Caution Prospective Independent O/O! My Embarrassment.

I thought I'd conclude this thread as 2017 ended - my first full year under my own authority and loadboard freight.

Total Revenue $ 151,806.73
Fuel $ 36,404.23
Maintenance $ 15,908.48
Office $ 3,949.64
Trailer Payments $ 6,405.19
Parking $ 3,474.55
Insurance $ 12,994.01
Licencing & Taxes $ 3,958.31
Fees & Interests $ 2,522.75
Tollways $ 4,536.39
Scales $ 373.50
Communications $ 1,250.00
Showers & Misc $ 108.00
All Costs $ 91,885.05

Total Business Net $ 59,921.69

Total Mileage 93927.00
Rate per mile 1.62 ----------- hauling too cheap/deadheading too much!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Maint per mile 0.17
Fuel per mile 0.39
Total Cost per mile 0.98
Profit Per mile 0.64
mpg 6.42

Again:
So it is important to realize that getting your own MC# and taking loadboard freight is not any guarantee for financial advancement. Running your numbers as you go is important too. Add truck payments to the numbers, which I did not have and this is ludicrous nearing bankruptcy.
Take a good look and think twice before committing.

Although after a year...now in 2018 on a positive note...I started great!

YTD Revenue $ 21,870.00
Fuel $ 3,424.56
Maintenance $ 77.00
Office $
Trailer Payments $ 582.29
Parking $
Insurance $ 689.00
Licencing & Taxes $ 243.59
Fees & Interests $ 2.00
Tollways $
Scales $ 11.00
Communications $
Showers & Misc $ 38.84
All Costs $ 5,068.28
Total Business Net $ 16,801.72


YTD Mileage 7453.00
Rate per mile 2.93
Maint per mile 0.01
Fuel per mile 0.46

Total Cost per mile 0.68
Profit Per mile 2.25
mpg 6.07

- as of 1/21/18 - I still may catch 10K before End of Month

 

People need to look at real numbers. Some of them are inspired by success stories and can't wait for getting equipment and be on their own. Then after signing up to a load board and booking a few loads from CH, TQL, or Landstar, the reality might be not as good as expected, and the dangerous part of it, and many don't know it until a few months later, is that you work and work but there is still no money in the bank.

The first mistake many people do is that they jump at this prematurely without enough capital at hand, assuming the money will flow quickly. Another is that they realize too late what their operating costs are.
As a rule of thumb, or so it seems, the operating cost is about 1 dol a mile based on 90-100K miles a year. I don't include a driver pay in it. The driver pay is discretionary, it could be 45c, 50c or whatever. In my area to hire a driver you would need to pay them, indeed, 50c a mile. so this way the operating cost is at about 1.5 mile.
The truck payments make about .10 - .15 c a difference if you purchase a used one and killing .25c a mile if it is brand new. The maintenance costs, however, should be way less with a new truck, but it is not always true.
The operating costs, where a driver pay is included, should be then at 1.50 - 1.75.

For example. Based on my total operating cost of 92K, which due to increasing fuel prices might rise, and my goal of clearing 100K , I need to gross at about 192K - 200K a year which means that every month, my revenue should be no less that 16K or 4k a week. Taking loads that generate less than a 1K a day was the biggest culprit in my 2017 fiasco. I was not focusing on weekly revenue. Also I wanted to be home every weekend and holiday. I don't take anything that pays less than 1K day. If say Carlisle, PA - Chicago pays 1000k, (indeed) and I want to be home for the weekend, then when I leave there to Carlisle, PA on Monday I have to go there for 3K no less, preferably 3500 to better offset those murderous tolls. The truth is also that to achieve the goal, I need to work over some weekends too.

I once went to Lancaster, Pa for 1500 from Chicago. I figured 2.1 a mile ....not bad. From there I went to Grand Rapids, Mi for 800 and returned to Chicago for 450. That was back in April of 2017. See...2750 for the week of work, that's a recipe for failure.

To better illustrate, here are paid trips for the first quarter 2017. I won't type the whole year. Note that very few of them give 1K a day revenue. OR even if they do, the back hauls/deadheads spoil the loop rate
1 Melrose Park, IL - Springfield, OH 700
2 Tip City, OH - Milwaukee, WI 650
3 Chicago Heights IL - Atlanta, Ga 1200
4 Atlanta, Ga - Miami, FL 1150
5 Nashville, TN - Chicago, IL 650
6 Elk Grove vllg, IL - Dallas, TX 1840
7 Dallas, TX - Miami, FL 1900
8 Jacksonville, FL- Milwuakee,WI 1000
9 Kenosha, WI - Ft. Smith, AR 1350
10 Ft. Smith, AR - Marion, IN 1125
11 Chicago, IL - Columbus, OH 725
12 Cincinatti, OH - South Holland, IL 500
13 Chicago Heights IL -Sulphur Springs, TX 1500
14 Sulphur Springs, TX - North Platte, Ne 1350
15 York, NE - Joplin, MO 700
16 Joplin, MO - Joliet, IL 800
17 Bensenville, IL - Kanasas City, MO 900
18 Bensenville, IL - Armdore, OK 1600
19 Dallas, TX - Orlando, FL 1900
20 Bainbridge, GA - Elgin,IL 1150
21 Bensenville, IL - Armdore, OK 1650
22 Dallas, TX - Orlando, FL 2050
23 Orlando, FL - Detroit, MI + Chicago, IL 1550
Please feel free to put the numbers, you would have gotten for those next to the column.