Truck Driving Jobs

merrick4 · #**901** 08-14-2012, 07:48 PM

Time to update this I guess. I've broken the 20 truck barrier. I have two guys in training and then I'll be up to 22 with 2 more waiting for training.

I've had a falling out with Wabash and now am taking my business to Great Dane. But I hate to complain this certainly insn't a picnic. I have two people finally who are bright in the office so I don't even really know where the trucks are half the time. The dispachter is awesome. Honestly they say the worst part of this business is the drivers but all the guys here are great and want to work.

However you really can never pull away and every time the phone rings I cringe. I stay busy with compliance stuff and keeping on top of the maintenance and the vendors. We are looking to other avenues of business and have a meeting this Sunday with a woman with 30years in the buisiness of ocean freight.

In the end it's a bad economy so I'm sticking with this but I have a long way to go and there are many different avenues I'd like to take.
The end of this post is far from over.

sidman82 · #**902** 08-14-2012, 11:13 PM

God Bless You Merrick! Do you have any hair left?? LOL

DonM · #**903** 08-15-2012, 04:10 PM

Congratulations on your success Merrick. It just goes to show what a guy can do if he does his homework, and makes smart business decisions. Wishing you all the best that life has to offer. I have truly enjoyed and am grateful for the opportunity to observe this thread.

Be safe, and God Bless

DonM

LOAD IT · #**904** 08-30-2012, 06:10 PM

Congrats Merrick. I'm very proud of you for doing this the right way. You've built a 20 truck operation in the worst economy we've ever seen. Good Job!!!!

Troady · #**905** 12-01-2012, 12:53 AM

Hi there Merrick, do you still hiring drivers?, do you take truck owners?

Mackman · #**906** 12-01-2012, 02:20 PM

So in 5 years after coming out of CDL school you now have a 20 truck fleet??

merrick4 · #**907** 12-09-2012, 04:38 AM

Hello there. Right now Toady, I have all the drivers I need and no I do not take O/O. I am now up to 25 trucks and just got approval to obtain more. I should be to 30 soon. Mind you I don't buy the trucks, I do the full service lease from Ryder. I buy the trailers but I might lease some now.

My life is basically insane. I'm running around all day. I never know where the trucks are as I have 3 people in an office but it's never ending on the phone. People think you are making money and you have vendors up your rear all day. Also Last week was insane. We are in the process of changing payroll companies, installed a server and bought Prophesy Dispatch software which we need to set up and we are changing compliance procedures.

We are now focusing on diversifying our customer base but in truth, in this economy I can't complain. I'm self employed. My little girl is growing and I'm having a blast with her. I drop her off at pre-K everyday and make sure to attend her karate class. Who knows what tomorrow will bring, but again at this point I can't complain.

Where is No Worries?

wtftrucks.com · #**908** 12-12-2012, 08:57 PM

Congratulations and WOW, that's fast-tracking it for sure. CDL school to OO in little over a year, talk about wanting it bad. Impressive and congrats!

merrick4 · #**909** 08-19-2013, 04:51 AM

This year seems to be flying by. Still in business and am over 30 trucks now. Honestly I don't know how I did it without crashing and burning. I've said it before this is not for the faint of heart and it certainly is a love-hate relationship. We just got approved from the TSA and are basically air freight forwarders. I'm not sure exactly what we are going to do with it. It's kind of like when I started the trucking thing; I had no idea where to take it but I learned (and am still learning) so I am eager to see where this new venture which integrates with the trucking anyway takes us. If I'm not learning I'm dying.

Not sure how much more I want to grow, I have good staff now and we are in with big companies and could probably handle 50 but I was on the edge for a while and like I said I can't believe I didn't crash and burn. Now I am more and more putting procedures into place so if I grow it will be orderly. Seems like a lot of new people here. I wonder where a lot of the people from the beginning are? Well good luck to all and be safe out there.

GMAN · #**910** 08-19-2013, 11:22 PM

I am glad to hear things are still going well, Merrick. As you have found, being in business can be a roller coaster. Some people who have never been in business have no idea what it takes to keep a business running and growing. Frankly, I had concerns when you started growing so fast. It sounds like you have found a way to make it work and to keep from crashing and burning. Thanks for the update. I hope you will check in more often. We still have a number of members, but more read rather than post these days. It has certainly been much more quiet than a couple of years ago.