Whether in trucking or any other business you absolutely have to get a grip on your finances if you are going to be successful - otherwise you won't be. In trucking, because of the nature of the business, this is especially critical. Take for example, say you have a transmission go out on the road hundreds of miles from home and you are under a load. What will you do? If you have an adequate emergency reserve fund it will be an irritation and an inconvenience and nothing much more than that. You will have some calls to make and some arranging to do to get the load taken care of and get your truck fixed and keep yourself warm, comfortable and fed while it is being repaired. On the other hand, if you do not have any money or very little set aside and cant easily cover all the expenses - then what? In that case, you will be in an immediate crisis situation. You also will have a customer service failure and may lose that customer forever because of it too - depending on how you handle things. I can tell you that regardless of how you eventually come out of the fiasco that it will be a painful and unpleasant learning experience. These type things put a lot of hopeful owner operators out of business. Some before they even get started good - and others who have been in business more than long enough to know better in the first place. So make sure you have good systems in place to manage your finances, that you establish and always maintain a good emergency reserve fund at all times - and if you ever use it then immediately start replenishing it and building it back up to its full level. These things may not be flashy or fun but they are critical to your success in business.
