Blue Ribbon Podcast

There’s an old saying that goes “Dogs will bark, but the convoy moves on.” It means that the vocal voices of criticism, insults and ad hominems or other detractions have no effect on a determined person or other actor who has chosen his path and is determined to proceed.

We’re going to talk about how to operate in the face of criticism and how you don’t let it affect the path you’re on.

We built this program to help people. We found out this past week that, sometimes people ask for "help" but that isn't really what they're after. You don't get sugarcoating from us. We're going to tell you the truth as we understand it, and it doesn't matter if you like it or not.

Scott Davis has been around since before there was a "Landstar." Scott is one-half of the team that runs Landstar CHW, an agency located in Hurricane, WV (Chris's hometown). Their parents started the Ranger agency before Landstar as we know it existed. Alongside his sister Debbie, they picked up the mantle after their parents retired and have kept the agency afloat through a lot of changes in the industry. This episode will be a history lesson about Landstar and the trucking industry in general.

We have a proven program that gives an experienced driver the opportunity to see what it’s really like to own and operate a trucking business. We let you “See how the sausage is made.” We will explain why we are the best path to Becoming a BCO for people interested in buying a truck.

The thing that makes Blue Ribbon Logistical Solutions work so well is the combination of Chris's 25 years of Trucking and Larry's nearly 50 years of business experience. Neither of us never new that we would someday be faced with teaching the Basics of Trucking. We are finding that "experienced" truck drivers don't have all that much experience. The people we have encountered that don't understand Hours of Service, How to Read a Map, How to Scale a Truck, How to Plan a Trip, etc has been startling. We're going to go over some of these basics and offer some tips on how to prepare yourself for, not only a successful career as a driver, but also running an efficient, compliant, safe business.

I’ve heard Dave Ramsey say, “There is a good place to go when you’re broke - TO WORK!”The last couple years in Trucking have been the best in history. If you didn’t take advantage of it then, you’re going to have to work harder now for less money. Business is hard. We’re going to talk about why work ethic and putting others’ needs first will be what saves you from “The Bloodbath.”

The things that set truck drivers apart from business owners are the details. We've said it many times - "Driving the truck - shifting gears and backing into docks - is 15% of what it takes to succeed in business.

We're going to talk about these details and how they will be the difference between success and failure.

I sent a message out to our fleet this week and asked what they thought we should cover on this episode. We got some good questions and we will share them with you.

We're live from the Wingate hotel in Hurricane, WV doing another new driver orientation.

We started drinking about an hour before we went live, so this one is a little off the rails.

The question came up "What would it look like if any other business was run like trucking businesses are?" The reality is that the "Lunatic" model is only crazy because it's in trucking. In any other business, it would be NORMAL. Larry has 50 years of business experience in other industries, and it was when he came to trucking that he saw that "trucking businesses" aren't run like businesses. They're run like hobbies. Come have a drink with us as we tackle this controversial topic.

Taking questions from the audience.