What it all boils down to... ‘Money’ (c) 2012 401(K)2012. Used under a Creative Commons license.

Hi everyone!

Well, after two serious posts and one that turned out to be half-serious, I thought we might as well close out the month with something not entirely light-hearted, but not entirely serious either. The problem was, I could not think of anything! Fortunately for me, my nephew Steven came in and, with impeccable timing, gave me the final post for October!

Now, if you recall, a few months ago I made a couple of posts asking for advice with regards to owner driver jobs: how to set them up and go about finding customers and advertising yourself. You will also recall that this was precisely for Stevie’s benefit, as he had just left his corporate job and was trying to go into business for himself. Well, a few months have passed, and my nephew has been working for himself long enough that he can talk about the differences between doing owner driver jobs and working for a large company. That is exactly what he has offered to do on this post, and I was happy to accept his suggestion. Without further delay, here’s Stevie in his own words.

“How are you doing, gang? Today, I’m here to share my experiences working for myself, and compare them to the time when I used to work for a major delivery company (which shall remain nameless). After three months being my own boss, I can definitely tell the difference between the two, even if I’m convinced that neither one is better – they’re just different.

For instance, as we all know, owner driver jobs allow you to make your own schedule. This means that if you can’t be bothered getting out of bed before 9am, or on Fridays, you don’t have to – just set your opening hours for 10 to 7, or work on Sundays or something. The flipside of this, of course, is that you can’t be TOO lazy, or you’ll start losing money – and you don’t want that. With a corporate job, your earning potential is much smaller, but you know that, unless you screw up really badly, you’re going to get a paycheque. With owner driver jobs, it’s not so certain.

Another difference between the two is the volume of work. Working for a company, you can always count on being busy – even on a slow day, your boss will find a way to make sure you earn your wages. Owner drivers can sometimes go a day or more without a single call, although this is rare. The problem with this, of course, is that no calls mean no money.

Also, with owner driver jobs, you can make your own rules regarding what to wear, how to behave, and so on. But you can’t be childish about it, or customers will get cross, and then...you guessed it. No money.

In conclusion, then, the main difference between owner driver jobs and corporate ones has to do with security. Owner driver jobs are more laid-back and less restrictive, but you can’t be sure that you’ll make money. In a big corporation, you have all the crap, but you also have a paycheque at the end of the month. Either way, though, remember: if you mess up, it’s on your head.”

Well put, Stevie! Thanks!

Ta-ra for now!

Gertie
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