Times are tough if you let them be

By JIM KLEPPER
The Trucker News Services

11/27/2009

Times are hard right now, if you let them be.

Blame the president, the Congress, the economy or even bad luck if you want to.

However, I believe times are as hard as you let them get and you make your own luck.

Think of this situation: two drivers from the same company started the same day and drive the same number of miles through the year.

The first truck driver makes money and the second driver fails to make enough to feed his family.

Everyone has heard the story of the truck driver who quit driving and went to work at anything but trucking so he could feed their family.

Everyone has also heard the story of the driver who started with one truck and now owns a company with 1,000 trucks and is traveling across the country on his company plane to get more business and make more money.

What happened?

Why is there such a large difference in what drivers can do to make money and provide for their families?

Can the answer be how much schooling a driver has?

Can it be how much their family helps them get ahead?

Or, can the answer be something as simple as a plan?

Can a plan, a goal, a map or a definite strategy make the difference with the right amount of effort?

I believe anyone can set a reasonable goal and work towards reaching that goal.

Want to increase your income by $20,000 next year, then $30,000 the following year?

I suggest you set a goal and then you will know what you have to do to reach your goal.

Here is the news about reaching your goal that many drivers refuse to understand: you will have to work hard and you are the only one that can make yourself reach that goal.

If you want to get ahead in this world you should start with your credit.

Get a credit report and make sure you understand your report and clean up any errors you find.

Speak with your banker about how you can improve your credit score (the score banks use to loan money).

The banker will usually tell you to (1) pay every bill on time, (2) don’t open a bunch of new accounts you will not use (3) keep your balance low in relationship to your available credit (for example, with a $5,000 line of credit keep your balance below $1,250 or 25 percent at all times) (4) do not move credit from one card to another (unless you have to or there is a significant difference (over 10 percent) in the interest rate, and (5) most important, pay off your credit cards starting with the one that charges the most interest. 

Spending more than you make will only get you deeper in the hole.

 Paying off your debts will allow you to sleep well at night and have cash money available for emergencies.

Once you have your credit in good shape, talk to your banker about buying your own truck or starting your own company.

Everyone who ever started a trucking company had to buy their first truck, and that is when the hard work begins.

You will need an accountant to help you manage your money, your credit and your cash flow.  Without cash flow every business stops — your company, my company and even Ford Motor Co.

Therefore, it becomes extremely important to know where your money comes from and where it goes.

Next, you need to keep your CDL Motor Vehicle Record clean.

Too many points and you will lose your license.

How do you keep your MVR clean?

First of all, obey all the traffic laws if you can.

Every driver knows someone who has gone over a bridge or down a road that was not properly marked only to meet the local law enforcement waiting for them on the other side of the bridge or around the corner of a road they were not allowed to be on.

Call a lawyer that does CDL defense work and know how to protect your MVR and your income.

The lawyer may be able to defend you without you having to take time off work and go to court.  The lawyer may be able to have the citation reduced to something that would harm your MVR less or even get it dismissed.  Either way, make sure the lawyer understands the CDL laws and what will be best for you.

CSA 2010 takes effect between July and December 2010 (they say).

CSA 2010 will monitor every citation, every warning and every inspection or just about everything you do as a driver.

That makes it very important for every driver to either obey the law or not get caught, because over a period of time the government will determine you are unfit to drive and will prohibit a truck company from hiring you with your bad record.

Do you want your own business, do you want to be your own boss, and do you want to make money?  You can do it with a little help.

Jim C. Klepper is president of Interstate Trucker Ltd., a law firm dedicated to legal defense of the nation's commercial drivers.  Interstate Trucker represents truck drivers throughout the 48 states on both moving and nonmoving violations. He is also president of Drivers Legal Plan, which allows member drivers access to his firm’s services at discounted rates.  A former prosecutor, he is a lawyer who has focused on transportation law and the trucking industry in particular. He works to answer your legal questions about trucking and life over-the-road and has his Commercial Drivers License. 

For more information call (800) 333-DRIVE (3748) or go to www.interstatetrucker.com and www.driverslegalplan.com.

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