Truckers and Travelers

Hello, Fellow Drivers!  It’s been a while since my last blog but I’m back in the saddle again, so to speak!  I want to write to you about a very important aspect of a successful trucking business.  That aspect is contracts.  I cannot stress enough about the importance of this step in starting a trucking business or developing a trucking business.  What do I mean by that?  Well, I’ll tell you a real life story that happened recently. 

A friend of mine had a thriving trucking business that was built around one customer.  They had landed the business on a “verbal agreement” and it never progressed into a contractual agreement because it was working well.  The other reason was because the trucking business owner took the advice of their trusted primary driver working this particular account.  The primary driver suggested not to move forward with a written agreement because it may rock the boat.  After all, this driver was on the job with this customer 5 days a week.  Who else would know more than him?  This rocked on for 3 and 1/2 years without a misstep.  Just this month my friend told me that their “trusted” driver had gotten his own trucking authority.  Not only had he done this but while working for my friend, he was passing himself off as a principal owner in the trucking business.  He did such a good job that the customer believed him.  Once the primary driver’s trucking authority was in place, the customer moved their business into his hands and my friend was literally out of the trucking business overnight.  They worked diligently for over two months before this happened to move the customer into a contractual partnership and they refused.  So now my friend is out of work and betrayed by the whole incident.

What is the moral of the story?  Never, never, never go into a trucking business relationship of any kind without proper contractual paperwork in place.  Also, with every driver that either is a W-2 employee or a 1099 (contracted) employee have them sign a non-compete contract as well.  Your drivers can never steal your business nor can the customer give their business to a driver.  Your attorney can draw the necessary paperwork up for you to protect yourself against this kind of tragedy.

Well, Fellow Truckers, to have a successful trucking business, all the right steps must be in place.  It’s my desire that you be on the top of your game in the trucking industry.  Be safe out there!