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Many of the people who work in the trucking industry are hardworking and fully committed to giving it their all every time they are on the clock or behind the wheel. If you’re one of these hardworking individuals, you may be so preoccupied with the duties and tasks you have to routinely complete that you forget to take stock of some of the values that drive the trucking industry and the people who make it so successful and vital to our way of life. So, we’ve combined three of them into one super-sized value of the month – freedom, opportunity, and responsibility.

Freedom

There’s no question that the trucking industry offers a lot of freedom. If you’re a driver, there’s the freedom of the open road, which has been immortalized in numerous tunes and tales over the years. If you happen to be an owner-operator, you might have the following freedoms and not even realize it:

  • The freedom to expand operations if you take advantage of freight factoring arrangements
  • The freedom to attract new clients by focusing on keeping the ones you already have happy with personalized, attentive service
  • The freedom to make life good for your family because you are working in a booming, growing, and in-demand industry

Opportunity

If you’re not yet enjoying the freedoms discussed above (especially the last one), look for opportunities to change your circumstances! Thanks to a robust economy, there’s a huge demand for drivers and owner-operators prepared to pick up the slack and get things where they need to be.

Whether or not you are able to reap the rewards of all the opportunities available in today’s trucking industry depends on several factors. Some of these include:

  • Your willingness to expand beyond your established customer base
  • Your ability to leverage your existing revenue to update equipment or attract new clients
  • Whether or not you take advantage of freight factoring programs to improve your cash flow so you’ll have the resources to seize new opportunities that come your way

Responsibility

Freedom and opportunity are amazing and important values, but they need to be balanced with, you guessed it, responsibility! First of all, there’s the responsibility to adhere to industry rules and regulations, especially ones related to electronically tracking drivers’ hours and being mindful of safety while on the road. Second, there’s your responsibility to any employees you may have, co-workers or colleagues, and clients. Finally, there’s a responsibility to find a work-life balance that allows you to keep your stress levels in check while also spending quality time with loved ones.

The collective value of the month of freedom, opportunity, and responsibility is easy to embrace and pass along to co-workers, friends, and loved ones. It can even serve as motivation to be grateful for what you’ve accomplished, make personal or professional improvements, or set and accomplish new goals that are meaningful to you.