I read with great interest the highlights of Todd Amen's presentation to TCA's Refrigerated Division Annual Meeting. Please follow the link and check them out yourself. This is no guesstimate, but data that ATBS has acquired as the nation's leading business service provider for owner-operators. Let's take a look at some of the most interesting aspects of the data.
Todd found out that owner-operators (o/o) are running fewer miles and generating more revenue and profit than they did 10 years ago. I wonder how many have gone out of business during that 10 year period. My guess is a lot! The improved numbers reflect the successful o/o that adapted to the changing times and succeeded, as well as company drivers like myself that decided to take on the challenge of becoming an o/o within the last 10 years. What puzzles me is, shouldn't we've done this all along? I'm sure some did, but the rest either went out of business or changed to operate more efficiently when it was do or die. I submit that successful business professionals will always operate as efficiently as possible, even in the bountiful good times when (I'm dreaming now) fuel is cheap again.
Whatever the case, the fact of the matter is now, we all must make measured decisions regarding our trucking operations just to stay in business. Your best bet in succeeding as an o/o is not being a great driver, but being a great business person. You have to quit thinking like a driver and start thinking like an owner. Most drivers just complain all the time; o/o's find solutions to get the job done as efficiently as possible. You just don't walk to your classic styled conventional with straight stacks blowing black smoke and expect to be in business in the next five years. If someone wanted to come in and take your business away from you and they had a more efficient fleet, I'd say they could. Don't get me wrong, I prefer the look of the classic styling to the aerodynamic styling, but I'm a businessman first, a truck enthusiast way on down the line.
I talk to drivers all the time who are interested in being successful o/o's. I simply advise against it if they aren't going into it thinking like a small business owner. In my next blog, I will expound a little more on the data Todd spoke about during his recent presentation. Until then, Ever Forward.