Episode Highlights

00:00:03:08 - 00:00:11:03
Speaker 1
Own a business really highlights your weaknesses. A lot of people don't like that because then it makes you accountable for what you're not good at.

00:00:11:04 - 00:00:32:04
Speaker 2
From this week in tracking, this is profit per mile. And I'm Amy. Today we're joined by Jessica for motivation and box turkey. Jessica runs a Boxford business under her own authority and works closely with carriers navigating non CDL operations. And the real cost of running these trucks, with big changes coming in 2026. This is a conversation you can't miss.

00:00:32:06 - 00:00:38:17
Speaker 2
But before we get into it, don't forget to subscribe so you never miss an update. Hi Jessica, how are you?

00:00:38:19 - 00:00:43:16
Speaker 1
I am well, how are you? Amy? Is doing good.

00:00:43:18 - 00:01:00:08
Speaker 2
For the people that don't know this. Jessica has been on the channel before. She was very kind to come, to talk about her numbers. But for the people who don't know it and don't know what you do, could you tell us how you got into box trucking and what led you to starting motivation and box working?

00:01:00:10 - 00:01:25:02
Speaker 1
Because we're insane? No, we got into box tracking. My husband actually had his class B for almost a decade, and when the pandemic hit, we decided, you know what was essential and not essential in my career path? Well, actually, I was an interior designer, went to college, and everything for it, but my career path was not essential, obviously.

00:01:25:08 - 00:01:49:01
Speaker 1
So, during that time, we decided to take a risk and put everything that we had into starting our own logistics company. It was the best time, honestly, to join the industry. Definitely. As nasty L Box Truckers, we were able to get all of Amazon pretty quickly. That was before they had all of their requirements in place that they do now.

00:01:49:01 - 00:02:09:10
Speaker 1
So the barrier of entry was extremely low. But we did have that experience and my husband told me everything. He told me how to drive. He told me how to load. He taught me all of you know, everything that I could possibly know. And I have not looked back since. Is something that we both love to do.

00:02:09:11 - 00:02:32:21
Speaker 1
So motivation in Box Truck. This started when my husband wanted to just share the journey of Box Truck and his start in this business, you know, once again, kind of pandemic era where everyone was on line and sharing their lives, sharing their experiences. And it started we didn't know how it was going to turn out. But, you know, he just wanted to share information.

00:02:32:23 - 00:02:59:23
Speaker 1
And for people who wanted to get started. And then we realized that we were running Amazon Relay, totally different than the majority of people running that low board. And so it kind of became a running joke that we then my husband was the king of Amazon Relay. But, it was for the best because we were able to help so many people understand Amazon relay from a different perspective.

00:03:00:01 - 00:03:29:19
Speaker 1
Yeah. That like your traditional old bore and we, you know, we shared our strategies, we share, updates and all the information that we knew not only with Amazon Relay, but with trucking in general and shared our different experiences. And then it just blew on from there. So 2 or 3 years. Well, maybe 3 or 4 years later now our platform has grown to over 10,000 subscribers on YouTube and over 200 close to 300 patrons on Patreon.

00:03:29:21 - 00:03:51:04
Speaker 1
And we help everyone. We've created a network and a community that has allowed owner operators, those who are interested in starting in the industry and those who are already tenured, to just have a community that we can network, share information and advice, and vent, of course, over there on Patreon. So yeah, that that's who we are and how we got here.

00:03:51:06 - 00:03:57:21
Speaker 2
You if I'm a new carrier starting, what are the types of things you can teach me if I go to your page?

00:03:57:23 - 00:04:29:00
Speaker 1
The main thing was Amazon Relay. We focused heavily, even on our Patreon, we moved all of our relay, related information from YouTube over to Patreon. So like strategy videos, how to prepare for peak season, all of those type of things. Amazon has changed a whole lot. So I have made it a point to keep up with a lot of the changes that they made so that people are blindsided by those changes in, you know, requirements so that they can continue to run Amazon successfully as well.

00:04:29:00 - 00:04:57:00
Speaker 1
As I introduced a lot of driver perspective or owner operator perspective training or how to run the app, how to run a load, things like that. And then after that kind of wrapped up, we also went into compliance. So understanding how to get your Ukr, how to sell. Well, you know for your Ukr. And the new way to obtain your doc, which has changed in recent years as well.

00:04:57:00 - 00:05:23:06
Speaker 1
That whole process is different. So just keeping all the operators up with all those changes is what you would definitely find if you're new, you know what say spec? And then of course, we have lives where you get some real insider information inside the industry frustrations and also is in is for free members and paid. So different tiers, a lot of different options for you to just join the conversation.

00:05:23:08 - 00:05:40:01
Speaker 2
Back, back, back in the day. In the bobtail days, we used to do, live, events too, and we also like joked, they turned into like therapy sessions, but they didn't. Or he was venting in us trying to help. And it was great. It was a great time.

00:05:40:03 - 00:06:01:08
Speaker 1
Yeah, it really does turn into therapy. But you know, as an owner operator, especially if you're alone, like my, my husband and myself have each other. So we literally vent to each other every other hour. We're calling each other for something. But if you're alone, you really don't have someone to bounce ideas off of or share frustrations. Definitely, definitely with Amazon Relay.

00:06:01:14 - 00:06:35:16
Speaker 1
So in that situation, it allows people to get their questions off or, you know, just vent the things that they've experienced recently and, you know, find solutions. We really enjoy the tangible solutions, things that people can really move forward with to grow or better their business. So the venting sessions are they're productive and even just to get stuff off your chest, like we have members that come every week just to say what happened last week, two of their week.

00:06:35:16 - 00:06:38:00
Speaker 1
So yeah, it's a great.

00:06:38:02 - 00:07:06:17
Speaker 2
It can be a lonely ish type of job if you are completely in the truck. And then now I you mentioned we know Amazon really has changed a lot and the entry to to start has changed also. But we've also spoken behind the cameras, about what has changed with non CDL. For a lot of people getting into Box truck and a lot of people got into boxer because it didn't requires CDL.

00:07:06:19 - 00:07:23:00
Speaker 2
Now we see the English, English language proficiency requirements. These changes we're seeing in 2026, what do you think is actually changing for non CDL and box trekking operations in general? What do you see evolving and changing.

00:07:23:02 - 00:07:52:13
Speaker 1
That is multi-layered. That is a multi layered answer that I could give you. But I'll try to simplify it as best as possible. First the positive impacts that I believe that that had, of course it gives people who don't necessarily understand the safety aspect of the logistics industry, on a class A level. And it has it directly impacted the regulations for CDL quite yet.

00:07:52:15 - 00:08:38:21
Speaker 1
And that, I would say, leads to a negative impact that I'll get into a little bit later. But the positive impact is that it kind of weed it out. People who were not taking it seriously and were willing to do things. Underhanded leads, from the industry definitely on like I said, the higher regulators that for not CDL back backstreets, what we found is that if you had worked on your credentials, like your hazmat endorsements, if you had class B for sure, those endorsements getting your Twic card, being able to have the tenure, it allowed you to take some locals that were just floating out there because there was a shortage

00:08:38:21 - 00:09:09:02
Speaker 1
of drivers. So you had more opportunity because, you know, large CDL is still highly needed, especially for those those that are getting picked up on the class A side. The larger trailer size. And so you were able to see the influx of work and opportunity. Definitely if you had your credentials in place, which is something that my husband preaches all the time, like getting your credentials to set you aside because this is such a low barrier of entry.

00:09:09:07 - 00:09:57:10
Speaker 1
If all you have is your truck, everyone has a truck, but if you have your hazmat endorsement, your Twic endorsement, and you know X, Y, Z in place, then you have better bidding and negotiating. Power. And then you also just have more opportunity. So negative side, of course, for those who were class A and knew that they had to now follow certain regulations and rules because there is a lower barrier of entry, all you need was a driver's license and no, I mean, you do get checked to see if you can speak English, but they are not checking for box trucks, not CDL, as often as they're checking for the regs.

00:09:57:12 - 00:10:24:21
Speaker 1
Yeah, eventually that's going to trickle down. But we felt that that could potentially lead to a higher number of people who were not willing to jump through the hoops for the class A and, you know, higher regulated vehicles to just start a non-severe box trucking company. And they still already had their relationships with brokers so they could say, hey, I used to take it on the 53, but I can split it into 220 sixes.

00:10:24:23 - 00:10:51:21
Speaker 1
And so that was going to potentially knock out some of us as well. So it was like, yeah, I don't know you. It could have been all good if those people who were doing things, you know, the underhanded side just disappeared. But if they made their way over to non CDL, then it was going to flood us even more in a saturated industry, you know, in a saturated sector of this industry.

00:10:51:23 - 00:10:59:13
Speaker 1
So that is what we thought was going to be the negative impact of that. Everyone was just going to come flood us even more so.

00:10:59:14 - 00:11:12:18
Speaker 2
And now talking about people who are starting or are thinking about starting which mistakes you see, people making when they assume box trucking is simpler or cheaper than the CDot, right?

00:11:12:20 - 00:12:00:08
Speaker 1
It's not cheaper by any means. Definitely not cheaper. And definitely if you just are unexperienced, all of the mistakes that could be made, your health, the compliance that you overlook when you hear non CDL, you're not necessarily thinking hours of service. Compliance is something that you need to abide by, and that is a number one, like a number one issue that knocks out not CDL carriers not keeping logbooks and not keeping track of where you're going, what your drivers are going, how much time you're driving, and just being way outside of your if you're considered short haul, being outside of your a mile radius and not having the correct paperwork or EOD set up.

00:12:00:10 - 00:12:26:09
Speaker 1
All of that is something that people overlook because they just hear now CDL, I just need a regular driver's license. But like I said, it's a very gray area. We're not overly regulated, but there are the compliances that we have to abide by, and I think people miss that because unfortunately, it does turn to easy and potentially less expensive way to get into the industry.

00:12:26:15 - 00:12:47:19
Speaker 1
And so a very expensive lesson when you have to pay the fines, when you get put out of service, when your drivers are put out of service and a lot of companies have had to shut down because they have too many dings on their, inspections, and you will still get stopped. You can still get stopped as a non CDL box truck.

00:12:47:21 - 00:13:08:04
Speaker 1
And if you don't have certain things like your name and DLC on the side of your door and like I said, your your logs maintenance records, things like that that they can easily ask you for. You can't say I didn't know. Yeah. So that is really what turns in. So as an issue a big mess that in Texas.

00:13:08:06 - 00:13:09:07
Speaker 1
Yes.

00:13:09:09 - 00:13:21:19
Speaker 2
So again on that same note for carriers who are already operating, what do you think we should be doing now to kind of stay ahead of compliance for this year, specifically.

00:13:21:21 - 00:13:45:06
Speaker 1
The end of the year required your UCR registration. If you're not keeping up with that, then that is a fine is something that you can easily do on your own. You know, there's a lot of solicitors who are out here saying that they can take care of clearing House and UCR and mix 150 all of these things for you, but if you know where to go, it's a lot less expensive for you to just do it on your own.

00:13:45:08 - 00:14:10:01
Speaker 1
And it really doesn't take much time is just getting it done when it's supposed to be done. Those are the main compliances, because that can affect your FMC as they active status and once again caused a lot of fans. But, if you don't do it on your own, like a lot of B or C, three companies offer the entire package and they can do that for you.

00:14:10:01 - 00:14:32:17
Speaker 1
What I found is if your current owner operator and you're trying to handle everything on your own, owning a business really highlights your weaknesses. A lot of people don't like that because then it makes you accountable for what you're not good at. And if you are willing to delegate those responsibilities to someone else who cares, they care for you.

00:14:32:19 - 00:14:58:13
Speaker 1
You end up behind, and two weeks behind turns into a year behind, and is very difficult to catch back up. When you have to correct issues that could have been taken care of from the beginning. So I would say putting people in place, that if you can't handle it on your own, or if you always forget the date and, you know, mix 115 the bi annual updates.

00:14:58:18 - 00:15:21:03
Speaker 1
If you don't know when yours is due and you miss that, that's another, you know, something that can knock you out of being able to run loads that in. Like I said, taxes tax season is upon us and you know, if you haven't been paying, they're going to find you and they're going to, you know, catch up and make you pay.

00:15:21:05 - 00:15:49:17
Speaker 1
You know, you can always set up a payment plan depending on your state. You know, I highly suggest going to accountants and bookkeepers. Once you start making a certain amount of money, it is better for you not to make those huge financial mistakes because you can bounce back a lot of times for some of these fines and deal to inspections, getting things on your truck, fix maintenance and hours of services stuff you can bounce back from that a lot easier than the IRS saying, I am taking $50,000 out of your bank account.

00:15:49:22 - 00:15:54:10
Speaker 1
Those are the things I would say you should really be taking care of right now. You know, January, February.

00:15:54:15 - 00:16:10:10
Speaker 2
So I would like for us to move more into the financial part of this interview. For the people who don't know, can you tell us how many trucks you have? What type of trucks do you have? What do you love about your truck and then going to I think.

00:16:10:12 - 00:16:32:17
Speaker 1
Okay, well, since the last time I talked to you, we had we had two and then we sold those two, and then we were renting and we were discussing how much money that was costing us, and that made me sad. So we ended up we ended up purchasing another vehicle we actually purchased. One 26ft box rack is a 2022 Mac, MD and we love it.

00:16:32:19 - 00:16:52:20
Speaker 1
You know, we feel a big boy stat is right there on the road with that Mack truck. So it is that's something that we've had since like the tail end of last year. We did purchase that from the auction and we wanted to finance this time to give that a try, because when you definitely when you work with the auctions, we went through Richie Bros.

00:16:52:22 - 00:17:14:10
Speaker 1
They allow you to come back and then you can purchase more vehicles, do their bidding process. And that is a great place to find. A lot of the, the higher tiers that is rental vehicles like rider. So they have like two levels. They'll sell some on there like showrooms in there, I don't know, from straight from their business.

00:17:14:10 - 00:17:34:16
Speaker 1
And then they put some on the auction. So you get great maintenance records, you get all of that. And then private owners, ours was a private owner, and we were able to get that for a great price, you know, 222 Mack is still like 50, $60,000, but we were able to get it for like 25 from the auction.

00:17:34:18 - 00:17:51:07
Speaker 1
Yeah. So, you know, taxes and fees, whatever. But still, that is way less. And right now we are paying we financed this. So that's what we're doing right now. So way different than our weekly, you know, rental cost which has benefits.

00:17:51:07 - 00:17:56:08
Speaker 2
But I have seen your beautiful Mack truck. It is pretty.

00:17:56:08 - 00:18:06:11
Speaker 1
I love it. I was so scared I felt like I was like in a rig. It's it's so high up compared to like our Freightliner.

00:18:06:13 - 00:18:07:03
Speaker 2
Bailey.

00:18:07:03 - 00:18:11:16
Speaker 1
Wall. Yeah I love it. Oh my goodness. Yes.

00:18:11:18 - 00:18:19:00
Speaker 2
But. So if we could start with you telling me what do you gross. Normally in a week.

00:18:19:02 - 00:18:40:14
Speaker 1
Anywhere from 35 to 5000. Yeah. The beginning on this, the season, you know, what's going on. What's available. We we run Amazon, but we do run other contracts. Outside of that, we prefer spot loads. We prefer the low bore. Instead of being locked in. Since it is just the two of us, that's a lot easier to navigate.

00:18:40:14 - 00:18:45:08
Speaker 1
But overall, I would say that's a good average.

00:18:45:10 - 00:19:00:03
Speaker 2
Yeah. Good average. When you do do a spot loads. Do you carry any type of specific freight. Is there anything you're looking for when hauling or just whatever comes the lighter the better.

00:19:00:05 - 00:19:23:08
Speaker 1
But to be honest, and the only reason why I say that, and that's from my perspective, my husband and he can do more of the physically challenging loads. But if it's something that I'm looking at and I'm going to do by myself, I don't want to do solar panels, you know? But my husband, he's willing to do that occasionally, but even that, you know, can get heavy in your truck.

00:19:23:08 - 00:19:46:02
Speaker 1
It can mess up your suspension. And even weight on the back of your, you know, uneven distribution of the weight. It causes a lot of issues. We really try to avoid construction sites. Yeah. But, overall Amazon relay, for sure. You know, and so they tell us we can't come back, we're going to be running Amazon Relay.

00:19:46:04 - 00:20:03:00
Speaker 1
And and like I said, that's something I could do on my own. And, and we do like curry where they'll have, Hvac. Sometimes it's the customer's home, sometimes it's business to business. They'll have they do have a lot of construction.

00:20:03:02 - 00:20:04:07
Speaker 2
Yeah, but.

00:20:04:09 - 00:20:26:06
Speaker 1
Anything that's going to a construction site definitely like a large, complex or like commercial business where it's like 50 destruction companies working on something that that even if it's short distance, my husband tends to avoid those because they take up so much time and it causes so much confusion.

00:20:26:09 - 00:20:50:00
Speaker 2
That's a very important piece of info for somebody starting that may not know why a construction site would not be a great idea, but now that you're mentioning it, it's important to know, okay. Coming back to the finances of your, operation, we said $4,500 for a week. You mentioned your, husband drives and you also drive, but how?

00:20:50:00 - 00:20:54:14
Speaker 2
He uses, truck moving in a week.

00:20:54:16 - 00:21:01:10
Speaker 1
Seven, you know, 6 to 7. Yeah. Okay. Okay. It's pretty much moving every day. Okay.

00:21:01:12 - 00:21:04:02
Speaker 2
What would you say is the total miles you do in a week?

00:21:04:04 - 00:21:26:20
Speaker 1
Recently, we've done a lot more, for a couple of reasons. One, we had a longer this this Amazon relay contract that we were running, one of their auction contracts. So that extended our radius, that we were going out much further. And then also my husband was running another contract with another owner operator, which was a little bit further than we also do as well.

00:21:27:02 - 00:21:37:22
Speaker 1
So, I would say 25 to 3000 miles, 2500 to 3000 miles in the week.

00:21:38:00 - 00:21:41:15
Speaker 2
Oh that's a 2500 to like keep it a bit of an average.

00:21:41:17 - 00:21:51:11
Speaker 1
Yeah. Okay. But normally we stay much closer and run a little bit less than that. Maybe 1500 to 2000.

00:21:51:12 - 00:22:03:22
Speaker 2
Let's do 2000. But we can do the average of like most of the time. Okay. Then you mentioned your beautiful, beautiful Mack truck. What would be your early payment on that.

00:22:04:00 - 00:22:05:02
Speaker 1
That's 1200.

00:22:05:05 - 00:22:11:03
Speaker 2
Okay. Okay. And then your insurance what type of insurance do you have.

00:22:11:05 - 00:22:43:00
Speaker 1
We have AC which our actual agents is like tipping Berg. Captain David Phelan is who you could ask for and tell them Jessica from Ebony since you and that is 1700 that and that's a little bit more expensive than previously. Like I said, we had two trucks that were 2005, 2006, and our assurance was like that combined actually like 1400 for the two.

00:22:43:01 - 00:22:48:23
Speaker 1
But now that we have a newer truck, a 2022, and it's finance, it has to be higher.

00:22:49:03 - 00:22:59:20
Speaker 2
So course. Yeah. Okay. So we don't use a dispatch system. Do you use a factoring company service.

00:22:59:21 - 00:23:03:09
Speaker 1
Okay. Occasionally, but for the most part, no, but.

00:23:03:15 - 00:23:04:02
Speaker 2
That's part now.

00:23:04:06 - 00:23:08:09
Speaker 1
Okay. Yeah. Like 99%. No, no, no.

00:23:08:11 - 00:23:20:13
Speaker 2
And this is a weird area in trucking, I have realized. Do you and your husband have a salary for yourselves, or do you take out whatever you feel you need in the month?

00:23:20:15 - 00:23:49:08
Speaker 1
No, but we are getting one that my accountant has. Yeah. Chastised state for not doing that. But you know, is is so difficult with the fluctuation of your income. You know, you can have a really great month and you know, you could pay everything above board. And other times you're like, I am scrambling this week. So, I would suggest though, do a W-2.

00:23:49:10 - 00:24:12:03
Speaker 1
It it saves you the headache of trying to make other purchases later having that documentation. But for us, it's kind of what we need. We divvy it out. And then my accountant, I do have a video on Patreon of what he suggest, and that's what my bookkeeper and my payroll specialist is working on for this year, to do it a little differently and actually pay a salary.

00:24:12:03 - 00:24:14:04
Speaker 1
I had done that before.

00:24:14:08 - 00:24:15:04
Speaker 2
Yeah.

00:24:15:06 - 00:24:25:10
Speaker 1
It got expensive with ADP and I put it inside. So long answer short. No, but I'm working on it.

00:24:25:12 - 00:24:26:08
Speaker 2
Yeah, I.

00:24:26:08 - 00:24:32:09
Speaker 1
Working on I'm working on that structure. You know, it's hard to structure, but yeah, it's important.

00:24:32:11 - 00:24:45:00
Speaker 2
Yeah. And with the I think you are going towards the right steps of getting, the information from actual professionals and, and. Oh, yeah. Well, you need to get to. Yeah.

00:24:45:02 - 00:25:02:23
Speaker 1
And we've been working with them for years and you know, he's worked it out for us. But he's like, you know, these are going to be red flags. You've been in business too long. So for those who are tenured, who are avoiding, you know, a real payroll for yourself, you know, you can get caught up in audits and all types of stuff.

00:25:02:23 - 00:25:04:10
Speaker 1
So yeah. Yeah.

00:25:04:12 - 00:25:09:18
Speaker 2
Yeah. Makes sense. And then how many gallons would you say you purchase in a week for fuel.

00:25:09:19 - 00:25:25:04
Speaker 1
So our Mac is 75 gallon. I'll say we fill up 3 to 4 times. You know, you can't fill it all the way up to the 75. So let's say 60, let's say 60 times 3 to 4. So let's just say 200, okay.

00:25:25:04 - 00:25:27:04
Speaker 2
Yeah. Let's just each other 600.

00:25:27:04 - 00:25:31:13
Speaker 1
Yeah. And like I said, this is a little bit farther than we normally go. So.

00:25:31:15 - 00:25:35:09
Speaker 2
And what would you say that, expense runs you up for.

00:25:35:11 - 00:25:37:11
Speaker 1
Anywhere from 750 to 1000.

00:25:37:15 - 00:25:41:05
Speaker 2
You are very local, so you don't pay tolls.

00:25:41:05 - 00:25:57:01
Speaker 1
Do you know that where we were running, it's more tolls. We were going up to Northern Virginia and Maryland. So there have been more tolls and E-ZPass and all of that. But normally in the Richmond, Virginia area, there's the tolls are like $3.

00:25:57:01 - 00:25:57:14
Speaker 2
Yeah.

00:25:57:16 - 00:26:11:17
Speaker 1
You know, it's minuscule, but going up further and, you know, E-ZPass lanes and all of that has been a bit more expensive. So tolls, I'll say 150, you know, I just put some on my E-Z pass and refill it. So about 150.

00:26:11:18 - 00:26:26:03
Speaker 2
And then this is also another interesting topic I've found in trucking. Do you have a special bank account for maintenance or a special savings for maintenance? Or do you just take out whenever you need to do maintenance?

00:26:26:05 - 00:26:48:08
Speaker 1
There's like two different ways that we do it. Depending on when it hits, we have credit cards that we have aside for maintenance so that we don't have to touch our liquid cash. But we do set aside. We have a, you know, our checking in our savings, and the savings is like, emergency. Anything that pops up, maintenance and things like that.

00:26:48:14 - 00:27:15:10
Speaker 1
But if it's like a PM or oil change, my husband has recently began doing our oil changes himself, and then PMS are, you know, just out of the cash is not necessarily out of the savings. Yeah, those are for big, big things. Yeah. But credit cards and the savings is for that. Yeah a percentage. We don't necessarily put a percentage away there.

00:27:15:10 - 00:27:17:19
Speaker 2
Any other cost. You think I might be missing.

00:27:17:21 - 00:27:45:18
Speaker 1
That that is something that would be standard necessarily across the board for every trucker. You know, we we have tax payments. We have like equipment purchased. Like if we purchase them from you line, if you so there's like other small things, in Virginia and each state is different. But in Virginia, when you have a business, they have a pass through entities which allows you to make like quarterly payments.

00:27:45:20 - 00:28:05:17
Speaker 1
And you can split that up if you want to, so that you can pay towards your taxes before the season actually comes so that you're kind of cushioning yourself from having to pay a larger bill based off of your previous year's taxes. I don't know if that's something that every state does, but in Virginia they do that.

00:28:05:19 - 00:28:14:00
Speaker 1
And then, of course, if you owe anything from the previous year, you can just put that on to the payment plan. So that's where we are with it. Yeah.

00:28:14:02 - 00:28:23:22
Speaker 2
What do you feel about these numbers? What is it? I know because you said it in the past interview. This is not shocking to you because you run your numbers. Very usually.

00:28:24:00 - 00:28:48:18
Speaker 1
They are we we run a weekly. But will I see like, this is still. So I have to say it out loud. It makes me frustrated because I know where we can cut back. And while we did finance the vehicle, I probably would not do that. I would do what we did with our first two vehicles, which is buy it outright, because that automatically eats into my profit that I could be utilizing towards something else.

00:28:48:20 - 00:28:49:10
Speaker 2
Yeah.

00:28:49:12 - 00:28:58:20
Speaker 1
Or just keep it for myself, when it comes with the net profit is so I would, I would buy the truck straight out.

00:28:58:22 - 00:29:24:01
Speaker 2
Thank you. So much for sharing your numbers with us. For everyone listening, be sure to leave your comments on what these numbers look like for you. How much, of a difference do you have with what Jessica is running? Let's all remember these are averages. Some times. Some weeks are much better. Some weeks are much, much worse. So certainly leave us your comments on what stand out for you and I.

00:29:24:01 - 00:29:38:12
Speaker 2
Now, I wanted to go back a little bit again to compliance and operations and coming into the box truck industry, can you tell us more of what compliance issues you think trip up box truck carriers are? Most some things that they might miss. This gray area that you talk.

00:29:38:12 - 00:30:07:21
Speaker 1
About, as I mentioned before, hours of service, for sure. Having your drivers fill out those daily logs or you yourself as the owner operator, understanding short haul versus long haul and where your company fits into that scenario was there are rules and regulations as to whether or not you need to have an Eld, or if you need some logs, and if you are not following that, then you would definitely gets put out of service.

00:30:07:23 - 00:30:32:15
Speaker 1
So what we are doing over on motivation and box tracking on our Patreon platform is not only Amazon strategy and training, which is great over there, and we keep up with the updates for EMS relay, but just compliance in general. Well, how to determine whether you're short haul a long haul is a video that we have in stay in, comply with hours of service as a short haul driver.

00:30:32:17 - 00:30:57:01
Speaker 1
And what determines if you need to switch over to long haul and have that EOD requirement in place for you and your your company. And we unfortunately, in this not CDL gray area, we know that as all the operators and for our drivers, they don't need a CDL. So there's no formal training on what is required from you.

00:30:57:01 - 00:31:19:07
Speaker 1
You have to do a lot of independent research. A lot of it is confusing. Even when you go to the FMC as a website, some things don't specifically say non CDL. I feel like they are wording their regulations differently now that there has been an influx of Na CDL in order for people to understand what's required of us, but that formal training is not there.

00:31:19:07 - 00:31:38:13
Speaker 1
As someone who had who would go to get their class A or class B CDL and understand what is required from them federally. And then also, you know, it's like a lot of people here non CDL and feel like because I can just use my regular driver's license, I could put my cousin, my girlfriend and my uncle, whoever is behind the wheel.

00:31:38:15 - 00:32:07:17
Speaker 1
But the size of the vehicle requires a lot more knowledge for you to not, you know, come back with a convertible box truck or for you to not, you know, get pulled over for hours of service and get put out of service because you are not keeping track of that. And so what we're doing is taking our online information, which you can easily go and become a member of our Patreon and see if you are in any of the other 50 states or worldwide, I guess.

00:32:07:19 - 00:32:39:15
Speaker 1
But for those who are in the DC, Maryland, Virginia area and part of North Carolina, we are actually working very hard to translate all of that information that we have a lot to now, a in person, training and course. So if you're in the Virginia, Maryland, DC, North Carolina area and you're willing to come to Richmond, Virginia for company training because a lot of times the larger corporations have when, you know, in company training for their drivers.

00:32:39:17 - 00:33:05:18
Speaker 1
But like I said, a lot of owner operators for the smaller fleets just put anyone in their vehicle without the proper training. So we are going to be offering eight hour courses for now, CDL employee training. So if you're on the operator, your employees can come to us and we'll teach them road safety, yard safety, warehouses, site safety, low secure mid pallet jack and liftgate operation, and hours of service eld.

00:33:05:20 - 00:33:25:23
Speaker 1
We can also, if you want to bring your vehicle. We do have a large enough lot for someone to practice, and we have a dock for you to practice backing up to a dock, and they can use your truck to get a few hours of practice in. So they will be a lot more educated when they're behind the wheel because it is extremely dangerous.

00:33:25:23 - 00:33:53:08
Speaker 1
You're driving a weapon every day. The 26 blue box, right? Even though is not CDL, the weight that we can hold on, it changes, but it doesn't change. The size of the truck is big and dangerous, and if you don't understand what you're getting yourself into, a lot of times you. It's unfortunate, but a lot of people have hurt others, damaged a lot of people, homes or, damaged the truck.

00:33:53:10 - 00:34:16:18
Speaker 1
And it cost a whole lot of money. So in addition to compliance, all of those other things that could eat into your profits as a box truck, a non CDL box truck owner operator, definitely. If you decide to hire people or even if you're brand new and you want to get this insider information so that you won't go out there without any knowledge of what you're getting yourself into.

00:34:16:20 - 00:34:39:11
Speaker 1
And that's just the physical, you know, driving and loading aspect of it. Of course, there's so many non tangibles to this industry such as stress and you know, keeping up with paperwork and hard work and, you know time management all of that that you will get through the experience. But for us we want to provide people with the tangibles.

00:34:39:16 - 00:35:00:16
Speaker 1
We want to provide people with something that they can actually take with them and be successful in keeping their business running. You know, we've been in this industry for five, going on six years now, and a lot of people did not make it this far. So we want to share all of our strategies with you on the Patreon.

00:35:00:16 - 00:35:31:00
Speaker 1
But when it comes to training, you aren't really want to find non CDL training outside of company training. And if you're not training your drivers then they're not receiving it. So come on over to us and we'll take care of that for you. We have class. We have a lot. We have a lot of stuff that could allow you to be successful because most people, when they hire someone that's usually put in the business, is putting the wrong person behind the wheel.

00:35:31:01 - 00:35:57:10
Speaker 1
The opportunity that we have over on our website, for the, the motivation of box and academy and person situation, we do offer payment options to Klarna and Afterpay and affirm, so you don't have to dump all of your money at one time. If you get qualify for any of those, then you can get into this industry and get the training that you or your drivers need without having to put all of that cost up front.

00:35:57:10 - 00:36:06:17
Speaker 1
Because, you know, we want to keep our money, but it's something that's necessary. So we thought we would offer those payment options to anyone who wanted to get educated.

00:36:06:19 - 00:36:10:07
Speaker 2
Would you like to share your Patreon screen with us?

00:36:10:09 - 00:36:38:05
Speaker 1
Yes. Or the Patreon? Like I said, if you are in this area, we have a lot of training videos over on Patreon and we have the live conversations on Thursdays. We have Truck Talk Thursday on, the first Saturday of every month. We have a members only logistically correct conversation where it's like a team meet so we can face to face, have conversations with the paid members, and discuss whatever it is that you want to discuss about the industry.

00:36:38:06 - 00:37:02:22
Speaker 1
We don't, and I don't know if I come across as being speaking from authority. I'm not. I'm speaking from experience. Okay, so that's what we share. Like I, I just have been in this industry for, you know, some people might say a long time as an owner operator, but others are like, girl, you are brand spanking new. You haven't even begin to understand.

00:37:03:00 - 00:37:25:03
Speaker 1
And there's so much that I personally learn. Yeah, all the time. So the platform is not for me to tell you how to run, run a business or tell you is is to share experiences and to share opportunities. Like what Amazon's contract. We found out that it was a bit of a new you know, we discuss what does that mean for the box truckers?

00:37:25:05 - 00:37:45:21
Speaker 1
What does that mean for opportunities with the post offices? So, you know, it's just more of a conversation in a networking, platform. But if you if you want the educational aspect that's there as well. So it's kind of all in one. Yeah. It is a great place to be if you are in the industry or want to be in the industry, for sure.

00:37:45:23 - 00:38:14:18
Speaker 2
We will leave the link to Motivation and Trucking, website in the description for sure. Yes. Be sure to leave us your questions for them. Anything you want to know, but I think you should ask the questions in their Patreon. They get their all this great information that you've shared with us today. Lastly, to close out this wonderful episode, is there one advice, one some words of wisdom you would like to see?

00:38:14:20 - 00:38:21:00
Speaker 2
With new careers, people coming in, or people who have maybe one two years in the industry.

00:38:21:02 - 00:38:44:02
Speaker 1
Run. Nonetheless, if. No, you will be fine. Like if you learn how to pivot. That's my husband's, like word for the year. Like, I'll ask you a pivot if you are willing to be a chameleon and you're willing to put yourself out there and don't turn to opportunities. You know, we feel like you should try it.

00:38:44:04 - 00:39:11:14
Speaker 1
If it doesn't work for you, then you can cross it off your list. But, if you're new, you don't have really any room to say no. You know, you you don't know once you try it. Unless you come on to a situation where you're, like, leasing oil to someone who gives you some opportunities. But if your start is brand spanking new, you pretty much have to bite at whatever's the opportunity is given to you.

00:39:11:16 - 00:39:38:12
Speaker 1
You can't be picky, and you have to be willing to work 24 seven. And it's rewarding, but it's exhausting. But what in life is it worth it if if it was just easy? Everyone. I mean, it is a low barrier entry. Everyone thought they could do it, but those of us who understand that, it's not that it's not a sprint, it's a marathon.

00:39:38:14 - 00:39:51:16
Speaker 1
Then if you understand that and you want to join a industry that is not going anywhere, a lot of changes will always be made. But it's not going anywhere, then this is the place to be. And you know, you get the freedom of the road.

00:39:51:20 - 00:39:58:16
Speaker 2
So awesome that that is great. Thank you so, so much for joining me today.

00:39:58:16 - 00:40:02:01
Speaker 1
Yeah, yeah I loved it every time.

00:40:02:03 - 00:40:25:10
Speaker 2
I love it. No I know this is going to be so so very helpful. And furthermore your academy will be so so very helpful to the industry in general. And for anybody who gets the chance to join the Academy or join your Patreon for everybody watching, don't forget we have a free newsletter that you can subscribe to. I always leave you the link in the description of our videos.

00:40:25:12 - 00:40:49:15
Speaker 2
You can get weekly insights on the hottest free markets. Her equipment type. We also send you the podcast straight to your email so you don't miss anything. So don't forget to subscribe! And before we wrap up, if you're an owner, operator, or a small carrier running under your own authority and cash flow is something you're trying to get under control, the link in the description to Bob's Deals Factoring service.

00:40:49:17 - 00:41:05:17
Speaker 2
Same day pay, no hidden fees and real customer support. Yes, someone to answer your phone calls every time. Don't forget to subscribe to this weekend tracking so you never miss a conversation like the great one we just had with Jessica and Jessica. Thank you once again for joining me.

00:41:05:18 - 00:41:08:09
Speaker 1
Thank you. See you next time.

00:41:08:11 - 00:41:10:06
Speaker 2
Everyone watching Drive Safe.