Never Say Never

Hey ya’ll I guess I have a very hard decision I have to make within the next week or so.

A friend of mine purchased a small local trucking company a couple years ago. He lives in Fl and has a few other business’s there. He put people in place to run the Ga based trucking company. Long story short he got screwed and ripped off.

He made changes and has been running the business by phone for the most part. He has come to me and my wife seeking advice. We’ve discussed every aspect of his business and he has turned many aspects around, but still trys to run it from a distance.

My wife has went to work in the office helping straighten many things out. He has one lady in the office left that is very good at the Granite business, but knows nothing of the trucking business.

I took a load of headstones to cali and am playing hookie this week visting my kids and grandkids in cali. I’m booked up going home and will be back next friday.

They want me to come off the road and be the General Manager. I’m restling with it. I’m at a place in my life and my business that I can afford it, but I’m not sure if jumping into this is the right move. I will still have my truck and trailer as well as my own authority so if it doesn’t work out I guess I can fall back on it.

I can still drive on occassion, but I’m struggling with wether or not I’ll miss it.

I’m looking to see what ya’ll think, espically all if the old timers around here that have gotten to know me.

Hi PJ,

After having met you in person for our brief meet & greet in Winter Haven I'm sure that anything you do will be with perfection and knowledge that you have gained through the years of experience and dedication. Your friend will be gaining the best there is to operate the business and true friendship is something that is not replaceable. I applaud you for being able to help him out and still have your business to fall back on if necessary. Have at it my friend.

Hey PJ,

This is a big one!

I don't know you well enough to say, "This is what you would enjoy best," but I can tell you what I'd think if given the opportunity, and hopefully, that will stir some thoughts.

My first thought is always about managing people vs doing the work. Any business owner interested in scaling their business must make a choice - do I want to do the work or manage the people doing the work? Someone, or maybe even several people, must manage people full-time and do virtually none of the work themselves.

Personally, I'm a hands-on kind of guy. I love doing challenging work. I don't like managing people. I'm plenty capable of leading and managing people, but I'm not interested.

Well, several years ago, I went to a business seminar. Until that point, I had done virtually everything myself with Trucking Truth. At the seminar, I was told I was doing it all wrong. I was supposed to hire people to do the work and manage those people myself, otherwise, I couldn't scale the business. So I tried it.

I hated it. I wasted an enormous amount of time and money and didn't enjoy it. Sure, they finished some of the work more quickly than if I had done it myself, but working that way didn't align with who I was. I didn't enjoy it. I was forcing myself to stick with the process, which never worked for me. If I don't enjoy what I'm doing and I don't believe in it, I won't stick with it.

For me, the #1 consideration for how I make a living is whether I'll have to manage people. If so, forget it. I'll find something else. I'd rather work alone. I've been that way since I was only a few years old. It's deeply ingrained in my personality. Doing things I love and doing them the way I believe works best for me is where it's at.

So that would be my primary consideration; will I be doing the work I love to do, or will I have to manage people? That question may not matter to you at all. Maybe this new opportunity will give you a little of both, which might suit you well, but would still require you to find someone who does nothing but manages people full time.

It sounds like you're in a great position financially, so you have options. That's huge. I say do something that aligns with who you are. It doesn't matter what anyone else would do or what anyone else thinks. Once you make the commitment, it's yours to deal with. If it doesn't align with who you are, it almost certainly won't last.

PJ, it could be a great opportunity for you or it could be something that doesn’t turn out well.

The first thought I had about it is that it is not uncommon for good friends to form a business relationship with great intentions and then the business relationship ruins the friendship.

Before I got into driving, I was in construction. Then I got too old and decrepit to do the physical work any longer. A very good friend of mine, also a construction business owner, but with a much bigger company, wanted me to come and work in his office as a project manager. But I knew he and I had very different approaches to building practices and I could see we would eventually butt heads, have a falling out and lose our friendship. So I respectfully declined the offer and I’m glad I did because I don’t have to deal with the headaches of running building projects anymore.

Over the years I’ve seen many friendships and family relationships damaged because “business” entered the relationship.

Although sometimes with decisions like this the best thing to do is just to flip a coin and go with that. Lol

Thanks for the thought provoking input. BK and Brett you both brought up the main points I am sorting out in my own head.

Despite what my friend hopes can happen this will require me to fully comit to managing people vs doing the work. I’m no stranger to that. Before I retired more of my life was in management and I did enjoy it. But after retiring there was kind of a relief there. I got into trucking more to have something to do and stay active.

My friend and I are friends, but not overly close. I do value our friendship and have thought about the what if scenario alot.

I hate to see anyone a friend or not get screwed over, just the way I am. I have spent alot of time listening and giving my best advice trying to help him out. I certainly don’t know everything, but I have developed many resoures over the years to be able to get good advise and answers, most notably all of ya’ll.

Another thing sticking in my head are my customers. I know them, they treat me great and I know have tried to work with the other company and choose not to in the past. I think I can convince them I’ll still see they get the same level of service, just may not be me behind the wheel. I hate to let anyone down, espically ones that took a chance working with me.

I’m going to think alot more on the way back to Ga and discuss it more with my wife since it effects the both of us.

Well I have been working my way home, done ok. Lots of sleepless nights. Been getting hit up many times a day with issues.

I am almost home, 3 hrs away. I’ll deliver monday morning to my customer.

I’ve decided to run with it, no pun intended. I’ll give it my best shot starting monday and see what happens.

Oops forgot to mention. My first offical act is dealing with an fmcsa onsite audit on wed. Wish me luck!!!

Oops forgot to mention. My first offical act is dealing with an fmcsa onsite audit on wed. Wish me luck!!!

Good luck, PJ! This will be an interesting adventure.

Good luck with your new venture. It should be fun, until it isn’t, lol.

Curious about the FMCSA on site audit. Maybe you could tell us about that after it happens. I’m assuming this is an office audit of record keeping?

A thought; make a rough plan of what you want to accomplish and a timeframe.

It doesn’t need to be super specific, but just the basics of why you want to do it. This may also reveal some things that would be red flags in the business and reasons you would leave.

I’m not a big fan of quitting without giving it everything you’ve got, but I’m also not a fan of absentee business owners.

Good luck with the audit and I hope this helps.