From the Inside Out — How Trucking Became the Way Back

From the Inside Out — How Trucking Became the Way Back

Debon Sims — DJ — got his CDL in 2018 and bought his first semi-truck in 2019 after getting out of a lease-purchase program. What the intake form doesn't say is what came before that. DJ has been incarcerated. He knows what it feels like to have the system count you out. He also knows what it feels like to decide that the count doesn't matter. He landed an Amazon contract early on. Lost it. Spent years grinding load boards and chasing freight that barely covered his costs. And then three years ago he did something most carriers only talk about — he walked away from broker dependency and secured a direct waste-hauling contract that changed not just his revenue, but how he sees the entire business. This is a conversation about what it actually takes to build something when the world has already decided what you are. About treating trucking like a business when everybody around you is treating it like a job. About finding consistent freight in an industry that makes you earn every relationship you get. If you've ever been told you were done — by a system, by a market, by a bad decision — this episode is for you. Follow The Long Haul Podcast [https://play.megaphone.fm/mrpthqzxqpywz_euvnb-vg] Other FreightWaves Shows [https://play.megaphone.fm/1ojr5w9ksqa6bo65mx0nig]

Factoring, Lifeline Or Trap?

Factoring might be the most argued-about topic in small carrier Facebook groups. Half the comments say it saved their business. The other half say it nearly destroyed it. And everybody's got a story about a contract they didn't read closely enough, a reserve they couldn't get back, or a fee they didn't see coming until it was too late. The frustration is real. And it's earned. But here's the part that doesn't get talked about honestly — a lot of carriers who hate factoring don't hate factoring. They hate the decision they made around it. The company they chose. The contract they signed without understanding. The moment they confused having cash in their account with actually being ahead. Ivan Martinez and George McWilliams have spent years on the other side of that conversation. Between them they've worked with owner-operators and small fleets across every kind of market condition — the freight boom, the recession, the recovery happening right now. George grew up around trucking. This industry isn't abstract to him. Ivan has watched carriers use factoring to grow and watched others use it as a band-aid over a cash flow problem that was bigger than any factoring arrangement could fix. Today we're not here to sell anything. We're here to have the conversation most people avoid — what factoring actually is, where the industry went wrong, what the legitimate criticisms are, and what every small carrier needs to understand before they sign anything. Follow The Long Haul Podcast [https://play.megaphone.fm/mrpthqzxqpywz_euvnb-vg] Other FreightWaves Shows [https://play.megaphone.fm/1ojr5w9ksqa6bo65mx0nig]

Success Starts With Better Decisions

Thousands of people enter trucking every year looking for a better future. Many are chasing freedom. Some are trying to build wealth. Others are leaving careers they have spent decades building in hopes of creating something of their own. Some make it. Many don't. In this episode, Adam sits down with Victor "Bigg Vic" Newton, founder of Bigg Vic TV and one of the most recognized voices in trucking entrepreneurship. Before trucking, Vic spent 28 years as a barber, building relationships, serving customers and mastering a trade. Then he made a decision many people only talk about — he bet on himself and started over. Nearly six years later, he has experienced the highs of great-paying freight, the lows of expensive repairs, the challenges of building a small fleet and the reality of operating in one of the toughest industries in America. But this conversation is not really about trucks. It is about ownership. It is about accountability. It is about the decisions that separate the people who survive from the people who quit. Over the years, Vic has built an audience of more than 100,000 subscribers by challenging some of the most common beliefs in trucking. From chasing load boards and buying trucks too early to blaming brokers, rates and market conditions, he argues that many of the problems carriers face start long before they ever book a load. This is not the social media version of trucking. This is the real version. The version where cash flow matters, mistakes are expensive, discipline beats motivation and success often comes down to how you think when things are not going your way. If you are an owner-operator, small fleet owner or entrepreneur trying to build something that lasts, this conversation will challenge the way you think about trucking, business and yourself.  Follow The Long Haul Podcast [https://play.megaphone.fm/mrpthqzxqpywz_euvnb-vg] Other FreightWaves Shows [https://play.megaphone.fm/1ojr5w9ksqa6bo65mx0nig]

Why Most Small Carriers Never Touch Military Freight

Military freight is one of the most misunderstood corners of trucking. Most owner-operators hear about Department of Defense freight and immediately assume: * it’s impossible to access, * only big fleets can get it, * or the system is too complicated to understand. But the reality is deeper than that. In this episode of The Long Haul Podcast, Adam sits down with Philip Nenadov, CEO of Military Freight Consultants, to break down how military freight actually works, why the system operates under a completely different standard, and what small carriers misunderstand most about getting involved. This conversation digs into: * Why military freight demands tighter compliance * Why most carriers struggle to qualify * The difference between transactional freight and trusted freight * How the DoD views risk and carrier accountability * Why discipline matters more than truck count * And what the broader trucking industry can learn from military logistics This is not a sales episode. It’s a real discussion about standards, structure, and what separates professional carriers from everyone else. Follow The Long Haul Podcast [https://play.megaphone.fm/mrpthqzxqpywz_euvnb-vg] Other FreightWaves Shows [https://play.megaphone.fm/1ojr5w9ksqa6bo65mx0nig]

Freight Doesn’t Kill Most Carriers — Cash Flow Does

Most trucking companies don’t fail because freight disappears. They fail because cash flow breaks first. In this episode of The Long Haul Podcast, Adam sits down with Michael Bunton to discuss one of the most overlooked realities in trucking: cash flow management. Michael’s background is unique — from professional baseball with the Chicago Cubs organization to human performance coaching before entering transportation finance and working directly with small carriers across the Southeast. This conversation breaks down: * Why profitable carriers still go out of business * The dangerous cash flow cycle many small fleets ignore * Why emotional decision-making destroys margins * The hidden operational costs small carriers overlook * What owner-operators misunderstand about factoring * And why discipline matters more than revenue This episode is not about promoting factoring. It’s about understanding how trucking businesses survive. Follow The Long Haul Podcast [https://play.megaphone.fm/mrpthqzxqpywz_euvnb-vg] Other FreightWaves Shows [https://play.megaphone.fm/1ojr5w9ksqa6bo65mx0nig]