After earlier careers of being a cowboy and owning a car dealership, my wife, Jeannie and I decided to start 55 Trucking, LLC in 1998. The fleet has grown from one truck to 10 trucks, due to family support and participation.

Jeannie is a librarian and provides moral support. She started out bookkeping for me, but as the business grew, she realized she's more at home checking books out than balancing them.

Our son, Mark, grew up washing trucks, and after getting a degree in sports medicine, now dispatches and manages the trucks hauling aggregate, flatbed freight, cattle, sheep and hay. Like most family-owned trucking businesses, though, Mark also spends his share of time changing tires and working on trucks.

Our daughters, Anita and Elise, have other jobs now--one is a doctor in Wisconsin, the other directs a Boys and Girls Club--but when they come home, they fall back into the rhythm of the family business, washing trucks and helping out with whatever needs to be done.

We've taught our kids both the value of hard work and of a good education, and let them decide what to do with those values. We're always thankful to have them at home, but wanted to give them options.