T1 Transport Version - Owning Your Success Newsletter by Outridge Enterprises Inc.

elcome to the first Owning Your Success newsletter focused on the transportation industry. I know what you’re thinking; does the world really need another newsletter? The answer, I think so, there is a huge driver shortage in the industry, recruiting and marketing are changing with technology faster than we can turn around, and new cultures are coming into the industry. I believe I can help and so this newsletter is one step further in that direction. So who should read this newsletter? The general answer is anyone, but it is really geared to three different groups of individuals. First there is the Owner Operator looking for business tips on how to run smarter, operate more efficiently, and be successful within their businesses. The articles most beneficial to them will be under the heading of “The Successful Owner Operator” section. The second group of individuals of interest would be professional drivers in general, but especially new drivers. The section “The New Professional Driver” will have articles and stories to help them operate as true professionals. Our first article deals with protecting your cargo on the road so is a must read for the new driver. Our last group of individuals are the leaders themselves, the supervisors that have to manage professional drivers and owner operators. This section titled “Leading the Pack” which is similar to our publication “Collar to Collar Magazine focuses on leadership skills for you and your team. Hopefully my time as a supervisor has paid off and I can offer you some tidbits to make your team stronger. Your probably wondering how you get hold of this newsletter for the future. Well if you received a paper copy of this newsletter or it was sent to you from someone else then first I hoped you enjoyed it, now all you have to do is sign up online for a notification to be sent to you every time the latest edition is published. That way you won’t have to do anything. The newsletter is totally free and will be published on a bi-monthly basis online. Below is the link to sign up for the newsletter. But there are two newsletters you’ve noticed? Your right we have a similar publication under the same name for entrepreneurs to help them with the various tasks of running a business. You are welcome to receive and read both if they are of interest to you. If you think this newsletter will help someone you know why not pass it on to them. I hope you enjoy the newsletter and I look forward to meeting all of you one day, Bruce Outridge Signup for the newsletter online on the Outridge Consulting Service website

The Successful Owner Operator

ou are probably wondering why I am talking about evaluating your operation in the month of May. Two reasons; Tax time is finished and you are either grumbling about paying taxes or jumping for joy about your refund. Either way is bad because as an owner operator you shouldn’t be getting a refund if your accountant did his job correctly. So for those of you that are Sole Proprietors you know the outcome of your tax situation. If you’re incorporated you may have a different year end and that may be the time that you reflect on your business. Mine personally is at the end of October so that is when I do a lot of my year end evaluation. Whenever your year end is for you it is important that you evaluate your business. I think you should be evaluating your business on a quarterly basis and I revise my business plan on a semi-annual basis but the point is that you should do it regularly. Now there are five areas that you should look at and evaluate to make your business a better operation. First look at the income, did you get all of the miles promised, are you laying over too much in one area, etc? Maybe you took too much vacation and should have been running a little harder, or maybe the freight you’re hauling is keeping you delayed at the receiving end.

The next area for revue is the variable expense area; look at your fuel costs first since this area will have the most impact. Check your truck fuel mileage against your fuel costs, do they match and if not how come? Were you going too fast, dead heading to the house too far, or buying fuel in the wrong areas? Next comes the maintenance area, is it starting to cost too much to keep the truck, was a lack of preventative maintenance causing problems on the road? Now the next two areas are smaller but can be just as much of a problem as others if not kept in check. Check your phone usage, and food costs. Are you spending too much in those areas? If you’re not sure where to find this information it should be in your profit and loss statement. If you don’t have a profit and loss statement then that is your first course of action. Once you have evaluated all of those areas then it is time to put an action plan together to tackle the problems and start being profitable. Some area will be easier to fix than others. Cell phone plans and food can be fixed quite easily by watching your habits, but if maintenance is a problem, lower shop costs or purchasing another truck may be more complicated. That being said however, ignoring it will get you nowhere and if you’re losing money based upon ignorance then unfortunately no one can help you.

The New Professional Driver

ver the C.B. radio everyone can hear the announcement, brand new barbecues, fifty bucks, still in the box, going fast! I have heard this many times over the years at several truck stops across the North America. Many times it is the result of a produce trucker being told that his load won’t be accepted at the delivery point and he tries to sell it as fast as he can to recoup non-payment by the company, which is more for the independent guys. Many times it is a trailer that has been stolen and the goods are being sold out of the back of the truck stop parking lot. The reason these crooks get away with this is that they drag the trailer to another part of the country before selling it therefore people don’t realize what has happened because it isn’t on the news. Now I mentioned barbecues early on because many times I have heard of these being sold, but it applies to anything from t-shirts, home decor, cars, and of late due to fuel prices, diesel fuel. So what can you do to combat the rising problem of theft?

The first thing to remember is that you won’t be able to handle everything yourself, but working with your company in general and being aware of your surroundings plays a huge role into the prevention of property being stolen. From a company standpoint there are many great products on the market to track equipment, monitor loads, and alert to out of route travel, however much of that only helps once someone has stolen the equipment. Also with the size of some fleets, the cost of tracking devices and manpower to monitor the fleet become overwhelming to stay on top of in a diligent way. You would need a team of FBI agents to do a truly proper job of monitoring all of the fleet’s equipment. So the prevention part really comes down to the driver. Most drivers are checking their loads on a regular basis due to procedures and regulations but where they fall down is that during the trip they become complacent. You’ve travelled 400 miles into the trip, start talking to someone on the C.B. as to where you are going, when your appointment time is, what product you’re carrying, etc. In your mind all you are doing is trying to stay alert and after all you can see the trailer so you don’t have to worry about someone stealing it while you’re traveling.

The New Professional Driver

What you may not realize is that you are being stocked and tracked. On the other end that person may be planning on the perfect place to steal equipment, freight, or both. Becoming complacent lets your guard down, and opens you up to problems. So here are five things you can do today to prevent theft of your unit or property When speaking with someone you don’t know, never reveal relevant details of your trip. Monitor vehicles that may be following you for an unusual length of time. Stop at areas that are on main routes and park in well lit areas. Buy a lock that you can keep in the truck to place on the back of trailers while eating in restaurants. Stay to general routes that your company follows, don’t get creative by running back roads or areas that are not familiar to you, remember being complacent means letting your guard down, which is where problems begin. “Professionalism is more than training-it’s a mindset!” Bruce Outridge ©2011 Outridge Consulting Services / Outridge Enterprises Inc.

Leading the Pack

n a recent presentation to recruiting staff in the transportation industry I talked about the “Law of Attraction” as a basis for the company. If you are recruiting for your company I want you to take a look how you are currently recruiting drivers and check to see if you are using the law of attraction as your base. Let me show you why it is important. Let’s use Bill, he has approximately ten years of solid experience and has done his time with the substandard companies so he is looking for a good quality carrier to call home. To someone like Bill the only things that really matter are pay scale, equipment, home time, and future company stability. The rest he is pretty flexible on so most carriers would be happy to employ Bill. Since Bill is willing to run all over he is extremely particular about the equipment he will be driving /living in for weeks at a time. The truck doesn’t have to be real fancy although that would be an attractive quality, but it needs to be clean, and well maintained. Bill finds five companies that fit the criteria he is looking for. He sets a day a side for interviews and before going into the interview pauses at the corner watching the trucks roll in and out of the yard, and then takes a good look at the equipment parked along the fence in the yard.

As he goes through the interviews he listens but has already shut out two of the companies based on the trucks parked outside. One recruiter actually acknowledges that she has never been in any of the trucks after Bill starts asking questions regarding maintenance and cleanliness. The highest paying position at one company sounded great until they told Bill he would be slip seating on a daily basis. After all the interviews were completed Bill actually did sign on with a carrier. They weren’t the highest paid drivers on the road, the equipment was nice looking but not overly fancy. So why did this company succeed in signing Bill on. First the pay was a bit lower, but they had excellent benefits and also had a special performance based bonus that was very lucrative. The equipment was dedicated to the driver; both truck and trailer, and were on a strict maintenance schedule. The company also provided cleaning facilities at the yard and expenses for cleaning on the road. Regular home time was shown and family was encouraged to be a part of the company atmosphere.

Leading the Pack

Bill was attracted through the equipment. If drivers are expected to actually live in a unit for days or weeks at a time then it must be safe and clean. Most drivers will evaluate equipment harder than pay scale. I suggest checking your fleets and make sure your equipment is attracting the drivers you want.

ooking for more information on how to best work with your team? Then Collar to Collar Magazine may be the magazine for you. Publshed semi-annually it focuses on operational staff and the people that lead them with tips, stories, and information on how to best help your team grow and become more efficient. To get your subscription sent directly to your door visit www.outridge.ca

ruce Outridge is a business and leadership consultant for entrepreneurs and the transportation industry. He has over 30 years of experience from driver to owner operator to fleet supervisor and works to create professional drivers for the industry. He is a regular speaker within the industry on a variety of topics from complacency to marketing, and business. To view more information about Bruce or any of his many publications and topics please visit his website for Outridge Consulting Services at www.outridge.ca “Professionalism is more than training-it’s a mindset!” Bruce Outridge ©2011 Outridge Consulting Services / Outridge Enterprises Inc.