Paying It Forward
Every week for over ten years, well almost every week, I have posted a blog meant to share trucking knowledge that I have gained over the decades of being an owner-operator. Most of the blogs I wrote were to help other drivers, especially new or newer drivers who didn’t come from a background in the trucking industry. Every owner-operator has knowledge to share that can help newer drivers settle into the role of owner-operator. Transitioning from driver to owner takes more than just buying a truck.
Drivers and “wannabe” drivers question me all the time. They either want to jump right into truck ownership or make the move from company driver to owner-operator. Whatever the case, I try to take the time to talk to those who could be the next generation of truckers.
The most asked question I get is, “How much do you make?” Any O/O reading this probably just cringed a little. The answer has a definite figure, but it is not going to be the same figure for every O/O. For this reason, I change tack and start asking my own questions. New drivers often have an inflated sense of worth for just starting out. That is not to say they are worthless or worth less just because they are new, but they do not see what has gone into the years of an O/O that got him or her to where they are today. I don’t remember getting a lot of questions during my first year as an O/O. Today, I try to lead them toward answers based on their current situation and their ultimate goals, if they have any. When they do not have long-term goals, I tend to encourage them to consider defining their version of success. Some get the point; others just see a shiny new truck and want to start where I am now.
It can take a lot of patience with some who do not get the ownership aspect of being an O/O. They never had anything other than a job where they were told where, when, and how to achieve the result that the business asked of them. They have never been the decision maker and the consequence taker.
Being an O/O has had its ups and downs over the years, but year over year, it has been a good fit for me. I have grown and reinvested in my business to raise the bar higher. Sure, you can eke out a living as a trucker, but if you want to thrive and reach the next level, you need to set goals and then set them higher when you reach them. There is a time to pedal and a time to cruise. Personally, I prefer to pedal as much as I can so that I can cruise for longer periods later. Keep the inertia going when you can; eventually some force will bring you to a stop. If you were pedaling when you could, you would not fret over the cruising times.
When you prepare for the hard times, they don’t seem so hard, if you even notice them.
Being busy does not always mean real work. The object of all work is production or accomplishment and to either of these ends there must be forethought, system, planning, intelligence, and honest purpose, as well as perspiration. Seeming to do is not doing.
- Thomas A. Edison
See you down the road,
Greg