Chris is going from behind the desk to behind the wheel and starting his own trucking company.
Episodes
Wednesday Oct 27, 2021
Wednesday Oct 27, 2021
September 2021 financials were great giving us another strong month.
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.
Wednesday Oct 13, 2021
Wednesday Oct 13, 2021
Back in Episode 36, you can listen to it by clicking here, we talked about the cost of sitting for a day to wait for a better paying load. If you are like me, I can't remember what I ate yesterday, it might not hurt to go back and listen to that episode again. In this episode we are going to analyze a similar question, but instead of looking at if from the front end of a load, we are going to consider the back end of a load.
What To Expect From Episode 87
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.
Wednesday Sep 22, 2021
Wednesday Sep 22, 2021
Ahhhh, the ups and downs of trucking. I started the last financial episode show notes with the same phrase. The roller coaster continues, we went from a record profit in June to a loss in July to another record profit in August. last month to a loss this month. Hold on tight as Craig and I explain it all.
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.
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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
Wednesday Sep 08, 2021
Wednesday Sep 08, 2021
Your company's cashflow can either make or break you. It is very important to understand the difference between cashflow and your net income or profit and loss. Some people treat them as the same thing, and that can get you into a lot of trouble. In this episode we'll try to bring some clarity to the subject to help you avoid some of the more common missteps people take when it comes to managing cashflow.
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
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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
Wednesday Aug 25, 2021
Wednesday Aug 25, 2021
Ahhhh, the ups and downs of trucking. We went from a record profit last month to a loss this month. The situation is not as dire as it might sound. There were some one-time expenses that created the loss. Craig and I will explain it all.
What To Expect From Episode 84
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:
- Respect everyone
- 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.
Impact Tip
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.
Wednesday Aug 25, 2021
Wednesday Aug 25, 2021
Ahhhh, the ups and downs of trucking. We went from a record profit last month to a loss this month. The situation is not as dire as it might sound. There were some one-time expenses that created the loss. Craig and I will explain it all.
What To Expect From Episode 84
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:
- Respect everyone
- 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.
Impact Tip
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.
Wednesday Aug 11, 2021
Wednesday Aug 11, 2021
Drivers are such an important part of your business. Two of the common descriptions that truck drivers use to describe each other are professional drivers vs steering wheel holders. What we cover in this episodes dives into the difference between the two.
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.
Wednesday Jul 28, 2021
Wednesday Jul 28, 2021
It was another great month for Haulin Assets, I'm super excited to share our numbers with you this month. We need to keep this momentum going for as long as we can. There are some great financial nuggets in this episode so make sure you listen all the way to the end.
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.
Thursday Jul 15, 2021
Thursday Jul 15, 2021
I'm out of the country on a military assignment so this episode is short and sweet, it's just an impact tip.
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.
Wednesday Jun 30, 2021
Wednesday Jun 30, 2021
Leasing a semi-truck is very misunderstood. In today's episode Craig and I are bringing some guests onto the show to help answer some of the common questions people have when it comes to leasing a truck. Before we jump into the main topic I talk about a crazy load one of our drivers is currently on and how it has the potential to cause frustration. It is important to find a win win situation under an uncommon set of circumstances that this load has.
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?