is it still worth getting your own authority these days in the dying industry ?

I'm just an o/o lurker slash company man, so take this with whatever grain of salt you wish:

I just can't help thinking that if you took that $50-100k you've invested in a truck and instead invested it in a moderate portfolio of respectable stocks and funds, you could make an easy 5% every year without lifting a finger.

That seems a lot less risky than possibly going bankrupt - or just buying yourself a minimum wage job. So you guys who do make it have my respect.

I might be a little off topic here, so mu apologies for that.

 

Couple things... most don’t have 100k liquid starting out. A loan must be gotten to buy the truck.

Say you did have 100,000k, and say you did make 5%. That’s only $5,000 and taxes must be paid on it too. You could take 100,000 and turn it into another 100,000 Or even much more IF you are successful. That’s the risk and gamble.

There are people out there who started with less then 20k total investment who are millionaires now. Can’t do that in the market. Well unless you invested in bitcoin 10 yrs ago. lol

 

I put $15k down on the new truck and the math works out to just under 7% APR over 5 years. I was able to get a new trailer with $0 down and a little over 11% interest. Those business tools will generate in the neighborhood of $230k gross per year on average. After expenses including insurance, fuel, etc I will gross about $110k before taxes. I can start a 401k through my company and dump a bunch of that pre-tax into it.

The truck isn't the investment, it's an investment into the business to generate revenue and income that you can in turn invest into mutual funds, real estate, etc.

That doesn't take into account that in 4 years when the truck and trailer are paid off (thats the plan), those assets will be worth in the $80k range, of course depending on market conditions at the time.

Soooo, if I take it out 5 years with low estimates, that $15k investment into the business will generate $1m in gross revenue on the very low side, roughly $500k in gross profit and have two assets worth $60k plus total in 5 years. Not a bad choice for that $15k if you ask me, and thats assuming I do absolutely nothing else.

 

I'm glad it's working for you guys.

I think we can agree that gross income doesn't mean much. It's your personal net income, after deducting all business items - such as saving for a replacement truck.

And given that, I've met o/o's who earn less than company drivers. (And maybe they're okay with that. Who knows? )

Four me it's not only about gross income, but hourly income as well. I'm all about working smarter, not harder. Ymmv.

 

We all get set in our ways, based on our experience. That’s one of the worst things anyone can do.Staying open to new ideas, and willingness to learn, plays a big part in ones sucess. I’m trying to not get cynical, these days. Always fought that kind of thinking. Getting harder,everyday. Lol. Attitude is the key to Sucess, especially when the chips are down.Always trying your best,whatever the outcome, assures peace of mind. Otherwise you’ll never know, “ what might have been if only?”.You Guys got the right ideas, shoot for the stars, and accept the outcome. Admit and learn from mistakes. It shouldn’t hurt toooo bad, as long as You did your best. Lol

 

As a truck driver, it's kind of hard to take seriously an hourly rate in my view. How do you break down your hours? On duty time, driving time, total time in the truck since you're stuck in it on the road sleeping, etc?

Without a lot of experience, where are you going to go find a job with an equivalent of $50 hour if you consider a basic 40 hour work week to match the income I can generate with crap rates? This doesn't even take into account when we crawl out of this valley of over capacity and low rates. Its a long term average.

You're right, the gross numbers don't matter which is why I posted net before taxes also. Everyones tax situation is different. There's plenty of O/O's who make less than company drivers and thats simply a bad business plan. Its why the failure rate is so high, simple math seems to elude so many in this industry.

 

My hourly rate is simple: it's the number of hours I have to spend at work and away from my family and friends to make a certain amount of money.

 

My hourly rate is $120 an hour, now all I need is Someone willing to pay it. Lol

 

Hi sir how are you?I read your post and wanted to ask a question.It's not really related to the subject but you seem quite knowledgeable.If you dont mind me asking.
I'm presently doing local LTL in Ontario Canada as an employee.I was thinking of a "lease to own" of another straight truck through one of the major LTL companies and hiring a driver to work it.This is my first time doing this but then I hear it's not a good time to do this because Canada is going into a recession in around 12 months time so now I'm second guessing myself.Can someone advise me on this please?Thanks Steve.

 

The Mega's are self insured no insurance problems there. And sad to say, but they deal with fatalities often. Robo trucks are being pushed by the Mega's it's their wet dream. They don't care about people all they see is a bigger profit margin . To them any lawsuits against them is just a cost of doing business .