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Local Business  » What the freight brokerage business doesn't want disclosed and

What the freight brokerage business doesn't want disclosed and

Article:

First of all, I wish to point out something to any readers who

are new to or unfamiliar with the trucking industry. Everything

we eat, drink, wear and use comes to us on a truck. These men

and women who've made driving their profession make a lot of

personal sacrifices to supply us with products we use and take

for granted on a daily basis. At the same time, they miss out on

a lot while their children are growing up, and a lot of their

marriages eventually end in divorce, due in no small measure to

the fact that they spend way too much time away from their homes

and families.

Now for you drivers and other individuals out there who have

been asking how to get into the freight brokerage business, I

have some important information to share with you.

In your quest to learn more about the freight brokerage

business, perhaps you have felt like a person who keeps trying

to push that big button on the outer doorway while trying to get

inside and out of the cold weather. We'll... listen, they've

already cut the wires so you can't come in. That's were I come

in. I got great news for you - I have the eletrical tape and

we're going to fix it!

What do I mean by this? This industry is of the best-kept

secrets. You may have been thinking that the only way to get

into this is to be a full broker, or that you need to know

someone in the business or have the right password. Well, you

are partially right; knowing someone will help you get in, but

there is another way.

You can start off as an "agent" for a broker and still make

plenty of money. Who better to take care of a driver - than

another driver, one such as yourself? You do not have to be a

licensed broker to be in this business. You just need to

understand how it works and to sign on with a well-established

brokerage firm with excellent credit and we show you how. As a

"broker-agent," you do not have to carry the bond (which is

suppose to go over $150,000 in 2006) and insurance and you don't

have to worry about billing and collections. The broker does

this for his or her cut. Most brokers pay between 50 percent and

65 percent of the load you sell. Anyone who may pay more than

this is usually new to the business, hasn't established credit,

or their credit is not good enough. If you go work for one of

these companies it is harder to get freight from the shipper, so

beware.

If you really want to get into the business, educate yourself as

much you can about the industry as a whole. If you call a

broker-agent training program or a brokerage school, make sure

no one gives you the runaround in answering your questions. If

they do this, what else are they going to try and keep from you

and why?

Think things through. Ask yourself: why would I go to a school

that is going to teach me to be a broker and then offer me

placement with their brokerage company? Why would they want to

teach me everything they know - if I'm going to go compete

against them in this industry?

Let's say you start working for a brokerage company and discover

a few months down the road you don't like doing business with

them. How do you find another brokerage firm to work for? Did

they explain how you should go about this? I'm not saying that

you're not going to learn anything from a school such as this.

I'm just saying you should ask yourself these questions before

making a decision. In your quest, you will be continually

increasing your knowledge about the industry.

Another question you will want to ask is why they got into the

business of educating others in the first place. I got into it

for several reasons. One of the main reasons was because I've

seen what these large trucking firms are trying to do. They're

trying to monopolize this industry and if they do, we as

consumers are in for it. Why should we be concerned? Because, as

they expression goes, "everything runs downhill." The large

firms are moving freight at low fees and under-cutting other

trucking firms to get all the accounts they can muster.

There is nothing wrong with that except that once they

accomplish their goal, they will raise the rates on the shipper

and the shipper will transfer them on to us. I suppose you could

say that I got into the business of education in order to give

the big dogs a run for their money.

Please understand that we are not hired by any one broker to

bring agents to their particular company. We teach individuals

to make their decisions as to where to work and who to work for.

We educate drivers, dispatchers, warehouse employees and

individuals in the industry about everything that's available to

them, what to watch out for, what kind of questions to ask, what

to do before signing on with a brokerage company, and where to

go to continue the learning process.

We tell them that this business is not an

over-the-night-get-rich-quick scheme. We tell them that they

have to work at it by building up their customer base, which

consists of the shippers, and that with a lot of determination,

it will pay off in the long run. If you're timid and do not like

talking on the telephone, this type of work isn't for you. All a

person needs to get started is a good computer, a fast Internet

provider, a couple of telephone lines, a dedicated fax line, a

file cabinet, file folders and Microsoft Excel. Do not let

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anyone talk you into spending too much of your hard-earned

money. You're getting into this business to make money, not to

spend it.

When I used to work for a brokerage company as a dispatcher I

saw with my own eyes how much my broker made on each load that

was moved. I remember thinking how much I would have loved to be

in the freight industry at that time. But as you know - it costs

a lot of money to get started.

How I got started in this industry: One day I saw an article

about being a freight broker agent. I asked myself, what's this?

I started inquiring and found out real quick that no one wants

to share their information. But I kept plugging along and

finally got into it. I'll tell you what: I'm so glad I did.

Everyone thought I was nuts for quitting a government job, but I

knew I wasn't. Then... individuals started asking me questions

about the business and for me to take the time to teach them

about the industry. I readily agreed.

The fact is, everyone in this industry seems afraid of losing

their shippers or drivers to someone else. My thinking is that

if you take good care of your drivers and shippers - they take

care of you. So to me, teaching others is not an issue.

Personally, I love to watch drivers and individuals light up

like Christmas trees when they finally understand what's going

on. That I personally had something to do with opening up their

minds and watching the light switches go on tickles me every

time.

To read what others have to say about our training go online to

http://www.shipperscarriers.com. If there are any brokers out

there looking for quality agents, we would love to hear from

them. Please keep in mind that when it comes time to talk about

the profession with our agents, they're interviewing you just as

you're interviewing them.

ShippersCarriers.com LLC is an independent educational facility

offering the "Freight Broker Agent Training Program." They're

located 20 miles west of the Flying J and TA truck stops at exit

201 off Interstate 75 south of Atlanta in Barnesville, Ga.

Maria Suzettis is CEO of ShippersCarriers.com LLC. She may be

contacted online at http://www.shipperscarriers.com or by

calling (877) 737-9479 or (770) 872-2639.

About the author:

Maria Suzettis - CEO of ShippersCarriers.com L.L.C.

With over 16 years of knowledge in the "Freight Brokerage"

business. Educating mostly truck drivers who have wanted to know

about this industry, but can't get answers. We've dedicated

ourselves in doing so.