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Life in the hot seat
Page 70
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New columnist Simon CouIston offers an insight into the perils of taking the step from driver to owner-driver.
Births,marriages and hijackings— that's a summary of the first two years of Coulston Freight. So what makes a man give up the security of a full-time job as a Class 1 driver after six years?The offer of guaranteed earnings as an ownerdriver helped me decide to give it a shot; the firm was founded in the space of just a week.
After a trip to Barnsley Mercedes on the Monday I headed up to the trailer leasing company (thanks Ian), coupled up and went to collect the first load for the company. After only a few months more regular work was offered, so I set about making the second truck happen. For a couple of months all went well — invoices out, cheques in.! couldn't ask for more.Then out of nowhere the director of the company we were working for shut up shop with 30 days of credit under his belt to the tune of £25,000.
What an eye opener. Week after week I was promised some form of payment, but sadly this amounted to nothing. After attending a creditors' meeting I discovered that even at the time I began working for the outfit its debts were already out of control so the chances of my money being recovered legitimately were zero. With my wife six months pregnant with our first child, only a few months' experience to my name and a driver's wage to find each week,the pressure began to mount.
Strong team
After seeking plenty of advice I decided to work my way out of the problem rather than go down the predictable bankruptcy route, although many times I had cause to wonder if I'd made the right decision. With a strong team around me I began the task of rebuilding the company, which I knew wasn't going to be easy in this unforgiving industry I needed a whole new customer base and this time customers I could trust to pay me on time. As a result of persistent advertising,cold calling and endless meetings.some local companies began to take an interest in the modern approach my company offers.
Thankfully, things were looking up at last and, to be honest, just in the nick of tune. Then just when I managed to regain some stability more bad luck was heading our way. But that's another story. •