Sunday, May 12, 2024

Hello to everyone within the Million Dollar Transportation Community. As always, I hope that this message finds you all doing well and that business is booming!

I want to share my thoughts with you on something that I have mentioned in the past, but I don't think I've stressed the importance quite enough. It's a strategy that has definitely provided me with more money, more opportunity, and created many new friendships and partnerships for my business.

I was recently speaking with client, and in mentioning how effective this strategy has been for me over the years, I thought that I should reiterate and stress the possibilities of this strategy to all of you.

In the ecourse and the Million Dollar Seminar DVD Series I discuss strategies for finding and cultivating new business and how to position your business to obtain new contracts. But now, I want to discuss the importance of positioning yourself to become a respected and lasting contributor within your community.

Now don't worry. I'm not asking you to run for political office!

But what I am suggesting is that you find creative ways to volunteer some of your time, money, and effort into legitimate and sincere efforts that contribute to your local community.

Remember, this Million Dollar opportunity is all about creating wealth by serving the needs of YOUR community. So, becoming a permanent and lasting contributor in your community can only serve to benefit your business.

Let me share with you a few examples of how I have sown seeds of generosity in my community and how it has benefited my business.

Last spring I was invited to attend a luncheon. While there I befriended a lady that helps to run the day to day operations of our local Meals on Wheels program. During the luncheon she gave a brief presentation on how they are desperately in need of drivers to volunteer for delivering meals to shut-ins and others in need.

Now, once she mentioned drivers, I think you can figure out what my immediate thoughts were - I'm in the transportation business, she needs drivers, there might be some synergy there.

At the end of the luncheon I introduced myself and mentioned my service. I was very clear and upfront and didn't give any false pretenses or ideas. I told this lady that I own an ambulette service and, and although we definitely are NOT non-for-profit, I might be able to donate some of my services to help her program.

Now as always, I have to be honest with you. I personally didn't deliver a single meal. I know, I know. I'm a fake, a phony, and a failure! BUT, I did volunteer my company services for over two months. We allocated a single driver on an as needed basis for which I paid the driver wages, used my company vehicle, and paid for gas. So again, did I do it myself? No. But I did pay for it!

But here's the outcome. This lady, Mrs. Hendricks, is very pleased and thankful that we helped out. And we continue to talk periodically and we will probably contribute more time and resources in the future. But I know for a fact that Mrs. Hendricks has referred our business to other and has spoken of us very highly. People have told us this specifically.

AND as a result of Mrs. Hendricks kind words by introducing our services to the Meals on Wheels clients, we have picked up new clients to whom we delivered meals! More specifically, we even picked up a Medicaid dialysis patient out of the deal!

We have picked up a few periodic trips here or there, but just taking into consideration this dialysis patient that we've now had for over a year it has more than "paid" for our volunteer work.

An average Medicaid dialysis patient in our area will fetch, on around $10,000 per year. So again, when you do the math, using a single driver for a few hours a week for volunteer work was a great investment. We volunteered out time, created a lot of good will, met many new people, gained some new clients, and even "struck gold" by picking up this dialysis patient that will hopefully be with us for a long time to come.

So investing in Meals on Wheels proved to be a great investment in our local community. And again, we will most likely invest some more seeds into this program in the very near future.

Another quick personal example is high school and youth football. For the past few years I have volunteered my time to coach a local youth football team. And I cannot tell you how many people/parents I have met that either already knew of my company and/or learned of it as a result of my coaching.

And to further expand on this example, I was recently invited to join one of our local High School football programs as the defensive line coach. What was offered to me as a paid position, I had to decline because of my travel schedule. I will miss much of the month of September because I travel to Italy. Because I definitely wasn't in it for the money (only a few thousand dollars for the season), I did volunteer my services for FREE for which the school eagerly accepted.

So, since early July I have been volunteering my time working with our high school athletes in getting ready for the upcoming season. And at a recent "meet and greet" social that the high school had for our athletes and parents, I can't tell you how many people I met that, once we were introduced, they automatically new of and associated me with S&D Transportation. For me, it was just a great reinforcement in creating brand recognition for my business in our local community.

Over the years, our company has volunteered transportation services to a variety of needs to include the evacuations of local hospitals and nursing facilities during recent floods in 2005 and 2006. And there are many more similar examples. But needless to say, volunteering our time and effort in such times of need has DEFINITELY been an investment in good will. We've been legitimately helping people and facilities and sowing seeds of success in our community.

So although these are just some quick personal "exploits," I hope you get the gist of this message. I always recommend that you position yourself and market yourself and the premier service in your area - even when you're starting off as a one man operation!

But one thing that I absolutely have to stress is that when you invest your time, money, and effort, just make sure that you're doing so generously, sincerely, and unconditionally. Don't invest your time and then sit there with a note pad and try calculating your profits.

Rather, if you're planning on donating to a local cause or volunteer program, make sure you do so not with the express purpose of getting a profit, but knowing that in some way, some how, blessings will find you!

I hope my quick thoughts have spawn ideas and creativity! Best wishes & Good luck as you volunteer your time and become an asset in your community.

See you at the Top!
Joel E. Davis

www.milliondollartransportation.com
www.mdtvip.com
www.mdtseminar.com
www.dispatchingmadeeasy.com

PS: I want to thank all of our VIP members. Our site is continuing to grow in membership and, more importantly, ideas and opportunities! I plan on seeing all of our VIP members at the Top!