Three Down, One To Go!

Three Down, One to Go!

Three quarters of the year have passed, and there is only one quarter left to go.

How are you doing?

Do you even know?

As truck drivers and owner-operators, it is easy to get caught up in the day-to-day. We worry about the next load, the next delivery, fuel prices, repairs, traffic, and everything else that comes with being on the road. Before we know it, another month has passed.

Now is a good time to stop and take a look at the numbers.

How does this year compare to last year? Are you ahead? About the same? Or are you behind where you were at this point last year?

Looking at your numbers isn't just about knowing how much money came into the business. Take a look at your revenue, fuel costs, maintenance, insurance, permits, repairs, and other expenses. More importantly, look at what you actually kept.

Maybe your revenue is higher than last year, but your expenses have increased even more. On the other hand, maybe your revenue is down, but you've managed to control your expenses and your bottom line isn't as bad as you expected.

You won't know unless you look.

This is also a good time to ask yourself some questions.

Are you happy with where your business is headed? Are you running the number of miles you want to run? Are the loads you're taking worth the time and expense? Are you making enough to justify the amount of time you're away from home?

There are still three months left in the year. That means there is still time to make adjustments.

Maybe you need to take a closer look at your fuel purchases. Maybe you need to reduce unnecessary expenses. Maybe you need to change the types of loads you're accepting. Or perhaps things are going well and you simply need to stay the course.

The important thing is to know where you stand.

We often hear the saying, "You can't manage what you don't measure." That is especially true when you're running your own trucking business.

Don't wait until December to find out how your year turned out.

Take some time now, look at the numbers, compare them to last year, and decide what you want the final quarter to look like.

You still have three months left.

Make them count.

Here’s to millions of safe, profitable and MAKING THEM COUNT miles.

Kelly Plumb