time I was 40. The second is to be financially independent by the time I turn 50. I'm a very driven person, my wife both loves and hates that fact, and I have met the first goal and have 8 more years to achieve the second one. I don't tell this to brag, but in this episode I am going to talk about one of my habits that I think has had the biggest impact on my success and I hope it can help you out too.

What To Expect From Episode 59

It's been a while since we have had an episode that focuses on the mindset of an owner operator. It's a reoccurring theme on this podcast, but the mindset of an owner operator has to be different than that of a driver. Over the years, I have gotten to know a lot of successful business owners, both in and out of the trucking industry. One thing that just about all of them have in common is that they are very deliberate in all they do. What does that mean? The dictionary defines deliberate as, "Done consciously and intentionally."

In this episode, I use a lot of examples in my life that show how I have been deliberate in just about all that I do and how that deliberate mentality has impacted my success. We give some examples related to the trucking industry. I also show why that is an important habit to develop in order to realize your entire potential.

Things seem to be getting better and better as the months go by, but we are clearly not out of the woods yet. July was better than June, and the freight market seems to continue to move in the right direction. Rates toward the end of the month were better than the beginning of the month.

What To Expect From Episode 58

Here are the numbers for the month. Craig and I go over them and talk in detail about what made the monthly profit lower than we like to see.

• Total miles ran – 11,223
• Deadhead miles – 931
• Total revenue - $20,160.01
• All-in rate-per-mile - $1.66 (Still not very good, but $0.10 better than last month)
• Full days on the road - 19
• Partial days on the road – 5

In the end Haulin Assets realized a profit of $1,537.53.

Chris and Craig tackle the topic of how (and more importantly, how NOT) to grow your company from one truck to more. The basic principle is this: Chris has seen too many owner-operators try to grow their company too fast, and to step away from a driving role too soon. Chris breaks down the numbers, showing how you can grow your company--and your fleet--in a sustainable, healthy way.

We're still experiencing the roller coaster ride of a tough economy and a volatile freight market. With that being said, we still made money in June, it just wasn't much. Like my dad always says, "It's better than a swift kick in the butt. The biggest difference this month that really affected our financials were much higher than normal maintenance and repair expenses.

What To Expect From Episode 56

Here are the numbers for the month. Craig and I go over them and talk in detail about what made the monthly profit lower than we like to see.

• Total miles ran – 12,765
• Deadhead miles – 1,178 (A bit higher than I like, but a lot of it was one load that was a good paying load, even with the deadhead)
• Total revenue - $19,889.62
• All-in rate-per-mile - $1.56 (Not very good, we had a hard time with rates for freight that was moving from east to west)
• Full days on the road - 17
• Partial days on the road – 4

In the end Haulin Assets realized a profit of $169.63.

The Bible teaches that if you live by God’s Ten Commandments, He will bless you. Similarly, if you follow my Ten Commandments for Owner Operators, you’re likely to find success.

These are great rules for an Owner Operator to live by. You don’t necessarily have to follow them 100%, but the closer you adhere to them, the lower your risk and the greater your chance of success. That doesn’t mean success will be guaranteed, because sometimes things happen that you can’t control.

However, these Ten Commandments will help you focus on the most important things that you can control that will have the greatest positive impact on your trucking company.

During the episode Craig and I dive deep into each one of the commandments. You’ll notice that the first 4 focus on finances and the last 6 focus on practicing great business principles.

1. Build a cash reserve
   1. A savings for unexpected expenses
   2. A slush fund for operating expenses
2. Pay yourself no more than what you’ve been earning as a driver
3. Maximize your revenue
   1. Direct loads from shippers
   2. Follow the good paying freight
   3. Develop great relationships with brokers
4. Manage your costs
   1. Fuel
   2. Maintenance & repairs
5. Know your numbers
   1. Use a good accounting system and keep it current
   2. Generate a monthly profit and loss statement
   3. Know your fixed and variable costs-per-mile
6. Maintain your equipment
   1. Don’t defer maintenance
7. Be a problem solver
8. Don’t blow off the FMCSA Safety Regulations
9. Be stingy with your hours of service
10. Constantly improve

Over the past year, I have laid out the blueprint for the first year of operation of a one truck, owner operator trucking company. In this episode we talk about some of the keys to my success, some of the challenges I faced, and what the end result has been. I truly feel like there is no reason anyone can’t follow my plan and be just as successful as I was. In fact, I think most people can do better than I did.

Most owner operators won’t experience some of the same challenges I faced, like having to park the truck for 4 weeks because of my Army National Guard Duty or having no driving experience. The first time I drove a truck with more than an empty trailer was the day I picked up my first load.

The first year of any business is the hardest. I feel incredibly blessed that I was able to bring in just over $200,000 in total revenue during my first 12 months as an Owner Operator. Although revenue is important, the number that really matters is the bottom line.

We cover that and so much more during this episode of the podcast, where Craig and I review the highs and lows from the startup phase through the first year in business of Haulin Assets.

Here are some of the topics we talk about:

• The excitement of the startup phase and my total startup costs
• My successes
  • Making a profit (listen in to hear how much)
  • Building something that is mine and will benefit my family and not someone else
  • Saving money
• My challenges
  • My truck getting hit by a deer
  • Dealing with shippers and receivers
  • The stress of owning a business
• What I feel like are my biggest rewards so far
  • Freedom
  • Pride of ownership
  • The understanding that I am setting myself up for financial success

There are a couple of things I want to point out on the financial statements you see below.

If you go all the way to the bottom of the profit and loss statement, you will see there is a net income. Then, there is a section for Other Expenses that you don’t normally see on my monthly P&L. That is because it includes my annual depreciation expense for my truck and trailer. I usually only make that adjustment once a year, so it is only included on my annual financial statement, not my monthly one. 

The cool thing about a depreciation expense is that it really is not cash out of your pocket but is purely a tax benefit. The simplified version is that because of the depreciation expense, even though I made a little over $32k, the IRS only taxes me on $17,992. This is one of the beauties of owning a business, you get a lot of tax benefits that you just don’t get as a company driver.

The retained earnings on the balance sheet is negative. That is because all my startup costs are included in that. So you can see, at the year mark, I have almost completely recouped all my startup costs.

One of the biggest problems I see within the trucking industry is companies grow faster than their ability to hire GOOD drivers and their performance suffers and they have high driver turnover. You can never completely avoid making wrong hires, but you can greatly limit the likelihood. How? An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Take your time hiring to make sure you get the right person who is the right fit for your company.

Here are the 7 steps I use and a little about each one of them. We Craig and I go over each one in detail during the episode.

1. Develop your minimum hiring requirements
2. Post a relevant ad
3. Conduct a thorough interview
4. Obtain a PSP Report (Pre-employment Screening Program)
5. Search the FMCSA drug and alcohol clearinghouse portal
6. Screen them with your insurance agent
7. Get a copy of their MVR

To see the full show notes, including all the details and forms we mention in the episode, check out the full show notes.

What To Expect From Episode 52

Here are the numbers for the month. Craig and I go over them and talk in detail during this episode.

• • Total miles ran – 12,202
  • Deadhead miles – 1,244 (high, but not as bad as I thought it was going to be, we had to chase a few loads to get out of bad spots and to keep from sitting)
  • Total revenue - $20,489.01 Solid Month
  • All-in rate-per-mile - $1.68 (Still not very good, but at least 10 cents a mile better than last month. I really need to recalculate my cost per mile, with the reduced fuel prices, lower insurance, and a few other things, I think my cost has dropped.)
  • Full days on the road - 21
  • Partial days on the road – 7

20 full days were Mike’s and 5 partial were his. I had 1 full day and 2 partial days. (Big reason for the success. Only 3 days parked) That is a Haulin Assets Record.

In the end Haulin Assets realized a profit of $4,043.84. Almost made up for last month’s loss.

Check out show notes and past episodes at HaulinAssetsLLC.com.

As the title of this podcast indicates, hiring is a process and one you don't want to skip steps or take shortcuts on. I'm going to cover 6 steps.

1. Where to find drivers
2. Screening drivers
   1. Good ad
   2. Interview
   3. PSP (Pre-employment Screening Program)
   4. Drug Clearinghouse
   5. MVR (Motor Vehicle Record)
3. Negotiating
4. Extending an offer
5. Paperwork
6. First Day

The more you know about someone the better because there are fewer surprises.

1. Someone you know personally. (I won’t hire someone I know unless I am very, very confident they'll work out)
2. Someone known by someone you trust
3. A referral from someone you don’t know well or don’t trust is no better than hiring someone off the street.
4. Posting an ad
   1. Local listing, i.e. Craig’s List
   2. Facebook
   3. Indeed
   4. Think about where you went to look for your last job
5. Use a recruiter

This is probably the most important step so it warrants its own episode. We're going to cover it in detail during episode 53.

Always go for a win-win. You are going for a long-term relationship here.

What should you negotiate:

1. Pay
2. Benefits
3. Amount of home time.

Always extend your offer in writing. That way there is less chance that there will be a misunderstanding between what each party understood the terms to be. I will include an example of the offer letter I use.

There is a lot of paperwork that needs to be completed during the hiring process. It is part of building your Driver Qualification File. The audit folder system that we use at Motor Carrier HQ includes all the required DOT forms and makes the paperwork part of hiring as simple as possible. You can learn more about the system or purchase it by clicking here.

1. Application for employment
2. Inquiries of DOT regulated employers for last 3 years
3. Driving record
4. Copy of CDL (If applicable)
5. Medical examiner’s certificate
6. Medical examiner’s national registry verification
7. Pre-employment clearinghouse query
8. Pre-employment Screening Program report (Recommended, but not required)
9. Pre-employment drug test chain of custody form
10. Pre-employment drug test results
11. Driver’s previous 7 days of Hours-of-service records (If applicable)
12. IRS Form W-4, you can find it by clicking here.
13. Form I-9, you can find it by clicking here.
14. Pay documents required by your payroll system/company. i.e. direct deposit form.

There are a lot of things that need to happen before your new driver is ready to head out on the road for the first time. You want to make sure everything is covered before heading out to reduce frustrations. You can download our checklist that will help you make sure you don’t miss anything.

You may have heard the saying that words have meaning, well, this is an example where the words have a lot of meaning. If you aren't familiar with that phrase, I use a military example to explain it in the first few minutes of the episode. Too often trucking companies use these two words as nothing more than labels, which has gotten a lot of trucking companies into serious trouble. How drivers are classified is a big decision that has significant consequences.

The federal government and each state has their own test to determine if someone who does work for you can be classified as an independent contractor. We focus on the 11 factor test that the federal government uses. The 11 questions are listed below. Ryan uses a great analogy of the old sliding scales, remember them from gym class or the doctor's office? If not, check out a picture of one, and the rest of the show notes including the 11 questions, at haulinassetsllc.com.

In the next episode, we will talk about how to classify your driver, as an employee or independent contractor. This is always one of the hottest topics in the trucking industry. The third installment will cover the actual process, the nuts and bolts.

We talk about several subjects in this episode. Here is an outline of what we cover.

You have to ask yourself if this is something you want to take on. Like almost everything in life, there are pros and cons. There are several things you need to consider like:

• Why would I want to?
• Do I have what it takes to be an employer?

As far as having what it takes, some skills can definitely be learned, but being a manager/employer is hard. There are several different skill-sets required, and often, they are a bit conflicting. Most people are good at one or the other, but fewer are truly great people managers who are good at both.

"An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure" applies in this situation, like so many others. One of the keys to success is taking your time, don't rush the process or you are likely to end up with buyer's remorse.

We talk a lot about establishing a foundation of trust. I talk about one of my favorite business books, "The Speed of Trust" by Stephen M.R. Covey. If you have not read it, you should. It is very eye opening. When you have employees you can trust and they trust you, magic happens. Getting to that point can be a challenge, but it is well worth it.

We also talk about putting the trust ball in your driver's court. Let their behavior and actions dictate how they are treated.

What To Expect From Episode 48

There are a lot of reason April was a bad a month. It's all tied to the Corona Virus hitting the US in full force and wreaking havoc on everything. Rates were bad and freight was hard to find. To compound the problem I hired a brand new driver, Mike, who is awesome. The timing really could not have been worse for hiring a person. When I extended the job offer, things were still going really well so he put in his two weeks with the other company. By the time he was ready to start running with me, freight was really bad. I ended up paying Mike for almost two weeks while the truck sat because I wasn't willing run for rates that low.

Trucking companies taking ridiculously low rates is one of the reasons rates drop and I won't participate when rates are so low you can't make a living. That's bad for all of us. I stuck to my principles and I didn't want Mike to be the victim of that. Last thing I wanted was to hire the right person and then have him leave because I wasn't taking loads. So he got paid while the truck sat, which wasn't good for the bottom line.In the next few episodes I am going to talk about hiring a driver and will go into my hiring philosophy and the type of person I want working for me. Once you understand that, you will better understand why I was willing to pay him for a few weeks. I think it is a good decision in the long run.

Here are the numbers for the month. Craig and I go over them and talk in detail about how Covid-19 affected everything.

• Total miles ran - 6,644
• Deadhead miles - 714
• Total revenue - $8,285.50 (Lowest month ever)
• All-in rate-per-mile - $1.24 (This number is misleading because there were 1,430 miles for a load ran at the end of April that did not deliver until the 1st of May so all the miles show in April, but there revenue didn't count until May. If you take those miles out to make it a truer representation, the number is $1.59 a mile.)
• Full days on the road - 11
• Partial days on the road - 2

In the end Haulin Assets realized a loss of $-6,010.76. That's my first loss, hopefully they are few and far between. Like I said in the beginning, the good news is that we are still up $9,562.14 for the year.

During this episode we are going to explain how truck insurance works and answer some important questions. How truck insurance works is complicated, and understanding who is involved and their roles will make you a much smarter shopper.

• Insurance Agents/Brokers - These are the people you talk to when you are looking for insurance. In most situations, they represent several different insurance companies.
• Insurance Companies - These are the people who actually provide the insurance and pay the bill if there is a claim.
• Underwriter - These are the people who take a deep look at your company, determine the risk, and price your policy. They sometimes work directly for the insurance company, but sometimes they are independent and represent several different insurance companies. In this case, they are typically what is called a General Agency.

Here is a list of most of the questions we answer during this episode.

1. Can I expect my insurance cost to change?
   1. What are the main factors that affect cost?
      1. Years in business
      2. FMCSA SAFER Scores (Hours-of-service violations, vehicle maintenance) Here is the link to the public system. Here is the link to the FMCSA portal where you can log in to your company-specific information.
      3. Safe driving habits (Driver Motor Vehicle Records)
      4. Accident and cargo claims
2. Should I shop around? The answer is a little more complicated than you think. Yes, you should, but you need to be smart about it. Make sure you get a copy of your loss runs. This is a critical item; you can't skip it, and it usually takes about a week. We give you some tips on how to get them.
3. When should I start shopping?
4. What information should I give to each agent?

This episode is being released as the United States is in the thick of the coronavirus pandemic. The topics we touch on during this episode will apply to this situation and many others. In this episode I want to give listeners some things to think about and consider if they are thinking about starting a trucking company anytime soon.

The freight situation right now is tough and not ideal for starting a trucking company. Even though you don’t want to actually be hitting the road under these circumstances, it might be a good time to set the process in motion so the ground work is done and you’re ready to hit the ground running when the market turns and the timing is right.

It takes time to start a business and trucking is no exception. On top of the time it takes to actually set up an LLC (Limited Liability Company) or a corporation, trucking companies also have to get federal licensing to haul property for hire. That process takes at least 21 days.

In my experience, most people take around 2 months from the time they decide to pull the trigger until they are ready to haul their first load. Those two things can be completed without too much risk or a huge expense. As long as you are able to hit the road within a year, you won’t waste your money on those items.

One important thing Craig and I dive deep into is what steps you want to take immediately versus what ones you want to put off until you’re actually ready to hit the road. In this kind of a situation, it is more important than ever to limit your costs to only what is necessary and hold off on making expenses that can wait until you are closer to being ready to run.

The majority of your big expenses don’t need to be made until you are very close to hitting the road. Here is a list of additional things you will need to do, but don’t need to actually spend money on until you are closer to being ready to run. You can do your research and homework on them now so when you are ready you can complete the tasks quickly and start running when the timing is right.

• Shop for a truck and/or trailer
• Shop for insurance
• Find the right ELD
• Decide if you want to use Prepass
• Decide between Worker’s Compensation Insurance and Occupational Accident Insurance
• Plates for truck and trailer
• Graphics and lettering for your truck

One of the major keys to being successful in this is to have a good plan with a timeline you understand. If developing the plan and timeline seems overwhelming, feel free to give one of the coaches at Motor Carrier HQ a call. They can help you customize a game plan for free over the phone. Learn how to get started with your motor carrier authority.

First, I don't want to downplay how difficult a time this is. But.... I am an eternal optimist, which I think is very helpful if you are an entrepreneur/business owner. I think there are several reasons to be optimistic about the future. I list some of them below and we talk about them during this episode, specifically some of the resources I have found to help me.

1. We are all in this together.
2. This economic situation occurred and the difficult business circumstance is no fault of your own and most of the businesses that provide you services understand that and are very willing to work with you.
3. There are lots of ways you can get help from the government to the companies that provide you services.
   1. Government loans and grants
   2. Payment deferments from lenders
   3. Help with insurance

What To Expect From Episode 45

March was really good, in fact, it was the most profitable month we have had. Freight was moving well and I stayed busy the entire month. Here is a quick overview. Craig and I talk about all the details during the episode.

To see copies of the Profit and Loss statement and Balance Sheet referenced in the episode, and to see the highlights in the full show notes, CLICK HERE.

This episode covers some important topics to help Owner Operators and smaller fleets survive a bumpy economy. Here is how the episode is laid out:

1. Background
2. What makes Owner Operators and small fleets adaptable
3. Keys to being successful in a down economy
4. Resources available for small businesses to help with the economic downturn related to the coronavirus

There are two main programs to help small businesses:

1. Paycheck Protection Program Loans - Loans mainly focused on providing companies with loans to help continue to pay employees and cover some of the basic business expenses
2. Economic Injury Disaster Loans and Emergency Economic Injury Grants - Loans and grants to cover other business expenses, like loan payments and other fixed costs

The SBA (Small Business Administration) is the best resource for information about these programs. You can find your local office by clicking here. Your local bank is also a good resource.

A lot of good information can be found right on the SBA website by clicking here. You can apply for the Economic Injury Disaster Loan right from the SBA's website. I applied for that loan for Haulin Assets, it took me about 20 minutes.

Make sure you know your total revenue and cost of good sold for the 12 months prior to January 31, 2020. Your cost of goods sold, in trucking, is basically your variable expenses.

As always, for this and all past episodes, click through for the full show notes.

I just went through my DOT New Entrant Safety Audit and I want to share my experience with all of you so you know what to expect and have the best experience possible. During this episode Craig and I start with some background for context and then we go into what my experience was like.

When you first apply for a DOT Number or Motor Carrier Operating Authority, you are considered by the FMCSA as a New Entrant for 18 months. During that time, the DOT does two things:

1. The actively monitors you
2. They conduct a New Entrant Safety Audit within the first 12 months.

A New Entrant Safety Audit is typically a simple version of a full blown DOT Safety Audit which is a review of a carrier's records designed to verify that you have basic safety management controls in place to ensure compliance with the regs.

If you want more details, including my own experience with the New Entrant Safety Audit, click here for the full show notes.

Even if you don't have a DOT Safety Audit on the horizon, you should always be prepared for one. Going through the process of preparing for an audit is a good way to make sure you are following all the regulations and won't get caught with your pants down if you are audited. If you have all your records organized and are maintaining them as required, you are doing 90% of what is required by the DOT, the other 10% is really just following the rules like obeying traffic laws and following the hours of service regulations.

A DOT Safety Audit is a review of a carrier's records designed to verify that you have basic safety management controls in place to ensure compliance with the regs. Motor Carrier HQ has an audit assurance package that we spent years developing that is designed to help you make sure you are maintaining your records in compliance with the FMCSA Regulations. You can learn more about the Audit Assistance Package by clicking this link.

Because I feel like the package that we developed, with the help of some DOT auditors, does such a great job, Craig and I spend a lot of the episode going over each part of the package and break down what records motor carriers are required to keep. To see the complete overview, including 16 items that will cause an automatic failure of a DOT Safety Audit, click through to the full show notes.

I think there would be a lot of really good people who would make the jump to being an independent owner operator if this one thing did not seem so overwhelming. I hope these next few episodes can show people that it's not too hard, and they can do it if they are willing to learn and pay a little bit of attention to detail.

CSA (Compliance, Safety, Accountability) is the program the FMCSA uses to monitor the safety of trucking companies. During this episode I am going to explain how it works, the most important details and things to avoid that will get you in trouble.

The CSA Program is designed to do four things:

1. Identify motor carriers that pose a safety hazard.
2. Intervene with identified motor carriers so they can correct safety problems.
3. Assign motor carriers safety ratings.
4. Prohibit motor carriers that receive an “Unsatisfactory” safety rating from operating CMVs.

Craig and I will cover them all in detail during this episode, but if you want more of the nitty-gritty, click through for the full show notes.

• Episode 41 - What Is the FMCSA CSA Program?
• Episode 42 - How To Prepare for a DOT Audit
• Episode 43 - How To Pass a DOT New Entrant Audit

February could have been worse. I had to take more than half the month off because of my military service, so I didn't start my first load until the 18th. With that being said, I still made a profit. Here is a quick overview. Craig and I talk about all the details during the episode. Scroll to the bottom and you’ll see copies of the Profit and Loss Statement and the Balance Sheet.

• Total miles ran - 4,668
• Deadhead miles - 247 (5%, Much better than last month)
• Total revenue - $10,087.00
• All-in rate-per-mile - $2.16
• Full days on the road - 5
• Partial days on the road - 4

In the end Haulin Assets realized a profit of $2,427.52, which is pretty good for having to have the truck sit for over half the month.

To see full show notes and hear past episodes, check out the Haulin Assets website.

• Your EIN Number, ideally the document from the IRS that has your EIN on it
• A copy of your P&L for the entire year 
• A copy of your Balance Sheet as of the end of the year, include a comparison for the end of the previous year too, if you have been in business for more than one year
• Copies of the bill of sale for any major purchases you made during the year, like your truck and trailer
• Copies of any 1099’s you have received
• Interest amounts paid on your loans
• Number of nights you were on the road away from home
• If you are using a new accountant, a copy of your tax return from the previous year

• What method of depreciation do they recommend using?
• Should part of your driver pay be paid using per diem?
• When will they have the taxes prepared by? Make sure you hold them to it.

January was a much better month than I was expecting. In fact, it was the best month I have ever had. Listen to the episode to learn what contributed to the success. Here is a quick overview, and Craig and I talk about all the details during the episode. Scroll to the bottom and you’ll see copies of the Profit and Loss Statement and the Balance Sheet.

• Total miles ran - 9,629
• Deadhead miles - 1,188 (Out of Control)
• Total revenue - $21,470.03
• All-in rate-per-mile - $2.23 (Best Ever)
• Full days on the road - 11
• Partial days on the road - 11

In the end Haulin Assets realized a profit of $4,516.85, which is the best month I've had yet.

To see full show notes and hear past episodes, check out the Haulin Assets website.

I created a list of 10 questions you can ask yourself to help you know if you have the mindset of a successful owner operator. Craig and I will talk about each one of them in depth. They are listed them from what I feel like is the least to the most important characteristic. You might not feel like you've developed all these characteristics, but as long as you are strong in most of them and willing and able to strengthen the others, you have a great chance of becoming a successful trucking company owner.

10. Do you constantly seek to improve?

9. Do you accept change?

8. Do you have a failure is not an option attitude?

7. Do you recover quickly from your failures?

6. Do you love a challenge?

5. Do you take charge?

4. Are you resourceful?

3. Do you understand your numbers?

2. Do you manage your cash well?

1. Do you take action?