Happy Sunday

This past week was very steady with work. I had something each day even if it was a little biddy thing. But there were two very nice days also in there making for a pretty decent week. Especially considering I drove just over 500 miles total and was in a real bed EVERY nite, I'd say it was an excellent week.

One thing in life you can always count on is 'change', things always change. I had a post once before about change and, in general, feel that change is usually for the good, albeit sometimes painful. If you don't embrace change but rather allow it to upset you and affect your mood, then you are destined for more un-happy times than you need be.

This change for me revolves around the 'Authority' (Federal governments permission to conduct interstate commerce) that I drive under. Last summer, I terminated my lease with a company in IN and began working with my oldest friend - Dennis - here out of Belleville, IL. We got the necessary things in place that allowed me to drive under his authority. But he is in his 70s and maintaining compliance with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administrations rules is more than he wants to do.

The result is that I will now get my own authority. I have actually considered this for the past couple of years but have been intimidated by these same compliance issues. I felt it was easier for someone else to worry about the feds and just let me drive. It was worth giving up a small percent of my gross to use someone else's authority. But there are some third-party administrators you can hire that will help in the compliance department for a fee. That's the route I'm going, at least to start. The feds monitor new trucking companies very closely for the first 18 months.

I actually have put together an action-plan for the next six months that includes hiring at least one new local driver to service the account we have here in STL and a new truck for myself. I want to put the new driver in my present truck. This will allow Dennis to stay involved with the client (whom he has worked with for 20 years) but have a younger driver available to do the work. This will happen under my authority so we can maintain compliance and I can also continue to do my thing. Looks good on paper!

The first part of this - my application - will happen with-in the next 30 days. I will then look to add on a driver - or two or three - from there. Perhaps I can even add some other owner-operators interested in a situation similar to what I have now.

And speaking of now, I gotta go. I'm meeting some friends for breakfast in a few minutes and then we will go on the Motorheads Poker Run. This is typically a very large ride and the weather today looks perfect so a big turn-out is likely.