John Thomas on Freight Brokering

The Definition of Success

"The definition of success - to laugh much; to win respect of intelligent persons and the affections of children; to earn the approbation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends; to appreciate beauty; to find the best in others; to give one's self; to leave the world a little better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch, or a redeemed social condition; to have played and laughed with enthusiasm, and sung with exultation; to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived -- this is to have succeeded." - Ralph Waldo Emerson

I'm not sure I would agree with every word as is - but the point is - not all success is wrapped up in the "almighty" dollar.

"Let the Deficits Be Damned ....."

These were the words of an economist about 70 years ago. Many years ago in college, I read how this economist, John Maynard Keynes, encouraged the government to start spending in order to stimulate the economy. People were not buying and producers were not producing. Unemployment was high.

So the government went on a spending spree, spending money they did not have. It was as if they pulled out a huge credit card with no limit on spending. Well, the economy jumped. But this was during the WWII era when America went to war.

Production was robust and unemployment dropped. Many thought John Maynard Keynes was a genius and that he actually saved capitalism.

So what does this mean with today's Stimulus spending package? Is it the answer to our current situation? I wish I knew.

I do know that China is the "company" issuing the credit card to us. China has purchased so many Treasuries bills or notes that we are indebted to China far beyond what most people realize. Most people don't realize that China has so much cash, they don't hardly know what to do with it. So, they are "loaning" it to the United States in the form of purchasing our debt. What are we going to do if China starts calling back their debt?

We do know that there is a $787 billion stimulus package and that this money comes from the Chinese in large part. Correct me if I am wrong.

If you want to track what's going on with this money, go to http://www.recovery.gov/Pages/home.aspx . You may also want to check out http://www.recovery.com/ . Sometimes reading the comments can shed more light on what's going on more so than what you can glean from the websites themselves.

I realize it's hard to understand some of this. If you know of other websites that better clarify what's going on, please respond here with a comment. Thank you.

These Things Don't Skip My Attention .....

I'm reading this morning in The Las Cruces Bulletin (Briefs) and it starts out, "Holloman Could Get F-35s". Holloman is an Air Force base just east of Las Cruces, NM. Now let me tell you - these are the new F-35 Joint Strike Fighter planes that the Air Force is buying. They are going to purchase roughly 1,700 F-35s between now and 2020.

This ain't peanuts.

Each plane costs into the millions. Some of the "older" planes have costed out between 140 to 200 million dollars - each. Each plane needs metal, plastic, rubber, nut, bolts and who knows what else.

And if you haven't thought of this - there will be a huge number of trucks needed to transport the raw materials and completed parts to and from the manufacturer and other locations.

There is just a whole lot of spending going on and, yes, the government is the biggest. It's been that way and will continue to be that way in order to keep our world turning (and protected).

To Be a Freight Broker or Not to Be a Freight Broker?

These are questions that may be plaguing you. You may have already decided, Yes, I want to become a freight broker. But you have lingering doubts or you just can't get over the indecisions and take the necessary action.

Well, guess what? You are not alone.

There should always be a certain amount of "fear of the unknown" and you don't want to get into the habit of making knee jerk reactions especially when it comes to making a big decision that will impact your entire life.

Fear no more. I may have a solution for you.

Instead of jumping in with the whole nine yards on our comprehensive training, one-on-one training with unlimited support you can get our Finding Shippers module. There is a wealth of information in this module. It will tell you about dealing with customers - how to talk to them, what they will expect from you, what you can expect from them. It will take you to various sources where there are potentially thousands and thousands of customers. It will, most importantly, show you how to search for shippers in ways that will help you go where no one else is going.

Then, if you are ready for the entire ball of wax, you can order the comprehensive, one-on-one training with unlimited support by just paying the difference. This offer only relates to the comprehensive training with unlimited support.

PLUS - GET $30 OFF if you order before Monday, November 9, 2009 at 12 noon MST.

Go here to order the Finding Shippers module: http://atexfrei.ipower.com/purchaseModuleFSS.shtml

The Affiliate Program Is Good To Go!

If you want to check out our new affiliate program, go to the following website to read about it. And from there you may sign up if you wish: http://atexfrei.ipower.com/AtexAffilSalesLet.html

One of the nice things about this Affiliate Program is that you will be provided with banners, text links, html links and more. Most of the time you will just copy and paste to use them.

After you sign up there is a 9-page Training Manual that is full of ideas to get you started. Then there is a short survey to help us get to know you.

Check it out here: http://atexfrei.ipower.com/AtexAffilSalesLet.html

Good luck!

John

Freight Broker Training Resources

Included in our training programs, you will find MSWord documents, MSExcel documents and PDF documents. These are the "handouts" that I mention that will help you get organized very quickly.

Once in awhile a person will mention that they don't have either a spreadsheet or word processor software. I used to tell them to purchase Office Suite from Microsoft on eBay or get a college student to purchase a very good but cheaper version.

Now you have a better choice.

You can download a free resource called Open Office. You just go to www.openoffice.org and download it. It will take 30 mins to an hour to download depending on what speed your computer is running at.

If you have a word processing document, you can easily convert it into a PDF file by locating the PDF icon above. You just click the icon and it will save it as a PDF file.

This slick resource will give you everything you need to view our spreadsheets, word documents and PDF files. But, of course, you can use it for any other application you desire. Give it a try and good luck.

Freight Broker Training: Watch Out for Registration Fees

When I started brokering and looking for information on exactly what I needed and how much it was going to cost, I was completely ignorant. There was not much information around and I had to dig and dig.

One thing I do know after all these years is that there are more and more people offering "freight broker training". That's okay - BUT it really irks me to see some "low" come-on prices for some instruction and then you get hit with some very highly padded charges on your registrations. But you don't know they are being padded.

This just ain't right!

If you are paying more than $39.00 for you UCR registration, for example, you are probably being duped AND you are probably paying padded fees for other registrations as well.

In our freight broker training, you will pay for your registrations yourself BUT we will take you directly to the sources where you are paying the normal charges instead of inflated charges.

If you have good credit you should be paying less than $1,330.00 for your

• motor carrier number,
• your Process Permit (BOC-3),
• your UCR registration and
• your first year of your trust fund.

That's it!

Freight Brokering: Is It for You? Can You Succeed?

These are two fundamental questions you need to deal with before you venture into freight brokering (or any other business).

Your background experience and current skills may be very helpful but you need to address some basic questions as well. For example, here is a reply I recently made to a person currently in trucking. He is concerned about learning the salesmanship among other things:

"Yes, you will be in sales, but you don't have to "sell yourself" in the
traditional sense. You have to think in terms of starting a business.
Do you have what it takes? (ask yourself this, don't tell me). Are
you open to taking instruction from someone who has been there,
done that? Do you really want to succeed in your own business
and give it 1-2 years' effort instead of giving up after 3-4 months?

Freight brokering is tough, it's competitive and you may not see solid,
"consistent" progress for months. Can you plough ahead even
when things go slowly?

These are the questions you need to ask yourself. There is a lot
of money to be made in brokering, but it doesn't come easy even
though the concept is very easy".

So, from this reply, you can see that I do NOT always sugar coat the business. You will get realistic and upfront opinions based upon my 25+ years in the business arena.

Freight Broker Training: How to Get Started

I know a number of people are getting ready to sign up for training and it is quite simple. A few ask me, How do I sign up? or How do I get started? Here is what to do and what to expect:

You may sign up for either the Home Study Course or the One-on-One Telephone Training with unlimited support by one of two ways:

1. Go to the bottom of the web site and click on Order Now. You will be taken to PayPal where you can use your credit/debit card. OR,

2. You can phone in your order by calling me direct at 915-613-1500 and using your credit/debit card.

Either way, if I'm in the office, you should have your materials in about 20 minutes after we process your order.

You will receive an email which has a download link, a user name, a password and some instructions.

It's first come, first serve and you tell me when you prefer to meet for the one-on-one training - days or evenings. For the one hour support on the Home Study Course, you can meet with me either before, during or after you have gone through the materials. You do have about 3 hours of audio mp3s on the Home Study so you will have plenty of information from which to draw your questions.

There are actually two other ways to order as well. You can fax in your order to 915-875-1921 by printing out the order form or you can mail in the form with your check to the address on the order form.

Once you get your email with the link, user name and password, you will register the eBook and from there you have access to the training manual, the handouts, the videos and for the Home Study, the mp3s.

That's all there is to it. Let me know if you have further questions. Call me at 1888-526-ATEX (2839)

What Does This Story Below Tell You? .....

I read on the Internet this morning how a real estate guru in Boston put up 10 homes on auction in a 50-unit condo complex. They all sold in 25 minutes. About 20 million dollars in real estate exchanged hands.

One might think, so what? Things happen all the time.

But here is what is really important.

These people behind the auction took on a huge risk. If things would have flopped, it could have harmed the complex's future sales and lowered the prices elsewhere in similar buildings. A dismal result would have involved more than just a shrug and a few words of disappointment. Real money could have been lost and a lot of it.

So, these people who put on the auction were entrepreneurs. As entrepreneurs, the outcome is not always easily known. The future is murky and unclear and there are no signs that scream out "Go down this path" or "Do this" or Do that". There is just no certainty for entrepreneurs.

The lessons here perhaps can be applied to you. You may be waiting for a real clear path. You may want to guarantee certainty even before you lift a finger. In my opinion, you will probably be waiting til the cows come home - and then longer.

Decide for yourself - are you an entrepreneur or not? Then act accordingly using the best judgment possible.

Freight Broker Training: Go It Alone? Or Get A Coach?

It's true, the freight brokering concept is quite simple: you normally first find shippers who want to move their cargo; then you find a truck who can move the cargo. And you collect a commission.

It all sounds so nice and easy. I have stated this many times.

You CAN learn this business on your own. In a way, I did to some extent even after taking some very expensive training. You might even find a person who will take you into their brokerage and show you everything you need to know.

But, going it alone is very costly. Let me tell you, if you think you can figure it out yourself, you can. But you will pay a price without learning from someone who has been there and done that.

And working for someone else who will train you is most likely a pipe dream. Why would they want to train a potential competitor for nothing?

Let me tell you, telephone and online training in MANY businesses is taking the country by storm. In many cases, it's very powerful and effective.

If you have been thinking about going it alone, you owe it yourself to consider my Home Study program. There is no more powerful training than this for the price. Check it out here: http://atexfrei.ipower.com/AtexFBTrngMiniCourse.html