Best books to read on starting a trucking business

Before you even waste a dollar on anything find a truck that fits your needs and call insurance companies to get quotes. You'll need 100k cargo and 1 million liability (technically 750k but 1 million is the standard). Since you live in Florida you've got a good chance of having some of the highest insurance costs in the nation.

 

100% agree with this. Everyone reinvents the wheel and wants to sell the basics like it’s new information. Just taking advantage of others.

 

Join OOIDA, they have quite a selection of educational materials. They only way to get it is by being a member. Look into your states trucking association, they may have resources that you could benefit from.

 

A couple of books that I found helpful was Brian Tracy's "The Psychology of Success" and "The Psychology of Achievement" and to top it off one of the best books I've read apart from the Bible is Dale Carnegie's "How to win friends and influence people"

 

I know someone that is read in thoroughly in the business! @TB John @Lonesome

 

It’s actually pretty good. Most won’t be honest with themselves after reading it, and forge ahead anyway - but his “Stop holding the steering wheel and (whatever)” is honestly a great exercise book for any muppet considering financial suicide.

I lost the copy @double yellow sent me, I’d already crossed all the t’s but it dotted a lot of i’s for me.

We could all write a book, but this is such a diverse industry - .

 

The only problem with Kevin Rutherford's advice is that these pre-emission trucks, which he always recommended, are hard to come by these days.
And if they do, a tremendous amount of money is to be spent to make them work dependable. Parts and shops willing to work on them are difficult to find too and expensive. Still, finding those trucks and paying with cash is the least of the problem....you had better be loaded with even more cash to withstand challenges they might present and they will after you buy them/

For a layman, not capable to do his own wrenching, buying a used truck (pre-emission or not) may be a ticket to nothing but frustration. However, I am of an opinion that in order to become an owner-operator, a person must acquire resources to minimize maintenance and repair costs. I may not fully believe in relationships with brokers (another K.R. theme) but I do believe in relationships with shops.

Or buying brand new...but it is like buying a house with a 5-year mortgage to pay it off. If someone does not have a precise idea where to get freight from, other than general load-boards then this is a bad idea.