Opening up a trucking company. Limited experience. What could go wrong?

You're dreaming if you think your 1099 "employees" come out ahead with your cheap bare bones payscale. Mega carriers are paying 50 and 50+ cpm now to experienced drivers and providing health, dental, and 401K which in some cases they match up to a certain percentage. To be sure the health bennies are not always top shelf but it's still a LOT more than you are offering. You are illegally dispatching your drivers like employees but paying them as contractors. Just another fly by night cheap trucking company. No wonder you think it is so easy.

 

YOU do know that you can't tell them to take a load or punish them for refusing a load?

 

SO if they want to take off for a week or maybe two, then what?

 

Back to original question, what could go wrong?

You are extending credit to brokers that you don't know, older equipment running a high mileage operation, chances of drivers running up your CSA score ,disgruntled drivers tearing up equipment or calling the irs or state labor board.
That's just a few things that can go wrong.

 

Ah but you are forgetting something. On a 1099 he isn't making 45 cpm. He has to carry the employer's share of the tax and benefits burden. So he is really only making about 32. If that.

45 cpm as an employee isn't that bad. Less than a top notch driver but you and i aren't ever gonna get the top tier drivers, so we don't need to pay top notch wages.

Edit and if you think guys can get workmans comp for a 100 bucks a month you need to put the crack pipe down.

 

Tires and pm are a little low. Quality tires cost closer to 450, and pushing 500 after mounting and balance. 350 out the door gets you Chinese junk that won't last 300k miles.

 

Think he meant occupational accident insurance - I'm paying about $140 per driver/per month in Illinois for this.