A Truckers' Life - Working Man in the Transportation Industry

I know a lot of working men, heck, I'm a working man myself.  I just recently posted about my tree removal companies' new website, which sort of plays a role into this weeks post.  I took my company, which has been around for 10+ years, and started to modernize it by getting it only.  I want to tell the story of a similar situation, where a regular working guy started his own company and had to work hard to build it up, including mordernizing and scaling up, hiring employees, getting loans, all that sort of stuff. What I did wasn't nearly as complex, but it still shares some similarities.  It's still an old fashioned business working to make themselves modern and relevant in a changing economy.

The Story - It Started With a Truck

So my friend Kevin was working for at least 5 years, saving all his pennies, and he was finally able to buy his own Semi-Truck.  A big expense that put him in the hole for a pretty large sum, be he was happy about it.  He could now do his own work and make his own deliveries, keeping a bigger share of the profit.  Until then he had been working for various transportation companies and they would pay him a wage, but he was close enough to the action to know that the real money was being kept for the big-wigs in the corporate offices.

He didn't want to stay an underling forever, so he figured the first step would be to get himself his own wheels.  He could make deliveries, shipments and keep all the money for himself.  He thought it was a rather simple plan, but sadly it wasn't so simple.

After all the expenses, and taxes, and man-hours, and gas, Kevin was only bringing in a little bit more than he was making as a wage worker.  Plus he had all the extra headaches of handling with bureaucracies and payment processing, it was kind of a mess.  He started realizing that this thing would only work if he wasn't the one to do both the management and the manual labor, he needed workers of his own. 

And Then Came More Trucks...

So he was wondering what to do, because he only had the one truck but needed to quickly scale up.  He didn't want to wait around for his pennies to pile up again.  He tells me that if he would have waited, he'd still be working that one truck (this was 10 years ago)... So he asks around about companies that help to build corporate credit of a transportation company, and is eventually able to land a large loan that helps finance 3 more trucks.  He now has a fleet! 

Being in the transportation industry for the last several years he has plenty of contacts so he's able to get workers without a problem.  He also knows which ones are the slackers and which ones of the good workers, so he's able get a solid work force going.

And The Rest Is History...

Kevin still operates his trucking company and it has yet to reach global and worldwide renown,  but he is still a success story of a working man.  Hopefully I can be one just like it, take an old trade and moving it into the new age with a little bit of innovation and a whole lot of will power.  Cheers to Kevin!

 

Shameless Self Promotion - My New Site (Tree Service and Removal in Long Island)

Granted this is a little bit of shameless self promotion but I figured if I don't get to promote my own stuff on my own blog then WHY OWN ONE?? So anyway, I will make a little short and sweet (as I don't know how to be very verbose this)...

I've started to take my Tree Service and Removal company online... I've created my Google Profile as well as my Google My Business account and have started to look around for some insight on how to get some good web design on the site itself.

What is a Tree Service?

What is a Tree Service?  Well, don't mind if I do.. My company does all sort of tree trimming and pruning, as well as tree removal and tree trunk grinding... My company is based in and services all areas of Long Island, including Brooklyn and Queens.

Now, a bit more of a shameless promotion, because why not... If you live in Long Island and own a home or property, chances are you may want to have a tree removed or get some branches away from some power lines.  Storms come and can knock down the old trees in your property, and the best way to handle this is to be proactive and remove those old branches or old trees before they become a problem.  Trimming and pruning will also cost you a lot less than fixing a downed powerline or a caved in roof...

What If I Don't Live in Long Island?

Congratulations, you probably save a lot of money on property taxes.  But all joking aside, there are plenty of similar arborial services all throughot the country, it just so happens that my company only serves Long Island, Brooklyn and Queens (and we've been known to go into Manhattan on occassion).

So without further ado, here is my site: http://www.treeremovallongisland.org

We've been in business for over ten years but just recently had the wisdom to get ourselves a website.  I hope it looks good and doesn't look crappy... I hate when websites look crappy (that being said, this blog aint all the pretty, but its what Blogger gave me!).

What do you think of the image we used?

How I Converted My Van to a Minibus

A minibus is typically defined as a multi-passenger vehicle that is larger than a minivan and smaller than a bus, but did you know that there are several different types of minibus? Whether they are being used as taxis or for school transport, minibuses come in all shapes and sizes and are used around the world.

Convert it: Vans
 
Van conversions are the most basic type of minibus, and are just what they sound like: van bodies converted into larger passenger vehicles. They take all kinds of shapes and sizes, but will typically add a higher height roof, more seats, additional windows, and any other items – like a door – that will accommodate more passengers. Ford and Mercedes-Benz are two car manufacturers who produce vans often used for minibus conversions. Obviously, van conversions are great for smaller minibuses, as they do not allow for extreme changes to body or chassis size.

Build it: Body
 
If a simple van conversion won’t do enough for your minibus needs, there are many companies who prefer to do an entirely new body on an existing chassis, either from a van or truck depending on size needs. In the US, small school buses are typically designed in this way, and in parts of Europe and Asia it is not rare to see body builds that literally look like they are placed on top of existing pieces. Body built minibuses are an excellent choice for mid-range minibuses in size and price, because they are more customizable than a van conversion, but sometimes cost less than a new manufacturer-built minibus.

Born this way: Purpose Built
 
When exploring on holiday in the United Kingdom, we recommend hiring a vehicle, yes England has fantastic public transport, but being able to explore an area in your own time is much more enjoyable, we keep out news page up to date with lots of interesting road trip ideas for your rental vehicle. You may wish to rent a van, if you decide to turn your holiday into a workation!
Remember, even converted van minibuses are often held to specific laws and regulations governing how minibuses can be used and who can use them, so no type of minibus is allowed special clearance with these rules. Always be sure to check local laws, and be sure you have selected the right minibus for your needs.