I started my business with this brand new Freightliner FLD 120 . The idea of starting with a new truck was to cut down on the need for using my back up plan.
____________________________________________________________________________________
When operating your own business, it’s important to establish a back - up plan or so to speak a plan B in place should things not go as planned.
If you find yourself in a situation where your truck is down for repairs or maintenance then you’ll want a plan B. Arrangements should be made prior so that things will run smoothly if you should find yourself in a bind. You can make a call to a major leasing company in order to obtain a truck anywhere in the country. This is important for two reasons… you can keep money coming in and you’re able to still service your customers. Remember that while you’re down, the competition can get a leg up.
When dealing with your customers, you don’t want to put all your eggs in one basket. Working with various companies offers you flexibility if needed. You never know when a customer on your “A” list will go out of business or the circumstances of their operations can change quickly. Having a good relationship with other customers allows for you to make changes if needed in your business.
If you should become ill, need surgery or are in an accident, it helps to have other drivers available should you need to get a load to a particular destination. This can be a retired driver that you know who may want to drive. Also, there are driver services which essentially rent you a driver for a period of time. Once again this is important to keep money rolling in and also take care of your customers.
It’s important to always keep a cash reserve for the “rainy days” as they will come. Check with your bank to set up a business line of credit so that if you need extra funding for a particular circumstance, you’ll have it available to you. You don’t want to go out of business just because you encounter a bad month.
Let’s hope you never need to use plan “B” however it’s important to have an established back up plan in place for every day is not a sunny day in business. The time to think of a back - up plan isn’t during the storm.