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This week we’re talking about forecasting, load boards and making more money in your trucking business. If you’re an independent owner operator, you already know about load boards. And who doesn’t want to make more money? Want a 24% raise? Keep reading.
What Is Forecasting?
Before we dig into forecasting, let’s look at budgeting so we can understand the distinction. Dictionary.com defines a budget as ”an estimate, often itemized, of a given period in the future.” Pay attention to the last three words, in the future. Many people track their income and expenses and call it a budget. Although tracking both income and expenses as they happen is a fantastic habit to have, it’s not a budget.
Your budget in business is just like your budget at home. You budget for a given future period in order to tell your money where it’s going before you’ve received it, and to make sure all your expenses are covered. The baseline of a good budget is a recorded income and spending log you’ve created. If you haven’t logged your income and expenses yet, start now. It’s a baseline for your financial success.
Forecasting goes beyond better paying truck loads. Forecasting is all about cash flow. It’s more of a decision making and action plan to help with future growth. Both income and spending can be targeted in forecasting. The bulk of the articles you’ll read on forecasting will refer to the next year, or even 5 years. Those are geared for larger companies and often responding to debt management, loan securement and answering to shareholders.
