OOIDA to launch Shift Into Success business series at GATS

The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association is kicking off a new educational series, Shift Into Success, aimed at helping truck drivers kick their careers into high gear of the 2019 Great American Truck Show.

The inaugural class will feature cost of operations for owner-operators and small fleet owners. Company drivers are welcome to attend to see what lies ahead if they are considering becoming an owner operator.

GATS, which marks its 20th anniversary this year, will be Aug. 22-24 at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center in Dallas. Registration to attend the show is free.

The Shift Into Success class will be from 11 a.m. until 1 p.m. in room C-147 on Thursday, Aug. 22. The two-hour class is free to the public, and drivers do not need to be a member of OOIDA to attend. Participants are not required to register in advance.

“Here at OOIDA, our No. 1 goal is to help drivers be more successful and more profitable in their business,” OOIDA Executive Vice President Lewie Pugh said. “That is the driving force behind this class.”

Andrew King, of the OOIDA Foundation, and Pugh will lead the Shift Into Success class at GATS, which will include a segment of the information featured at OOIDA’s Truck to Success class.

Truck to Success, which is an intensive training course for drivers ready to take their first steps toward becoming an owner-operator, held its inaugural class in March in Blue Springs, Mo. The success of the class prompted OOIDA to plan a second Truck to Success training series, which is scheduled for three full days from Sept. 10-12 at the Courtyard by Marriott in Blue Springs.

The training is designed to follow a logical path of information for transitioning from a company driver to an independent contractor.

Topics include:

• Developing a business plan.
• Equipment, including the decision to buy new or used and financing options.
• Insurance.
• Choosing to be an owner-operator under your own authority or lease to a carrier.
• Entrant safety audit and compliance review.
• Drug and alcohol consortium and requirements.
• Permits and licensing.
• Taxes and business structures.
• Broker and factoring.
• Current issues affecting the industry and how to have input.

Tuition for the intensive training course is $495 per person, which includes course materials and handouts, as well as breakfast, lunch and snacks. Each attendee may bring one guest for an additional $34.50 per day or $103.50 for the course to cover food. Sign up by Aug. 1 to get a free year of membership in OOIDA. The final day to register is Sept. 1.

You can sign up for the course by going here.

OOIDA’s Shift Into Success class at GATS will offer a glimpse into the kind of education offered at Truck to Success.

“This is one of the many educational segments that will be taught at the complete Truck to Success course,” Pugh said.

Attendance at GATS in 2018 was 19,699. In addition, last year’s show featured 520 exhibitors and 107 trucks.

Among the show highlights are the Pride & Polish truck show, a trucker talent search, entertainment, a health and wellness pavilion, and various seminars on aspects of the trucking industry.