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contractor. By the time he was in his this country road from my house to trucks. Plus, he’d always been a corpo-
early 20s, he wanted to be a truck driver Interstate 40, and I would just sit there rate guy.
like his dad and asked his employer on a hill and watch all those trucks Bozeman realized his company,
to withhold $25 a week from his pay- go by. I would just sit there and watch, now with 65 trucks, was too dependent
check so he could someday own his wondering where those trucks had on one customer and too much freight
own truck. He saved money. And at age been and where they were going and came from the ‘spot’ market, which
29, he started his own company with which ones looked good and which ones is not known for the best paying rates
one truck, and built it into a success- didn’t. My buddies would always want or its consistency. Thirty (30) percent
ful operation with a peak fleet size of to head on back after a few minutes, of his business was dependent on one
about 65. Fifty (50) years old, he wears and I would stay and just watch.” customer; a customer that had gone
a cowboy hat and insists, incorrectly, Barr was considering spending a through three buyouts just over the
that he lacks communication skills. His few months on his cattle farm after his course of their business arrangement.
strength is in operations. dismissal. Friends were telling him to Bozeman hauled primarily foam meat
While they might look different on take off a year or two to consider his trays and school furniture. Looking at
the outside, at their core they are two options. But he knew that wasn’t the industry trends, he was convinced that
sides of the same coin. They both have answer. Bozeman reinforced that senti- a carrier his size would not be able to
strong work ethics. They both believe ment, telling him he needed to get back compete much longer. He needed to add
their word is their bond, regardless of into trucking while people still knew 30 trucks, not 10. But he didn’t know
the consequences. And they both love who he was. how to do that.
trucking. Barr, at 43-years old, had always “You’ve always got to be moving
“I always wanted to be a trucker,” dreamed of owning a trucking com- forward,” Bozeman said. “The way this
Barr told Arkansas Trucking Report pany, but he had doubts about whether industry is going right now, custom-
in 2008. “I used to get on my bicycle he could do it at this point in his career. ers don’t want a small-time carrier.
when I was 10 or 11, and I would ride, His contacts and customers required They want a carrier that’s big enough
sometimes with a buddy but usually by large fleets that he wouldn’t be able to to service them, but small enough to
myself, the two or three miles down service starting out with one or two 

GEt somEonE

on your sidE

A Legal Defense Plan
Designed by and for Truckers.

Jim C. Klepper, Esq.
800-417-3552 ®
www.driverslegalplan.com

Drivers Legal Plan

arkansas Trucking rePorT | issue 2 2013 27