Just a little background. Im a veteran who for lack of a better way to explain, can’t sit around at home and expect to have a good mental health balance. I also have a hard time working a normal job for the same reasons. I started doing roadside assistance for a company just to try it out and I actually enjoy it. I can function on little to no sleep and I thrive when things get chaotic. I just receive calls and complete the tasks. The problem is, while at first the money was fantastic and I felt fulfilled doing the work, now I’ve started to notice little things the company I work for that I don’t agree with.

They push battery sales and get passive aggressive if you don’t make a sale. Sorry but my personal integrity requires me to tell the 85 year old lady on a fixed income that “yes I can jump start you, you need to go straight to get it changed” and I’ll tell her exactly how to get good service while not breaking the bank. I’m not going to do something that makes me feel terrible. Oh the flip side, in the area I live in sometimes(a lot actually) I deal with incredibly wealthy people who seem to treat everyone like they are beneath them. I have no problems holding my tongue at that point and selling a battery.

They also seem to chew through other drivers and will run you ragged but when you say you are unavailable for a few hours to sleep they will stop sending you calls period until they are over whelmed again. I’ll give an example, “hey I need to sleep for about 4 hours and I’m good to go” upon waking up you let the dispatcher know you are awake and avail. They will withhold calls almost as if to punish you. I have income outside of this so it doesn’t bother me financially but that’s pretty low in my book. Another example will be if I have to take an hour to go do labs at my local VA and even with a heads up a week in advance, I mysteriously won’t get calls till late that day or the next. I’m always reliable and always get fantastic reviews for the service I’ve provided. I’m respectful and complete my tasks on time so I know it’s not because of subpar performance.

Some other things I’ve noticed is that the “manager” is actually the owner despite him saying he isn’t and providing nicknames instead of his real name. Which isn’t my business but sticks out when you just bring it up randomly. Googling the owner shows he has a criminal past and I understand not wanting that to effect how people treat you but when someone brings something up and lies about stuff for no reason it’s a red flag for me. I’ve noticed that recently I’m getting less money then I should for turnpike calls that are in the middle of no where. I’m supposed to be getting a higher rate for those calls. Another thing is, on the indeed page I got hired from, they say they provide lock out kits to drivers. Yet 2 months in I was told money was taken out of my payback to pay for it. If that was the case I would have bought a better one and not waited a month to get one.

So long story short I’m at the point I would like to start my own business and run it the way my personal morals require of me. I have my own tools, reliable vehicle. I can get the insurance required. I’m going soon to register my business for a license. Where do I start? I know I need to get towbook. Do I start signing up for places like swoop?agero?urgently? How do I even know what to bid or charge for my services? I know what I was paid but that’s it. There’s a huge demand in my area for roadside. I know the company has a website and has charged customers 95 dollars just to change to a spare(customer was complaining about my company) but I’m aware that’s a cash customer. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. I also have a plan to hire other combat vets like myself that I personally know and maybe other veterans down the road. I also believe in investing in people to improve the products offered.