Don't get depressed. Sell.

[NYCFXG]

I have grown significantly over the last 3 years. I have endured some terrible days, weeks and months. Money has gotten tight and workforce options have been scarce. But no matter what happened, I stuck to my plan and chased a goal. I wanted to build a business that was attractive to a buyer. Anything less than 2 managers would require the buyer to work on a truck. I obtained my goal in a little more than 2 years thanks to lazy contractors and the ISP. I battled and busted my ass. I ignored my family and friends and focused on what I believed to be the straightest path to my exit. I have been angry and upset. I have been depressed and scared. But I was patient. I close at the end of the month.

Don't wait until you are broke and X takes your routes away. Start looking for buyers now. SELL. Don't waste your time. Take a little less than you are worth. Get the hell out of this business. Due to oversized packs, I have lost 10% capacity this year alone. It is only going to get worse. Be patient, post your routes and actively search for a sale.

TL;DR SELL SELL SELL

 

[Catatonic]

Don't get depressed... sail!

 

[vantexan]

Don't get depressed... sail!

And if you wreck your boat while drinking...cell!

 

[bacha29]

I have grown significantly over the last 3 years. I have endured some terrible days, weeks and months. Money has gotten tight and workforce options have been scarce. But no matter what happened, I stuck to my plan and chased a goal. I wanted to build a business that was attractive to a buyer. Anything less than 2 managers would require the buyer to work on a truck. I obtained my goal in a little more than 2 years thanks to lazy contractors and the ISP. I battled and busted my ass. I ignored my family and friends and focused on what I believed to be the straightest path to my exit. I have been angry and upset. I have been depressed and scared. But I was patient. I close at the end of the month.

Don't wait until you are broke and X takes your routes away. Start looking for buyers now. SELL. Don't waste your time. Take a little less than you are worth. Get the hell out of this business. Due to oversized packs, I have lost 10% capacity this year alone. It is only going to get worse. Be patient, post your routes and actively search for a sale.

TL;DR SELL SELL SELL

" Go on take the money and run.".......Steve Miller Band. Seriously, the fact that you have money invested in the venture never has and never will be a consideration when it comes to Ground's plans for the future. As a result every contractor will reach the point when they are no longer willing to throw any more money at this one sided endeavor . The only thing supporting contractor equity at the present time is the investor class and sooner or later you're going to have far more contracts on the market than you have absentee investors willing to pay more than rock bottom " take it off your hands" money.

 

[Fred's Myth]

" Go on take the money and run.".......Steve Miller Band. Seriously, the fact that you have money invested in the venture never has and never will be a consideration when it comes to Ground's plans for the future. As a result every contractor will reach the point when they are no longer willing to throw any more money at this one sided endeavor . The only thing supporting contractor equity at the present time is the investor class and sooner or later you're going to have far more contracts on the market than you have absentee investors willing to pay more than rock bottom " take it off your hands" money.

That is the "Greater Fools" theory that eventually runs out of fools.

 

[59 Dano]

That is the "Greater Fools" theory that eventually runs out of fools.

Then those fools make their way here and post some of the most incredible stuff I've ever read.

 

[dvalleyjim]

I have grown significantly over the last 3 years. I have endured some terrible days, weeks and months. Money has gotten tight and workforce options have been scarce. But no matter what happened, I stuck to my plan and chased a goal. I wanted to build a business that was attractive to a buyer. Anything less than 2 managers would require the buyer to work on a truck. I obtained my goal in a little more than 2 years thanks to lazy contractors and the ISP. I battled and busted my ass. I ignored my family and friends and focused on what I believed to be the straightest path to my exit. I have been angry and upset. I have been depressed and scared. But I was patient. I close at the end of the month.

Don't wait until you are broke and X takes your routes away. Start looking for buyers now. SELL. Don't waste your time. Take a little less than you are worth. Get the hell out of this business. Due to oversized packs, I have lost 10% capacity this year alone. It is only going to get worse. Be patient, post your routes and actively search for a sale.

TL;DR SELL SELL SELL

sold after 18 years in the business. I didn't like the new 2008 contract. It took me until 2012 to finally get my money out.

 

[vantexan]

Then those fools make their way here and post some of the most incredible stuff I've ever read.

Keeps you coming back, huh?

 

[bacha29]

sold after 18 years in the business. I didn't like the new 2008 contract. It took me until 2012 to finally get my money out.

When we were under Roadway, while it wasn't great it was still better than X due to the fact that BigR had respect for the fact that they had to ask you to put money in the can. Sullivan's game began to unravel at the same time X realized that it wasn't going to run with the big dogs without a ground service.The result was a marriage of convenience but the first thing to go among the missing was distinction between a contractor and an employee. They were all the same in X's eye. Today X is simply taking what they are willing to pay for labor at the ground service OPCO and washing it through an ICINO......Independent Contractor In Name Only.

 

[OrioN]

OP, hope u at least break even when u jump ship... do it before the X-Men pinches more pennies from your settlements even further.

 

[12yearsaslave]

I'm gonna jump on this train. bacha29 won. This business is soul crushing. Correction: this CULT is soul crushing. Get out.

 

[bbsam]

I'm gonna jump on this train. bacha29 won. This business is soul crushing. Correction: this CULT is soul crushing. Get out.

Soul crushing might be a stretch. It has become disappointing though. I just wish I could believe it's just X and not every damn Fortune 500 company.

 

[bacha29]

Soul crushing might be a stretch. It has become disappointing though. I just wish I could believe it's just X and not every damn Fortune 500 company.

Believe me I take no pleasure at the news of you guys increasing disillusionment but I still believe that their increasingly hostile treatment of contractors can be attributed to two things. First the class action settlement which should have been much higher still it cost them some pretty good jack and while they should feel lucky to get away with what they did they still hold a grudge that won't go away anytime soon . if you got some money out of it and you're still there rest assured they'll try any trick in the book to get it back from you. Secondly from an economic perspective you were never supposed have anything in thing in the way of equity. In their minds the one and only objective was to acquire low cost transportation. Keep in mind that we did not have proprietary rights until 1993 when Big R had to either give it to us or have the IRS take them to court making them realize it was loosen up or face the consequences. Yet X has always publicly applauded but privately resented having to grant that small piece of power and will continue to disallow it from impacting it's future plans and for that reason no contractor can afford to overlook the fact that their routes may never be worth more than what they are right now.

 

[vantexan]

Believe me I take no pleasure at the news of you guys increasing disillusionment but I still believe that their increasingly hostile treatment of contractors can be attributed to two things. First the class action settlement which should have been much higher still it cost them some pretty good jack and while they should feel lucky to get away with what they did they still hold a grudge that won't go away anytime soon . if you got some money out of it and you're still there rest assured they'll try any trick in the book to get it back from you. Secondly from an economic perspective you were never supposed have anything in thing in the way of equity. In their minds the one and only objective was to acquire low cost transportation. Keep in mind that we did not have proprietary rights until 1993 when Big R had to either give it to us or have the IRS take them to court making them realize it was loosen up or face the consequences. Yet X has always publicly applauded but privately resented having to grant that small piece of power and will continue to disallow it from impacting it's future plans and for that reason no contractor can afford to overlook the fact that their routes may never be worth more than what they are right now.

It's been my experience when FedEx gives something to one segment of it's corporation, someone else suffers. Paying more to it's Express courier workforce means less elsewhere. Ground will have to continue to grow in order for more money to flow to it's contractors. They might be different divisions but the profit all flows to the umbrella corporation and the stock represents it, not Express or Ground. So it decides how money is allocated. Another reason why I don't think they'll give topped out couriers an annual inflation adjustment. They can only do so much with Express without causing a Ground contractor exodus or a union at Freight.

 

[bacha29]

It's been my experience when FedEx gives something to one segment of it's corporation, someone else suffers. Paying more to it's Express courier workforce means less elsewhere. Ground will have to continue to grow in order for more money to flow to it's contractors. They might be different divisions but the profit all flows to the umbrella corporation and the stock represents it, not Express or Ground. So it decides how money is allocated. Another reason why I don't think they'll give topped out couriers an annual inflation adjustment. They can only do so much with Express without causing a Ground contractor exodus or a union at Freight.

I agree. At Ground due to the fact that you were simply an acquisition and not an original member of you know "the family" and especially as a contractor you always have and always will be treated in about the same fashion Steve Jobs treated his illegitimate kid, despised disowned ignored but in the case of Ground not completely forsaken but kept out of sight. Why? Because you're making money which contributed mightily during the recession which helped X escape the recession with limited damage.

 

[dvalleyjim]

When we were under Roadway, while it wasn't great it was still better than X due to the fact that BigR had respect for the fact that they had to ask you to put money in the can. Sullivan's game began to unravel at the same time X realized that it wasn't going to run with the big dogs without a ground service.The result was a marriage of convenience but the first thing to go among the missing was distinction between a contractor and an employee. They were all the same in X's eye. Today X is simply taking what they are willing to pay for labor at the ground service OPCO and washing it through an ICINO......Independent Contractor In Name Only.

i remember that they wouldn't even brand us FX for two years because they thought we would tear down their brand. Guess they don't care about that anymore.

 

[dvalleyjim]

The thing is that Fedex has become unethical and immoral. i think this is the culture of all multi national globalist. On this I agree with Trump. We need American jobs filled buy American workers. I can remember when these companies had to compete for employees. Remember gyms, Free daycare, all the extra perks just to get you to work for them. Now it's all about cheap foreign labor. They don't care about Americans workers.

 

[bacha29]

i remember that they wouldn't even brand us FX for two years because they thought we would tear down their brand. Guess they don't care about that anymore.

First 'Roadway Package System. Then..RPS. Then it was RPS a Caliber System Company. Next it was RPS...an FDX company. Followed up with Fedex Ground Green and now at least for the next few months maybe a year or two....Fedex Ground Orange. It's still one cobbled together sorry setup that tries to be all things to all people and all markets using a 30 year old business plan designed for a narrow clearly defined limited market