JEREMY HAWKE:
I am Jeremy Hawke I run a small courier company in Devon and been in business for the longest time some of you Devon gladiators may even know me !
Im not a trucker but a lot of family have been in the game and Im good friends with a couple of local operators and some time sub out work to hauliers
I always read this site and today after joining six years ago I feel compelled to commentI dont know why you bother you talk about 33 K as earnings .it is not earnings it is profit from your business and as business profit goes considering the financial risk you guys take .well it would be too much of a risk for me !
You dont ever factor in what can go wrong and as sure as that alarm will wake you in the morning stuff will go wrong and it will cost you ! Daf in Exeter like their big bills one of the locals was talking about a five grand bill for simple stuff only yesterday !
You actually run traction for less than we run transit tail lifts and I am baffled because Im not driving a Cadillac and smoking cigars . Using my experience and knowledge I am just absolutely baffled by how you manage to do it .
And dont forget the companies that go bust on us We forgot to factor in that costs !
Obviously I cannot speak for others but I would just like to answer a few of your points regarding my own circumstances.
Yours is a completely different business model, I work for one rock solid company that pay bang on time and have done for the last 15 years so there is next to no financial risk.
I have always run vehicles on either operating leases with full R&M or rental so no unexpected bills apart from tyres and minor repairs.
I have regular, relatively easy work 5/6 days a week available for 50 weeks of the year so income is relatively stable.
Financial outlay is not great, one months advance payment and one months notice on my current rental with a company that I have good relations with over the last 15 years.
The way I operate would be unlikely to be available to a new starter and as I and at least one other O/D on here has said, if you have a good job don’t bother and it is not a business that I would contemplate entering in the present climate.
£33000 might not seem like a lot to you but I suspect that there are not that many jobs in my area paying above that for the type of work that i do.