John Thomas on Freight Brokering

Freight Brokering, Trucking & Some New Laws

When you hear people talk about "Greed" nowadays, you might immediately think about the Wall Street Greed that has devastated many people and their wealth. But there are other forms of greed and guess where some of it is coming from?

I've only heard this second-hand, but the states of Oregon and North Carolina (others?) are either considering or are about to pass laws that will be no less greedy than Wall Street Greed.

These states want to tax vehicle drivers based upon how many miles they drive - not on how much gas they buy. What they want to do is get drivers to install some sort of GPS device that will record the number of miles driven.

If you happen to be driving out of state (or out of the country like I do sometimes), they don't care. For those who don't install the GPS device, they want to impose at least a two-cent gas tax per gallon for this particular situation.

Why are they doing this? It's because their tax revenues have dropped due to less driving and demand. I don't fully understand all this but if you have some input here - go at it, please.

One thing I do know - whenever the government wants more money whether it be state or federal governments - they want to spend more. My theory is that the more the government spends, the less likely that the increase in spending will result in an increase in wealth or a better standard of living.

I don't want the government getting into my pockets or telling me what to do anymore than what they are doing right now.

So, what is YOUR take on all this? Sound off.

Freight Broker Website

Some days I just don't hit it off with technology. I've sent two emails with a link and both times the link did not work. I'm sorry if you were a recipient and had a bad experience.

The web page works okay - but not through my normal emailing channels.

Anyway, YOU can check out the web page from here and learn about taking Five Essential Steps. Go to: http://www.atexfreightbrokertraining.com/5steps.shtml

Have a nice weekend.

Freight Brokering

Here is a real short piece of information on

• what a freight broker is,
• how do you become one, and
• why you need proper training

Go to: http://www.atexfreightbrokertraining.com/howandwhy.shtml

Are You An MLMer?

In our country, we have more business opportunities than a person can imagine. I remember years ago hearing stories about a couple of my high school friends from the past and how they were raking in thousands of dollars in a short period of time from Multi Level Marketing (MLM).

I got excited about this at first. But it was not something I really believed in. I think it was hard for me to swallow because I understood the nature of the business.

With Multi Level Marketing, you will find a "transfer" of wealth where the money flows from the bottom up to the few at the top.

This is in stark contrast to asset-building businesses where wealth is "created" and owned by the creator. Out of "thin air" you can create a business and build it with a steady, predictable flow of income where you can build real equity.

If you are stuck in MLM schemes, try getting into something where you can actually build equity. Stop transferring wealth from your pocket up to the few at the top of the pyramid.

I wanted to believe in the MLM programs that came my way - but, "sadly", real opportunities usually take work.

Freight Brokering: What's Stopping You?

The more I read about business development, the more I come across information about what makes people tick (and not tick). And, sometimes there are really strange things happening to people.

First, everybody seems to want to get ahead, they want more financial freedom, they want more personal time whether it be with family or friends or both, they want the independence to do what they want to do and when, they want to live where they want to live and so on and so forth.

And yet, many, many people "sabotage" their efforts because they also have this deep fear of failing. They are afraid to really visualize what they could have because they don't want the pain and embarassment of failing.

Are you in one of these situations?

If so, you need to sit back and really, really think seriously about your own situation to see if there are "demons in the closet" waiting to attack you if and when you take action.

What most experts say is that by taking action, most of the hidden fears start to disipate.

The first step for taking action might be to read some motivational books that are action oriented. Go to Barnes & Noble and ask the clerk to guide you to the section about taking personal action. I'll try to add more info as time permits.

Freight Broker Training: Here Is Something to Remember

Many have downloaded my free eBook, "Introduction to Freight Brokering". It's about 35 pages. Some people have asked if THIS is the eBook that is used for training.

The answer is NO.

The training manual is about 36 Chapters, it includes about 30 "handouts" and most of these "handouts" have video presentations where these handouts can be viewed over and over again.

The amount of information you receive on our training is almost overwhelming. My clients love the materials!

Can You Believe It???

I can't believe it. Look at what is happening to gas prices! They are dropping like a rock. My brother was driving around on $3.00 gas and then today he put a little in at $1.43.

He heard someone say today that we'll see gas below a buck a gallon soon. My questions are: Is this for real? How long will it last? Are there any negative reactions because the price has dropped so far so fast? If so, what are they? And, when will food prices go down? After all, they went up because of the cost of gas.

So there are a lot of unanswered questions at least as far as I'm concerned.

One of my clients who moves containers near the Cleveland area has seen a turn around already. He is getting business from shippers where letters of credit are required. He feels this is the beginning of a turn around.

And for some people, the worst days are behind them!

My business is still cranking real well. It does well regardless of the gas prices, it seems. When times are going well, people want to broker freight. When times are tough, people want to broker freight.

There has been and always will be a need for good freight brokers and there has been and always will be a need for trucks to make their deliveries.

So, jump on in - the water is fine.

The Trucking Industry: Do You Have Any Input Here?

I've been doing some research on the trucking industry before and after deregulation. President Jimmy Carter along with several lawmakers on both sides of the aisle got on the deregulation bandwagon. The result was the Motor Carrier Act of 1980 (even though it had its beginnings on about 1976).

Since then, various writers have expressed different opinions on how deregulation has affected us. Some say that deregulation has saved Billions of dollars because all sorts of inefficiencies were eliminated. Others say that deregulation opened up thousands and thousands of low-paying jobs but eliminated many higher paying jobs.

So, if you have been in trucking for some time - what is YOUR take on deregulation? How has it affected YOU?

Yes, there are smaller carriers who are operating today as well as operating during the 70s when deregulation took hold. So, it's YOU that I'd like to get your input from.

How Bad Are Things - Really?

I read an interesting piece of information today. As you might have heard already, we are, and have been in a recession for about a year. I forget exactly what all the "experts" look at to determine if and when we are in a recession. But .....

Here is what I read.

Online sales are expected to increase 12% year-over-year here in December. Online sales are becoming an increasing method of doing business. Also, some are expecting this Holiday Season's retail sales to be stronger than expected.

While this does NOT erase the bad things that are negatively impacting many people right now, there are pockets of strength and growth. It is really important to focus on the longer-term situation. No, you can't ignore what is going on right now. But you can't, as well, let the current situation take total control as if it will be your destiny forever.

What ever bad situation you are facing right now - take heart. Things WILL get better. And if you are flying high right now, be careful. You could have the rug pulled out from under your feet if you get too cocky.