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Are Truck Drivers Ignorant?
I had a client years ago – an OTR driver and he said he had been dealing with freight brokers for many years BUT he had no idea about what they did and how they did it.
He was content with just picking up and delivering freight. The daily life of a freight broker just never occurred to him.
Then with another client – as we were finishing up freight broker training – the lights suddenly came on for him.
He blurted out one day during training, “HEY, I can go to my current shippers where I’ve been picking up from for years and work with them as a broker!”
BINGO!
Here’s the plan: you get your broker authority and then contact EVERYONE you know in the industry – shippers and other truckers – and tell them you want to get set up with them.
This is the fast track to jump starting your brokerage.
And you may work your brokerage as a supplement to your trucking operation OR you may just want to get off the road and do something you are familiar with.
Now, what if you are NOT in trucking like I was when starting my freight brokerage? Hey, I came out an accounting background.
When I first started as a freight broker, I was about as clueless as a penguin in the desert. I mean, I could’ve sworn LTL was some kind of secret code and FTL sounded like a new texting abbreviation.
So, to be honest, you start from scratch. You go at it diligently. It’s a lot of phone calls. There are several strategies I teach on getting started.
And, trust me, if you continue this process, you’ll begin getting loads. Usually, slowly at first (I tell it like it is not what I think you’d like to hear).
Then, here’s what to expect – shippers start calling YOU instead of YOU calling THEM all the time. THIS is when it gets fun AND profitable.
Now, if you’re at a crossroad not knowing whether you should go left or right, here’s my suggestion.
If you do not have the means to carry your freight brokerage in a slow manner, then wait and build some funds.
But, if you can swing it without expecting a whole lot in the first few months, then go for it.
Rates suck now – they’ve been lousy for over a year, I think. But they’re coming back. Soon, spot rates will be on par with contract rates and may, at some point, surpass them.
This is good for carriers but, like a double-edge sword, may stall freight brokers as brokers end up paying more to carriers as in previous months. BUT consumer demand has been down and if and when we see a rebound with consumers buying more, a freight broker may be paying a bit more relative to previous months but there will be more freight.
Increasing consumer demand, depleting inventories, more manufacturing, more available freight, greater capacity – ALL bode well for everyone.
The only hitch is the economy and who’s in control of monetary policy. Right now, it’s the Fed, Jerome Powell. One man plus his small group, the Federal Open Market Committee, FOMC, can put you IN business or OUT OF business with the stroke of a pen.
THESE are the people in control with the President left primarily to “jawboning” except when the President gets to appoint members of the Federal Reserve and FOMC.
Geez, I’m getting carried away here. But I try to follow this to help YOU as well as me being better informed.
I’ll wrap this up. IF you are serious about getting your broker authority and you can swing it (don’t go in on a shoestring), then sooner is better than later.
Why?
If you wait too late, you’ll miss out on catching some good waves; and even if you get in a little early, you are poised and ready to catch the next wave. And it’s coming.
Everything goes in cycles.
Many people, unfortunately, get in too late and they are unable to build a balance sheet that allows them to hunker down during slow times. So, instead of hunkering down, they end up selling assets – maybe at big losses – and laying off workers – maybe their best talent.
Do what you have to do but don’t just stand there.
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