Starting a company, would appreciate a little help

I live in northwest Ohio, have been trucking for about 4 years now. and have wanted to start a trucking company for about half that time. i have done my fair share of research, and have basically been waiting for the right opportunity to start my company. well, that time has come, and i have found a dedicated automotive route that is available. i would be leasing on with a Michigan company, and my company would be based in Ohio. per the recruiter, all i need to have to lease on is a truck, truck inspection, driver, driver approval, plates, and bobtail insurance (only bobtail).

i currently work for an LTL, and i plan on staying there for the foreseeable future to keep my pay steady, and ensure the bills get paid in the first few months of operation, i have a driver lined up that is trustworthy enough, and can work for the leasing company. forming the company is not going to be an issue, but i would like a few tips on who to go through for insurance, and how to go about plating the tractor in Ohio. i have good credit, and i am not too bad on debt, but having a steady job during the start-up phase of the company should help.

as far as capital goes, i do not have a lot of liquid capital, but i can get to more if need be. i would be financing a tractor in the $30-40k range, and hopefully opening a line of credit or credit card to make it easier on me until i get a cushion built up. i am entirely aware that borrowing the money for the company start up is not a great idea, but i would rather take the risk now, then never do it at all. like i said before, i not going to quit my day job. this is going to be a retirement plan at worst. i plan on taking no money out of the company at all until it is totally self sufficient, and building steam on its own. if the operation grows to more than 10-12 trucks, i will think about quitting my job.

the truck would be running about 2700 miles per week, and being the run is dedicated, i will have almost 0 idle on the tractor. the trailer is provided (specialized trailer), all the other forms of insurance are provided by the carrier. i plan on leaving the governor as is, or setting it no higher that around 70, with explicit instructions to run at 62mph maximum (i want to leave extra in the peddle just in case its needed). i am unsure if i get a fuel card, or if fueling is up to me, and i am prepared to pay for fuel until i get paid. i have prepared for the fact that i might not get paid for work done until up to 10 days after the first day of work. the route involves 2 turns daily, 5 days a week, and pays around $3500 per week, fsc included. i plan on paying the driver $900-1000 per week, depending on how well he does (900 to start i suppose), and i am counting on fuel costing less than half of my weekly gross. after fuel and driver, i am left with about $3000 a month on the low side, not including truck payment, insurance, and any extra unforeseen costs (repairs, PMs, etc)

so, if you made it through all that, and you have some constructive criticism or helpful advice, i would love you hear from you. does this sound like a viable business venture? any advise on where to get good trucks for a good price (other than the local dealerships)? who should i look to for accounting? who should i look to for insurance?

i thank you for taking the time to read this, and i thank you again, in advance, for any reply you might give.

 

the route is Toledo, oh to Lansing mi, twice a day. i have known the driver for a long time, and while i know i can only trust him so much, i trust him enough to go 62 on his own, going 70 on US23 in Michigan is bad, bad idea. he is currently working for an owner operator doing the same route, which i how i found out about it, but he asked me if he could work for me if i bought a truck. while i don't really like the idea of poaching drivers, i suppose that's how it works.

the run pays by the turn - around $350 each, 135 miles each way, 2 turns a day, including fsc, no per mile rate (but it ends up being around 1.30 per mile, yes). do you think it would work provided the mpg is high enough? fuel at $4/gal for the week at 6mpg is $1800, fuel at 7mpg is $1540. i am willing to slow down the truck to make this work. if buying a cheaper truck is what it takes, i will consider it. i know this is not a great run, and to be honest, i kind of expect to get the shaft the first time around, but i always learn from my mistakes, and i certainly never repeat them.

to be clear, i have no attachments to this run, it just seemed like an easy way to get started with a company. if any of you would like to recommend something better out there, you are more than welcome, but for me to use the driver that turned me on to the run, it would have to get him home every night (kid at home, wife in hospice)