New Company Needs Your Help

I grew up in a family of truckers and would like to start my own company. I went into an entirely different field - and have achieved a degree of success -- and my entrepreneurial spirit is calling. However, I am smart enough to know that practitioners are more valuable than theorizing ....

I would like to invest about 250-350k into a new venture. My plan calls for the purchase of four used trucks in the early to mid 2000 (year) range and hiring four drivers. The remaining funds will be used for a maintenance reserve and working capital.

Intially -- the plan would be to utilize companies such as Landstar to build a reputation until other sourcing opportunities became available.


Plan: 1. Pay drivers a flat fee of .31 cents per mile
2. Weekly Profit sharing mechanism where 95% of the profits are shared with the drivers.
3. Pay for meals, holidays, vacation
4. Pay TBD benefits (for laundry service?)

As the son of a former trucker, I want to create a company that would be the kind of company YOU would want to work for. I believe that the profit sharing allows for the "benefits" of being an owner operator with the security of being an employee.

So -- I need your help. As a driver - what would you want? What type of things would you want to see in such a company?

Edit:

**** As someone pointed out 31 cents per mile is low. It's meant to be a base only. The money for the diver is in the profit sharing which would significantly increase the FINAL cpm *******

 

The .31 is really just a fixed payment -- the money is in the profit sharing. That should get it much higher on a per mile basis

 

Forty: I make a very nice living - this would not be my main income. I considered a 5 percent profit after all expenses paid to be a fair return for sleeping in the comfort of my bed at night. Banks are currently paying less than 1% for annual returns. I did not intend to draw a salary.

However -- to your point -- if the number has to 80/20 to make the numbers work - so be it. My goal is run a company that is fair to its employees. I would rather have dependable people than a thicker margin. Obviously -- I want to grow it beyond 4 trucks. I saw this as a partnership - not a get rich quick scheme.