Owner-operator Kelvin Schmidt, Trucker of the Month for January in Overdrive's 2023 Trucker of the Year program, didn't come to a formula for enduring success without a tour through the proverbial school of hard knocks, as it were. In today's edition of Overdrive Radio, hear his own account of his start as a flatbed-pulling hotshotter in a one-ton dually, his learning-experience stumbles through other trucks and growing "as bad as an accountant" with a focus on costs, revenue and profit per-trip to keep a guiding hand on the business.
"You've got to know what your costs are, and I do that for absolutely every trip I do," he said. "Every trip." Diligence in tracking costs enabled some of the big early shifts in his approach to equipment. After bad experiences with a variety of used trucks -- then with a newer yet no-less-problematic glider -- he changed tack and began purchasing new with factory-extended warranties, realizing full well the costs not just of repairs, but also of accompanying downtime. And cost diligence doesn't of course have to occur via any particularly sophisticated-looking or even very complicated system.
Special thanks to Overdrive Radio sponsor Howes for making the podcast possible. Read more about their anti-gel fuel treatments like Diesel Treat and Life and other products via HowesProducts.com.
Trucking's not rocket science, but close tracking of costs does require diligence, that's sure, something Schmidt feels has been crucial to his success.
So far so good with the new iron, he noted.
His end-of-year profit-and-loss statement for 2022 showed the above-average results of all of it, even with massive cost inflation and an ungodly-looking fuel bill for year.
In this podcast, he tells his trucking story, which follows a childhood and decades as an adult in Canada. His move to U.S. citizenship set him on the course he's charting today trucking, as a proud father of six young children with his wife, Jennifer. Hear the story in Schmidt's own words here:
As January Trucker of the Month, Kelvin Schmidt in the running as a semi-finalist for the Trucker of the Year award. I’d encourage you, too, if you’ve thrived even through the tough conditions of the last year, or if you know of a deserving owner-operator who fits that description, to get over to our nomination page for the Trucker of the Year award and get in the running. It’s open to owner-operators leased or with authority, operating up to a maximum of three trucks as part of the business.
Enter Overdrive's 2023 Trucker of the Year competition
Enter here | Overdrive's 2023 Trucker of the Year program recognizes the business acumen and innovation of the owner-operator, the bedrock of the entrepreneurial spirit in trucking. If you’ve controlled costs and maintained profits amidst record inflation, you're a worthy contender.
