Everyone’s path in Expediting is different. But one thing is for certain, when you have vision, perseverance and the right opportunity, your path can take you as far as you want to go. Frank and Donna Smith are a husband and wife Expediting team who have taken the Path to Ownership with help from Expediter Services. “Frank and I began as Expediters in 2013. We had been involved with a couple of owners as contract drivers, but the experience wasn’t very good. The equipment was sub-par and we had problems getting paid. We finally found ES through one of our carriers, and things immediately began to look up,” said Donna Smith.
Once the Smiths began settling in as contract drivers with ES, their work history and a trip to The EGG soon began to show that they had potential as future owners. “In the spring of 2014, we heard about The EGG (Expediter Group Gathering) at Expediter Service’s home office in Southaven, Mississippi and we decided to attend. The thought of someday owning our own truck was something we had dreamed about — but we just weren’t sure it was in the cards. When we got to The EGG and saw the presentation showing the advantages of being owners, it really got us to thinking in that direction. On top of that, ES’s management team took the time to pull up our numbers. We soon found out that we could take the Path to Ownership. This was something we hadn’t expected, since Frank had been injured several years ago (before we became Expediters) and had been unable to work and drive. We thought this would affect our ability to finance a truck. But we found out our work experience as contract drivers with Expediter Services overcame any past obstacles to financing a truck. We were thrilled and began working towards that goal of ownership,” said Donna. Soon after The EGG, another opportunity presented itself, and the Smith’s signed on to FedEx as their carrier. They dove headlong into the White Glove service and didn’t look back. “When we decided to sign on with FedEx as our carrier, we saw the earning potential of TVAL delivery. We felt this move would enhance our ability to generate revenue as we took the Path to Ownership. In December of 2015, we officially took the step of becoming owners by contacting Steve Kochensparger at Expediter Equipment Finance who helped us with the paperwork. Danny Vernon at Expediter Truck Sales found us a great 2014 Cascadia reefer with only 250,000 miles on it! The whole process was easy and we’re looking forward to being owners and controlling our own destiny. We also recommend that anyone who is thinking about buying a truck should attend The EGG. The folks at ES can help you understand your finances and see what you need to do to become an owner. It’s very helpful!”
The Smith’s work ethic and perseverance paid real dividends when it came to their taking the Path to Ownership, and according to Donna, Expediting is a path, as well as a process. “As Expediters, you’re always learning. While taking our Path to Ownership, we learned that becoming Owner Operators is a process. It doesn’t happen over night. But when you find the right opportunity and the right support, you can achieve your dreams. In the future, we may purchase another truck or two and become fleet owners. But right now, we’re concentrating on doing what we do best and that’s driving — and that’s fine by us.”
Quite a lot has happened since Spotlight News last spoke with Jimmy and Bobbi Moore in October of 2014 (read their story here). Since then, their fleet and business has grown — with help from Expediter Services, and they’re now grooming their two young sons to become Expediters as the couple looks to the future.
When the Moores first made the leap as Owner Operators, they made a commitment to each other, their business and their family to do whatever it takes to one day make their dream of becoming successful fleet owners come true. “From the beginning, we as a family made the decision to do whatever it took to build our business to the point where I could stay home and manage the fleet. It took a lot of hard work and sacrifice, but we were able to achieve our goal in less than two years. Also, ES was a major factor in helping our business grow in order to meet this goal,” said Moore.
The long hours and commitment have paid off as the Moores now have a fleet of eight trucks. “It’s so easy to buy and finance a truck through ES. I call Danny Vernon at Expediter Truck Sales and tell him what I want. I’m immediately put in touch with Expediter Equipment Finance, and about a week later the finance papers arrive. All I have to do is sign the papers, get them notarized and send them back to ES and I’m done! It truly is the easiest part about what I do. Soon afterwards, I place a team in the truck and we’re generating revenue.”
According to Moore, the right equipment also makes a difference when it comes to building and running a successful fleet. “Our very first truck was a Class 7, which I want to emphasize was NOT purchased from Expediter Services, was a disaster. It was trouble from the start, making it difficult to be profitable. But Bobbi and I were able to add a second truck to start building a fleet. Luckily, we found Expediter Truck Sales! Now, all of our trucks are 2013 & 14 Cascadias sourced from Expediter Services fleet. These trucks are incredible! I have one Cascadia with just over 600,000 miles and it is going strong with little to no maintenance issues. Expediter Services hit a home run when they spec’d these trucks. The trucks get great fuel mileage and they just run and run. I recommend these pre-owned trucks to anyone either driving or building a fleet. They’re without a doubt the best value in the market today. We also have a ninth truck in the pipeline that should be ready by the time this article hits the internet.”
Jimmy and Bobbi continue to build and plan for the future — and they have a couple of young Expediters waiting in the wings to take the helm in the not too distant future. “Our sons just love Expediting! Joshua (10 years old), can tell you everything you would ever wanted to know about an expediting truck. Jimmy, Junior (15 years old), actually works for us and does our truck revenues every morning. They both are very involved, including acquisitions, how the trucks are running and practically every other aspect of the business. You name it and they are learning about it. I can’t tell you how important it is to be home and to be with them as they grow up. Expediting and Expediter Services helped us change the direction of our family’s future.”
And speaking of the future, Moore is already making cold hard plans for his fleet. “In 2016, we plan to add four more trucks. But this time, we’re looking to purchase at least one reefer unit, possibly more, and enter into White Glove service. Expediter Services is speccing and selling some great refrigerated units from their fleet and this represents a great opportunity for us. It’s great to be able to make real plans with a partner like Expediter Services.”
Seventeenth century English philosopher John Locke once said, “As people are walking all the time, in the same spot, a path appears.” If you translate this into modern Expediting terminology it would read: “As people are driving all the time, on the same road, a Path to Ownership appears.” And that’s where we begin this issue of Spotlight News, highlighting Ivan and Varina Rainbolt’s path to truck ownership, with help from Expediter Services.
The Rainbolt’s began their career in trucking in 2007 driving tractor trailers. But after a short time behind the wheel, they began to suspect that there might be a better way to make a living over-the-road. “After about a year of driving tractors, I had just about enough and was ready to try something new,” said Varina Rainboldt. “We talked to people who drove Expediting trucks and they told us about how much easier they were to drive and how the lifestyle was just so much better. We were lucky that when we made the move to Expediting, we found a good owner and stuck with him for a number of years.”
After a short time, their new owner made the move to FedEx as their carrier and the Rainbolt’s soon became White Glove TVAL drivers. Even though they were happy with their situation, the desire to someday own their own truck always filled their windshield. “Ivan and I have always wanted to own our own truck, but finding the right opportunity to make that move was challenging to say the least. We learned about Expediter Services while doing research online. Soon, we were in contact with Jeff Tacker and told him about our desire to be owners. He spent a lot of time with us discussing our options. We decided to become contract drivers at Expediter Services to learn more about the business before making the leap to ownership. That was in July of this year.”
As Ivan and Varina would soon find out, the transition to Expediter Services as contract drivers would accelerate their path to ownership. “When we moved to ES as contractors, it was like night and day. The support we got was tremendous and we learned so much more about the expediting business. Also, Jeff put us in touch with Patrick Lee and Eric Hyfield, (read their story) two owners who have utilized Expediter Services to build a successful fleet. We went to dinner with them and discussed how they built their business. This really motivated us and helped focus our efforts about being owners. We made the decision to purchase a truck, which is just what we did at the end of October.”
Now that the decision was made to become truck owners, Expediter Truck Sales and Expediter Equipment Finance kicked into high gear to find & finance the right truck. “Danny Vernon at ETS found us a great lightly used 2014 Cascadia WGTVAL truck with a 100-inch custom sleeper from Expediter Services’ fleet. We saved a bundle because it was used. The truck has all the service records and it’s still under the factory warranty, too. I think we got a really good deal. We utilized Expediter Equipment Finance for financing. It was a pleasant surprise when the transaction was done so quickly. The whole thing was just so easy,” said Varina.
With the holidays and the New Year approaching, the Rainbolts are looking to the future with much anticipation. “We’re looking forward to the earning potential of being truck owners. With the holiday crush coming up, it is going to be interesting to see the difference in our bottom line. And we’re looking forward to the New Year in our new truck. I can definitely see opportunities in the future for adding more trucks as we grow,” said Ivan.
It’s truly fascinating to learn how people from all walks of life enter the business of Expediting. This issue of Expediter Spotlight shines the light on Larry and Eudora Evans, a couple who stuck their toes into the Expediting waters years ago to find out that the timing just wasn’t quite right. Shortly afterward, they both climbed the corporate ladder to find out that sometimes that ladder can be a bit rickety, to say the least. As you’ll see, their dreams of starting a successful Expediting career would lead them to owning their own truck and controlling their own destiny.
New Truck Owners Larry and Eudora Evans
“Our first venture into trucking came about eight years ago,” said Eudora Evans. “Larry and I had been married a little over a year. Neither of us liked our professions at the time, so we decided to try driving a truck. We went to work for an owner operator but the situation soon turned south. We weren’t being paid on time and things just got worse from there. We liked the idea of driving a truck but the timing just wasn’t good, so Larry went back to working in “Corporate America” at a national food manufacturer. I sang at night in New Orleans as a jazz and soul singer.”
The Evans’ life in the corporate world was off and running. Larry rose within the company and Eudora was soon hired on. But little did they know, their lives and careers would take an unexpected turn. “Even though we worked for the same company, we didn’t see that much of each other. We were literally like two ships passing in the night, and I was still singing in New Orleans. Our schedules were a bit stressful, but nothing like what was about to happen,” said Eudora!
In March of 2015, their employer had a nation-wide health recall of their products which negatively effected the company, leaving the Evans’ wondering about their future. “We knew the food recall was serious and had the potential to shut down the company or at least affect our positions. We decided that it would be a good time to look into Expediting again, as we already had been watching the trends within the industry and it was something that we had been wanting to do for a long time. I got online and went to Expediter Services’ website and made a call. The rest as they say is history.”
This time, Eudora and Larry’s foray into Expediting would be different. Their call to Expediter Services got them in touch with the right people to get their new career on track right away. “Our dream was always to own our own truck. Over the years we have been saving and working on paying off student loans, as we both have degrees. We were concerned that we would be unable to qualify to be owners. We spoke to the folks at Expediter Equipment Finance and we were pleasantly surprised to find out that we qualified to buy our own truck! Once we were approved, Danny Vernon contacted us to tell us about a slightly used 2013 Cascadia sourced from their very own fleet. It’s a great truck and an incredible value. It has a TriPac generator, a 22-foot box and a 72 inch sleeper. We’re absolutely thrilled with it!”
In addition to purchasing their new truck, The Evans’ tapped into the support provided by Expediter Services, and signed on with a carrier. “One of the most exciting things about becoming expediters is the support we get from ES. They were able to provide us with real revenue projections of the cash flow we can produce with this truck. The information helped make us comfortable with the purchase and gave us a real goal to shoot for, which I know we can do because of our work ethic. Also, the on-going support from ES’s Owner Operator program provides us with the help we need with paperwork and settlements. Once we got the financing in place, we signed on with Panther as our carrier. We’ve been on the road since September and haven’t stopped running since.”And as you may have already guessed, they’re already planning for their Expediting future. “From the get go, Larry has wanted to be a fleet owner. Now that we’ve hooked up with Expediter Services, we’re confident that we can make this happen. Our plan is to pay off this truck and buy another one — and continue this process until we’ve built up a sizeable fleet. There truly is nothing like working for yourself and putting your destiny in your own hands!”
As an Expediter, when was the last time you truly found a much better alternative to anything in business, or even in life that actually lives up to its’ promise? Most alternatives tend to fall flat, leaving you with not much to show for your efforts. But sometimes, you find an alternative that actually works better than the so called “mainstream” choices — a product or service that’s a real game changer, creating opportunities that can turn your business and your life around for the better.
Now there’s a true alternative to truck finance from Expediter Services/Expediter Equipment Finance that offers real opportunity for truck ownership through the Path to Ownership Program: the MBA (Much Better Alternative). The Much Better Alternative is the brainchild of Expediter Services CEO, Paul Williams, who explains how the program helps prospective truck owners through innovative finance options. “Expediter Services believes that every driver has a chance at ownership. We take this concept out of the realm of possibility and make it real,” said Williams. “The MBA or Much Better Alternative is our way of letting people know that we’re not the everyday financing option. We break the mold of traditional financing because we take non-traditional factors into account when it comes to buying a truck.”
Expediter Services is the Only Company that Offers a Much Better Alternative for prospective owners by taking into account the following non-traditional lending factors:
We take your work history and productivity into account when it comes to financing a truck
We welcome 1st time buyers
We welcome non-homeowners
We have market competitive rates for the entire spectrum of loan applicants
We offer proven support programs through Expediter Management Services to help you succeed
“Expediter Services has helped hundreds of people graduate to truck ownership with the MBA. We challenge anyone to find a Much Better Alternative when it comes to buying a truck. We’re passionate about helping drivers to become owners and truly believe Expediter Services’ MBA (Much Better Alternative) is the new standard of truck finance in the industry,” said Williams. Anyone looking for a true alternative to truck finance is encouraged to contact our team at 877.349.9303 for more information.
