That’s Delivered Podcast
Welcome to “That’s Delivered” – your ultimate destination for all things trucking and beyond! Here, we take you behind the wheel and dive deep into the world of trucking, delivering stories, insights, and experiences designed to inspire, educate, and entertain.
Our podcast isn’t just about transportation; it’s about reliability, accomplishment, and fulfillment. “That’s Delivered” reflects the sense of completion that comes with meeting promises and exceeding expectations—whether on the road or in life.
Whether you’re a seasoned trucker, a logistics enthusiast, or just curious about the backbone of our economy, this is the place for you. We’ll explore life on the road, uncover how technology is reshaping the industry, and break down the latest regulations impacting drivers and businesses alike.
So buckle up, hit the road with us, and join a community that understands the journey is just as important as the destination. From personal stories to industry insights, “That’s Delivered” brings the best of trucking straight to your ears, promising every mile together will be worth the ride!
That’s Delivered Podcast
Building Your Trucking Business: Survival Strategies for New Carriers with Christian Greiner
Launching a successful trucking business requires much more than just getting your authority and hauling freight—it demands strategic planning, building strong relationships, and a commitment to continuous learning. In this revealing episode, Christian Greiner, who leads carrier growth at DAT, shares critical insights into why 42% of new carriers fail within their first year and what separates the ones who succeed. Christian highlights the importance of building a trustworthy brand, maintaining professional communication, managing financial realities wisely, and treating freight markets like a dynamic puzzle. Whether you’re just starting out or looking to sharpen your edge, this conversation offers a powerful blueprint for long-term success in the trucking industry.
✅ Build a trustworthy brand — don't compete solely on price; create a reputation for reliability and professionalism.
✅ Professional email addresses matter — carriers with professional emails earn an average of 11% more per load compared to those using free, generic emails.
✅ Relationships over rates — establishing strong, respectful relationships with brokers is more valuable than chasing the highest-paying load every time.
✅ Communication is critical — good, proactive communication is the #1 trait brokers value in carriers.
✅ Smart financial management — balancing ambition with realistic expense control is key to surviving and growing in your first year.
✅ Freight is a dynamic puzzle — understanding seasonality, weekly market shifts, and being strategic with load choices separates thriving carriers from struggling ones.
✅ Use education tools — leverage free resources like DAT University and market data reports to stay sharp and adaptable. https://www.dat.com/university
✅ Strategic positioning pays off — sometimes taking a lower-paying load sets you up for a higher-paying one later.
✅ Constant learning is non-negotiable — successful carriers are students of the market, adjusting their game plan week to week.
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🗓️ Thursday, July 24, 2025
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what's up, everyone? Another episode of that's delivered. I'm your host, trucking ray, and today we're always, you know, keeping it real about life on the road and everything that keeps the industry moving. Today we have a guest from someone that I recently had the pleasure of meeting in person at matt's mid-america truck show. And let me tell you right away I knew he was someone that I recently had the pleasure of meeting in person at Matt's Mid-America Truck Show, and let me tell you right away, I knew he was someone that I wanted to have on the show.
Speaker 2:I'm talking about no one other than Christian Greiner from DAT. While he's not behind the wheel of a big rig, he's absolutely in the driver's seat when it comes to understanding the business side of trucking. Christian works with carriers every day, helping them navigate the earlier stages and starting a business, finding loads, building relationships and turning their hustle into something sustainable. So today we're talking about how much we can dive into launching a trucking business in the first 90 days. All right, well, we're glad to have you on the show, christian. Thank you so much. I'm glad you took the time out to talk about that and all that has to offer for truckers out there.
Speaker 1:How's your day going? Going well, can't complain, things are moving fast here at DAT, but it's exciting stuff and I'm happy to be on the show. Thanks for having me.
Speaker 2:Nice. So you know there's a lot of things that you can get involved in and trucking, but making sure everything runs smoothly and especially getting started on the first 90 days, I mean that's a critical time and you guys help out with that. So that's. I think that's great. I first wanted to get to know a little bit about you for our listeners out there, so they know who you are and all the things you've done to get to where you're at today. So I always start by getting to know you. Can you tell us about your story? What got you into the freight world, eventually landing to DAT? How did it all get?
Speaker 1:started, yeah, so, um, you know, I, I so, um, I got a lot of exposure trucking, uh, growing up, um, I grew up in the central valley in california. So if you ever run loads out to tracy or lodi stockton, um, all those distribution centers out there, um, I worked in those yards growing up and after high school joined the Army, did that for a few years, went down to Texas, was a minister and then made my way to college, studied marketing and that's where I got into kind of branding and learning about, you know, what makes businesses grow, how they grow, the strategies companies use, went into tech marketing for a while and then the opportunity came up to come to DAT and at DAT it was a really exciting opportunity for me because I really love the industry and we were able to. You know, they were looking for someone to really focus on the carrier growth and that's what I love the most. Right, everyone has their bias. At DAT we have a two-sided network so we serve, you know, brokers and carriers. But I think it's one of the worst kept secrets at DAT that I always had a bias for the carrier and so recently we kind of re-argued a little and we were looking for someone. The company was looking for someone to really focus on the carrier side of the business, and I was asked to lead that, and so my job right now is really just focused on helping carriers succeed. Looking for you know what products, what technology, where should DAT be looking to into the market to hear feedback from carriers and finding out like what tools do they need.
Speaker 1:I think one of the big things that a lot of people don't realize is that just that, how much DAT relies on carriers and how you know we really succeed when carriers are succeeding.
Speaker 1:When the market's good, when rates are high, DAT does very well.
Speaker 1:When rates are low, it becomes harder because you don't have as many carriers in the market succeeding, and so one of our goals is to just help carriers survive, especially during down markets like this. What tools, education, technology can we provide that just helps survivability, and that was kind of the impetus for the talk at MATS that I gave. Essentially, on the first 90 days we see a big difference, you know, looking at our internal data, between when carriers are just starting in the market and what kind of tactics they use and whether that means they're around in a year, and so we want to make sure carriers get off started on the right foot, and so DAT does provide and has for many years helped carriers get their authority. But we wanted to look into not just helping someone get their authority, but also like getting them started on the right foot right and making sure that they're around for a long time. Um, and that's why we focused a lot on what tools and technology they need and also education they need.
Speaker 2:That's awesome. Um, man, you know, a strong start is, uh, something that I think a lot of people need nowadays. I you know, if you want to go on something, you want to be sure about it. So for someone who's just gotten their authority or is ready to roll, what should those first weeks actually look like?
Speaker 1:But if you can get past the first 90 days, you're probably going to be successful and really the goals for just starting out are going to be building your trust and credibility with brokers, right, establishing really a strong foundation for your trucking business and then positioning yourself for that growth and success. And so what we did, we looked at kind of three areas and we focused on, you know, what do you need to do with foundation and branding, what do you need to do with operational efficiency? And then what can you do to build a long-term reputation? And I think in that first, like you know, that week, right, it's really about that foundation and branding. You know, deciding what you're going to stand for as a carrier, what, what you know your company's going to represent, right, and, and there's a lot to go into that, there's a lot to think about. You know, when you talk about you know, people look at something like a logo, right, and it seems so, oh, you know it's a nice logo, fine, but but really it's what does that represent, right? What does your truck represent, what does your reputation represent?
Speaker 1:And um, and we talk about, like, foundation and branding, you know, I use the example of um, sounds silly, but like cough syrup, right? So you go to the grocery store and there's going to be two cough syrups and one is twice as much as the other. Right, the name brand versus the generic. And why would people pay twice as much for name brand cough syrup? Right, it doesn't make sense. And yet we know it's because of the brand.
Speaker 1:Right, a lot of research goes in. And really, what the brand stands for? Right, it stands for a promise, trust, um, and and I think that that can be applied to to trucking as well right, because, as a driver, you don't want to compete on price. Right, you don't want price to be your only differentiator, because it's a race to the bottom. But when you can build a brand on being trustworthy, being reliable and establishing relationships, now you're not competing on price. And there are some look, there are some companies that are always going to compete on price. That's their strategy, but I don't think that's the best strategy for an owner, operator or a small fleet.
Speaker 2:Nice. I really like that. Setting that foundation in it. The brand is very important. Getting that out there, making sure that you also stand behind it. A lot of folks are super excited, though in the beginning the excitement really hits a point where it fades. How do you recommend balancing that ambition with a solid business mindset?
Speaker 1:It's a great question. I think that, like you said, you have to temper that excitement, right, and and it's easy to I think you know, during the pandemic, right, a lot of people got into trucking after seeing a YouTube video and getting super excited about all the money that you can make and maybe didn, and that's something that you know. It's hard because you are a business owner, right, you're a business owner with all that comes with that, and that's a lot of accounting, right, that's a lot of finances. Look, that's not my strength, right, that's why I work for DAT and I don't own my own company. Right, because I don't like that stuff. And you have to.
Speaker 1:But you have to be willing to learn that. You have to be willing to put together the, the playbook. You know your profits, your losses. You know. Do your calculator, do your calculations, know your operating costs. I find a lot of drivers even don't know, right, their operating costs. Right, and how you can run profitably, or how much you need to run profitably. You need to know how much you should be saving aside for maintenance, right, and so there's a lot of, there's a lot that goes into it, right, it's not just at this point, driving a truck, and the good news is there's also a lot of resources out there, right, I talk to people every day.
Speaker 1:We launched something called Dat University. Right, we saw that a lot of advice out there was bad or not great advice, and some of the good advice companies were charging a lot for, and so we decided to invest in and talk to a lot of experts in the industry and we launched something called dat university and it's completely free and it covers a lot of the basics of getting into the industry and and kind of the tools, um, and some of the mindset, um, but that's, I mean, that's kind of the what you need to do, right, you need to really, really educate. It's, it's you know, it's a podcast like this. It's it's any free education you can get right and and really learning about and not just trucking right, just business, right, there's a lot of information out there about how to just run a business profitably. That's just as applicable to becoming an owner operator.
Speaker 2:Nice, I really appreciate that. I mean owner-operator Nice, I really appreciate that. I mean a university, it's for truckers. I mean that's huge and, like you said, you know anyone can get involved with that. So have you seen examples of carriers or owner-operators who really nailed those? You know those first 90 days down and what do you think they could probably do differently? If maybe there was something that you saw that can improve on?
Speaker 1:It's a great question, you know. I don't know if there's anyone that truly nails their first 90 days right, like it's going to be hard and it's going to be rough, and you got to remind yourself that this is not what it's going to be like long-term. But I think that, in general, what we see is that the carriers that um succeed um really have a mindset of of wanting to improve right, of wanting to be the best they can be um, of wanting to provide a great service. Um, I think that's something that gets lost a little like. This is still service industry, and so, um, your reputation and your reliability, like, does follow you. That's something that gets lost a little like. This is still service industry, and so, um, your reputation and your reliability, like does follow you right, and so, um, I think the the carriers that we see succeeding um really combine a few things.
Speaker 1:One is they're not afraid of um data and and and educating themselves on on lane rates, things like lane rates, hot markets, and really taking advantage of those, and that does give you the edge right. When I talk to carriers, some are really really well-versed in knowing exactly where to be at different times of the year, because they know in advance seasonality right, rates are going to be higher here. They know how to take advantage of, like hot markets and position themselves into those hot markets to take advantage of higher rates and and kind of route plan right and figure out a way to run where they're taking advantage of of just market dynamics right and making sure they're taking advantage of just market dynamics right and making sure they're not in position poorly. And then also the other thing they do is that they really focus on building that reputation right. So we talked about some of the data. We saw even something like having a website right and having a branded email address. When we look at our data, we see that someone with a branded email address right, so not just a Gmail account is making 50 to a hundred dollars more per load than someone with a Gmail account and and, on average, like 11% more right. And you think about like well, why is that Right? And I think it's because they're invested in their reputation and so they they want to.
Speaker 1:This is really like a trust industry, right, and and when you're operating in the spot market, how quickly you can establish trust with the person you're interacting with is going to help determine the rate and and you know, if you could have an hour or two hour long conversation with someone, you can establish trust right, but that's not how it works. You need to be able to establish trust within 30 seconds, and so something like those little trust indicators, like having a website, having a good looking website, right Even, or having the branded email address you know that has your company and having reviews on Google or customer testimonials on your website those can quickly, quickly help establish trust so you're not just competing on price.
Speaker 2:Thanks, man. I appreciate that information. I think a lot of people will also see the value in that as well. So there's just small things we can do that make a big difference. Right, let's talk about some avoiding the pitfalls. Maybe you've heard some things, or maybe there's some mistakes that people have made, and I mean we're not trying to call anybody out, but we're trying to learn from those. What are the most common things that trip people up, trip carriers up in the first early months?
Speaker 1:That's a good question. You know, one of the things that I've seen that I thought was pretty interesting is how different carriers conduct themselves online, right and uh, and I showed a few examples of this um, because we went through a lot of you know, like I said, a lot of data as we looked into what you know, how carriers are or which are succeeding, which aren't um and uh, and we found that, you know, an online presence can go a long way, right, um. So, so, having something like a LinkedIn account, um, we know a lot of brokers are on LinkedIn and um, and some carriers use that to their advantage, right, a lot of carriers are not on LinkedIn, um and so, creating like a LinkedIn profile and um, you already have a step up amongst the competition Right, and starting to connect with brokers that you've worked with. And then I've seen some really, really great examples of carriers who really lean into that marketing tactic, who really lean into that marketing tactic and will post pictures of the truck and call out their drivers when they have a great delivery, or post pictures of going through a snowstorm and saying like, yep, we're going to get there on time right, or things like that, and really showcasing their reliability. They're proud of their trucks, too, right. They put a lot of time and effort into making them look good, and so they post pictures. I think things like that really go a long way.
Speaker 1:On the other hand, I've seen some carriers that will use their online you know social media, or their online voice to call out, you know, bad brokers, right, bad business partners, um and uh, and I think that that probably feels really good in that moment. Um, calling out a broker that has, you know, wronged you, um, but I, I don't know how it serves in the long run, right, your, your brand's reputation. I think that that's the kind of stuff you kind of have to handle online, offline, sorry, because brokers see that, right. And if, if, 90% of your social posts are like railing into bad brokers, right, Then one I have to ask like, how do you keep finding the worst brokers to work with?
Speaker 1:But two, like you know that's going to scare someone away, right, or a potential, you know, partner away. And so, again, you know, this industry is really all about trust, and it's how quickly can you establish trust? How can you make those relationships happen? And so I think that you know good networkers and people that just do well in general at working well with others are always going to have a leg up in that.
Speaker 2:That's awesome, that's great, great information. I think people should take heed to that because, yeah, what you put out there, it's hard to get it back once it's out there. So, um, yeah, uh, there's a huge, huge pain point, you know, for a lot of people just starting out. What advice would you give for them about managing expenses or income right now? Uh, right out the gate man.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I'm, I'm. I'm sure you probably have some good advice there too. Um, that's a tough one. That's a tough one, especially in a market like this. I think that one is you got to make sure you have some reserves right and you got to understand the true cost of getting into this industry. I think if it's too easy to let your ambition get the best of you and maybe not consider all the costs right, like we know that modern trucks break down, they just do, and you can predict that with some regularity right, and you can do that analysis and say like, look, this is how much I have to set aside each month if I'm going to be able to cover that, and I think it's those sort of things right. It's coming in with making sure you have some reserves to get you through, especially like the first 90 days, but especially your first year, right, and then also make sure that you're setting money aside and that you understand the long-term costs.
Speaker 1:But cash flow is huge. We see again I'll point to some internal data but we see a high correlation. We're a subscription service, right, and we have tens of thousands of carriers, and so we see a high correlation when diesel prices rise in a certain week with insufficient funds. When we charge a credit card, right for the subscription service, right, and you have to ask yourself why is that right? Why would a rise in diesel prices cause someone to you know their credit card that they bought their DAT subscription with not have sufficient funds? And I think it really points to how cash strapped some carriers are right If, if literally just a rise in diesel price can make you, you know, solve it.
Speaker 1:So it's it's planning for, it's planning ahead and making sure you have enough reserves. And I think that this is also something the industry can do better at Um. There's some really cool technology out there coming, I think, in that you're going to see in the next, you know, three to six months around payment, innovation, um and helping carriers with um manage their cashflow better. You know we also we partnered with someone like ATBS out in Colorado and they work with a lot of new like owner operators giving them advice, helping them, yes, with their taxes, but also like giving a lot of advice with just business in general and cashflow and things like that. So you know they do more about it than I ever will, but but I know that it is a hot topic, right, and and it is something that obviously is is so tight right, when, when, like I said just a few you know, cents more in diesel prices will cost someone to also be installed.
Speaker 2:That's a. That's a. That's a great advice to look for is making sure you have a reserve, not just running it so thin. But things happen. Maybe they start out with good intentions but you get in a spot where it takes a lot of your funds. Yeah, advice online can be a little misleading. You think you got it made. What's a tip if you heard floating around out there for new carriers that you should probably ignore? I mean we can put the kibosh on that.
Speaker 1:That's a, that's a, you know. I think that the one that comes to my head, that I hear a lot, is that you know that you won't run for a certain rate or name your rate right, like, and you won't run for less than that, and I think that that, in general, can be, I mean, good advice. Right, we talked about knowing your operating costs and knowing exactly how much it costs to run your truck, and if you're consistently running underneath that amount, guess what? No amount of math is going to make you profitable. But there are certain cases right where you might be able to position yourself into a better market, where I think carriers should be willing to lose some money to get into a better market, where they know that they can get a higher paying load coming out of that market. And so I think being too firm on your price is probably not a great advice in all cases, although it's generally a great piece of advice.
Speaker 1:I think sometimes you do have to play the market and you have to understand, like you know, if you're you got to understand, where those hot markets are right and kind of plan your route out there and make sure that you're positioning yourself well. I don't know I um I'm sure there's a lot of people out there that talk about that or take advantage of that. I've, I mean, I've seen, um, just some really, really savvy carriers that always seem to get, like, you know, above average rates and it's like how are you doing that? And I got to think it's, it's that right, it's it's having the relationships and then knowing how to position their truck. Well, I don't know if you've seen the same thing.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it takes work. I mean it takes a lot of dedication. You can't just be all about taking what's ready right away. You got to be able to make negotiations work for you, in your favor or even for your relationship. Maybe it's something that, hey, I do you something for a favor, you know so at this point, but hey, I need something else in return later. So I know you're in a tight spot so we can help you out now. Yeah, I mean relationships with brokers and all that. It's a huge deal, I know, for a new brand of a carrier with zero reviews. The track record of just getting started it makes you wonder how do they even begin to build those relationships with brokers? Got any tips for them?
Speaker 1:Yeah, I mean I can think of a few things. So one is you know, I think that there are brokers that are more willing if they see additional trust, trust indicators, right. So I think a lot of brokerages right it's not it's a super hard and fast rule that like, oh, I will not work with any carrier, right, I think that's the general rule, but I think there are exceptions If they see some strong trust indicators and especially, you know they got a load to move right, they may be willing to lax up on that position a little. And then I think that one thing you can do as a carrier is probably not spread yourself too thin at first, because if, if you can work with a broker like three times, you're kind of in, right, you're kind of in with that broker, regardless of whether you're new or not, and so. And so I think if you try to spread yourself too thin, you're almost trying to make too many relationships at once or not going deep enough to make those real connections. Whereas if you can ask a broker right, like, hey, what other freight do you have? Right, even if it's not like super high paying or there might be something else if you can work with a repeat broker and start going deeper in your relationships rather than spreading yourself too thin. I think that's a really good strategy for getting repeat business. And then again, going into those trust figures, I think that one of the pieces of technology that I'm pretty excited about that DAT is going to be coming out with soon is we're calling it the carrier management suite, which is really a place for carriers to talk about their business, talk about, you know, give a short bio, show pictures of their truck, right? And so that when a broker is looking to work with carrier, they see that and they can see like, okay, this is a legitimate person, and I would, you know, I would encourage, right, carriers, like, not take something like a bio lightly, right?
Speaker 1:So, going back into branding and what you stand for, right, I think when you're first starting off, you have to decide what makes you special, right? I think when you're first starting off, you have to decide what. What makes you special right? What makes you remarkable?
Speaker 1:What are you going to focus on that's different from from everyone else, and you know I've seen some great bios out there, right, so I've seen some focus on, you know. Hey, we are the on time guys, right, we will always be like things like that, right, we're really focusing on you know being, we are the on time guys, right, we will always be like things like that, right? Or really, um, focusing on you know being a family run business, or and, and and choosing like kind of like what, what you want to be known for, um, and then kind of leaning into that with your website, with your bio, um, with your reviews, and and making a kind of a cohesive message, um, so that the moment someone lands on your website or reads your bio in, like some of these um platforms that they're like okay, I know what that carrier stands for, right, I know what they stand for. I know what, um, what they're, what they're all about, and having a consistent message I think is really important.
Speaker 2:That's great, great advice. Uh, what are some good first impressions look like in the space? I mean, have you kind of been privy to some of those? Are there any specific things brokers pay attention to? I know you mentioned a few earlier, but what's a good impression look like? How would you say?
Speaker 1:Communication number one, right, communication, giving updates. You know the moment something happens, right, Something's always going to happen but just providing lots and lots overwhelming. I don't think you can communicate too well or too much with a broker, right? I think overwhelming them with communication on updates and things like that. And then you know, getting that POD, you know submitted like right away and just like, and just that, overall, just like communication skills, I think is is the number one thing brokers probably look for, because, again, like it's a relationship industry and things are going to go wrong, you just have to. You can't build your reputation on things never going wrong because things are going to go wrong. And so I think, overwhelming you know who you're working with with communication is probably the best antidote to that. And making sure that they're kept up to date and that. And then, and then you know, if you have a track record of that when something goes wrong, you're you're more believable too because you know you have that. You've always shown that strong communication.
Speaker 2:I think that's huge. I mean, I also think how you handle things, people, people appreciate staying calm, staying compliant or staying profitable. They're huge, right. So that's some of the things too is how you carry yourself. Let's say, someone hits a pretty rough patch, maybe earlier. You know, maybe in a few weeks, that they start and it's unexpected expense. How can they bounce back without losing momentum?
Speaker 1:um, some words of encouragement, I guess I mean, you're gonna hit a rough patch, right like it's. It's, I don't, I don't know if anyone that comes out completely unscathed and so, um, that's just. That's just a part of life, right, this is part of starting a business. This isn't unique to trucking. I mean, everyone that starts a new business, whether it be a restaurant or some tech company, is going to hit a rough patch. They're going to have things that go wrong, and so I think it goes back into two things, right, one is going into it, knowing that's going to happen and being prepared and having a plan and having the reserves to handle things like that, and then doing an evaluation of what happened. Right, the best way to learn that a lot of humans, right, that's how we learn, right, we learn from our mistakes, and so you can't be afraid of that. Right, that's how we learn. Right, we learn from our mistakes, and so you can't be afraid of that. Right, You're going to make mistakes, you're going to have bad experiences. You're going to have to learn from those, and so that's why I think it's so important to have those reserves and be prepared mentally for that.
Speaker 1:You know, I think it's something like 42% of carriers like just don't don't last a full year, so it's it's pretty much 50, 50. And so I think, but but when I talk to people, right, like I'll talk to our sales reps and and be like, hey, can you kind of know, like can you guess, when you're first talking to someone getting their authority, whether they're going to be one of the ones that survived that first year or not, and they're like, yeah, most of the time we can't, because I think it's a mentality and I think it's how you're coming into it prepared. And if you're just oblivious and if you're just like, oh, yeah, I'm going to make this work, like I, you know, and you kind of talk and you haven't done any of the education, it becomes obvious that the moment something goes wrong, you're, you're probably out, but but those who take time to educate themselves, to have a plan and a plan for when things go wrong, those are those are those that are more resilient. I'll also say that you know it can be tempting for a new carrier to work with any broker that will work with them.
Speaker 1:But I would say in this industry, just like brokers are vetting new carriers, you really have to vet brokers as well, and I think that it can sound kind of contradictory when I say new carriers shouldn't work with new brokers, because, on one hand, you're trusting brokers to work with new carriers, but I would say I don't think new carriers should work with new brokers. Um, uh, it's just too risky, and and one one load right that you don't get paid for um could could sink your business, and so I think that carriers have to be very picky about who they work with. I think they need to take time to evaluate those brokers, make sure they're legitimate and protect themselves, because that's probably one of the quickest ways to go out of business is, you know, hauling one bad load.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so yeah, the experience, like if you always you, you know you got the experience and you help the guy on the bottom, you help each other. Um, that goes true for a lot of things, even in just as an employee, on that, on that level too. So, um, yeah, we can help each other, we can grow together. There's plenty to go around um building that reputation at last, I think's huge. So, in a world full of load boards and rate shopping, what actually makes someone stand out? You know there's a lot of load boards out there what helps DAT stay above the rest?
Speaker 1:DAT specifically. I mean DAT, it's really about the, the, I think one of the biggest differences, the size of the network, right, like um, there's this there's a lot of load boards out there but there's, you know, one, one good load going to where you need to go. Um can often make the difference right and being profitable that week.
Speaker 1:And and I think that the breadth of of dats, the available loads you know we have more loads available than anyone else in the industry and um and a lot of our loads are sorry, only posted on dat and so um and so I think that's what you know keeps dat in business, the fact that we really try to give people the tools to make that commerce happen. Because it's so easy to. And look, I recommend that you work with brokers, you know, and even try to get some contract freight and work directly with shippers, but there's always going to be a percentage of your, of your portfolio that is on the spot market and and that is a little more dynamic Um and that, and that's how you run profitably right. You take advantage of you know, um, you know your lanes right, but you're also willing to take something that's a little higher paying that may come up all of a sudden right or last minute, and that's where a lot of DATs loads are, and so I think DAT will always have a place in this marketplace for helping carriers kind of maximize their profitability.
Speaker 1:And some of the tools we have like we have more data. We have about a trillion dollar of data every year we get from contributions and we can see what the lane rates are and help in that negotiation. We offer a profit estimator to carriers within the load board app to kind of help them see what their expenses are going to be on that load and so help in that negotiation and so helping that negotiation and so I really think that you know DAT's role when I think about long-term and where DAT needs to go is all about helping that those connections be made, helping both sides of the network establish trust and kind of take some of the risk out of working with people you've never worked with before.
Speaker 2:Absolutely. I mean the way you guys carry yourselves out there, man at the truck shows, I mean I love that presence. You guys are open, ready to talk to people. I mean it's very inviting and also you seem you know everybody to come in touch with. You know that you talk to. It's very knowledgeable. So great, great job there. I really appreciate that, man For the industry. You know the way you guys carry yourself and operate. So thank you yeah.
Speaker 1:Our DAT was started about 47 years ago in a truck stop here Jupiter's truck stop in Portland and to see where we've grown in those 47 years, it's a lot of history, but I think that one of the things we have to keep in mind is that our mission is really to improve the lives of carriers, right of those who operate in this market, and so a lot of times, you know, we have to ask ourselves that impacts everything?
Speaker 1:Right, it impacts what products we want to come to market with, what services we want to provide, how we want to carry ourselves. And so I think that you know, when you have a good vision like that and you can call it out and say look like we want to impact and improve lives of those who operate in this market, having a guiding principle like that can really come in. It's really helpful when you're trying to decide, like, where to go as a company, and there's a lot of people at D2 who just have a huge love of this industry and want to see people succeed. And there are things outside of our control, like market dynamics, that we hate just as much as everyone else. But if we can help people get through these times and help them stay efficient, stay profitable. Um, those are going to be long-term customers, and, uh, and that's, that's what we want, right? We want those long-term relationships.
Speaker 2:Wow, that's huge. Um, I appreciate that Now, um, you know you think about choosing the right tools or tech, or there's many tools out there, the ELDs. You know there's a lot of platforms, load boards, fuel cards it all can be overwhelming. What can a new carrier prioritize as being essential for starting out? I mean all of them, or what would you say they should kind of focus on to get going?
Speaker 1:That's a good question. So I think there's a few things right. One is that again I'll point to some internal data how we see that when you combine sort of like DAT with a non-recourse factoring right, I don't get what that is, but that those carriers that do are 82% more likely to be around one year later. That's a huge difference, right. And I think that, especially for a new carrier, true non-recourse factoring is pretty important because, again, if the broker just doesn't pay you or they're going to be so cashflow strapped at the beginning that if you have one broker taking a lot of pay or just refuses to pay, that can really cause some issues. And so we partnered with OTR to offer non-recourse factoring. And then what we do in the load board is we actually include a check mark next to every broker. And if they have that check mark, you know you're going to get paid, right. You know that. You know even if the broker goes out of business, right, you're still going to get paid. And if they don't have the check mark, you know you have to take that risk upon yourself. And so my, my advice to like, especially a new carrier, now look as you get a lot of cashflow, so you're having more and more reserves. You can play around with your strategy, but but especially, I would say, a new carrier you have to rely on that blue check mark. You have to only take sure bets where you know you're going to get paid. And the good news is, most loads in our load board come from brokers that have a blue check mark right. So when you combine DAT with that true non-recourse factoring, you have an assurity you're going to get paid. I think that's the biggest one. I think that's the biggest one because that's what our data would show is that 82% more survivable after that first year? There's other things. Like you said, you know ELDs. I think there's a lot of great ones out there. I'll make a plug for having your ELD integrated, something like trucker tools. I'll make a plug for having your ELD integrated, something like trucker tools, because you know brokers. That's again, that's a, that's a trust metric that they see, and you want to be the leader in communication. You're talking about how important communication is, and when you have your ELD integrated with like a tracking solution like trucker tools, it's just, it's constant communication, right, you can show exactly where you are and what you're dealing with. Um, and also, you know there's a lot of fraud in the industry, so that helps present, uh, prevent, that as well.
Speaker 1:Are you? Are you, you know, watching TV, playing video games, right? Or are you, you know, listening to podcasts and watching YouTube videos and how to educate yourself more and more and more? And I would say that that's that kind of mentality, I think, is what separates successful carriers apart. Now, look, that's not for everybody, right, and there are people that will be just more comfortable just saying nope, I just want to drive, right, be a Nope, I just want to drive right, be a company driver, I just want to drive and that's fine. I'm like that, right, I work for a company because, like I said, like I'm not like an entrepreneur, right. And so you got to know yourself too, right, you got to know yourself. I think that knowing what your personality, right, and yourself, and choosing a path that aligns with that is probably the best thing you can do, right. But if you're someone that just wants to go and get it and is willing to put in the time and the work and the effort, man, it can be a great, great career.
Speaker 2:That's the encouragement they need to hear. You know a lot of reasons why I started the podcast is for a lot of people out there to have questions and kind of wondering what to do or where to go. So, yeah, dat has been there for me too along the way and ever since I've done this podcast, I mean I think you guys are great communicators. You know, having interviews on the show like Dean Krohg, yeah, I mean that's a that's huge yeah, I mean.
Speaker 1:Dean's much better guests. Sorry, Then I am right, Like that guy is so wicked smart, but that's a guy I would definitely listen to too and and he's on a lot, he does a lot of interviews and I would. I would follow his stuff like crazy if I was new in this industry. Um, because he does have so much of that market data, Um, and I think that you know a lot of a lot of carriers, right, Like I think that's why you know, we've seen a rise recently in, like third party dispatchers, Um, and um, um, I don't, I don't love that, Right.
Speaker 1:I think that there are um, there can be benefits to, to hiring a dispatcher, and and I think that in some cases, they provide a lot of value. But I would say that, um, we'll give the example of you know, I got a son that's um learning to drive and um, and I'm like, hey, one thing you got to know, right, you got to know how to change a tire. You got to know how to change your oil, and if you decide someday that you want to pay someone to do your oil changes for you, that's fine, that's fine, that's your choice, right, but you have to know how to do it yourself. I mean, I at least want to make sure you know how to do it, and I think that's a lot of the same thing mentality I would take with like like a third party dispatcher, right, Like you need to know if you're going to be in this industry. You have to know how to negotiate for yourself. You have to know how to educate yourself on the rates and and successful that my time's now worth more and I want to outsource that to like a dispatcher Great, great, but. But but I would never recommend someone use that because they're like oh, I'm just not good at negotiating with brokers, so I'm going to use third.
Speaker 1:No, like I would say don't do it if you're not, if you don't feel confident negotiating, and so, yeah, that I don't know, like I, it's a, it's a weird part of this industry, but but I would say that you, you gotta have the skillset You've gotta have, you gotta be willing to have those tough conversations with brokers and you gotta know your stuff. And and a lot of times that comes from listening to others talk about like, because it changes so quickly the rates in this industry and a hot market this week is not going to be where the hot market is next week and so if you're relying on like well, I run this rain and I always run, I know from a month ago when I land or ran this lane that this was the price, so I'm just going to assume that that's the price today. Like that, that's just not how it works. I just not where it's constant education.
Speaker 2:That's great, especially for people making business decisions. They have a career that they like and they establish a relationship, but they have to be versatile as to you know, maybe there's something else that can help their business grow. So I understand that that makes a lot of sense. You know, negotiating those rates, the market awareness that's huge. Does the market trends or signals business owners they're looking for? Are they regular to make something change? Is it something that they should be looking for? Are they regular to make something change? Is it something that they should be looking for? What would you say to those individuals when it comes to looking at those trends or signals, or how regular do they need to be?
Speaker 1:Yeah, see, you know, whenever you talk about like there's there's long-term trends, right, there's seasonality, and then there's there's long term trends, right, there's seasonality, and then there's there's like market disruptions, right, and I think, long term trends, what what we're going to see is is they continue to rise, right, there's there's more freight moving as the economy moves.
Speaker 1:Now things like tariffs and stuff will get in the way, but, and then there's seasonality, and I don't think you can kind of underestimate seasonality. There's there's going to be seasons right in this, in this country, like growing seasons or and things when markets hot, that that just happen every year, and you can start to see those after a while, and I think we've even published a list on our Web site Right Of where, like, of different seasons and where we've seen, historically, rates rise. And then you have things that just disrupt a market all of a sudden, right, and and that's why I say that you know you can be the best at at knowing seasonality and knowing where you want to be, but you still have to be looking at what disruptions are taking place in the market, like that week. And so you know, I would make a plug for DATs. We publish, I think, weekly right, just a blog post where we're talking about what the market's looking like that week. And again, you know we have more data than anyone else in the industry. All the major brokerages contribute data to us and we kind of we clean it up and we make sure that it's, you know, accurate, that it's not just too specific for a lane, um, and we can then see what's going on in the country and and load to truck ratio and and what's going to predict. You know what's going to happen in that area. And so I think that's probably one of the best things you can do is just make sure you're staying in touch week to week. There are things like long-term trends right, that we'll talk about where it's like hey, this is where we see the the truck market heading in the next six months a year, right, things like that. Um, that's good to know. I mean, it's it's. It's maybe good to plan around, but like, that's not that actionable this week, right, it's more like a nice to have information.
Speaker 1:What you need is you need to know this week where you're going to try to position yourself, where you're going to try to position yourself, where you're going to try to run, especially if you rely, you know, 100% off the spot market, you're going to make a living. You're going to be more profitable when you exceed the average right Because we know that, like we know that carriers are going to continue to go out of business. Again, like I said, 50% of carriers don't last a year. And so what you need to make sure is that you're running above average right and we publish the average lane rates. We can say, hey for this lane here, this was the average right.
Speaker 1:And so you can look back and say, okay, over the past month, like, was I above average or was I running below average?
Speaker 1:And you can't just do it on a lane by lane basis because, again, like I talked about earlier, you may want to position yourself in a certain hot market Right, and so you kind of have to look at the average and look back and say like, okay, am I consistently over the past month?
Speaker 1:How did I bench? How do I benchmark my performance? How did I perform versus the industry? And it's the carriers that are consistently getting above average lane rates right. The 50% above that are going to be the 50% that make it, assuming nothing big happens or big breakdown. So I think that it's constantly a game and you got to love the game. You got to enjoy it. Think that it's it's a constantly a game and you got to love the game. You got it, you got to enjoy it. And and if that's the kind of stuff you love and you love these like hacks to get above average lane rates um, then you're gonna do great. This is gonna be a lot of fun for you, um, and if you're the kind of person doesn't like that, I'd recommend something else. I'd recommend something else yeah, is that clear?
Speaker 2:yeah, um, I mean, I like how you say I think about the weather. Some people just say it is what it is. I'm going out there no matter what. But some people watch it. They would look at the seven day to ten day. They look at what's going across from the west coast. It looks like it's blowing over to the east coast. There's a lot of big systems out there, so there's there's really smart people meteorologists that that study a lot of those weather patterns and there's a lot of technology that goes into it. I feel like it's the same way with the trucking industry. I'm trying to get a feel for where to where the loads are going, where lanes are are hot, what areas you need to be in so that you can catch that. So, yeah, great advice. I think that's good man.
Speaker 1:Absolutely, if you enjoy it. If you enjoy that game, you got a huge leg up. You got a huge leg up, but you got to find it fun. You know, if you don't find that fun, then that's a problem.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah. And you guys make it easy, I think, too, with a lot of the support that you guys provide, um, it's not like it's non-existent, so you guys are actually creating things and and implementing them, or just being steady and and keeping those platforms available for people to access. So I think that's a great deal, a huge deal for a lot of carriers, so yeah, yeah, yeah, I um appreciate that we also have a lot of long ways to go.
Speaker 1:you know, when I think about what's coming on dat um, you know we're thinking a lot about aai and um and how that can help.
Speaker 1:You know, one of our most popular features on dat is um like try hall right, which essentially says, hey, look like um, uh.
Speaker 1:We point out that there might be a way to maximize your rate by adding a third stop in right or adding another stop in and uh, and that's a feature that that people enjoy, right, because it's it's simpler than just looking from one lane to one lane um.
Speaker 1:Ai has the ability to really transform that right to do load planning in a way to really take advantage, and I think DT has a responsibility you know, having the most data in the industry to offer that as a service to carriers, to using that data and then using AI on top of that to really help with that load planning and maximizing your rate and how much you're making. So that's something we're looking really heavily into and I think we're going to see that coming in the industry in general. On AI, and I would say that I would encourage, you know, a lot of drivers not be scared of that right that, and there's going to be some learning curves, but I think in general, those that are willing to kind of embrace the technology, to really immerse themselves in the data and then supplement that analysis with tools like AI and that DAT offers, it's going to really help set them apart and really lead them to success.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I mean, think about the solo driver. Maybe you can start thinking more like a business owner and maybe have a fleet you know, other than just themselves. Maybe you can expand. What would you say to someone that's laying in the background early on just kind of enjoying that? Should they just stay comfortable, I mean, I guess, if that works for him? But what's your advice to them as to opportunities that may be out there for them? Since they know the industry so well, they could probably expand.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I think it goes back to what we were saying earlier, right, that mentality.
Speaker 1:If you have a mentality for expansion and you just love this industry, then absolutely, I mean it's it's, it's yours for the taking, right, like, if you're educating yourself better than 98% of other carriers, then you are going to be the top, um, but you gotta love that, right, you gotta, you gotta enjoy that, and you also have to be willing to take on the extra stress of managing you know a fleet, um, but but I love that, right.
Speaker 1:I love that because, you know, these small trucking companies really are the backbone of our, of logistics in this country. Um, and I love the diversification, right, I mean, this is one of the few industries you can go into where it's just there's not, you know one big players just own everything. Even the big players in trucking own only a small percentage of, you know, the freight that moves in this country. It really is open for entrepreneurs and those who want to have, you know, small fleets to really make an impact. And, and it's that's a really cool thing, cause not many industries are like that, right, and so it's one of the unique things about trucking.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and once you learn it and you got it, you know it's, it's something that will stay with you and, like I said, a lot of people that I talk to on the podcast or that I get a chance to meet in person, Once you're in the industry, it's really hard to get out. You want to stay, you want to get you know part of this like family. So Absolutely yeah. What's one last question on what's the biggest mindset shift for those that are going to manage a fleet, Looking ahead in the future? What's one of the biggest things that they possibly can try to work on educating themselves as to? I can wrap my head around this.
Speaker 1:That's a good one. I would say that whenever you go from being this is called an individual contributor when you go from being a you know, this is called like an individual contributor, right, when you go from being a driver to now sitting back, you have to have a lot of trust in those that are working for you. You have to do a lot of coaching and you have to be OK with allowing others to of giving up some of your control. Um, uh, nobody wants to be micromanaged, right, and so I think that, um, that the, those that successfully have expanded right, are just really good mentors and and really have a love for their employees and want them to succeed.
Speaker 1:Um, and I've, I've seen some, you know, uh, drivers that have gone from, you know, just being a single driver to to having a few trucks, um, and they're, honestly, they're great people too. I mean, they're just, they're just good people and they want their people that work for them to succeed and they care about them. And I think that you know that's a lot of stress. That's a lot of stress to now, all of a sudden, care about you know more than just yourself and you know your immediate family, but like other people too. But I think that if you can combine what you were talking about earlier right just the savviness, right the love of data, the embracing of technology, and you are successful, and then you also just care about others and want to help others succeed, then then, yeah, I would definitely look into expanding.
Speaker 2:Yeah, If you care about others it will show and you'll find a way. Yeah, so I know DAT is definitely a way that they can find. What's a pitch that you would throw at people. Hey, I mean, you guys have a lot of good information you're putting out here. A lot of people probably say where do I sign up? What's some information that you can give our listeners?
Speaker 1:I'll give a plug for DAT University. How about that? Like it's free, so it's not going to make us any money, but I'll put in a plug for that because I do believe that. I do truly believe that education is one of the most important assets you can have in this industry. No one can take that away from you, and so I'll make a plug for that. And then, if you know, you go through that you and you decide, yeah, like this is what I want, this is the dat makes sense description. Then sure, we'll, we'll, gladly, um, you know, have you join the community and um and uh, and you know, and get you working. But um, but I would, I would definitely say, um, that you to to really understand and see if this is something for you.
Speaker 2:Nice, all right. So there we have it, christian, it's been an incredible conversation, especially for a lot of people, maybe looking to take a leap or, you know, looking to take the leap to expand into trucking or fleet ownership, looking to take the lead to expand, um, into trucking, so, or fleet ownership. So, hey, we really appreciate you coming on the show and them taking the time letting you do this and um, and it's been, it's been insightful, so yeah, appreciate you having me.
Speaker 1:Thank you so much.
Speaker 2:So now, where can people reach you or reach out to to find you guys?
Speaker 1:Oh well, datcom is a website, um and website. And if you want to connect with me, like I said, I'll be a proponent of LinkedIn because I love to see when actual drivers get on LinkedIn, because it's so rare. So if you do decide to create a LinkedIn profile and start engaging with brokers there, connect with me. Christian Greiner, nice you too.
Speaker 2:Awesome. So let's be real. Launching a business isn't just about, you know, getting in a truck and hitting the road. It takes strategy, it takes relationships and the willingness to learn every single day. So, to all the listeners out there that are grinding and trying to make ends meet, going through that first 90 days can be a lot, or even just thinking about starting your own authority. So, speaking of that, I think you guys have a great program. I think it's about almost $300 or so that you can sign up to get started. Can you tell them about that one?
Speaker 1:Yeah, if you decide this is for you and you want help processing your authority. We are the cheapest in the industry as far as I know, and we did that for a reason, right, because we're looking for long-term customers. And then what we did is we also added in a lot of value. So we will give you six months half off the load board rebates on fuel factoring and things like that. So what we did is we really looked at what are those things that help carriers succeed in this that first year, and then how can we make that as cheap as possible? And so basically for $399, we don't, we don't make them any money off of that right, like cause we spend I think it's $330 just in government fees to get your authority.
Speaker 1:So there's not a lot of money to be made in the authority business, but we really, really want truck drivers to come through us because we can set you up with the tools you need to succeed and give you just like. I think right now we have over $700 of value and savings that we can provide when you take advantage of this, so I do think it's the best way to get into the industry if that's the decision someone makes.
Speaker 2:Awesome. Thank you so much, matt. I hope the listeners out there look at the notes for this show, or a lot of links I'll put out there, because it's packed, and I think a big thank you should go out to DAT for help supporting the industry and the way you guys do it and also for, of course, georgia for helping me make this happen. She put a lot of good connections and putting us together so we can make this show. So, christian, I definitely thank you for taking the time to break this down. Be a part of, you know, part two of being on the road. You know, I know that we got Dean on the show, but, yeah, you're just as good man. A lot, of, a lot of great information comes from you, man. I really appreciate the contribution you put for the industry. So so, thank you so much and, um, you know, until then, uh, I'm your dad trucking Ray, and that's delivered, so we'll catch you next time in the next hall.
Speaker 1:Thanks so much.
