So I Never Talk About My Trucking Company

As I sit here and the rains have died down...for now, it hit me that I never talk about my trucking company on here. It is not a labor of love that I am in business for myself but then again I can set my own hours which is really great. I am coming up on 10 years either full or part time owning a dump truck. It all started when my father found a truck (he has been in heavy construction over 45 years! wow!) and talked me into buying it. The timing was pretty good as I was burn out yet again from radio, the weekends and holidays and very very very little pay. So I said why not try trucking. So there I was in real debt for the first time in my life and had no clue what to do with a dump truck. But I was lucky that dad helped me get jobs and teach me (not always easy learning from your dad day in and day out though) how to run a dump truck business.

I had always battled against the idea of running equipment, never really was cut out for it and besides I LOVE broadcasting, breaking news, talk radio etc. But it was time for a change. So here I am almost 10 years later running a truck and playing in a band....sure not the life they teach you in college or anywhere else for that matter.

The heavy rains tonight brought out the truck topic. Flooding type rains (of which we have had the last 3 days) are always great for business. Sad to think that while roads are getting washed away and making people's life tough that someone would think that is good for business...but it is. I don't enjoy the work really, sure some days I do it has allowed me to meet people from every walk of life. Some are great and understand that business is business and never complain about a bill or the advice I give them. But more and more you find those that complain about everything even after you explain to them in great detail how much it will cost and why it will cost that much.

I try to be different than the other dump truck operators though, after all I have been in to college 2 different times and have interviewed a few famous people over the years. So why am I different...other than the fact that I sit in my truck at the quarry and write songs on my PDA while the other guys talk on CB radios...or that I design websites instead of talking about heavy equipment and other machine type stuff? I am different in the fact that I try to present myself in a way that I know what I am talking about. Now a statement like that may sound like I am a smartass to some but it is not meant to be that at all. More like I like to be treated like more than a "dump truck driver". You should really see how many people's reaction change when they find out that I have a college education and have worked in radio etc. They treat me TOTALLY different than before knowing.

And when others treat you different they respect your thoughts and your input on the job site. Am I out to make a good living? Of course I am, you show me anyone that is not.....ok I know a few that are not out for that but for the most part we all are. But I also want to make a good living and have the respect of the people I am working for. In my line of work it is not like building a home or well building anything where you are on the job site for a couple of weeks to a couple of months at a time. Most of the time I am in and out within an hour or 90% of my jobs. Bring the material in, dump it, leave, that is pretty much it. Hard to get to know a person when that happens.

So why talk about the trucking tonight? Buying a house. Not sure that I have mentioned it on here but MA and I are buying a home, actually a double wide but you should really see this thing. Nearly 2000 square feet and it looks like a house on the inside. A built in office that is bigger than my last 2 bedrooms in my apartments from back in the day. 3 bedrooms, 2 full baths, kitchen, dining room, living room, lowered ceilings, utility room. This thing is very nice! My future mother in law and step father in law where up this weekend from Florida and we took them to see it and they were stunned at how nice it was on the inside. But anyway the reason I bring any of that up is paying for a house is not cheap we all know that, and working in small town radio station is not going to get it paid for, so it has hit me now that I will probably have to by a truck driver in order to pay for this home. Will I struggle with that choice? Of course I will but who said life was easy. You have to cowboy up and play the hand dealt you.

The thunder and lighting has hit us again so I better get off here before this 4 grand computer (oh yeah it is a darling, I will have to blog about it one day! Love my PC with all the audio/visual feature on it!!!) takes a hit of mother nature's juice. In the mean time if you are checking out my blog and live in the High Country of North Carolina and need a dump truck or excavation service drop me an email (kenneth@broadstonetheband.com), I'll treat you honest first and foremost...plus I have this house coming up to pay for LOL!