Castuner

Driven for Success

Mike

Driven for Success is a podcast for trucking company owners and executives running 20–80 truck fleets who want to scale without chaos.

Hosted by Mike Ritzema, founder of Superior Trucking Payroll Service, the show focuses on what actually breaks as fleets grow—and how strong operators fix it before constant firefighting takes over.

This isn’t a motivational show and it’s not theory-heavy. Each episode is grounded in real patterns seen across hundreds of trucking companies, covering topics like:

Where complexity quietly creeps in as you scale

What to standardize—and what not to

Why payroll, pay clarity, and systems become retention issues

How to build infrastructure that supports growth instead of relying on heroics

The goal is simple: give you practical ideas you can apply immediately to run a calmer, more profitable operation.

If you’re building a trucking company that needs to work without you carryin

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Episodes

66 episodes

  1. S2 E13 - California Truck Driver Rest Pay: Is Your Mileage Rate Enough? 21:34
  2. S2 E12 - California Non-Productive Time: Is Your Driver Pay Compliant? 17:39
  3. S2 E11 - California Truck Driver Pay: Is Your Payroll Really Compliant? 19:23
  4. S2 E10 - 1099 vs. W2 Truck Drivers: Unpacking Common Myths 22:08
  5. S2 E9 - Switching Truck Drivers from 1099 to W2 Without Losing Drivers 27:55
  6. S2 E8 - 1099 Truck Drivers: Real Owner Operator vs Employee - Explained 21:24
  7. S2 E7 What Happens If You Misclassify a Truck Driver as 1099? 24:28
  8. S2 E6 How Trucking Companies Get Caught Misclassifying 1099 Drivers 26:19
  9. S2 E5 1099 vs. W-2 Truck Drivers: What Does a Driver Actually Cost You? 28:35
  10. S2 E4 1099 Driver Misclassification: 8 Mistakes Trucking Companies Make 23:04
  11. S2 E3 - Can You Legally Pay a Truck Driver as a 1099 Contractor? 28:01
  12. E53 - 1099 vs W2 Truck Drivers: Who Actually Decides? (Trucking Company Owners Guide) 21:27
  13. S2 E1 - 6 Per Diem Questions Trucking Company Owners Ask Most (Is It Legal, Does It Cost You, and More) 20:24
  14. S1 Ep 52 - 7 Per Diem Questions Truck Drivers Ask Most (Answered for Drivers and Payroll) 19:36
  15. S1 E51 Truck Driver Per Diem at Tax Time: Why Your Tax Refund May Be Smaller 13:43
  16. S1 E50 The Per Diem Mistake the IRS Will Catch (And Won't Allow) in an Audit 22:35
  17. S1 E49 The Recruiting Tool 30–80 Truck Fleets Are Ignoring (It's Not Pay) 15:24
  18. S1 E48 When Truck Drivers Say No to Per Diem: Understanding the Real Reasons 19:01
  19. S1 E47 How to Roll Out Truck Driver Per Diem Without Driver Pushback 17:47
  20. S1 E 46 The 3 Ways Trucking Companies Pay Per Diem (And Why Two Fall Short) 12:35
  21. S1 E45 How Much Money Does Per Diem Save a Trucking Company? The Real Numbers Behind the Savings 21:29
  22. S1 E44 What Truck Driver Per Diem Actually Is (And Why So Many Trucking Companies Get It Wrong) 16:29
  23. S1 E43 The First System Every Trucking Owner Should Build (When Everything Feels Overwhelming) 14:24
  24. S1 E42 Why Your Trucking Business Feels Chaotic (Even With Good People) 17:01
  25. S1 E41 How to Stop Answering the Same Questions Over and Over | Trucking Systems & Scaling 14:09
  26. S1 E40 Why Trucking Employees Ignore Your Processes (It’s Not What You Think) 11:31
  27. S1 E39 Trucking Owners You’re Delegating the Wrong Decisions (And It’s Costing You Control) 14:23
  28. S1 E38 Are You Accidentally Overpaying Your Drivers? 18:24
  29. S1 E37 The Real Reason Your Trucking Team Can't Make Decisions (and How to Fix It) 11:40
  30. S1 E36 Why Your Trucking Team Doesn’t Follow Your Processes (And What to Do About It) 17:38
  31. S1 E35 What Decisions Should You Keep as a Trucking Company Owner? 9:59
  32. S1 E34 Why Most Trucking Companies Stall at 20–80 Trucks (And How to Fix It) 12:45
  33. S1 E33 The One Question That Builds Decision-Makers in Your Trucking Company 13:34
  34. S1 E32 The Hidden Cost of Being the Smartest Person in Your Trucking Company 14:37
  35. S1 E31 The Escalation Habit That Turns Trucking Owners Into Bottlenecks 11:56
  36. S1 E30 The System You’re Afraid to Build (Why Owners Become the Bottleneck at 20–80 Trucks) 12:47
  37. S1 E29 The First System Every 30–50 Truck Fleet Needs 6:35
  38. S1 E28 What Trucking Fleet Owners Should Stop Measuring (And What Actually Matters Instead) 10:45
  39. S1 E27 Why Good People Burn Out in Bad Systems 9:01
  40. S1 E26 What to Fix First When Everything Feels Important 11:45
  41. S1 E 25 Why Good Systems Feel Rigid (and Why Growing Fleets Actually Need Them) 13:22
  42. S1 E24 What Owners Have to Stop Doing to Scale Past 30–50 Trucks 13:02
  43. S1 E23 - Are You Growing — or Just Getting Busier? A Reality Check for Mid-Size Fleets 15:46
  44. S1 E22 What Breaks First at 25 Trucks (And Why It’s Not Dispatch, Payroll, or Drivers) 8:40
  45. S1 E21 You’re Not Running a Small Fleet Anymore: A Strategic Reset for 20–80 Truck Companies 14:14
  46. S1 E20 The True Cost of Trucking Payroll After You Outgrow Small-Fleet Thinking 17:54
  47. W-2 vs. 1099 at Scale: Why Mid-Size Trucking Fleets Face Higher Risk 23:47
  48. Why Your Driver Hiring Isn’t Working — And the Mindsets That Fix It 33:39
  49. S1 E17 How to Prepare for Year-End: A Simple Checklist for Stress-Free W-2s 14:55
  50. S1E16 What 300+ Trucking Companies Taught Me: The Habits That Build Trust, Culture, and Long-Term Success 26:36