Here's another episode where we cover the financials for Haulin Assets. November was an average month. The main reason was I was not on the road for as many days as I would have liked, and there is a reason for that that I'll get into in a future episode. 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 - 10,251 Deadhead miles - 510 Total reve...
Dec 11, 2019•25 min•Ep. 33
I have had a lot of people talk about the economy and the current state of the trucking industry. Things are different now than they were last year. Last year’s rates were better than we had seen in a really long time. You couldn’t help but make money but that might not have been an entirely good thing. I think this year we are seeing some negative consequences from last year’s boom. So what does that mean? What to Expect From Episode 30 During this episode, Craig and I talk a lot about the stat...
Nov 27, 2019•37 min•Ep. 32
Ben Franklin made the phrase, “a penny saved is a penny earned” popular, and there is no industry where that saying holds more true than the trucking industry. A savings of 6 cents a gallon of fuel is like saving 1 cent per mile. When you are driving over 500 miles a day, 1 cent a mile adds up to thousands of dollars a year. Purchasing fuel smartly is one of the easiest ways to save money. In the past I have talked about how fuel planning and a good fuel card can save you lots of money. I want t...
Nov 20, 2019•33 min•Ep. 31
Things are looking better for the month of October than they were for the few months previous. That's not to say that nothing unexpected or difficult came up, but thanks to Chris's preparedness and the relationships he's cultivated, he was still able to turn a decent profit even while driving slightly less than his monthly average. In today's episode, Chris shares with Craig the numbers for October and also shares some stories that illustrate why it's so important to cultivate relationships--you...
Nov 13, 2019•31 min•Ep. 30
There are good brokers and bad brokers; you need to know how to deal with the guys who don't care about you or your business and just want to get everything out of you that they can. Listen to this episode to learn what to watch out for when dealing with brokers. Why I'm Doing Haulin Assets In this episode I also talked a bit more about my background and why I am doing this podcast. I mentioned a couple of my businesses that provide different services to the trucking industry. If you ever had a ...
Nov 06, 2019•39 min•Ep. 29
What does it mean to control your circumstances, when so much seems to be out of our control? In this episode, Chris argues that there's more within your control than you might think, if you're willing to put in the work to see it. It takes discipline and foresight, but controlling your circumstances -- to an extent! -- is not only possible, it's actually not too complicated either. Chris gives a couple of recent examples from the road to illustrate how he's taken control of his own circumstance...
Oct 30, 2019•23 min•Ep. 28
It's a dangerous world out there for truck drivers and not all dangers are on the road. If you want to see me get fire up, start talking to me about ways truck drivers and trucking company owners get taken advantage of. In this episode I cover some of the more common ways I have seen drivers and owners being taken advantage of. There are a lot of ways I see people being tricked and taken advantage of. Just like wild animals warn you by making some kind of noise or physical display before they at...
Oct 23, 2019•32 min•Ep. 27
It’s another episode where we go over the financials for Haulin Assets. Over all, it was a pretty good month. Here is a quick overview, we talk about all the details. There are a lot of things that happened this month and we talk about all of them in this episode, so give it a listen. Scroll to the bottom and you’ll see copies of the Profit and Loss Statement and the Balance Sheet. Total Miles Ran-10,520 Deadhead Miles-1,157 Total Revenue-$20,939.04 All In Rate Per Mile-$1.99 Full Days on the ro...
Oct 16, 2019•19 min•Ep. 26
In this episode Craig and I cover two topics. First, we talk about the UCR (Unified Carrier Registration) fee and how it brings out the dark side of the trucking industry and then we talk about a life principle that is super important for anyone who runs their own business. It’s kind of strange because these two topics are really not related, but I wanted to cover the UCR because this is the time of year the predators start to come out and take advantage of owner operators, so it got plugged int...
Oct 09, 2019•34 min•Ep. 25
I thought it would be fun to see how much of a cost difference it would to eat out for a week verses eating store bought food for a week. I was shocked at the difference. Listen to the episode for the full details, but some of the highlights are below. Leave a comment let me know what you do to save money on the road. In this episode Craig and I talk about my little experiment to determine the cost difference between eating at truck stops and restaurants for a week compared to eating food I boug...
Oct 02, 2019•29 min•Ep. 24
I'm pleasantly surprised I made money in August. If you have been listening to the podcast, you will know I am in the Army National Guard and I did my two-week training period during August. I was only on the road for 10 full days and two partial days in August. My total mileage for the month was only 6,645. Even with half the month off I was able to make all the important payments and the company made $595.65. The down side was, as a driver I earned half of what I normally would. Luckily, I get...
Sep 26, 2019•24 min•Ep. 23
This is another topic that's important enough that we'll revisit it a few times over our first year or so. Cost per mile is a vital number to know for your business, and if you know it, you've already got a leg up on about 80% of the other owner-operators out there. So why do you need to know your cost per mile? It helps you make important business decisions It ensures you take the right loads It helps you know if you're spending too much in certain categories, like fuel or repairs What goes int...
Sep 18, 2019•25 min•Ep. 22
This is a fun episode for me because I get to use my military experience in the business world. It never ceases to amaze me how often my military experience helps me in the business world and how my business experience helps me in my military life. The military does a lot of good things that the private sector can learn from and vice versa. (Don't forget you can visit the Haulin Assets website to hear previous episodes and view full show notes.) In this episode I talk about a very common topic i...
Sep 11, 2019•23 min•Ep. 21
This is probably one of the most important episodes you can listen to. Listening to the episode is just step one, but what you really need to do is adopt the habits we talk about in this episode. Owner operators who live by the principles we discuss in this episode are the ones who are significantly more likely to succeed and ultimately THRIVE. Last week we talked about how much money I made during the first three full months operating my trucking company. In this episode, we talk about what to ...
Sep 04, 2019•33 min•Ep. 20
This episode will work best if you follow along with the P&L sheet that we've included in the show notes, HERE . Drum roll please! This is the moment of reckoning. Did I make money or lose money the first three months out on the road? I answer that question during this episode. Okay, spoiler, I made $8,149.17 over that three months and that is on top of what I paid myself as a driver. Not too bad considering a lot of businesses lose money during the first year. In this episode Craig and I go...
Aug 28, 2019•29 min•Ep. 19
It's time to hit the road, but before you do, you have to have some kind of ELD, electronic logging device. An ELD can frustrate you and there are a lot of them out there, so you want to make sure you make a good decision when you purchase one. In this episode we are going to cover some of the things you need to think about purchase your ELD. We cover 5 factors you should consider when purchasing an ELD. Here they are: Is it compliant with the FMCSA ELD regulation? (You can go to this FMCSA webs...
Aug 21, 2019•31 min•Ep. 18
The drug and alcohol regulations for the FMCSA and DOT intimidate a lot of people. The DOT takes them very seriously and non-compliance is one of the areas that will get you in hot water with the government really fast. Following the rules is really not overly difficult or even too expensive, you just have to do it. Motor Carrier HQ has a flat rate program that costs $199 for the first year and then is $139 each year after that and they take care of the details. This episode will also help you b...
Aug 14, 2019•23 min•Ep. 17
The drug and alcohol regulations for the FMCSA and DOT intimidate a lot of people. The DOT takes them very seriously and non-compliance is one of the areas that will get you in hot water with the government really fast. Following the rules is really not overly difficult or even too expensive, you just have to do it. Motor Carrier HQ has a flat rate program that costs $199 for the first year and then is $139 each year after that and they take care of the details. This episode will also help you b...
Aug 14, 2019•23 min•Ep. 16
License plates in the trucking industry have many different names: IRP, apportioned registration, etc. Navigating the registration process is not simple, so we’ll try to shed some light onto it. In this episode I interview Ariel, Motor Carrier HQ’s resident expert on the International Registration Plan, often referred to as IRP or apportioned registration. We talk about what IRP is, who has to get apportioned plates, and some of the process to make it happen. To learn more about the process, che...
Aug 07, 2019•31 min•Ep. 15
So far in this journey of starting a trucking company we have spent a lot of money, now it's time to switch gears and talk about saving money. In this episode we talk strategies for saving money on fuel, maintenance, repairs and some personal expenses. The top five expense for a trucking company, in order are: Driver wages and benefits Fuel Truck and Trailer Maintenance and Repairs Insurance As always, check out the full show notes at https://haulinassetsllc.com/episodes/...
Jul 31, 2019•34 min•Ep. 14
In the last episode we showed how much it cost us to start Haulin Assets, and we discussed how your situation might be similar or different. Now it’s time to roll up our sleeves and get to work by figuring out how to gather all the money you’ll need in order to get that truck moving down the road and making money! For most people, coming up with the money to start their trucking company is the most challenging part of getting going. As the saying goes: “The secret of getting ahead is getting sta...
Jul 24, 2019•52 min•Ep. 13
"How much does it cost to start a trucking company?" is probably the most common question we get asked. In this episode we are going to answer this question with a real life example. When I started my trucking company a few months before writing this post, I took meticulous notes documenting each and every expense I made. In this episode, I talk about each and every startup expense I made and tell you exactly how much it cost. Since every person’s situation is going to be different I also give a...
Jul 17, 2019•36 min•Ep. 12
What’s the difference between driving as an owner operator or working for a company? We got a lot of questions about this topic, so we did an entire episode about it. Check it out! A couple of episodes ago, we started doing a question and answer piece at the end of each episode. Thanks to all of your questions, we decided to do an entire episode about a topic a lot of people were asking us about. Episode 10 is all about the pros and cons of being an owner operator vs. an employee driver. For a l...
Jul 10, 2019•38 min•Ep. 11
Getting commercial insurance for your truck is an intimidating process. We hope listening to this episode will help you so you don't go into the process blind and can make the best, informed decision for you. To learn even more, check out our page on the same subject at Motor Carrier HQ . What to Expect From Episode 9 In this episode we talk about how to purchase insurance for your truck. This will be one of the biggest purchases you make, so it's important to be smart about it. You'll learn a l...
Jul 03, 2019•51 min•Ep. 10
Once you know where you are going to find your loads (see ep.7), you should be able to determine the type of trailer you are going to need to buy. In this episode we talk about how to decide what type of trailer to buy and I give some tips for when you are actually shopping around. Step one is to determine how you are going to find your loads, once you know that, it should point you in the direction for the type of trailer that is going to be best for you. We'll go over the pros and cons for eac...
Jun 26, 2019•35 min•Ep. 9
Finding loads is probably one of the most important topics we are going to cover in our podcast. If you aren't finding enough loads or the right loads, your business is going to struggle. In this episode on finding loads, we are going to cover the basics and not get into too much detail. We'll hit this topic several times as the year goes on and get into more and more detail each time we do. What to Expect From Episode 7 We talk about the four main ways companies get loads: Directly from shipper...
Jun 19, 2019•35 min•Ep. 8
In this episode we talk about the different types of lenders and some of the things they look for. We also give you some tips to help give you the greatest chance of success. It all really boils down to finding the right lender who best matches up with your particular situation. You may be a square peg, and some lenders might be a round hole. You won’t get anywhere trying to get your square peg into their round hole. Look for that lender that loves square pegs, and you will have found your match...
Jun 12, 2019•40 min•Ep. 7
This is a fun episode. Who doesn’t get excited about buying the truck that they are going to use to make them money. Heck, you are probably going to live in this thing 24/7 for days, if not weeks at a time. If there is a decision you want to get right, this is it. Here are some of the things we are going to talk about: Buying new vs used If you buy used, how many miles it should have If you should buy a warranty What you should look for in a truck The cost of the truck Head to http://haulinasset...
Jun 05, 2019•53 min•Ep. 6
In this episode I really focus on the importance of thinking like an owner. This journey really starts with YOU and a desire for something different. For me, that was deciding I wanted my hard work to make more money for myself and not for someone else. I also wanted to be in control of my destiny, not have someone else in control of it. Here are some of the changes in mindset we talk about. Have a good attitude Think like an owner Be prepared I hope this episode helps you think of ways to think...
May 29, 2019•31 min•Ep. 5
Big step #2 of starting a trucking company, after setting up your business, is applying for your DOT Number and MC Number, aka Operating Authority. You can't do much in trucking without one or both of these numbers. How do you know which one you need or if you need them at all? My buddy Tyler from Motorcarrier HQ and I cover all the basics in this episode. Here are some of subjects we discuss in detail: DOT Number MC Number Operating Authority BOC-3 Insurance (We just kind of scratch the surface...
May 22, 2019•57 min•Ep. 4
