Haulin Assets

This is a super important episode. If you own a truck, are a truck driver or run a trucking company, chances are you are going to deal with an accident at some point in your career. When it happens, you want things to go as well as possible. During this episode, Craig and I are going to help you know how you can be prepared and we will help arm you with some tips to protect you against those who want to take advantage of the situation.

What To Expect From Episode 172

We have all been driving down the interstate and seen a billboard that says something along the lines of, “Have you been hit by a semi, give us a call and we’ll make sure you get what you deserve.” Basically, that just means they know there is big insurance money behind trucking companies and they will try to sue the pants off them. Sometimes even if the accident wasn’t the trucking company's fault. We talk about some things you can do to help you get the best possible outcome.

Prevention (Before the Accident)

When An Accident Happens

Post Accident

There are lots of things that need to happen. We aren't going to cover them in this episode, but make sure you do them. If you don't know what to do, contact your insurance company. They should be able to help.

Before we get into the December 2024 financials, I go on a bit of a rant about truck parking. It is such a HUGE Problem! It causes drivers frustration and costs everyone time and money. I talk about an incident that recently happened to us that cost us a lot of money because of the parking problem. And it is a completely ridiculous situation that happened just north of Charlotte, NC at a Shell truck stop called Charlotte Travel Plaza. Beware of this place. You have to check in to park, if you don't, the parking fine they charge you is beyond RIDICULOUS, it really is a scam and it's legal because of the North Carolina laws. Listen to the episode to hear how much we had to pay to get a boot removed, it's not going to help out our January Financials. Shame on North Carolina for allowing this kind of extortion to happen, it's worse that usury interest on check cashing loans.

What To Expect From Episode 171

The numbers this month were good, not great. I am however starting to feel a little bit of optimism that this year is going to see some improvement in the market. I have my fingers and toes crossed that things do get better. Let's take a look at the numbers:

Haulin Assets had a profit of $12,042.27.

P&L Items

As I mentioned recently, Brad, our operations manager left us the end of last year and Nate and I have had to divvy out his responsibilities. One of them that I have taken on is safety and compliance, so those topics have been pretty heavy on my mind lately. I feel like as a company, we have a pretty good safety culture, but we aren't perfect, and I want to step it up a notch. Improving safety within Haulin Assets is one of my personal goals for 2025. In this episode we cover some of the things that have been on my mind.

I know this is not the most sexy topic in the world, it doesn’t bring in revenue, it’s not a task that requires your immediate attention like a broken down truck, but it will have an impact on your bottom line and can have catastrophic consequences if ignored. Here are the things we cover in this episode:

There is a lot that goes into this and we cover a lot in the episode, but it all boils down to a few things. We have a moral obligation to the public to do what we can to keep roads safe and the financial health of our companies depends on it. In trucking, profit margins are thin and we can't afford unnecessary expenses. Damage to equipment and injuries are often preventable and are big expenses we can largely avoid.

It starts at the top. Here are some of the topics we cover:

It's the end of 2024, in fact, this episode with the November 2024 Financials is getting recorded on the last day of the year, but will post on the first day of the new year. 2024 was a tough year, proceeded by another tough year, that honestly was preceded by the start of the drop in the freight market. With three tough years in a row, we deserve some relief. With dropping interest rates, an economy that appears to be decently healthy, and what is likely to be a more trucking friendly presidency coming into office, there is a lot to look forward to.

What To Expect From Episode 169

Sorry there has been a bit of a break since the last episode, with me taking a trip in a truck and the Holidays, I just couldn't get an episode out. November was an interesting month in a few ways, mileage dropped, but revenue increased. That makes for some pretty good talking points. Let's take a look at the numbers:

Haulin Assets had a profit of $16,837.14. With as low as our mileage was, profit could have been a lot worse, our saving grace was definitely the better rate per mile.

P&L Items

Happy Thanksgiving! Some of you will be home for Thanksgiving, some of you won’t, I know what that is like. I want you all to know I am thankful for you. Both that you are listeners and fans of the podcast and that you keep America moving. I am thankful that there is food on my table and a roof over my family's head, both of which would not be possible without what you do everyday. THANK YOU.

What To Expect From Episode 168

Revenue dropped a bit last month. I wish I know what caused it. I think there are several factors, one of them just being that the market is still bad and it is volatile.

Haulin Assets had a profit of $5,062.43. With as low as our revenue was and as bad as the rate per mile was, I am kind of surprised we turned a profit.

P&L Items

Get the full show notes at haulinassetsllc.com

Check out MotorcarrierHQ.com 

Find our courses at haulinassetsacademy.com

The end of the year is a crazy busy time with the Holidays and everything else going on so taxes typically are not at the forefront of your mind, but they need to be. There are certain things you can do to improve your tax situation before December 31st that you can't do after January 1st, so you need to have a plan. I usually try to have a general idea about what I want to do by the end of October or the beginning of November. During this episode we are going to give you somethings to think about so you can start to build the right plan for you.

What To Expect From Episode 167

So you own a business, does that mean you need to file a business tax return? The answer is maybe... We are going to help you answer that question and so much more. Here are some of the things we will cover.

Filing deadlines, April 15th, right? Not always. Here are some other deadlines we talk about.

• Partnerships and S-Corps (March 15)

One of the most important things you need to decide, is what is more important to you… show a profit or reduce how much you have to pay in taxes. You really can’t do both. No one wants to pay any more taxes than they have to, but to lower your tax bill you have to lower your profit which then hurts when you try to get financing.

Tax Strategies

• Reduce Taxes

Strategies for reducing income:

• Business Strategies
  • Purchasing equipment and different types of depreciation
    • Use of accelerated depreciation

If you have been slacking on your bookkeeping, get caught up now so you don’t have surprises early next year when you can’t do much about it

• Be ready to provide a summary of your business operation
  • Factoring company statements

Get the full show notes at haulinassetsllc.com

Check out MotorcarrierHQ.com 

Find our courses at haulinassetsacademy.com

It's Halloween, which is a fun time of year. I love driving down the road and seeing how drivers deck out their trucks. It's fun to see their personalities come through.

What To Expect From Episode 166

We are still slugging through this unprecedented freight market. I wish I knew when things would turn around, I keep thinking it has to be right around the corner, but I have thought that for a year now. I expect we'll see at least a little relief due to the holiday push, but I don't expect it to blow anyone's socks off. Here are the numbers for September.

• Total miles ran– 107,902

Haulin Assets had a profit of $16,024.48. Which is more than I would have guessed, based on the revenue number. Still not close to where we want to be, but… all things considered, it could have been worse.

Here are the P&L items that we'll talk about.

• Maintenance and Repairs

Get the full show notes at haulinassetsllc.com

Check out MotorcarrierHQ.com 

Find our courses at haulinassetsacademy.com

In this episode we are going to step out of the truck and away from the business and focus on you and your health. This can be a sensitive topic and it's something I have struggled with most of my adult life. I have found something that is working for me better than anything else I have done and want to share it. I'm no health expert, but want to share my story. It a change is something you are looking for, I hope this helps. Before we get into the meat and potatoes of the topic, Craig and I talk about some of the challenges the trucking industry is facing because of the crazy amount of fraud going on.

What To Expect From Episode 165

Not everyone cares about their weight. With this and most things in life I take the attitude of to each their own. Do whatever makes you happy in life as long as it isn't impacting someone else. For me, weight is one of those things I love and hate. Because I am in the National Guard, I have to maintain a certain weight standard and it is something I constantly struggle with. I like food too much and I like to eat too much food. I tend to yo-yo. Most years during the summer I lose 20-30 pounds and then gain it back in the winter. This summer I tried something different that is working better than anything else I have ever tried. It is something you can do while on the road so I thought it would be good to share it with you.

It's nothing new, you have probably heard of it. I've been counting macronutrients, commonly referred to as macro nutrients. Neither Craig or I are nutritionists so I am not going to go into the science of it, but I talk about my experience and share what I have been doing in more detail. Basically, I figure out what my macro breakdown needed to by, actually a professional figured that out for me. I use an app to track my macros on a daily basis to make sure I am eating a little less than what my body actually needs so that I lose about a pound a week. Like I said, we go into this in more detail during the episode.

Here are some of the things I typically eat for each meal.

• Breakfast
  • Greek yogurt (It's higher in protein than regular yogurt)

Tips for being successful

• Don't let yourself get hungry

Get the full show notes at haulinassetsllc.com

Check out MotorcarrierHQ.com 

Find our courses at haulinassetsacademy.com

Holy cow, Hurricane Helene has caused some serious problems. It seems like it has been a while since we have had a hurricane that was this bad. Ashville, NC received over 2 feet of rain and is a zone of devastation. It's not an area we deliver to often, but guess what, we have a load trying to deliver there now. The receiver's parking lot is full of mud and can't take trucks. It could be weeks before they are up and running again. I'll keep you posted on what happens.

We are constantly trying to improve. We start off this episode talking about a few things we have decided to do a little different. We hope both changes will improve our bottom line. One of them should also have a positive impact on our maintenance BASIC score and hopefully on our overall maintenance costs.

What To Expect From Episode 164

We had a really good revenue month, but overall numbers are still not where we want them to be. There are some positives in the numbers that we will talk about throughout this episode.

• Total miles ran– 136,000 (That's a new record)

Haulin Assets had a profit of $5,189.78. With the big revenue month, I was expecting more. There were some P&L items that impacted net profit.

Here are the P&L items that stick out, we'll talk about them.

• Damages

In episode 160, we talked about CSA scores and how they work and some best practices. Managing the safety program for a trucking company is not an easy job, whether you are an O/O or have a fleet. There is a lot to know and do. So, what happens if you didn’t do a good job with those things and you are under the FMCSA’s microscope?

In these two episodes, Craig and Chris are joined by Alex from Motor Carrier HQ to pick her brain about her experience with the FMCSA, maintaining good ISS scores, and how to get yourself out of a hole if you find yourself in one.

Get the full show notes at haulinassetsllc.com

Check out MotorcarrierHQ.com 

Find our courses at haulinassetsacademy.com