So you want to "own " your own company

One other thing. Most lenders will require 10-20% down with good credit.

 

Lots of useful info here from real people. thank you it has helped me a lot!

 

i have decided to open my own company! it is risky but i feel great about it. There is one problem...accounting...i will go with quickbooks...What do you think?

 

Question#1) I am a diesel mechanic but no longer active due to knees and shoulder injuries. I would like to know if investing $15k in a trucking company for a monthly return of $3k or invest $5k and get $5k back every quarter. Which of the 2 investments make sense? Question#2) I am trying to find a decent trucking company to invest in a Freightliner tractor, willing to pay all insurance & taxes and take care of the maintenance...Can you tell me what's best to do in this situation?

 

An annualized return of 756%

An annualized return of 1464%

Neither. Run away, you're either being scammed or you're dealing with someone whose optimism has no foundation in reality. A fantastic trucking company might expect an annual return of 20%. Most are under 5%. You're talking about 1000%.

Just throwing out some ballpark numbers:

Fuel costs $0.55/mile
Driver costs $0.45/mile
truck costs $0.20/mile
Insurance costs $0.07/mile
etc etc etc

As far as business expenses go, the truck itself represents less than 1/4 of the operating expenses. How decent can the company be if they can't just handle that by themselves?


Not saying this decent company doesn't exist, but you really need to be careful to weed out those dealing with growing pains from those who are just being slowly run into the ground.

 

I just saw this post. I know it is a little old, but I will still comment. Quickbooks is a good accounting software program. But, you may want to check out a program specifically designed for the trucking industry. It is called Trucknpro (www.foglinesoftware.com). It has pretty much everything you need for this industry, including IFTA reports to file your quarterly's. It also has a maintence file, driver file, etc., Basically everything you need to maintain records for FMCSA. Another is Truckers Helpre (www.truckershelper.com). I prefer Trucknpro due to it's simplicity, but both are good programs. I have used Trucknpro for several years. I also have several friends who have also been using Trucknpro for several years. You can print out a profit and loss for each load or any time period. It will also print out your year end information for taxes. I think both programs have a trial version you can try before buying. I have used a full blown generic accounting program in the past and they work well. But, for this industry, I think it is better to use a program specifically geared to trucking. Both of these programs will support one or multiple trucks. The newer version of Trucknpro will allow you to scan in receipts, such as for fuel, maintenance or repairs, and go paperless if you want. I still like having a hard copy, but electronic seems to be the trend. In any case, you may want to check it out.

 

I have owned a number of companies and made various investments over the years. One thing I have learned is that NO investment is certain. You can make money owning a truck, but there are no guarantees of success. There is an opportunity to earn $3,000/month or more, but it isn't guaranteed. I don't know what kind of investment you are talking about that will give you 100% of your investment back every 3 months, but I would be very cautious about any investment that made that claim. When you make a passive investment, you have little or no control over your money. You don't know if you will make money or lose your shirt. The greater the opportunity for profits, the greater the possibility of great losses. If you buy a truck you will have more control over your return than making a passive investment, providing you also drive the truck yourself. When you bring in drivers, you are adding additional risks. You can make or lose money when you have drivers involved. It can be difficult to make a decent profit with a single truck unless you drive the truck yourself.

 

Sounds like an extremely risky investment to me, as for the lease purchase that was talked about just as I learned there will always be someone willing to put u to work S long as you are willing to lose money for them.seems like the jist of what is being said here is the best chance for success is paying cash , credit kills. ;

 

Hi. I am new to the industry. I am in the process of establishing a hot shot/courier service utilizing cargo vans and box trucks. I am starting out with one of each and I will later advance to a flatbed. I am seeking advice of finding contracts, companies I should contract with? Etc... I have a million questions and zero answers. Can you please direct me to a forum where these types of concerns are posted? I am in Huston Texas and I am a female new to the trucking/transportation industry. No CDL, btw, however I would consider getting this is need be. I am TWIC and Basic Plus certified. Please help!!

 

Hello im in the process of purchasing a 2009 semi was looking to work under a company authority to start , Im not the driver I have a solid guy with all exp.. and will place him in the rig just requesting tips or different options to get a great blessed start?