Whatisinstorefor2023?

When I started TowTrax, I knew I had a great idea that would change the industry. I had a strong developer, and a few good people to help me with the tow companies. I knew I needed a big investor to help me get this off the ground. Other companies had investors willing to give over $50 million. I held a meeting at my office building and invited all the tenants to come and see a demo of my product. I had 22 people in the room, and at the end of the meeting I had three major investors who were willing to invest in TowTrax.

Well, it’s the start of a new year and only god knows what is ahead for us. A recap of 2022 put challenges in front of us like

1. Covid – When Covid hit it hurt a lot of businesses. Businesses were closing, people had to wear masks, and birthday parties and other social events were canceled. You could not even visit your family for the holidays. We are told that the covid is over, but there are other pandemics out that could affect our business.

2. Gas Prices – When Biden took office the first thing he did was kill the Canadian pipe line. We started to buy our oil from other countries which had a big impact on the gas prices. I can’t tell you how many times I told myself, boy am I glad I sold my company. Gas prices went down when there was voting for a new congress. Now that the elections are over gas prices are starting to go up again.

3. Poor economy – For what ever reason our economy took a dive. People stopped driving because they could not afford gas. Vacations were put on hold, businesses refused work because of the distance they had to travel. There are at least ten other reasons why the consumer stopped traveling which affected our industry. My business works with motor clubs, and we were told their tows are down 30% because people don’t want to travel.

DAN MESSINA

4. Less Travel – Not only are the consumers not traveling, but private business is also traveling less because of the gas prices.

5. No price increases – Ask your self when the last time your customers, or cities gave you an increase. If garages are not getting cars to work on for what ever reason, they cut back on tows you performed for them. I can’t tell you when the city of Dallas gave tow companies an increase. Not only have they not given increases, but they gave the city pound to a private tow company to operate.

6. No Trucks – Tow trucks were hard to find in 2022. Manufactures were taking 9 to 12 months to build a new truck and used trucks were even harder to find. Finding parts to build new trucks were hard to find. Then there was a shipping problem once the builder found the parts.

7. No Parts – If you had a truck and it broke your truck could be down for a long time waiting for parts. Shipping was a big problem because of truck strikes and other countries that made chips for trucks stopped making the chips. Our government played a big part of our problems for 2022.

8. No Drivers – Not only was this a problem in 2022, but it will be an ongoing problem for a long time. When the covid hit the government paid people to stay at home. This included drivers and dispatchers. When it was time to come back to work your employees decided to stay at home. They found out you can make more money staying at home and being paid by the government. What did this create, a pay increase for everyone. Minimum wage was increased, and owners of businesses found they had to pay a minimum of $20 dollars an hour and in many cases a signing bonus just to get them to come to work. The attitude of the new working person changed. They wanted to work from home, they wanted to work their own hours and they wanted other benefits. None of these things were in the owner of a business budget. They took the loss and made adjustments just to open the doors again.

After reading this I did not realize how depressing 2022 was. Read the list of problems for 2022 and tell me if you think they will change. Now it time to look at

BY DAN MESSINA

2023. I think our number one problem will be finding drivers. You have owners of businesses that want to turn the company, but the millennials of today have their own ideas on what they want to do in future. Make videos and sell them. They can work from home and work when they want. If they don’t make any money, they don’t care because they are living at home and dad will pay their way.

I think its time for the industry to come together and start creating our own methods for training new drivers. I thought about starting a trade school and educating the following;

1. People coming out of jail. The ones with minor offenses.

2. The homeless or unemployed.

3. Unemployed or homeless military.

4. The unemployed that want to work, they just need some training.

I think there are plenty of opportunities to find drivers we just have to work on our own program. I think the customer base we get tows from will change drastically. I will use motor clubs as an example. I know how you all feel about motor clubs, bit the fact they generate over 30 million opportunities each year. They are cutting back on trade shows, so you can discuss prices or sign up with them. They will find other means for finding a tow truck through new software that is being created.

In Dallas, the city pound was turned over to a private tow company, so they may control tows that you get or don’t get. There are companies out there buying up dispatch software products. This will have an impact on your business and cost you money you were not planning on spending. I haven’t looked at insurance yet, but I’m sure it will be hard to find and when you do their prices will be high.

I’m sure there are some positives thing taking place in the industry, but no one wants to share them. There are at least 5 major tow shows a year and I think its time we come together as an industry and discuss things we can do as a group that will help all of us. I’d be willing to lead this group if we could find 10 tow companies that want to help me. I’m easy enough to find, so give me a call and tell me what you think.

Be safe and good luck in 2023

OVER ONE – LOSE NONE!

Our mission is to:

• Evoke the public conscious to understand they are the most powerful source to define life and death on our Nation’s highways.

• To educate and make them aware they need to make a life change so first responders can live theirs!

• To unite all common industry first responders to train, educate and motivate the public we serve to just

OUTSIDE EXHIBITS: THURSDAY, FRIDAY AND SATURDAY INSIDE EXHIBITS: FRIDAY AND SATURDAY, 9 A.M. – 6 P.M.

2023 FLORIDA TOW SHOW® SCHEDULE

As of January 26, 2023

THURSDAY, APRIL 13

12 pm – 5 pm Registration Open Convention Lobby

5:30 pm – 7 pm State Association Presidents Reception

7 pm Jerr-Dan Event

Big Lot

FRIDAY, APRIL 14

8:30 am – 5 pm Registration Open

Convention Lobby

8:45 am – 12 pm

WreckMaster Light/Medium-Duty Recovery Class

Sabal A, B, C Learn how to stay safe on scene, prevent property damage claims, calculate resistance, calculate anchor ability, use snatch blocks, perform basic winching techniques, applying your new knowledge of resistance to rigging and equipment and earn customer confidence.

9 am – 9:45 am Advance PPI to a Comprehensive Parking Management Service

Sago 4 Offer: both Permitting AND Enforcement residents and managers

10 am – 10:45 am

Jim Shellhaas, Ranger SST

What Google Wants from You

Sago 4 Learn what the current demands are to rank well in search, advertise efficiently, earn reviews and increase your cash call leads throughout your service area.

Dennis Wencel, Lift Marketing Group

11 am – 11:45 am Don’t Just Manage Your Business, Optimize It

Sago 4 Running a profitable towing and roadside business is not easy. Optimizing your businesses, how to spot and fix problems.

Presented by Traxero

1 pm – 3 pm Florida Lien and Title Workshop

Seville DHSMV Carole Jean Jordan

1 pm – 1:45 pm Finding Qualified Drivers & Mechanics in 2023

Sago 4 Hiring drivers and mechanics is increasingly difficult. Find new employees faster within weeks, not months!

Presented by David Ostrov, Whiterail Recruits

2 pm – 3 pm Tricks of the Trade

Sago 1 Learn how to neutralize locks of all kinds, vehicles, padlocks. You will be amazed, ladies don’t be afraid to attend, everyone will be entertained.

Steve Young, Sponsored by AutoLock Solutions

7 pm Miller Event

Big Lot

SATURDAY, APRIL 15

8:30 pm – 2 pm Registration Open Convention Lobby

9 am – 12 pm EV Driver Training

Sabal A, B, C The rEVolution is upon us with electric vehicles – what a tower needs to know.

Presented by Matt Bowman, Energy Security Agency

9 am – 2 pm Lil’ Towers Event

Veranda Event Room Sponsored by Allstate Roadside

9 am – 9:45 am PPI: Permitting AND Enforcement – Residential and Day Lots

Sago 4 New solutions expand opportunities for PPI providers to include commercial properties

Jim Shellhaas, Ranger SST

10 am – 12 pm Florida Lien and Title Workshop

Seville DHSMV Carole Jean Jordan

10 am – 10:45 am What Google Wants from You

Sago 4 Learn what the current demands are to rank well in search, advertise efficiently, earn reviews and increase your cash call leads throughout your service area.

Dennis Wencel, Lift Marketing Group

11:45 am – 1 pm Women of the Towing Industry Luncheon

Sabal D, E, F, G Presented by PWOF – Women’s Division

Sponsored by GEICO

1 pm – 1:45 pm Towing Technology 101

Sago 4 Technology is everywhere and changing constantly. Staying on top of the latest and greatest, the evolution of technology space and how it has changed the game.

Presented by Traxero

1 pm – 1:45 pm Finding Qualified Drivers & Mechanics in 2023

Sago 4 Hiring drivers & mechanics is increasingly difficult. Find new employees faster within weeks, not months!

David Ostrov, Whiterail Recruits

1 pm – 3 pm Lockout Class

Sago 1 Steve Young, Sponsored by AutoLock Solutions

2 pm – 2:45 pm Captives, How to Turn Your Insurance Program into a Profit Center

Sago 4 A discussion on a captive and understanding the income streams within a captive insurance program

3 pm – 3:45 pm

Don Blood, Brown & Brown Insurance

Mental Fitness in a 24/7 World

Physical fitness gets the hype, mental fitness is just as important for a healthy life. Learn some tips and tricks to gain mental clarity.

Presented by Michelle Sukow

D.J. HARRINGTON CSP ///