It’s Cyber Monday!

so much money was spent in the last few days, considering the Baltimore to show and Thanksgiving not to mention Black Friday, and now cyber Monday. The economy is in terrible shape. No one has any extra money, and every bit of money we have put away was most likely spent in the past few days. Everyone is counting that there will be a sudden urge to buy the product in front of them now! I'm really no different. I bought things that I didn't need at the tow show, but I thought I was getting such a good deal, I better get it now. I guess I didn't really consider that Thanksgiving weekend was to follow, that everyone would be out of the office, and hardly any business can be conducted, specifically paying us for services we had rendered. Of course, there would be money spent on groceries and traveling to see the family on Thursday , and then Black Friday is obviously a must it only makes sense to get your Christmas shopping done early. And just in case you miss something, you'll be reminded of it on Monday. Some people seem to think that our cell phones listen to us and what we talk about considering the ads that will be on our cell phones come Monday I'm starting to believe it myself. I'm trying to make is there always something to spend your money on. There's always someone ready to take your money. I can't help but think back to what my Popaw would say, spend your money wisely. So let's talk about the expenses of a towing company. At the very least we will need tools to render soft service Roadside Assistance. $50 for a lockout kit $100 for a cheap jump box $30 for a jerrycan. And thankfully vehicles come with a jack and lug wrench. It's funny how people will spend $100 on a cheap jump box instead of a $10 pair of jumper cables but will not spend more for a lightweight Jack impact and socket set. Obviously as an owner, each of your vehicles, including tow trucks, will need these tools, and sometimes we require the drivers to buy their own hoping that they won't be lost or stolen. Why are we not spending more money preventing theft, loss and damage? I didn't mention insurance prior to these tools for a reason. My dad is probably the world's worst for buying all the tools to complete the job before the paperwork insurance or requirements necessary to begin working. So many times we see people by a tow truck for thousands of dollars posting that they are looking for work or how to make money and somehow they all seem to land hauling for Copart. I believe that is one of the biggest reasons that I wanted to create this business Towtal Advantage, I wanted to help everyone. From the guys being taken advantage of my auto auctions and motor clubs to the guy who had a dream of owning a tow truck one day and even to the level of the super towing companies who may need someone to help with the basics. Before I spent a single dollar, I would decide which digital dispatching software I would use I prefer Towbook myself. Being cyber Monday, I'm sure they have a great deal at any of the companies that provide digital dispatching software for towing companies. I am a firm believer that everything has a place. I like to know when I open my toolbox that everything is organized and where it should be. So a digital dispatching software makes a lot of sense because you are about to make a lot of purchases for your company. Each purchase will come with a receipt and each receipt should be filed properly. Probably one of the greatest things about Towbook is that you can take pictures of your receipt and attach it to the truck that the expense was for. One of my trucks called shop so that every purchase that is made for the shop will be listed there, power bill, Internet, bill, phone bill, water bill, cleaning supplies, etc. This will come in handy during tax season but even more handy when you want to look at what each truck is costing you to maintain it. Maybe one truck is costing you more in parts than what a new truck payment would cost you and this could be found in one of your reports. And since we are putting the expense of each vehicle into our digital dispatching software, we should also list it in the Trucks inventory. This will help track things that are lost or stolen, and hopefully prevent damage. I know for certain that it helps with responsibility. It's funny how we have all these tools to help us do our job, but we do not know how to use every tool to our advantage. Vice grips for example, we know to adjust them clamp them on as hard as their hands can grip. and if you're like me and you save money by buying your tools at Harbor freight, this is your only option. But if you do invest in a good set of vice grips, maybe from Snap On tool, or Mack to, if you look on the bottom of the adjustment there is a place for an alum wrench, you can use an Allen wrench to increase the grip strength in vice grips, saving you and your hands from personal injury, arthritis and pinching the fire out of your finger, you will know what I mean. lol I want to put together a community and an educational program to help people learn more about every tool accessible to them in the towing industry. A place where they can ask questions and get answers. A lace for the elite to share their knowledge. as Scott WreckMaster would say, knowledge is power. This is Total Advantage and you are welcome here.