Why is it so hard to make money as a independent?

That sounds good in theory. But, not necessarily the way things are in the real world. All carriers have turnover, regardless of size. No matter how well you treat some drivers or how much you pay them, they won't stay with you for as long as you may like. It is difficult to find good drivers who will stick with you. Some leave for the most ridiculous things. Some will leave for a one cent raise. Others will leave for less pay as long as they can drive a hood or new truck. Then others my leave for more home time, even though they will sacrifice some pay. I could tell you some stories about drivers, as could anyone who has owned trucks and dealt with drivers. Don't get me wrong, there are some good drivers around, but they are difficult to find. The big carriers can play their percentages much more easily than a small carrier. You will have drivers who abuse your equipment, steal equipment or money and sell your fuel. You will find all types of people in this business. You will go through a number of steering wheel holders before finding good professional drivers.

Before going out and buying several trucks and trailers, I would start with one truck and build on that. I know some former owners who did something similar. I once had a driver who purchased one truck and within about 30 days bought another. It was only a few months until he lost both of them. He was a decent driver, but not a good manager. Both trucks had mechanical problems and he didn't have the money to make the repairs. So, he lost them. There is nothing wrong with building a fleet. But, those who usually succeed take it in steps. There is such a thing as growing too fast. Believe it or not, it has killed a lot of businesses. You will never learn how to run a successful business in college. Most of us learn on the job. Some of us may have grown up in businesses or had a mentor along the way, but most learned on the job, by doing. If you want to build a fleet, start with a single truck and drive it yourself for a year or two. You will make mistakes, but it is easier when you don't have employees. When you have drivers relying on you, it is best to know what you are doing. The only way to know what you are doing is to own and drive a truck yourself for at least a year or two. Things are much different once you start buying more equipment and hiring drivers. Once you make the transition from company driver to owner operator, your viewpoint will be much different. It makes a difference once you start paying the bills and finding the loads. Slow growth, especially starting out, is usually the best way to go.

 

Mega companies can pay their drivers $0.40 per mile and suck up all the big contracts for large shipping operations.
Also mega companies have a fleet of drivers and trucks that are told what to do, they can make money off that driver no matter what.

 

G/man. I was trying to make a point , it wasnt meant literally
Buying trucks and trailers is prob the easy part

 

I am glad that you are not planning on going out and start buying trucks and hiring drivers right out of the gate. I wanted others to understand a little more what is involved when you start buying trucks and hiring drivers. I have seen some who do go out and buy a truck and before they can settle into ownership they start buying more equipment. I don't like to see people fail.

 

Ive seen it all to often also. People thing theyre going to buy 5 trucks , hire 5 drivers and laugh all the way to the bank. They ususally end up w messed up credit and trying to salvage some of the their losses by having to sell the equipment for cheap.

 

One reason that I usually suggest that a new owner or someone who is planning on buying their first truck to drive for at least a year or two is so that they can learn something about this business. When you go from being a company driver to an owner operator there is a learning curve. No matter how much you think you know about running a truck, there are things you need to learn. Once you own a truck and buy the second or subsequent trucks, there is also a learning curve. Once you start hiring drivers and adding additional financial obligations, things will change. I have noticed over time that most new owners and those who first plan on adding trucks that they only look at the up side of ownership. They only look at the revenue side and don't think about the expense and down side. When you own multiple trucks there will be times when you will have equipment sitting, costing money and not generating revenue. Just because you own a truck doesn't necessarily mean you will make money. Cash flow doesn't necessarily translate into profit. When you grow too quickly you can sometimes get into trouble when the economy changes or you own trucks and some of them are sitting. Remember, the fixed costs still go on. Those costs include payments, insurance and other expenses, whether the truck is moving or not. Unless the truck is moving and making money, then those costs must come from those trucks that are making money. That means that you are making less profit or could even be losing money just to keep your business open.

There is nothing wrong with wanting to start or grow a business. When you start to grow too fast and before you are ready, you can get into trouble. Owning and operating a business is a constant learning process. I have owned several companies and I still learn something new.

I would not want to discourage anyone thinking of starting or building a business. But, it is smart to take your time and learn along the way before you start spending money. Your biggest asset is also your greatest liability. I am talking about drivers. This industry has a high turnover. You can pay drivers $1/mile and you will still have turnover. It is just the nature of the business. Money is often cited as the primary reason for driver turnover, but that is simply not necessarily true. If you plan on having employees you need to be a people person. And, unless you can manage yourself, you will find it difficult to manage others. There are still opportunities to start and build up a fleet of trucks.

 

I have the ability to setup and manage a very profitable and efficient single truck operation. As for the idea of multiple trucks, hiring and managing good drivers, like many others I lack the necessary skills. There's no secret to being a successful multiple truck operation. You just need to be able to build a business that will survive in any economic condition and find ways to attract the best available Drivers. Not everyone have those skills and for that reason, most of us are at our limit with having just a single truck.

 

its about impossible to survive ANY economic condition that would occur. and frankly the reason its hard to find the best available driver is simple, the very best are running their own single truck operation.

to survive any economic condition as a multi truck operation, one also has to know when its time to cut back to a smaller operation to survive. I had done in earlier by going from 8 owned trucks to 2 owned and 6 lease ops. when I cut back completely I was debt free, I owed not one penny on the business.

the difficult part is we expect all drivers to run and care like we do. that's the impossible part. and pay aint got a dang thing to do with it. either a guy is a worker or he isn't. the trick is is when you find that guy, you pay him whatever it takes to keep him.

the guy who comes to you and says , pay me more and I will work harder, fire him on the spot cause he is a liar.

 

G/man and others alike have survived and some have even expanded their business in the recent economy. Smart people make money in any economy because among other things, they know how to hire and manage decent drivers. They know how to make things work and not blame their failures on the evil Driver.

 

This man owns or has owned his own truck. And knows the way trucking goes