Recently more and more trucking businesses have folded because
of burdensome regulations. Some of these companies have been in business for
over 70 years. We need to return to sensible laws and reduce the amount of regulatory
restraints placed on truckers by government overreach. Inspectors have such a
large perimeter of “blue sky” that they seemingly can penalize truckers and
trucking companies with almost anything.
I'll share some links at the end of this article, but if you are in the trucking industry, I'm sure I don't have to tell you how and how many trucking companies are going under. I will tell you that I'm as mad a H*** and I'm not going to take it anymore; and you shouldn't either!!!
Certainly we need laws but do we need such burdensome
regulations? Why aren’t these legislators who come up with these laws former
truckers, former trucking company owners or former owners of even a simple
lemonade stand? If they were, they may have some inkling of what it takes to
own a business.
On the other side of the coin, owners of trucking firms must
share part of the blame. It’s not easy to run any business and keep up with all
the issues imposed upon it. That’s why I am proud to represent NFIB, the
National Association of Independent Business. NFIB let’s owners know about
pending harmful legislation so they can do something BEFORE it becomes law.
There are factions in this country which are trying to put
you out of business. Don’t ask me why, they just are. They may not even know
that they are but you know yourself that with the crazy things coming out of DC
and your own state capital can, and are in some cases, causing trucking firms
all across this great USA to close their doors. Who will replace these trucking
companies? How will the country’s food and goods get to the stores? The closing
of America’s trucking companies is a very dire situation and it needs to stop.
Hard times call for some hard words, and hard decisions. I am
an NFIB rep and I will share something here which comes from me; and not NFIB. Not
all owners of trucking companies need this whack upside the head, but it you
are, please take this seriously.
If you are not a member of NFIB, regardless of the number of
employees you have, join today. If you are a member and you are investing all
you possibly can in your NFIB membership; thank you. But if you are a business
owner and not taking advantage of the potential which membership can do for you
and your business and industry, please take action to increase what NFIB
membership can really do for you.
There are two things I see with trucking companies when I
work with them as a rep for NFIB. One is that they aren’t a member; or they
were at one time and haven’t renewed. It is so important to remain a member
because these issues constantly change and NFIB is always at the forefront
fighting for your trucking company. When your company grows, great; continue
with NFIB. You may belong to an association; great, you should. But you should
also join the synergy which is created not only by members who are business owners
in the trucking industry but in all industries and all 50 states!
Secondly, and this is the hardest to understand, owners of some
trucking companies do not realize the value of what NFIB is doing for their businesses
and treat it like it like it is some insignificant small local charity. While
NFIB fights for these firms to maintain their fleets, manage payroll, reduce
fuel costs, registration fees, tax reductions and so much more; all which costs
the firm thousands and thousands, these firms invest well under a thousand
dollars every year to maintain their memberships.
Owners of trucking firms with so much at stake, in my humble
opinion, should invest upwards to the capped amount of $15,000 per year to NFIB
so they have a bigger dog in the fight. NFIB will fight as hard as possible to
protect all trucking businesses with whatever membership fee a member chooses,
but with more they can do more. A membership with NFIB is like the cost of doing business and staying in business. We’ll never know for sure, but how many of
these trucking companies would still be in business if they had treated their
NFIB membership as the powerhouse it truly is? My suggestion is not to treat your yearly NFIB
membership fee as a “donation” as many business owners seem to do, but to use
it as it is meant to be; as “membership dues”. Place NFIB on your “payroll” and
you’ll see things change for your business and the industry as a whole.
Here a few links if you want to ruin your day with "bad news".
Make a difference; join NFIB and when you do, please treat it like it can make a real difference in your business and industry becuase it can and it will when you do your part. If you currently don't have a rep, please contact me and I'll get you started today. Get started at a membership fee that you feel you can afford and then increase it as you can. The rate card below is based on the number of employees but you should consider basing it on the size of the dog you want in the fight!
Thanks for reading this. It may have been a bit "in your face" but I believe the time has come to get real. We are in difficult time but not impossible times. We can still make a difference. Again, please know that these are my thoughts and not necessarily those of NFIB.
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