What you know is safe and easy, but business thrives on risk. In transportation, this inevitability leads you to make tough decisions about your routes. For small and medium-sized businesses operating in a congested and competitive industry, it can be quite comfortable to operate with a regular routine of established routes and a local sphere of operations. But since the industry is constantly changing, staying on top often means looking ahead to find new routes, new options, and new direction—but not risking what you’ve already built.
Consider leaving weak routes
Sometimes the first step is to look over your shoulder and inspect where you’ve been. When working with transportation jobs, this means considering changing your current routes, because some simply won’t be productive anymore. This can be difficult, not only because it means changing the structure of your business, but people also develop an affinity and loyalty towards customers and routine work. However, the ability to critically cut wasteful paths will strengthen your business and aid growth.
Look for efficient options
When looking to find more transportation jobs by increasing routes, efficiency is key. It’s tempting to follow ambition; Bigger fish in bigger ponds can lure you with wider routes, and these days many small businesses are being urged to spend credit on this type of expansion in each and every industry. But the value of efficiency lies in mitigating risk. If you can shape your new routes in a way that leverages the resources you already have and finds bigger and better customers, you’re working smarter, not just harder.
Expand your fleet
Perhaps the biggest step in growth when it comes to transportation jobs is the one where money is put into buying new vehicles. This may be because buying, subcontracting or leasing a new truck, car, van or boat is a big investment that you can touch, see and feel. This tangibility is not a chimera of risk: the investment is really considerable. But a smart plan for future growth can be stifled by stinginess and high conservatism, so if you want to make the most of new routes and work, look to pay for a new fleet at some point.
Use contacts and outsourcing
One way to keep your eye from taking over your stomach when you’re hungry for growth is to use contacts and outsourcing. For example, if you want to organize new transportation jobs by setting up a few more routes, it’s a good idea to outsource the work to others with vehicles before you take a big step and buy more vehicles for your fleet. This allows you to put less money on the table up front while capitalizing on new route growth sooner rather than later.
