Haulin Assets

In this episode Craig and I cover two topics. First, we talk about the UCR (Unified Carrier Registration) fee and how it brings out the dark side of the trucking industry and then we talk about a life principle that is super important for anyone who runs their own business.

It’s kind of strange because these two topics are really not related, but I wanted to cover the UCR because this is the time of year the predators start to come out and take advantage of owner operators, so it got plugged into the beginning of this episode.

You can learn more about exactly what the UCR is by checking out this blog post about it. In the podcast I talk about how a lot of companies use scare tactics to try to get you to pay way too much for them to take care of it for you. I have seen companies charge over $300 to file the UCR for a one-truck company. It should cost less than half that for a third-party company to provide that service.

Be careful out there. If you ever have a question about a fee someone is trying to charge you for that you are not confident you owe, give one of our coaches at Motor Carrier HQ a call and they will let you know if it is legitimate or not, those calls are always free.

On the surface, this may seem like a lame, unimportant topic, but let me assure you it is critical. It is human nature to want to focus on things that we are good at or that we enjoy doing, while we avoid doing tasks we dislike or are not good at. In this episode we discuss why it is important to do some of those tasks and how that will make you more successful.

Here are some of the things I see a lot of trucking company owners avoiding or not doing that they need to do:

• Understanding the numbers in your business

We go into each one of these items in detail during the episode. See the full show notes at the Haulin Assets website, where you can also hear previous episodes.

I thought it would be fun to see how much  of a cost difference it would to eat out for a week verses eating store bought food for a week. I was shocked at the difference. Listen to the episode for the full details, but some of the highlights are below. Leave a comment let me know what you do to save money on the road.

In this episode Craig and I talk about my little experiment to determine the cost difference between eating at truck stops and restaurants for a week compared to eating food I bought at Walmart and was prepared at home or on the road. The difference was shocking.

See the full show notes at the Haulin Assets website, where you can also hear previous episodes.

I'm pleasantly surprised I made money in August. If you have been listening to the podcast, you will know I am in the Army National Guard and I did my two-week training period during August. I was only on the road for 10 full days and two partial days in August. My total mileage for the month was only 6,645.

Even with half the month off I was able to make all the important payments and the company made $595.65. The down side was, as a driver I earned half of what I normally would. Luckily, I get paid from the National Guard to make up for it.

In this episode Craig and I review the Haulin Assets financial statements for August.  We also talk about the effects of only running half a month and how that affected the profit and loss statement and balance sheet. You can see both in the full show notes at HaulinAssetsLLC.com.

This is another topic that's important enough that we'll revisit it a few times over our first year or so. Cost per mile is a vital number to know for your business, and if you know it, you've already got a leg up on about 80% of the other owner-operators out there.

So why do you need to know your cost per mile?

• It helps you make important business decisions

What goes into cost per mile?

• Number of miles you drive

Knowing the difference between fixed and variable costs will really up your game as a business owner, and that's what we'll discuss on today's episode.

Check out our Cost Per Mile Calculator at MotorCarrierHQ.com. And visit the Haulin Assets website to hear previous episodes and view full show notes.

This is a fun episode for me because I get to use my military experience in the business world. It never ceases to amaze me how often my military experience helps me in the business world and how my business experience helps me in my military life. The military does a lot of good things that the private sector can learn from and vice versa.

(Don't forget you can visit the Haulin Assets website to hear previous episodes and view full show notes.)

In this episode I talk about a very common topic in the Army, priorities of work. I use the example of setting up a patrol base. When you are out in enemy territory on a foot patrol and are going to stop for a significant period of time, you set up what is called a patrol base. The Army preaches the importance of prioritizing your tasks so you do the most important things first that are going to have the biggest impact on your ability to survive and complete the mission. Here is a simplified version of what the priorities of work are.

1. Establish security. You create a 360 degree perimeter and place your weapon systems in the best place and make sure everyone has an area they are responsible for.

When you set up a patrol base after a long hard march, typically the last thing you want to do is clean your weapon and what you really want to do is eat and sleep. The priorities of work make sure you do the important things first, if you don't create a strong security posture and clean your weapon and are attacked, things will get ugly real fast and you'll wish you had skipped dinner.

The same is true in business. It is really tempting to eat and sleep or maybe watch TV as soon as you finish your driving for the day. You probably have more important things to do like figuring out where to fuel so you buy the cheapest diesel and getting that next load so you don't get caught sitting once you drop off your current load. Being disciplined in the little things and doing the most important things first is what makes you successful with the big things.

I broke the priorities of work into two categories and we talk about them in more detail in this episode.

1. Take care of any urgent equipment issues.

1. Plan your route and where you will fuel.

1. Get backed into the door asap.

This is probably one of the most important episodes you can listen to. Listening to the episode is just step one, but what you really need to do is adopt the habits we talk about in this episode. Owner operators who live by the principles we discuss in this episode are the ones who are significantly more likely to succeed and ultimately THRIVE.

Last week we talked about how much money I made during the first three full months operating my trucking company. In this episode, we talk about what to do with that money. Much to the disappointment of my wife, it's not give it to her. Like I have been preaching, you need to have an owner's mindset and that money needs to stay in the company for future expenses and unforeseen challenges.

Below you can see the Balance Sheet for Haulin Assets that covers the months of May, June, and July. (If you have a slow internet connection, it might take a bit of time for it to show up). We cover it in detail during this episode. It is best to look at the balance sheet as you listen to the episode, so you can follow along.

The main thing I want to point out here is watch the savings account grow. In May I added $1,519.70 to the savings account, in June I only added $863.98 because it was such a rough month, and in July I added $1,802.08. By the end of July, the savings balance was $4,185.76.

You can see on the balance sheet I have broken the savings down into several categories. We cover what each one of those are during the episode. I also talk about how I determine how much to put into each category. I use a spreadsheet to help me figure that out. You can download the spreadsheet and learn more about how to use it on this page on Motor Carrier HQ's website.

Visit the Haulin Assets website to hear previous episodes and view full show notes.

This episode will work best if you follow along with the P&L sheet that we've included in the show notes, HERE.

Drum roll please! This is the moment of reckoning. Did I make money or lose money the first three months out on the road? I answer that question during this episode. Okay, spoiler, I made $8,149.17 over that three months and that is on top of what I paid myself as a driver. Not too bad considering a lot of businesses lose money during the first year.

In this episode Craig and I go over the Profit and Loss Statement, often called the P&L, for the first three full months I was out on the road and I have to say I was pleasantly surprised. If you have never seen a P&L, it might be kind of confusing. Best way to learn and digest the info is to look at the P&L below and follow along as we talk about it during this episode.

Be sure to visit the Haulin Assets website to hear previous episodes and view full show notes.

It's time to hit the road, but before you do, you have to have some kind of ELD, electronic logging device. An ELD can frustrate you and there are a lot of them out there, so you want to make sure you make a good decision when you purchase one. In this episode we are going to cover some of the things you need to think about purchase your ELD.

We cover 5 factors you should consider when purchasing an ELD. Here they are:

1. Is it compliant with the FMCSA ELD regulation? (You can go to this FMCSA websiteto see which ones are good to go.)

What ELD device do you use, let us know in the comments at HaulinAssetsLLC.com, and whether or not you like it.

The drug and alcohol regulations for the FMCSA and DOT intimidate a lot of people. The DOT takes them very seriously and non-compliance is one of the areas that will get you in hot water with the government really fast. Following the rules is really not overly difficult or even too expensive, you just have to do it. Motor Carrier HQ has a flat rate program that costs $199 for the first year and then is $139 each year after that and they take care of the details. This episode will also help you better understand what needs to be done.

In this episode Craig and I sit down with Mercedes, Motor Carrier HQ's compliance guru. We spend most of our time talking about Drug and alcohol compliance, but also go over some of the other key compliance requirements you need to complete before you actually get on the road. Mercedes even created a checklist that covers about everything you need to do or have before getting on the road. You can learn more about the compliance items that need to happen before hitting the road and accessing the checklist, click here.

Here are some of the bullet points we covered during this episode:

• What is a drug and alcohol consortium?

Let us know what you think about this episode by commenting at HaulinAssetsLLC.com and rating us on whatever platform you use to listen to the podcasts. We really appreciate the ratings!!

The drug and alcohol regulations for the FMCSA and DOT intimidate a lot of people. The DOT takes them very seriously and non-compliance is one of the areas that will get you in hot water with the government really fast. Following the rules is really not overly difficult or even too expensive, you just have to do it. Motor Carrier HQ has a flat rate program that costs $199 for the first year and then is $139 each year after that and they take care of the details. This episode will also help you better understand what needs to be done.

In this episode Craig and I sit down with Mercedes, Motor Carrier HQ's compliance guru. We spend most of our time talking about Drug and alcohol compliance, but also go over some of the other key compliance requirements you need to complete before you actually get on the road. Mercedes even created a checklist that covers about everything you need to do or have before getting on the road. You can learn more about the compliance items that need to happen before hitting the road and accessing the checklist, click here.

Here are some of the bullet points we covered during this episode:

• What is a drug and alcohol consortium?

Let us know what you think about this episode by commenting at HaulinAssetsLLC.com and rating us on whatever platform you use to listen to the podcasts. We really appreciate the ratings!!