If you’re working a business plan for your trucking business, you’re already ahead of most trucking companies. If you’re achieving your goals, pat yourself on the back and think about this: many trucking companies are struggling right now. Having goals that keep you on the road is a sign of success. But what if your trucking business goals are already met? What do you do now?
It’s a good problem to have.
Trucking Business Goals
If you spent the time to set your trucking business goals, you probably are also taking the time to review them. Right? You’re looking at what you’ve done and hopefully are surprised at what you’ve found.
We recently reviewed some work we started a year ago. Nobody expected to see the changes we found! Six different metrics have moved from “Uh oh, we gotta do something” to “WOW! Did you see that?”
It’s easier to be surprised when you don’t check your goals frequently. However, it’s not ideal when discussing your trucking business goals. Checking them regularly tells you if you’re on track – or not.
There’s this idea out in the internet that if you write your goals down, you’re more likely to achieve them. Then there are studies that say writing down goals doesn’t help you get there. We don’t have much opinion about the do/don’t argument, but if you’re spending time writing them down, it only makes sense to check and see how you’re doing.
So what if you’ve met your trucking business goals?
First, congratulate yourself! Even if you didn’t realize it while you were working – you still did it and deserve the praise – and a reward.
Second, after you’re done celebrating with whatever your preferred beverage is, give some thought to these two things.
Resting on your laurels is fine, but now’s the time to think bigger.
Reset or revise your goals.
You may have set your goals too low and revising them will help you build on the work you’ve already accomplished. Already paid off a loan? Hit your revenue goal for the year?
Then consider expansion.
- a. New equipment
- b. New training
- c. New opportunities
Maybe it’s time to get your own Trucking Authority. Or maybe you can expand your business by becoming a broker.
Underestimating Your Trucking Goals
When first setting goals, it’s easy to underestimate what you can do in a year. That’s why Trucker Stats™ are critical to your trucking business success. You need the metrics to determine success or where work is necessary. If you’re seeing the revenue you want, it can be easy to ignore the expenses that could be trimmed. TruckingOffice PRO’s Company Overview Report shows Trucker Stats™ for your entire company, but it can also be more specific. Which trip? Which week? Which driver? What equipment? TruckingOffice PRO’s Company Overview may be a high view, but using TruckingOffice’s reporting features, you can drill down into the depths of your trucking company’s finances.
Then you can make the next goals.
What to do now?
You’ve put in a lot of thought into your trucking business goals. Don’t throw that all away!
Don’t redo the work, but reset your goal’s time structure. If you did this well in less than a year, what could you do in a year? Many people reset their trucking business goals like New Year’s Resolutions – year to year, January to January. But this isn’t a law! You can reconsider your goals at any time and set any timeframe on them that works for you.
You know about Kickstarter? Fundraisers may set intermediate goals to help encourage donors to give. But they’ll also set Stretch Goals – additional awards or actions that the fundraiser will do if the financial support exceeds the goals.
Set your own Stretch Goals!
Take a look at your Business Plan with an eye at Stretch goals.
Apply Kickstarter rules: reward yourself for achieved goals.
- 10% more – reward yourself with an improvement to your rig.
- 25% more – reward yourself with a home improvement.
- 50% more – go on a vacation!
These stretch goals aren’t motivating donors – they’re motivating you. You decide what makes you want to work harder and then watch what happens.
TruckingOffice PRO and Trucker Stats™ will help!
You can try TruckingOffice PRO TMS – trucking software – for a free trial today. Go ahead and sign up – then use it to upload your Rate Cons automatically, enter your expenses with our new Expenses Reader (which even reads handwritten receipts), and take some time to find your Trucker Stats™. Do it for free with a free trial to discover what your trucking business goals should be!
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