I have repeatedly compared the profession of a truck driver to being self-employed. I can state with some degree of assurance that they are similar. In my experience as a long-time company owner who entered this industry as a second job, the parallels are startling. My experience as an entrepreneur has been really helpful as I learn how to be a successful truck driver. The success criteria that one must follow in the trucking industry are similar to those that a small company owner must follow. The keys to success in truck driving may also be found by examining the strategies someone uses and the sacrifices they are willing to make for their company.
Small business owners have a strong sense of passion for their work
I am a creative person by nature. I like making stuff. I compose music. I compose poems. Hell, I even like writing for Trucking Truth. I like having ideas and then putting them into action. I spent a lot of time working in the sign industry. I adored the whole procedure. Going out and pitching ideas to people was fun for me. Then I would enjoy planning, creating, and even installing it all. I was a highly active manager since I was invested in the process. I wanted it to be exactly what my consumer desired from beginning to end.
I worked for many national corporations and completed some pretty substantial projects. Despite having some excellent workers, I preferred to be a part of the whole process. I might be found in a suit speaking to a banker just as easily as I could be working in coveralls on the shop floor finishing up a welding job. I was enthralled by it all and fiercely committed to doing it properly.
Have you ever noticed how many unsuccessful truck drivers you can discover online that seem to detest what they do? Those who are enthusiastic about this line of work are quietly having a wonderful time and earning decent money while doing it. We do not go online and criticize every business we have ever worked for. Most of us have only had employment with a few businesses. Most professional truck drivers committed to their careers do not often switch jobs at other businesses. They had discovered the secret to success, and it had nothing to do with the employer; rather, it had to do with how they handled themselves while traveling.
Small business owners have several hats to wear.
- I often had to don my salesman’s cap.
Listen up; I believe this is essential. Have you ever considered how a truck driver is similar to a salesperson? What is he selling, to what, and to whom? You might not be aware of a crucial element of the task if you had not given this idea any thought. That is one of the essential characteristics that distinguish real professionals from ordinary people who never manage to succeed in the trucking industry.
The majority of regular truck drivers consider their dispatcher to be their boss. Not me! My client is that dispatcher. The difference is crucial. I am continuously trying to pitch myself to that client. You quickly learn in business that your clients are your lifeblood. They give you things to do. They provide you access to cash flow. They enable you to stay afloat. When it comes to your success, they are your most crucial connection. They will search elsewhere to purchase the items they need if they are dissatisfied with how you handle the situation. They will always be there for you if they are satisfied with the results they are receiving.
How do you keep a client satisfied? You may win their favor and loyalty by consistently taking care of the things they ask you to do and, if possible, going above and above their expectations. Your success depends critically on how well you get along with your dispatcher. You will succeed if you can approach them as someone you wish to provide for properly. Although you serve them, they are not here to serve you. You will benefit if you can achieve it.
“Lobbying for kilometers” is a term that sometimes appears. We are talking about pitching your dispatcher on you. If you do not have a track record that demonstrates your ability to get things done, no amount of lobbying will help. It is quite difficult to convince your dispatcher to use you more successfully if you are a persistent issue for them. You have descended to the level of considering them your employer, and as a result, you are upset with your awful boss, who does not give a damn whether you succeed or fail. You have started to see them as obliging and uncaring.
As soon as you get into that frame of mind, it becomes impossible for you to sell yourself to others. You must prevent it from happening if you want to succeed. A professional truck driver must possess the same mindset as a self-employed company owner who realizes that keeping his client happy is essential to his survival. Your primary client is your dispatcher. If you treat people that way, there will always be something for you to do in this industry.
- I had to wear my hard helmet a lot.
It implies there are occasions when I must take necessary precautions to do the work safely. You occasionally must get your hands filthy in business to make things happen. The route here is set up in the same manner. We deal with many problems here, and finding solutions is not always straightforward.
There have been occasions when I have deviated from the guidelines to ensure that everything ran according to schedule. I am not referring to violating the law and leading a life of crime. I am truly referring to using original approaches to problem-solving and solutions.
For instance, I have the phone numbers of several of our clients’ forklift operators stored on my phone. Sometimes I will arrange for them to stay late and unload me if I am in a crunch and can not get there in time, but it must be unloaded that day. Also, I have positioned my vehicle in some inventive spots to get in and out before the other drivers are expected to arrive.
Sometimes you have to work in the mud to ensure everything goes according to plan. This kind of resolve distinguishes a professional who can always be relied upon from the typical driver. The mentality and motivation I had as a small company owner are the ones that have helped me succeed out here as a professional truck driver.
Small business owners put forth a lot of effort and sacrifice.
When I had company, it was not uncommon for me to work through the night while my staff members slept soundly at home in their cozy beds. On a metal table in the store, using a roll of paper towels as a cushion, I may take a little sleep before returning to my job. I would go above and above to execute a job that my client needed to be completed. I could only rely on my record of accomplishments to support my position. That became the cornerstone of my success and supported my attempts to increase business.
You will be recognized as one of those who rise to the top of the food chain if you use the same approach to truck driving. You will be relied upon and called upon as the team’s regular point man if you have a history of getting things done.
Have you ever had dental pain? You know, the ones that force you to try to avoid using that side of your mouth to chew because you never know when it will suddenly give you a shooting pain? For their dispatcher, a lot of truck drivers are like a toothache. Their dispatcher is never sure when that driver would suddenly inflict them with anguish. As a result, they do not use that driver as often as they do the better drivers, who they know will make the required compromises to complete the task.
You do not want to be the driver who gets passed over for the great loads because they are never sure whether you will do it correctly. You will experience the repercussions of being a mediocre driver if your prior performance has left the dispatcher uncertain, making him unsure when you will not offer him an unpleasant surprise.
Small business owners try to increase their income in whatever way they can.
As proprietor of a small firm, I wanted to raise revenue. I was the one who was determined to make things work, after all. I was the one donning every hat. All the sacrifices I felt were required for success were made by myself. I never calculated my pay based on how much time I spent at my work, thank god since that would have been humiliating. We followed sound accounting practices, and I often assessed our development.
The end of the year was the most crucial time to analyze the figures. I was interested in knowing my year’s overall profit margins. The figures had significance for me. They gave me insight into our performance and what we needed to do to increase revenue. I was interested in the overall picture at the end of the year, even if we could sometimes have a terrible month. I checked to see whether we were profitable because we would need to make the required adjustments to become profitable.
What impact do these comparisons have on you as a truck driver?
I have seen a big salary gap for truck drivers. Significant discrepancies appear in the outcomes that drivers get rather than the pay rates. Sometimes, even among drivers employed by the same business, there will be a significant variance. I want to earn the amount of money at the end of the year that I believe is fair compensation for the work I put in during the year. I believe that everyone experiences this.
The discrepancy exists because some of us did not do as well as we should have during the year. Pay for truck drivers is merit-based. Simply said, in this profession, you get what you deserve. It is sometimes referred to as performance-based remuneration. To succeed in this field, we must put in whatever effort is necessary.
While paying a Top Tier Driver the same 45 cents per mile as an ordinary driver, you may pay an average driver 45 cents per mile. Due to his ability to turn many more miles, the Top Tier Driver will ultimately come out much ahead of the normal person.
Drivers who examine their performance from the previous year will fall into one of two categories:
1) Results are average for typical drivers. They have not established a history of reliable performance that makes their dispatchers substantially rely on them.
2) Top Tier drivers average a remarkable number of miles for a year, and their dispatchers largely rely on them.
See this example to know what I mean:
A driver who logs 2,100 miles per week on average at a rate of 45 cents per mile would earn $49,140.
At that rate of compensation, a driver who logs 3,200 miles weekly on average would earn $74,880.
