48 10-4 Magazine / February 2025 Let me follow that last statement with the fact that most carriers are in the business of providing you, their leased operators and associated contractors, with management experience and operating control. Never forget that control has an associated expense. Who do you think is paying the wages for the extra people and all that office space? How and where do I as the leased operator learn to take back some control? Notice I said “some” control, not total control. If you were to take total control, they would have no need for your services because they couldn’t make any money off your labor or movements. For the company drivers and future equipment owners who do not have a full understanding of how this system works I will break it down to the simplest form. A carrier has two customers. First is the organization that tenders freight for revenue, and the second is anyone who is involved in the movement of that freight. As the equipment operator, your customer is the carrier, because they are responsible for offering opportunities and providing guidelines of transportation. In the end, they will be the ones who pay you for your service. The carrier’s first responsibility is to the organization that tendered them the freight, because without them, no one gets paid. Customer number two is also important because of their revenue owed to the carrier. What do I mean when I say, “revenue owed to the carrier” – why would I owe them anything? Regardless of the relationship, your carrier is charging you for any and all services performed on your behalf. That can include insurance, fuel, road taxes, and permits or incidental expenses associated with a move. Those contracts that are percentage based (maybe 65/35) are for the purpose of covering those expenses. If you’re on a mileage based package, it’s for the same reason, it is just charged differently. Depending on how complete your truck operation is will determine the amount or percentage taken from your account. No one gives you free base plates or cargo insurance, or fuel discounts or anything else. The actual cost is contained in the contract based on what the contract calls for. Take the time to get it (your lease agreement) out and READ IT. If there are things in there you don’t understand, ask for help explaining it. Now, as an informed operator, you can affect and even control some of these costs. Let’s start with something as basic as fuel tax owed. How, when, and where you purchase fuel will be credited to your account. Case in point: when I was leased to SNI, I didn’t think anything about the charge for unpaid fuel tax on my settlement statement. Every month it was there until I started asking questions as to why I still owed after all my fuel purchases. They invited me to stop by the home office and they would go over it with me. It turns out they calculated the amount based on fuel purchased each month, not on a 90-day cycle. I was purchasing fuel per quarter and getting over charged for lack of purchases in the month I used it. Understanding all the company’s policies and how (and why) they do what they do is a great place to start. Most carriers will work with you to help understand all this. Typically, all you need to do is ask. Many of these carriers/companies have in-house purchase programs, as well, that can include the everyday items we all use like tires, tune-ups, and other operational expenses. As a sole owner operator, the cost of maintenance can be a huge outlay of cash or an additional charge when using credit. However, if you’re able to take advantage of some corporate pricing, those expenses may be far less. Once again, the dollars you don’t spend are going to come home to your bank account as income. These may all be numbers on a spreadsheet, but they are in fact revenue. It’s hard to associate the money saved with revenue earned per mile. When calculating total earnings, you must look for every savings available. You may be passing up huge possible savings just because you’re not working all the angles. Don’t be afraid to ask questions or take notes. These office personnel are there to help not only the parent company but you, as well, so include them in your circle of associates. In today’s world the trend is to be your own boss – to sail your own ship on that ongoing sea of concrete, somewhere between the lines. To control your own destiny, so to speak. I can say with great satisfaction the day I put my name (D.D. Mitchell Ent. Ltd.) on the doors, I felt a sense of pride and accomplishment, but I was also scared senseless. In that bag of mixed emotions, I realized I was vulnerable, opening myself up to some implications I didn’t yet understand. But from that day to this one, I never stopped collecting people in my circle. Many of them still work for and are employed by major transportation and/or storage corporations. There’s nothing that says I can’t take advantage of someone else’s experience and success. To this day I continue to define and refine my road to success. Just for the record, I didn’t think there would be so many potholes or speed bumps along the way, but its been said, “To gain respect one must first take responsibility.” To be a responsible business it is essential you know as much as you possibly can in every aspect of its operations. This is a time when it’s great to know someone who knows something about a specialty and can provide you with the expertise to step ahead of the competition and make the right choices in times of opportunity. It’s not enough to know how to drive a truck or strap the load, and just owning equipment certainly won’t guarantee a desirable outcome. You must also be able to drive your people and, therefore, your company’s success, 10-4! n
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