The war in Ukraine has been fascinating to watch. Seeing how the Ukrainians have stepped up and how badly Putin has messed up is one of the most interesting things I have seen in a long time. The war in Ukraine has made me do a lot of thinking and I notice myself trying to take lessons from what I am watching and applying them to business.

A famous saying in the military is, “Tactics win battles, logistics wins wars.” Logisitics isn’t usually the sexy thing in war, but it really is one of the biggest, if not the biggest, difference maker. Just as in war, in business it’s often the not so sexy things that are the difference between winners and losers.

What To Expect From Episode 99

Just like logistics, managing overhead is not sexy, but doing it poorly will sink you and doing it well will put you ahead of your competition. In this episode Craig and I talk about what overhead is and what to watch out for. Low overhead can be a major competitive advantage for small trucking companies. Large trucking companies have an advantage by purchasing in bulk. They save on expenses like fuel, tires and maintenance. Small trucking companies can more than make up for that advantage by running lean and limiting their overhead.

Haulin Assets biggest overhead expenses:

• Owner salaries

Large trucking company overhead:

• Office rent
  • Utilities

Listen to the episode to hear about the one mistake that is by far the biggest that I see companies make with overhead, especially small trucking companies from Owner Operators to companies with 20 trucks. Don't make this mistake, I see far too many companies go out of business because of this one thing.

Impact Tip

Get out and network! One of the more common questions I get from people is how we are getting trucks. I think there are two big reasons we are getting trucks. First, we developed a relationship with a salesperson. That did not happen overnight. Networking is important and relationships are critical. Because we had a relationship with him, he told us in in the Spring of 2021 that if we wanted trucks in 2022 we would have to place an order for them by the beginning of July 2021. The second big reason is because of that conversation, we made a plan for what we wanted in 2022 a year ahead of when we wanted the trucks. We should get our first 2022 truck around the end of April/early May, but we placed the official order for that truck in July, along with all the other trucks we want in 2022.

The good start to the year continues in February. We cover some really great topics in this episode including what is going on with fuel these days and looking at expenses as a percentage of income. If you have never heard of that last topic, you need to listen to this episode. It's a great bit of knowledge and tool to have. 

What To Expect From Episode 98

Had all 5 trucks running starting on about the 10th of the month, so almost a full month with 5 trucks.

• Total miles ran – 48,682 (Warning, this is a very close estimate. I don’t have the exact number, listen to the episode to learn why)

Haulin Assets realized a profit of $48,286.79. Another record, which surprises me because we had a decent number of anomalies to the P&L. We talk about those during the podcast.

The P&L for this episode looks different than the ones you have seen in the past. I added a column that compares expenses as a percentage of income. There are a lot of great reasons to use this comparison. Craig and I go over the what, how and why of percentage based comparisons. Using this tool will be a great help to your business. It can also help relieve stress when you see the dollars in an expense category shoot up. You might be worrying for no reason. I also included an Excel version of the P&L, you can download it here. 

I can't believe we have been doing this for almost 3 years and we have never dedicated an episode to mentors. Shame on me. This is such an important topic. A good mentor can be the difference between spending several years gaining experience to solve a problem or achieve a goal or spending a couple of hours of discussion with someone who has been there and done that. A good mentor(s) can have an enormous positive impact on your business. Your business needs one or maybe 2 or more.

What To Expect From Episode 97

In this episode we are going to dive deep into the 5 W's of finding a good mentor. Here is an outline of what we will cover:

• WHO makes a good mentor

Impact Tip

Don’t lose your childhood confidence. If you have ever watched a toddler, you have seen them do things you know they are probably going to fail at, but they have the confidence to do them anyway. That is how they learn. Don’t be afraid to fail. Don’t be afraid to ask a mentor to help you. You may have to ask 10 people before you find the one who is the right fit for you. The price you pay to go through the 9 failures will be worth it to find the 1 who fits.

Episode links:

Motor Carrier HQ

Small Business Administration

Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses

January was a good start to the year. I couple of episodes ago I left a teaser about $7,000 in preventable damages we had to payout and Craig and I start the episode off diving into exactly what happened. It's a pretty good story with a lot of nuggets of wisdom you can gain from the experience. The other great news, Truck 05 is finally on the road.

What To Expect From Episode 96

As usual, we cover the ins and outs of what happened financially this month. Here are some of the highlights.

• Total miles ran – 47,017 (Pretty high, just 4 trucks, but they all ran hard)

Haulin Assets realized a profit of $29,339.41. Second best net income we have ever had.

Impact Tip

Focus on scalability. How do you make a trucking company scalable? Don't know what scalability is, listen to the episode, we break it down. One of the common problems I see that cause serious problems in our clients companies that sometimes cause them to go out of business have to do with scalability. When a company is small the owner(s) can usually manage the little problems and little inefficiencies. But when the get bigger those little problems became so numerous they are hard to handle and eventually become unmanageable cause an incredible amount of stress. You want things running smoothly before you take the next step.

Get full show notes at haulinassetsllc.com. Watch this episode on YouTube.

It is the time of year when all smart business owners start getting ready to file their taxes. In this episode Craig and I cover some important to dos in order to be prepared with your taxes and to make sure you file and pay on time.

Filing your taxes can feel like a daunting task, but if you stay on top of things and start early, it isn't too bad.  The most important thing you can do is keep good records all year long. Doing so is so important and for more reasons than just being ready for taxes. Here are some of the topics we cover in this episode:

• When do you have to file your tax return? It depends on the type of entity you are. You can learn more on the IRS website by clicking here.

Start working on your taxes early. You should shoot for having everything to your tax person a month before they are due.

To start off the episode, Craig and I talk about how knowledge is power. As an example, I talk about a conversation I recently had with someone who had a load dropped on him by a broker, we suspect because the broker found another carrier who would haul it for less. The excuses the broker used was he had to cancel because there was something wrong with the carrier's authority on the FMCSA website, that was not the case, but the carrier didn't know how to check himself. If you are an O/O or fleet owner, you need to know everything about the FMCSA, including SMS (Safety Management System), the FMCSA Portal, etc. Here is where you can look at the public information the FMCSA provides:

• DOT Number Status: Company Snapshot

December was another great month. We cover the ins and outs of what happened financially to make it great.

• Total miles ran – 42,280 (Lower than the last few months, normal for December)

Haulin Assets realized a profit of $39,730.23. Second best net income we have ever had.

Set aside 10-20 minutes everyday where all you do is focus on increasing your knowledge. Put the 10-20 minutes on your schedule, set a reminder on your phone, do something so it doesn't get missed. This is the sharpen the ax mentality that Stephen Covey talks about. Learn about a topic that will impact you or your business. It might be something like FMCSA Regulations, fuel economy improvements you can make or accounting principles. There are a million different things.

Get full show notes at haulinassetsllc.com. Watch this episode on YouTube.

I listen to and watch a lot of content about business. This episode about being better this year was inspired by a podcast and a YouTube video I recently watched. They have made me be introspective and make some positive changes in my viewpoints and in my life. I hope they do the same for you.

I was recently listening to a podcast that is published by the Harvard Business Review called IdeaCast. This particular episode is an interview with Heidi Grant about an article she wrote for the Harvard Business Review. Here is a link to the article, I highly recommend you read it. In it she talks about nine things successful people do differently. In this episode Craig and I talk about a few of the things that stuck out to me the most. Check out the full list, with other links, at haulinassetsllc.com.

Check out full show notes and past episodes here.

Grab merch here.

Good times keep coming, November 2021 was another good month for the financials. It wasn't as good as the last several months, but still a solid month. In this week's intro, Craig and I talk a little about the ownership mentality.

What To Expect From Episode 92

As always, Craig and I dive into the numbers you see below. There are a few things that stick out in this month's P&L so make sure to listen as we talk about them.

• Total miles ran – 44,905 (Consistent with last several months)

Haulin Assets realized a profit of $25,499.06. More than $10k lower than last month.

Planning for the coming year is one of the most important things you can do for you company. My brother Chet is going to cringe when he reads this, because he hates over used cliches, but I am going to use it anyway. If you fail to plan, you plan to fail. Or a the very least, you are not going to be as successful as you could have been. Over the years I have become a big fan of planning. It's not my favorite thing to do, but I have seen how much of a positive impact it has had on all of my businesses over the years. I attribute a lot of my success to annual planning. If I break it down by how much time I spend doing it vs the benefit it brings, it is probably the most valuable thing I do. Let me say that again, it is the most valuable thing I do. That's saying a lot.

My philosophy with planning is that you should only have 2-3 big goals for the year. These should be very impactful for your business. If you have too many, you'll get spread too thin and either won't do them all or you won't do any of them very well. Each goal will typically have 3ish tasks associated it. We have done some of the main planning for Haulin Assets for 2022 and I want to share with you our main goals and their tasks.

1. Grow by 5 trucks

1. Decide Direction

1. Owner Operators or Hired Drivers

1. Start using a TMS (Transportation Management System)

1. Evalute different TMS's

1. Create an outline with targets and dates to accomplish this goal (1st quarter)

1. Savings

1. $15,000 in operating capital per truck

In this episode, Craig and I go into more detail about planning and we talk about the Haulin Assets goals for 2022.

Just Do It. Annual planning is not the most fun or glamorous thing you will do in your business. I would argue that it is one of the most important things you can do and possibly the most important thing you can do. Make it a priority and do it!

We have MERCH!!! T-Shirts to be exact. I think they look pretty cool and say catchy things. Chet and I have bets placed on which tagline is going to sell better. I hope you pick mine. Buy a shirt to place your vote and spread the Haulin Assets message. You can purchase a shirt by going to the motorcarrierhq.com online store. They are $25 each, shipping is included in the price.

The good times keep rolling along, October 2021 was another good month for the financials and the bottom line. By the end of the month we are starting to see some mild rate increases typical of the 4th quarter. Feels like it happened a little later than normal, but this year has been anything but normal.

What To Expect From Episode 90

Some very good looking numbers.

• Total miles ran – 43,903

Haulin Assets realized a profit of $36,749.68

Impact Tip

Create a savings plan. Ours is to have $15,000 in operating cash in our checking account per truck that we are running. Then to maintain a cash reserve in savings equal to 10% of our outstanding debt. We currently have about $750k in debt, because we just got our 5th truck and trailer so $75k in our savings reserve. KISS (Keep It Simple, Stupid) The other plan I came up with early on was just too complicated and hard to scale. I think this one is better.