Shreddy Mercury
Well-known member
So I've lived in Chattanooga, TN for most of my life. Since about 1997, most of the time I've either worked with/for/around Flowers Bakery in the Chattanooga area. Doing various jobs for the company, owning routes, or doing my small business of running vacations, sick time, or whatever someone needed time off for. So, I have a million years of experience in how to do it. I've even done small stints for Pepperidge Farm or Sara Lee in that time. Up until mid 2023, for 10'ish years I had managed the route my dad owned, and then bought it when he sold it to retire and owned it the last 4.5 years of that 10 year stretch. I sold it to move to Maine to do the same job but as an employee. It was WAY more money, less responsibility in a way; time off, vacations, stuff I hadn't gotten in years. I had all I could stand of the horrible management in Maine, so I quit and eventually moved back close to home to Crossville because my cousin had promised me he could get me a job in sales with his company or colleagues. Some of you may remember those posts and that it never happened, and even though I was living in one of their properties, basically rent free, I still spent about $5000 in Uhaul fees, gas, food, etc to move my stuff back to Tennessee to wait for a job that never came. I was jobless for 6 months (but I got realllllly good at guitar in that stretch lol), and all I could get then was an entry level meat helper/sushi chef position at a local grocery store for 3 months before I came home from work and saw For Sale signs in the yard.
Anywho, after I had to move back to Chattanooga on very very short notice about 3 months ago, I have been helping a few guys in the local warehouse I worked out of for years. I've run 3 vacations and been helping guys a few days a week to earn some income while I figure out what I want to do next.
Today, I had an idea....travel the country and run relief routes for various guys in various companies: Flowers, Pepperidge Farm, Sara Lee, maybe learn another company or two, and fly all over the country, stay in hotels, and make bank running their vacation for them. It's actually a fairly common practice for someone to pay $1200-2000 for the route, then $300 or more for the roundtrip flight, and $500 or more for the hotel, even though some let them stay in their house to save on hotel fees. It would be a great way to get to travel around the country and may be a great opportunity to run a route for a guy full time and just move to the area if it's an area I like. I always said, years ago when I was in my mid 20s, that I'd LOVE it if Flowers had a position where they flew me around the country just to train guys they had hired, or bought a route, to teach them the handheld computer, how to order, how to run a route, work the shelf, pick up stale, handle problems, etc. Just fly to Kansas for 2 months and live in a hotel, train a guy, then fly to Kentucky and do it again, etc. I've never been married, no kids, and the only thing keeping me from being totally free is having a dog. My parents can easily watch her while I'm out and about on extended trips.
I am going to help a Pepperidge Farm guy I've known for years next week to relearn their handheld and how things may have changed since I was on one of their routes last. I talked to a woman on the phone about 30 minutes this evening that does it. She says she's been at it since March (she lives in south GA) and has been to Texas, Alabama, Tennessee, Georgia, Florida, South Carolina, is going to Indiana and Iowa some next year, all over, and she stays booked up and people are happy to pay big bucks for a vacation.
It's something I'm good at and know how to do, and even though I am going to be 45 in a few weeks and it can be hard on my body, it hasn't killed me yet and could probably easily net me enough to pay off all my credit card debt within a few months and start putting mad money away in the bank to help me make my next decision on what to do.
Anywho, if anyone has any insight, thoughts, advice, it'd be welcomed.
Anywho, after I had to move back to Chattanooga on very very short notice about 3 months ago, I have been helping a few guys in the local warehouse I worked out of for years. I've run 3 vacations and been helping guys a few days a week to earn some income while I figure out what I want to do next.
Today, I had an idea....travel the country and run relief routes for various guys in various companies: Flowers, Pepperidge Farm, Sara Lee, maybe learn another company or two, and fly all over the country, stay in hotels, and make bank running their vacation for them. It's actually a fairly common practice for someone to pay $1200-2000 for the route, then $300 or more for the roundtrip flight, and $500 or more for the hotel, even though some let them stay in their house to save on hotel fees. It would be a great way to get to travel around the country and may be a great opportunity to run a route for a guy full time and just move to the area if it's an area I like. I always said, years ago when I was in my mid 20s, that I'd LOVE it if Flowers had a position where they flew me around the country just to train guys they had hired, or bought a route, to teach them the handheld computer, how to order, how to run a route, work the shelf, pick up stale, handle problems, etc. Just fly to Kansas for 2 months and live in a hotel, train a guy, then fly to Kentucky and do it again, etc. I've never been married, no kids, and the only thing keeping me from being totally free is having a dog. My parents can easily watch her while I'm out and about on extended trips.
I am going to help a Pepperidge Farm guy I've known for years next week to relearn their handheld and how things may have changed since I was on one of their routes last. I talked to a woman on the phone about 30 minutes this evening that does it. She says she's been at it since March (she lives in south GA) and has been to Texas, Alabama, Tennessee, Georgia, Florida, South Carolina, is going to Indiana and Iowa some next year, all over, and she stays booked up and people are happy to pay big bucks for a vacation.
It's something I'm good at and know how to do, and even though I am going to be 45 in a few weeks and it can be hard on my body, it hasn't killed me yet and could probably easily net me enough to pay off all my credit card debt within a few months and start putting mad money away in the bank to help me make my next decision on what to do.
Anywho, if anyone has any insight, thoughts, advice, it'd be welcomed.
