Not long ago, I sat down for dinner, in Columbus, Georgia, with two FedEx
contractors — one brand new and one who’s been doing this for what feels like forever. Honestly, I didn’t expect the conversation that unfolded to hit me as hard as it did. I’ve been thinking a lot about it since then because I’m afraid that way too many “veteran” contractors have been conditioned to think much like the one I’m about to tell you about.
We were at this little place with the best shrimp and grits I’ve had in a long time. As it always does, the conversation turned to “not making any money”. As it did, I mentioned that several of our clients are running operations with 10% — even 12% or better — operating margins. Before I could take another bite, the longtime contractor quickly dropped his fork, leaned back, and basically said, “No way. That’s impossible.”
He wasn’t joking. He was genuinely angry — not at me, but at the thought that someone out there could make money doing the same thing he does every day. He was "visibly pissed”.
“There’s No Way That’s True.”
I tried to assure him I wasn’t making it up — that, yes, we have contractors doing just fine, even thriving. To keep things friendly, I pulled out a daily dispatch yield report to show him.
That’s when things got interesting.
Because sitting right beside him was our other dinner guest — a brand-new client who had recently bought a struggling operation. He’d been on the ropes when we first met. But he stuck with the plan, fixed what needed fixing, and started to see margins creep up into the double digits.
Yep. The report I showed the veteran? It was his.
I could see it hit the veteran like a ton of bricks. “This guy?” he asked. “There’s no way.”
Same Business. Two Very Different Outcomes.
What struck me most wasn’t what either of them said — it was what they believed.
One believed there’s “no way” to do better. The other decided to learn, apply, and hold himself accountable. That’s it.
When we walked through what each was doing in their business, it became crystal clear: the difference wasn’t FedEx, it wasn’t luck, and it wasn’t location. It was mindset.
- The new guy doesn’t run “cleanup routes.” He plans smarter so he doesn't need them.
- The veteran runs two cleanup routes because “he has to.”
- The new guy adjusts staffing daily based on his available volume. The veteran says that would “never work” with his people.
- The new guy admittedly hasn’t gotten all the way there yet, but he pays as many people as he can by the hour. The veteran by the day.
- The new guy as fully as possible, utilizes his resources for maximum revenue production. The veteran has trucks coming back to the building by 2:00 because the driver is a good driver and he doesn’t want to lose him.
Same environment. Same constraints. Two completely different approaches — and two completely different results.
Stop Giving It Away
Here’s the truth: you’re not going to save your way to profitability. But you can stop giving your money away.
Every time you accept inefficiency, overstaff a route, or keep running a truck yourself because “no one else will,” you’re handing money out the door. And the longer you keep doing things the old way, the more invisible that loss becomes. It just starts to feel normal.
And look — I get it. Most people came into this business to work hard, build something, and eventually have it run smoothly without us driving every shift. But that doesn’t happen by accident. It happens when you decide to quit believing there’s “no way” and start building the habits that lead to better margins, day after day.
You Can Change This Story
The veteran I had dinner with won’t change until he believes it’s possible. The new guy already knows it is because he’s seeing it happen. Same FedEx, same opportunities — just a different outlook.
So if you’re reading this and you’re tired of working harder for the same result, maybe it’s time to ask a tougher question:
Where are you giving your money away?
At eTruckBiz, we help FedEx contractors answer that question every day — and then fix it. Our Business Growth and Support System is designed to help you stop letting old habits steal your profits and start building a business that runs profitably, predictably, and with real long-term value.
If you’re ready to stop giving your money away and start taking control of your business again, click here to see how our system works.