Advice for new hotshot owner

I have been lurking the board and I am planning on quitting my dedicated job to try my hand at this. I have a local contact that can keep me loaded. Retirement is not very far off. Can someone drop me a good lead for insurance in Tennessee? I have a loose quote from Progressive for $5,000 and a 700 hundred mile radius.

 

There are loads available in the strangest places but I do not know how often these will be available. Still doing my research and planning in a slow, careful manner.

 

That all sounds great when you say it. But in reality most shippers who move very much freight will cut the rate to direct carriers because they know the average brokers cut and adjust accordingly. Now this guy may very well get
a decent rate from this dealership he said he works for but anything else that doesn't have a contract on is maybe yes , maybe no . I have some direct customers who call me and the funny thing is they will try and undercut what brokers offer. Broker offered me one price they offered less I mentioned what broker offered and they came up.
This is happened with more than one shipper.
So I rarely believe what a shipper states till he does it and know that it may just be a one time deal.
Same way with dedicated stuff means they pay you less.
Why would a dealership pay more to haul a car when they can toss it out to central and have them fight over it like vultures ? I was born at night but not last night.

 

Never heard of a 700 mile radius with progressive they offer 300, 500 and 1000 is what I've seen.
If you have a local contract that would mean you are already have a truck running ??
OR do you mean someone said they'd let you haul for them regular ?
If that's the case I'd get an signed contract before investing in this business insuring that you won't be like everyone else and looking for something to do in a depressed market.
People say lots of things and do another. That's how I got into this business listening to other peoples big talk.
Nine years later I'm still looking for my pot of gold.

 

At Not_Here_Long.
I am not looking for a pot of gold and the radius is what I asked the lady on the phone to when I asked for a quote. I do not have a truck running yet but I do spend a lot of time driving a utility truck in Tennessee.

My contact has 7 trucks that he keeps running every week and has a very good relationship with brokers and shippers. I have road tripped with him and he scrambles at times to find someone to haul a load and he is driving 100,000 miles a year.

Trust me, I listen to the big talk and dig for the un-mentioned talk as well. I went on a trip 12 hours from home, in the snow, frigid cold and we broke down in the middle of nowhere after we unloaded. 8 hours later a co-driver arrived with a big truck and we loaded the whole she-bang by winch onto a flat bed and headed home, I was in the process of scheduling a drop off rental car because I had to be home the next morning. Got in the bed at 0330, up at 0530 for my regular job, what a day.

I figure that I can supplement my retirement income in a good way, I plan on taking early retirement at 55 in 3 years unless I get a buy out offer.

 

BY all means jump in with both feet , I have an extra trailer I will sell you 40foot dovetail w/ramps and disc brakes
a 2006 model pulled exclusively by me just my spare now as I run only 1 truck.

 

No, not me, I don't deal with the types of shippers, and brokers that you're talking about. The type that wants you to match a cut rate carrier offering to move the loads for a penny, or a nickel less per mile , every other month. No thanks, that's a game I refuse to play. I offer quality service at a fair rate, always have.

There's plenty of good Shippers and Brokers out there looking for what we offer here.

We've been working with some of the same Brokers and Shippers for 25/30 years now.

 

Sorry,,don't think I have any numbers for insurance in TN? I'll see if I can find any when I get some time.

 

No big rush, thanks for the effort.

 

Didn't you say you had a 3500 Ram sitting at home?