Owner Operator here no debt

Has a paid off 500k mile truck thinks he's now ready to rule the world. Want's info on business credit cards to use in place of an actual cash reserve. Would like to know how to 1099 employees because he can't offer them health insurance nor other benefits and can't pay their payroll taxes

Reality check your paid off 500k mile Cascadia is worth around $60k so you have a mere $60k in capital in your business and big deal because to get drivers in 3 additional trucks of yours you're going to need new equipment to attract the drivers and in order to survive the market were about to be in that new equipment should be paid off. Which means the $60k in capital you have needs to be more like $500k and that's just if your leasing to a carrier and running their trailers.

When even some Mega's pay $0.50cpm to rookie drivers with zero experience and provide free CDL training, equipment 3 years old or less, $2k-$3k a year in 401k matching, $2k-$3k a year in paid vacation, health insurance dental and life insurance, a fuel bonus program, a safety bonus program, and all of the infrastructure of a large carrier like 50% drop and hook, 24/7 Dispatch, 24/7 road assistance support, yards with driver facilities and the small fact that they're actually funded and you're not.

Pay & Benefits - Prime, Inc.

But that's just what you have to do to compete for drivers with a Mega carrier which many think of as bottom feeders and you can't compete with them let alone the better jobs out here and you'll need to be heavily capitalized in order to do so. You got big dreams and with that little $60k in capital in your business you haven't even gotten started on working towards them.

 

Ok well know that even at Mega (and I gave an example of one in particular) once you add in the value of all their benefits, bonus, accessoral pay, their base pay and the cost of their payroll taxes that driver is costing $0.75/mile and that's just for a rookie who may only have weeks not years worth of experience and they are kept in less than 3 year old equipment with all the infrastructure of a large carrier like was mentioned before 50% drop & hook etc.....

And just what you need to do to compete with a Mega if you're going to 1099 drivers and you want quality drivers then you need to 1099 them like $0.95/mile and keep them in equipment that's 3-4 year old max.

 

What's wrong? Did my reality check on what you'd have to pay drivers in order to be competitive with other employers kill the conversation and maybe your wishful thinking margins?

 

No sense in arguing with the op I think hes decided what hes gonna do regardless off information given. We see a lot of these threads started lately .

 

I knew you were gonna take a beating in this thread OP. Truckers are pretty negative because we live in a negative world and when you start driving your find out everyone is out to get you too. Take your money, take your life, take your parking spot, take your load. Its a tough place to stay happy. An owner op building his dream can endure the down times a LOT longer than a 1099 driver who is looking for HIS future growing position.

Anyways, no one knows your ROI. These guys have a lot more accurate of a guess than you at this point however so dont brush it off because you dont like what the market is doing and theyre telling you honestly. I dont care how much education or friends you have. The loads posted for $700 and you say i need a grand and they go *click* just like that. The only advantage that your connections may give you is possible access to direct freight. You are gonna drown on loadboards right now.. Like i already said.

Get your ONE truck and trailer after youve decided that over $20k a year in fees to the govt and insurance is okay with you. Run as a one man show and learn what you dont know because it is clear to us you dont know much yet. You will, but its an expensive education.

Trucking will change you as a person. Pseudo homelessness, chronically alone, sitting for cumulative weeks. After youve experienced that change decide if you want more headaches.

 

Go to truckpaper and show us a couple links to the trucks you would buy.

 

Goes back to the Old Saying in the boat building business.

You want to end up with a million building boats? Start with 10million.

 

Hey everyone likes to stoke their own fantasies.

 

I take the equipment markets temperature with one simple search. 18 speed trans, $20k. Then just look at the count. It used to be like 8 trucks, now its 3 pages worth. When you can get into a pretty late model, under 1million mile 500hp 18spd with 46k rears and alloys all over for $20k.. It tells you trucking is horrible. Those were big money trucks and theyre given em away.