Casey Cooper Making Money with Trucking & Launch Of New Television Show, | DSH #224

So, how did you get started with trucking?

I saw this lady driving a dump truck and I was like,

I'm gonna just buy a truck.

Yeah, there's breakdowns, and then there's probably accidents too.

You see them all the time on the highway.

Breakdowns, accidents, people each other.

Yes, it's the

wild, wild west.

Like, trucking is no joke.

Um, people steal equipment off of your vehicles.

Ladies and gentlemen, we are going to talk trucking today.

We got trucking expert Casey Cooper on the show.

How's it going?

Awesome.

Thanks for having me.

Absolutely.

I'm very fascinated with this model.

It's an older school model, but it seems like you're still.

Yeah.

So how did you get started with trucking?

Let's see, about 18 or so years ago, I had this epiphany where I was like, okay, I want to make money, but I don't want to have to be the one physically making it.

And I just had an epiphany one day.

I was like, I'm going to just buy a truck.

And this was like back in 2006.

So there were like no female truckers.

I didn't even know anybody who owned a trucking company.

And I think once I made my mind up, I saw this lady driving a dump truck and I was like,

and I just kind of followed, you know, that path.

I ended up driving for about six years off and on.

And here we are two decades later.

Wow.

So you were driving them yourself at first.

Yeah, I had to because in my mind, I thought, I'm just going to hire somebody and they're going to drive and I'm going to make all this money.

But, you know, I had guys like living in my trucks.

They had animals in there.

They were just not, you know, clean.

They were filthy.

Yeah.

People would quit in the middle of the day and just leave my truck like 30 miles from our yard.

Bang.

Yeah.

So, and then like there would be opportunities to make good money, but nobody could go get it.

So

I got my permit and

I actually hired a guy to just ride with me because you can have a licensed driver if you have your permit.

And I did that for maybe like a month or two.

Okay.

And then once I got my license, I just kept driving.

Wow.

Yeah.

And how long were the routes?

Because I know some of them are coast to coast, right?

Yeah, well, I started with dump trucks.

So dump trucks are,

you're not going to go as far as a tractor trailer.

You're carrying like 19 tons of soil or dirt.

So I would get up every morning like four, go to my yard, get the truck, work all day, and then be off at like three.

Damn.

Yeah.

So I did that for six years off and on.

I mean, you're making three, four thousand dollars a week.

So

it wasn't really bad

But my truck just kept breaking down and I was making the money, but I couldn't keep it, you know, so I had to kind of pivot and get into tractors right so once it breaks down you're probably paying a fat expense right I was breaking down every day because I bought a converted road tractor Yeah, which nobody do that okay You're not supposed to those tractors are made to pull dump trucks are made to haul.

There's a difference.

So I was putting too much strain on the truck and just kept breaking down.

So once I kind of of pivoted and got into tractors, it worked out a lot better for me.

Yeah.

So what are tractors like?

What's that whole model about?

Same thing.

You know, it's all about getting commodities from A to B.

But tractors are going to typically be longer routes.

And just depending on what you're hauling, like dump trucks are going to be more

construction based.

Like anytime they're building an arena or a shopping mall, they have to go in and level out all that, you know, grass or whatever was there and then bring in soil to fill it so they can build on it.

Right.

So it just depends.

I mean, if anybody wanted to get into it, if you want to be home more, I'd say start with dump trucks.

If you want bigger like payouts, I would look into tractors.

And how much money would you need to start either one of those, do you think?

Listen, this is not cheap.

I mean, if you don't have, honestly, like operationally, if you don't have 40, 50 grand, I wouldn't even consider.

getting in it not the traditional way

you can always own the company and then lease lease on trucks to your authority, like Uber.

You know, Uber doesn't own every truck or every car that you get into, but they get a ride share of that.

So those are kind of the two models.

I mean, if you want to be more admin-based and just make like, you know, 15, 20% off of whatever they carry, but if you want to like drive and own your own truck, you got to have at least 40, 50 grand.

And that's how you make more money when you own them, right?

No, not necessarily.

I mean, now that I've been doing it for so long, in retrospect, I wish I had did it the other way.

I wish I had just got the company, had all these guys running under me, making a percentage, because when their truck breaks down, it's their truck.

They've got to fix it.

They have the truck note.

The way I was doing it, you know, I have all the drivers.

I have all the repairs.

I have all the truck.

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Notes.

So yeah, you're going to make money, but you're also going to spend it.

So in the long haul, you end up, I mean, and there's, you know, an exception to every rule.

There's somebody out there that's got five of their own trucks, you know?

But that day is going to come when that truck's going to break down and you got to deal with it.

Yeah, there's breakdowns and then there's probably accidents too.

You see them all the time on the highway.

Breakdowns, accidents.

People each other.

Yes,

it's the wild, wild west.

Like trucking is no joke.

People steal equipment off of your vehicle.

Because some of these guys, I mean, they're on a wing in a prayer.

They're trying to get to that next low.

So if they don't have a mirror or battery, they'll just take it off of your truck.

So if a guy's in his truck sleep and you're trying to take his battery and it's three o'clock in the morning, he's liable to you.

And I've seen it happen.

Are you serious?

Yeah, I've seen, I've seen it happen.

Oh my gosh.

So you literally watched that with your own eyes?

I mean, I didn't watch it, but like, I knew a guy who had five trucks and one of his drivers were

and they burned his body and they threw it in the back of the truck.

So, I mean, it gets dangerous.

Like, even when I did drive longer routes, if I ever had to do it a couple of times, I would just stay in a hotel.

Because to me, it's just not a place.

for a woman like on the road at these truck stops taking showers it just and sometimes i'd have my kids with me so i just, my offset was: if I got to drive and I got to make this money, I'm staying in a hotel.

Yeah, I don't blame you.

I've never, I never even thought about how dangerous those truck stops could be.

It's it, man.

It's crazy.

Yeah, I mean, especially these days.

I mean, during the pandemic, you were probably crushing it, though, right?

Yeah, because when things are harder to get, of course, people are going to pay you more money.

Yeah.

And then over the years, I segued into heavy haul anyways.

So I learned very quickly that, you know, even though you're making $1,000, $2,000, $3,000 a load, I'd much rather make $7,000 a load to go 80 miles.

So I just segued over into Heavy Hall, and that's kind of where I made my first 100 grand in like 30 days.

Okay.

So what is Heavy Hall?

So Heavy Hall is like mostly kind of civil contracts, like bridges, tunnels, highways, arenas, power plants, like big structures.

People don't really think about it.

in their everyday life, but if you're building a stadium or an arena, you have to have certain structural, you know, commodities and they're going to pay way better.

And if you're late or what have you, somebody's going to wait for you to bring that in.

You can't, like on a construction project, you can't skip.

It's all plotted out.

Like, we need 2,900 beams.

We got to have all 2,900.

So a lot of people complain, especially truckers, like, man, I was late.

And especially if anybody knows about Walmart freight, like if you miss a Walmart load, you might not get unloaded for four days.

Well, if it's Tuesday, you've messed up your whole week because now you got that load stuck on your truck for four days.

Yeah, your week is done.

Damn.

But if I'm late with you know a duct or an impeller that this construction project has to have, they're going to wait for me to get there.

Yeah.

And it's going to pay like five times as much as what the other pays.

Yeah.

When they were building the stadium here, they spent billions.

So I can imagine people made a lot of money trucking for that.

Oh, for sure.

Like bridges are 200, 400 million dollars easy.

Wow.

And that stuff has to be hauled in.

But we don't think about it like that.

So I just got hip and I just went along with it.

Yeah.

And you're with those government contracts.

You've done millions in those, right?

How are you able to like getting that first one must have been tough, but now it's easier?

No.

So

that's kind of like a myth, right?

You, there's all kinds of ways government contracts work, but they're all based on need.

So if the government needs something, whether or not you put in for it, they're going to come find somebody to do it.

So there's times I haven't even bidden on anything, but they just called me because there was a need.

Wow.

And they said, hey, can you give us pricing?

So it happens like that.

It only took me two months to get my first one, but I'm saying this and I want everybody to like really pay attention.

I was at it every day.

Like I was looking at those contracts, reading them every day.

Like it's not something you really can kind of do here and there.

Like if you're in it, it's a lot of reading, it's a lot of comprehension, but you got to be on a search to like find what you're looking for and then respond to the RFP or the RFI or whatever it is.

So, I mean, I was adamantly like searching.

And then about two months later, I got a hit.

And then about 30 days later, I got another hit.

And then it kind of just took out from there.

People sleep on those government contracts, man.

I did over $10 million in those during the pandemic, selling PPE.

Yeah.

Just selling it to states, to counties.

I would have never known that.

Yeah, but like these government contracts, I like them because they always pay, obviously.

You don't got to worry about that, which is great.

Right.

And, you know, they usually overpay, to be honest.

They pay more than most other companies.

Yeah, just for me, I mean, when you go into business, you're thinking about, I'd say first you're excited, right?

You decide to, oh, I'm going to do my own thing, right?

And then it's like, okay, well, where are the customers going to come from?

Government's always buying every day, all day, all over the world.

So again, if you're really going to do it, it's not something you can just kind of do like, oh, I'm going to do it on Monday and then I'm going to do it three Mondays from now.

You got to really be in those solicitations, reading that stuff.

As soon as I got up, I was on the website looking at them.

See, there's multiple sites.

You got to figure it out.

You got to figure it out.

And if the average person is a D student and you're not that good at reading and comprehending, you know, comprehending, it's a lot of acronyms, you know, it's a lot of big terms.

And that's just base level.

Like I was able to, I mean, I was like in all honors classes and stuff.

So obviously, like, I'm smart, right?

But it's still a world.

Like, I don't talk to you in acronyms.

We talk regular.

Yeah.

But I mean, like with anything, like walking, a baby learns to walk.

You know, you learn to do it.

I learn to do it.

And there's levels.

Like my mentor, she's got a $750 million contract.

She hires a rocket scientist.

for the government.

Wow.

I don't get that.

I don't go that crazy with it, but I mean, it's out there.

How did you acquire that mentor that's something people struggle with right

um

she kind of found me in all honesty i was big on um a lot of um like benefits and just um

education resources through my state and local government so i was filling out everything i could i was going to every class i ended up winning a scholarship for like a business plan and like going to business classes.

And she was actually, she had a contract with the state to do the business plans.

Okay, so I found her and she showed up at my door to actually help me with the business plan.

But she too was in government contracts.

Wow.

And she had worked an older black lady.

A lot of times, if they make the switch from regular civilian, it's because they're watching all these contracts come through their door.

So she said, you know, I took a break.

I asked my husband, would he support me for two years?

And now she's, I mean, you think I'm

just crushing it.

Like, to be able to say you signed your name to a contract that big is huge.

crazy, right?

Nine figures, and it's guaranteed money since it's a goal.

But I mean, she's also out sometimes.

Like, if she can't find somebody, she's pulling her hair out, and I don't want that stress.

So, yeah, I can't imagine looking for astrophysicists because they're not going to be easily found.

They're not going to be easily found.

And they, too, I mean, you don't know, but like, they're so smart.

Like, sometimes they have personal issues also, you know.

Yeah, because when you're that smart, you're in your own head.

You're in your own head.

So, I see her when she's, you know, got to fill these positions.

So, it's kind of scary to me.

I'm like, I don't want to deal with that, you know.

Yeah, there's a balance with life, like money, stress.

Like, I don't know.

I'm cool with making what I am now.

I'm not stressed at all.

I'm cool with that.

I know I can make more, but I'll be way more stressed.

I suffer from the same thing.

I'm like, should I just go harder or should I chill?

Yeah.

And then there's moments where the momentum picks up and you got to go harder.

So like right now, I'm in an expansion and I just got to deal with it.

But I'm pretty like, I'm the oldest daughter.

So if any older daughters are out there, we're like the family geeks.

You know what I mean?

You can't really break down our fold.

So I've been doing it for so long.

It's like what I used to cry about is now like,

next caller.

Yeah, it's definitely seasonal.

There's certain weeks or months where you got to grind, but then you could take some lighter for sure.

Yeah.

And it sounds like education's played a huge role in your life.

It has.

I think because I grew up in the 80s, a lot of it was go to college, go to college, go to college.

But that's not the only education you can get.

I mean, my CDL has done more for me than any college degree or

a commercial driver's license.

Oh, yeah.

So, I mean, even with that, I took it and, you know, maximize it where a lot of guys would just drive and be satisfied with that.

But I think God kind of just pushes you even when you don't want to be pushed.

And I'm like, damn, I'd be crying some days.

Like, I'm working so hard.

Why is this not working out for me?

The whole time I'm being set up for what I am now, I just didn't see it like that then.

Yeah, I think the struggles are necessary to get to the next level.

They really are.

I mean, and even here, I mean, there's going to be more, you know, but I just.

I have a great team that I work with and great people that I work with.

And that makes it a lot easier.

Yeah.

And now you got a TV show coming up, right?

I do.

That is insane.

How did that deal happen?

So I'm not going to say any names, but if you do your research, you can look it up.

The production company that shoots the Kardashians actually came to me and they were like, oh my God, we love you.

We want to do a show with you.

Wow.

And so this is after my background with government contracts.

So I saw the way the government did business and I was like, oh, no, I got to adapt this model.

Right.

And so I was like, well, here's the deal.

I'll bring you a show and we can partner on it.

And so I did.

In three weeks, I casted the whole show, did all the storylines, flew to Atlanta, LA, and Miami, shot the sizzle,

came back, had a meeting.

And she's like, all right, let me run it up the chain.

Runs it up the chain.

And she's like, they love it, but they don't want to partner with you.

They don't want to work with you because, and I did my research in those three words.

I mean, they are the biggest production house in the world.

I mean, you talk about Kardashian.

It's like, nobody's bigger than them in reality TV.

And so once I started digging through who they were and what other stuff they owned, I was like, oh, I get it, but I don't get it, you know?

In three weeks also, I hired a showrunner.

So I hired a lady to shop the show for me.

And oddly enough, she would come back and she would say,

these networks are saying they've seen your show.

And I'm like, but we don't have an agreement.

So I had to get my lawyer involved because they were indeed shopping it without my permission.

So that was another issue, right?

Wow.

But it also made me think, damn, y'all must really want this show bad.

So they came in and like, we'll give you five grand in an episode.

And I'm like, no,

I shot this whole thing.

Like I'm going to spend over $100,000.

You're going to give me 50 grand.

And they're like, well, we'll give you $9,000 an episode and we'll make you executive producer.

But then I thought about my partner, Coi.

Shout out to you, Coy.

who had edited all.

You know, he was right there with me.

And I'm like, okay, well, what's he going to do?

Is he going to bring y'all Cokes on set?

You know, this is literally like our baby.

And then the third part was the integrity of the show like i'm a government contractor i'm in the eight a program like it's a very prestigious government program i cannot be on tv getting a drink thrown in my face or swinging blow you know coming to blows right i just can't do that i don't do that in real life so

um i through other channels ended up you know getting it on roku and it comes out november the 14th let's go so next week Next week and every Tuesday at 8 p.m.

Wow, that's exciting.

Yeah, that must be a whole new world for you.

Like, did you film the whole season, basically?

We filmed the whole season, and then just through like different offerings, different deals, different meetings.

You know, everybody's got a culture at their own production house, and these networks have different ideas about what they want to see.

So, when we would pitch it, they'd be like, okay, four women in trucking, but who's fighting?

Or four women in trucking, but you know, who's pulling out hair?

Like, but we have enough drama with just our own lives, business, our kids, bouncing it all.

Yeah.

And then to see us looking like this, I mean, I'm not too bad on the eyes, I hope, right?

I mean, you don't see a woman who gets getting out of a truck looking like this.

And then you get to see our fabulous lifestyle and you get to see us, you know,

whatever we do in our off time.

So I'm really proud about it.

The production quality is amazing.

I'm not just saying that because I'm in it.

And yeah, we're just.

I'll check it out.

So you're showing all sides of the lifestyle, the good and the bad.

Yeah, the good and the bad.

Cause some of the stuff we deal with, I know for me personally, you wouldn't think that like damn she got to deal with that

or like she's battling with that or you know that's you know on social media it's like you see one side um so you get to really see like you know one girl she lost her son to like gang violence damn um there's another young lady she has a federal indictment she's fighting and we have we have to navigate that yeah is it still a male-dominated industry it is but i think and i like to take a little credit for inspiring other women to do it.

For me, it was like, I needed money, you know what I mean?

And I needed like decent money that I could do other things with.

Everybody's not going to be a doctor.

You know, you're not going to go to school for 12 years just to come out and have all these school loans.

So just to give people another lane to make money, take care of their families, to do other things.

I mean, I'm pretty happy about how it's turned out for me and other women too.

That's awesome.

What's the most you've seen someone in the trucking industry make?

Trucking.

I don't know to be honest because i mind the business that pays me

um

i've done in loads like three loads that pay me like 20 grand a day and if you're doing that for four or five months yeah that has i mean yeah

so i mean you can definitely especially if you're going to do the heavy haul it adds up i mean but there are loads that pay 40 50 grand 150 grand just depending on what you're hauling there are only five companies in the world on the government side that haul like mobile homes yeah so you're gonna get paid like 10X because there's only five companies that can do it.

If the other four are tied up, you know what I'm saying?

Yeah.

And you're the fifth on the list, you're kind of a shoe-in.

But then you're not moving mobile homes every day either.

You know, so you kind of got to balance it out and diversify.

So only five companies in the world can transport a mobile home right now?

On the government side, yeah.

Wow.

Yeah, that's slim picking.

So all those.

It's very slim.

Yeah.

They built long-term relationships at this point.

Yeah, it's a whole orchestra.

Like you're not just getting in a truck, moving a mobile home down the street.

Like there's certain hours of the day that that mobile home cannot move.

So if you're going from New York to California, it's going to take, you know, a long time because you got, you can only move certain times of the day because they have to keep everybody safe.

Yeah.

You got to have permits.

You know, there's pilot cars involved.

It's not just, okay, we're going to get in a car and drive doesn't happen.

Yeah.

It seems easy from social media, but there's a lot that goes into it.

There's a lot that goes into it.

But regardless, I still would say the risk is overly commensurate to the, to the, well the reward is overly commensurate to the risk.

Yeah, sure.

I see people that try trucking, they don't know about it, and they get wrecked.

They do because again, like there's like, oh, my boy got a truck, you know, but where's your boy doing?

Like, is your boy like stressed out?

Can your boy pay his bills?

I mean, again, I know that I'm just made of something a little different just because I look like this, but I'm really like a G on the inside.

Even when I look back at what other people complain to me about, if five things happen to you your first month, you're ready to give up, you wouldn't wait for a no way you know what i mean so you just got to have a spirit of not quitting and that it's going to work out yeah plan a is the plan we're going with and that's it and that's all for sure but people run yeah what do you think you got that were your parents entrepreneurs no my granddad is like or was rest his soul um

just

they just don't make them like that anymore and i mean that runs through us

and

ain't nothing i can do about it but just grind ain't nothing like that it's in me yeah yeah yeah so how long you working these days you still work like 15-hour days?

No.

I have a staff now.

So, I mean, they do a lot of, you know, the heavy lifting.

But, I mean, we have a business model where, you know, we sign on trucks and we let them go to work.

We take a smaller percentage.

We only take 15%.

Because I think that the person that you're subbing to work to has to make most of the money.

When you give them a larger percentage, it makes you more attractive.

And we also teach them how to get into heavy haul.

So, of course, when you come in, if you have no trailer at all and you just have a power unit it's not going to pay as well as if you're coming in with an rgn trailer right right but there's also no companies that's going to teach a regular guy how to get government contracts no so that's what makes me different i want you to stay and be my slave forever you know come we'll make money together and then i'll teach you how to go on and hopefully you'll surpass me oh so you're helping them get deals too oh definitely yeah okay because i mean all the other companies are really like gouging and then they're not teaching them anything

so

you know there's a a certain type of driver or owner-operator that I'm looking for.

Everybody doesn't want to get into government contracts.

Everybody wants the money, but nobody wants to do what it takes to, you know, get the money.

So, for those that are willing, you know, I have the information, the education, and we'll give it to you.

Yeah.

And what have you seen in terms of successful people?

Like, what kind of traits do they have usually?

Definitely like big on comprehension and like

I wouldn't say grammar so much, but just even if you don't understand the technical word, understanding the concept,

having an open mind, being, you know, willing to work with others,

just those.

I mean, you gotta, it has to be beneficial for everybody.

Win-win for everybody.

If you don't have that mindset, then

what are we doing?

You could spot a quick now at that because you probably had some terrible drivers in the past.

Yeah, and just following directions.

People do not want to read.

People do not want to listen.

I'm sure you know that.

You know, I will literally be like, hey, do not fill out this application if your truck is, you know, a 2000 or older and somebody comes with a 1965.

You know what I mean?

It's like,

you know, people just don't read.

They don't pay attention.

You've seen a truck that old?

Maybe in like 1979, 73.

Super old.

Yeah.

I'm sure trucks don't last that long.

Well, tractors are a little bit different.

The older tractors, like the 1970s and 80s, were built like for tough.

Oh, yeah.

Yeah.

The newer ones come with all the like electronics, bells and whistles, which typically go out faster.

But I mean, just axle and nuts and bolts.

I mean, you just repair it and keep moving.

Yeah.

What was it like going on the Breakfast Club?

They're in the news heavy these days.

It was pretty chill.

Like Charlemagne wasn't there that day.

Thank God.

Oh, you don't like him?

No, no, no, I'm just saying he can be a little controversial, which I don't have any controversy.

I mean,

but it was cool.

I mean, I was happy to just shed light on the industry and women doing it.

But more importantly, like the contract, the certifications aspect, because that's what's going to really like differentiate you from anybody else trying to do it ppe was was big i did a bunch of classes on ppe yeah but that was also like a worldwide need right um typically if things are kind of just cool and regular in the overall climate you don't have that big of a crisis yeah um but you know just putting the information out there so that we can make money and have great lives absolutely i think what you're teaching is so valuable especially the government contracts because i didn't even know about them and that's how i made some really good money and connections I mean, you meet some great people in that space.

How did you get into it?

Just saw in the news everyone was struggling to get PPE.

I was like, okay, my mom's from China.

Let me see what I can do.

Made some calls and then started going on those sites, putting in bids and stuff, learned all about that space.

Wow.

Yeah, pretty insane.

But they have governments always buying everything.

Always.

Like, it's not even just trucking.

It's like literally everything.

Paperclips.

Anything you can think of.

Yeah.

So if you can have that supplier connection, there's still doing it?

No, because it kind of died down, I think.

No one wears masks anyways.

So, yeah.

At the time, I thought I was doing the right thing, but, you know.

Well, you can always jump back into it.

Yeah.

But what's next for you?

What are you working on?

And where can people find you?

So I'm all over social media at The Compass Circle.

And our website is thecompasscircle.com.

The show is going to be out on November the 14th

at 8 p.m.

Eastern Standard Time.

And I'm looking to just make more film and TV projects.

Let's go.

Thanks for coming on, Casey.

You crushed it.

Thank you.

Thanks for watching, guys, as always, and I'll see you tomorrow.