NEW FREIGHT BROKER...

That's why I waited so long to get my MC. I spent years building up the relationships with carriers to have an instant capacity. Now I just need the freight to put on the trucks.

 

Do you have any pictures of yourself in a cat woman or sexy witch outfit?

 

Here’s two ideas;

1. In the beginning offer quick pay for free. 3-5 day terms or sooner depending on your situation, factoring and etc. carriers shy away from new brokerages until they build a reputation for paying on time, aka credit. So, why not take that risk away from the carrier and guarantee them their money, for no fees, within 3 days of invoice with proper proof of delivery. If you factor, then in the beginning it may be worth it to absorb the 3% fee in order to make a more appealing situation to carriers.

2. Another method could be using carriers who are in the same boat as you (new carriers who are not quite at the 30 day point, 120 day point and etc) , because sometimes they have a difficult time getting loaded. Y’all could help each other get traction in the business if your insurance allows it.

 

I am a new carrier, 1.5 year old and honestly I never considered any brokerage without established rating. New carriers need cash flow like fish needs water and there is no room for risk. The only way to earn trust is to pay outstanding rates and perhaps paying at least half up front but then what new brokers have means for that risk tolerance? Tough dilemma to solve.

 

Number 1 is standard for what you see when serious people decide to start a freight brokerage. I'm 90% sure that the company I work for now did this at the beginning and I'm 100% sure that the brokerage before that did. They also typically start pretty slow because they know that pushing a ton of brokerage at the beginning before their credit gets established would suck a lot of cash and generate a TON of risk.

Number 2 is a great way to lose whatever customers you have. You can mix some new in without anyone noticing... but if the mix is 100% new you're going to deal with some really ugly situations.

 

Yup. The other day we used a new brokerage, but extended very little credit, and choose their quick pay option to help rule out their not being established part. They paid. Everybody starts somewhere

 

Yup understood.

 

BTW we’re not a brokerage, just giving you a carriers perspective