What's a business plan?

The best business plans go like this.

My father uncle brother cousin or some other member of my inner circle is a big shot at XYZ company, and I'll get all the choice loads out of XYZ company as long as I take care of him.

 

When I started at something like 22 years old I leased a truck from my dad and borrowed 25k from the bank to buy a belly dump. Before I went to the bank I talked to the guy that I was hauling for. Figured out what loads paid, how many I could expect to run per day and so on.. figured out best case scenario and took it times 75% to account for rain days, break downs and such. Took all those figures to the banker and got a check.

Trailer I'm pulling now same story just higher cost. 130k. Was leasing a trailer before that so I knew my numbers for income. Again showed it all to the banker and left with a check.

That has been the extent of my written business plan.

In my head it was don't spend all my money on guns or shiny things

 

I look back at the business plan I wrote 25 years ago to borrow the money to buy the business I now own free and clear. It was a load of BS, but sounded good. Pretty much nothing I planned to do happened the way I planned it. Opportunities arose, I grabbed them, the rest is history. I'm pretty analytical and seem to have a knack at making good financial decisions. It's served me well for over two decades.

 

If anyone giving loans asks this year for a business plan just tell them it’s simple. I plan on leaving the truck parked and shut off a lot these next few years to do my part in reducing my carbon footprint and not to use fossil fuels. Also plan on staying home as much as posible to save the country from the spread of covid. They will love that and give you a loan lickity split.

 

A piece of paper for bean counters to count beans with, trucking shares almost zero with any other business

Step 1 buy truck
Step 2 go to work

your numbers will vary, but you can make edumacated guesses at what costs will be going into it from here your first year, after the first year you should know your personal true cost

 

Download it, then you can open it from top right of iPhone where the little down arrow is.

 

I’m technically challenged.....

 

@bonder45, that is impressive.

@Coal Region Deplorable, your way is just as impressive.

I have always defined a business plan as something I would do the day I needed to borrow money. So far, hasn't happened. I'm 3 years in, all equipment owned, I think somewhere around 50k in the bank, liquid. No debt except the house.

 

Something I did fail to mention in my previous post here is that when I bought my truck I was about 2 months behind on the payments of that impala ltz , my credit was shakey and hadn't filed taxes since 2010 .
The car is paid off , taxes current and great credit score now .
a lot credit goes to the owner of the company im leased to for the hand up as I was flat broke when I came here .
But I worked hard and earned it , and when my buddys were partying on holidays and weekends I was working .
I can be done .

 

You know, I've got a nicer personal truck than I've ever had and I just don't care about it. Trucking has made me not really give a crap about my personal. When I'm home I don't really care at all if it will get me to the coffee stand, the beer store or a restaurant. I never wash my personal anymore.