14 years at a desk job, ready to own?

I am glad that you plan on working for a company for a few months before buying a truck. I would encourage you to drive for at least a year before buying a truck. One reason is that you will be exposed to a wider variety of road conditions and will have a better handle on what it is like to run a truck. I recommend that you buy a composition book and write down all the expenses of the truck and revenue, if known. It will be a good indicator of what it should cost to run your own truck. Fuel is your greatest expense in this business. I can break down your basic expenses by the mile. But, there is always a glitch. I have blown 3 tires on one turn. That can shake things up with your numbers. Tires can run $500-600/each on the road. Major carriers usually get discounts on fuel and tires. Single truck operations can't get the same discounts in most cases. Leasing to a carrier can offer you some discounts on fuel, tires and parts, at some carriers.

Whether you decide to become a broker or not, getting your CDL and some experience prior to buying a truck will give you a much better concept of how this business works from the drivers point of view. There are two ways in which you can learn. You can learn from those who have the experience or by beating your head against the wall. For the later you need deep pockets. I prefer the former where you can learn from the experience of others. There have been a few who have had deep pockets, gotten their authority and become successful, but that can be a hard, expensive way to learn. I have owned trucks and other businesses most of my life and it seems that there is always something new to learn.

If I were new to this business and wanted to learn the brokerage side of the business, I would see if I could work for a broker and learn from the inside. I agree that most of the broker schools sound like scams. There may be some who are legitimate. You may even find a smaller brokerage that will give you a chance or perhaps you could "buy" into his business. I know a broker near me who hired a guy to work for him who had no previous freight experience. He had a one man operation. His wife worked in the business doing the books and answering the phones, but it was still basically a one man show. He had a roster of shippers and carriers and put them together. He purchased the brokerage from a woman who wanted to retire. Her husband started the business about 20 or 30 years previously. There are different ways in which to accomplish your goals. Sometimes, you need to think outside the box.

 

I think you're taking the right steps by driving for someone first. Cause you don't even know if you like trucking at this point. Many folks go to truck driving school, get a license and a job, only to discover the BS overload that's ordinary everyday trucking. Asking themselves wth was I thinking and washing out. If you can cut it on to the next step. Wish you the best.

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nothing stays at a constant.

your dad is at home. your 1000 miles away sitting on the side of the road.

the rate of freight. that can be anywhere from 30 cents a mile to upwards of 3 dollars or more. yes, i see 30 cents posted ALL THE TIME. and they're NOT LTL'S.

you need to know the price for where your going. you can haul a load from los angeles to chicago for 50 cents. because there's loads to take back out of chicago. you don't want to haul a load for 50 cents to north dakota. cuz you'll be bouncing empty for 2 days to get that next load.

how often will you get inspected, and PASS. get a high score and your going to have a harder time finding freight from ANYONE. no one wants to use a truck that make not deliver the product becuase it got put out of service by the cops.

 

I'm not normally this way, but I'll chime in with some input you probably aren't going to like, seeing that you've decided to press forward anyway. My sincere hope is that you're mature enough to take it at face value and not get your feelings hurt (something you'll need to get used to anyway).

This right here makes me question whether you really have what it takes to do something like this. You have been sitting in the same place 12 years drawing a check and haven't taken the leap to doing consulting or contracting gigs, or jumped to a better job somewhere else in the industry you know. What's missing from your resumé is hustle. You'll need a lot of that if you expect to succeed at trucking, whether you drive, own trucks, or broker.

Sorry, but I read this situation as your brother is the only one making money and the truck owner is about to take the wheel in an effort to curb expenses and make it actually turn a profit. This is something I'm intimately familiar with. In fact it is why I chose not to hire another driver for my #2 truck after the man I hired passed away unexpectedly. Just dumb luck, I stumbled across a man that was mature, cared for the equipment like it was his own, and mindful of profitability. He went by BigJohn54 on TTR if you're interested to see any of his ramblings. Now I'm too deep into it and don't have the capital to go thru dealing with a new driver, even if it was someone as good as John.

He was about the best possible driver I could have found. Despite that, he was only invested in the business for his next paycheck. You really have to understand what motivates behavior. Since you've only worked for a paycheck yourself, you will learn this the hard way.

Besides that, you don't need to have a CPA to see your numbers add up to zero for you. I'll be generous and say you meant your brother's gross pay is $3000/mo. After $7000 gross revenue, you now have $4000 left. A middle of the road truck mileage-wise will run about 1/3 of your revenue in fuel, give or take. So about $2300 in fuel, now you're down to $1700 left. Take away a $250 PM each month plus some admin expenses (cell phone, etc) now you're down to around $1300.

That's $15,600 in a year before you bought any tires, repairs, taxes, fees, tolls, and so on. There will be so many hands in your pockets you'll lose count.

At the end of the day, you are the one taking all the risk. All the stakeholders in your business are:

1. Going to be paid first, usually COD.
2. Genuinely interested in your business success, since their income depends on it.
3. Not terribly interested in how profitable, since they have no skin in the game.
4. Able to walk away from you without so much as a scratch when things don't go well.

Really? A hard kick in the nuts would have been a better idea. I could see it if you had some industry contacts and worked in logistics before. There's much more to it than finding loads and matching a truck while taking a little off the top. You just have no idea.

That's actually a pretty naïve assumption, and yes you can lose everything. That's the risk you take being the business owner. Even people with adequate bank get in and go bankrupt because they don't have a clue about running a business. There's a hundred variant stories that all lead back to lack of business savvy.

I get the family thing. That was a primary reason for starting my business. My son drives the first truck. My motive was to get him to expand his horizons beyond just how many cents a mile he can make with the next carrier. So far he's making progress on that front, but it's been a long, hard climb. It's much easier to draw the line that absolutely must be drawn when establishing that employer/employee relationship when family is not a factor.

As I said, there is much more than meets the eye. Even your brother's more "experienced" eye.

One more thing, Steve Harvey style. Actually two things.

When I started out, someone else had started a thread that I sort of hijacked. It's a bit of a chronicle of the first few months after getting started. I fancy myself as a pretty smart guy. Looking back, I was the poster boy for the phrase "you don't know what you don't know." I think on another discussion, I pegged the value of my not having industry experience at about $50,000. In other words, that would be about what I wouldn't have spent over the past two years if I had 20/20 hindsight to avoid some real bad decisions. Have a look and see some of the crap I dealt with at the start. The story is still going, it's just that those things that once were remarkable just aren't anymore.

This classic thread is the one others have mentioned. It's a long one and you owe it to yourself to read the whole thing. The lack of a happy ending is not the point. Pay attention to an endless stream of setbacks and hustle to get past them. That's the real value of reading that thread, and everyone posting here has had months or even years like that.

 

What other blogs are you reading? I've also become disenfranchised from the "awesome desk job". I got my first degree in 2002. This is the only forum I've found that seems to offer qualified and valid opinions. Please let me know if there are other forums regarding the trucking industry. I'm thinking about quitting my "great" job because I think I can build a trucking business.
Class of '06 USC Darla Moore.
Thanks.

 

If you are looking for another forum, you could try www.classadrivers.com.

 

Hey Crafter,

I think you're on the right path.

10 months ago I was in the same shoes as you, no experience but with less capital.

The vibe I get is that you are out to become your own boss, go for it. All new business ventures are risky. As cliche as it is knowledge is power.
The less you know the more it's going to cost you $$$. And it can cost you a lot. So learn and learn fast.
I'd say only use 30-50K, and save the rest.

Things that you have to your advantage, and some steps to follow:
1. You have a family member, who is going to be your eyes and ears on the road. He's is most likely to care for the truck as if its his own not cheat you out of gas etc etc. This is a great asset and ally on your new venture. If you do buy your own truck you have some one you can trust driving and you'll both learn together as well actually have someone to share the headaches with, there will be headaches.

2. You have the capital, (30k-40K) should suffice to buy a truck, rent/buy a trailer, etc. Like I said knowledge is key, do your due diligence here.

3. Like myself, you're use to being in front of the computer for hours on end. How is this an advantage? this is were you'll run your business from. You will be dispatching your own truck. DO NOT ACCEPT CHEAP FREIGHT. Figure out your operating cost, and do not accept freight below that per mile number. Research lanes and freights, make phone calls to brokers. You might get taken advantage the first few times, but you have to catch on quick. If you find a nice little lane between state to state, you can stay there. Since you'll have your own truck you can play with it (make your brother stay on the road for the fews weeks why not).

4. Learn the laws, the regulations, learn as much as you can it is your business and as you mentioned earlier, you need to know every aspect of it.

Once you get the hang of it you can dispatch other trucks the way you do yours, or you can lease them under your carrier, or you can even get into the broker side of things. By then you'll have real life experience to help you.

I wouldn't buy more than 1 truck, cause it is a headache to maintain. You will not make much off of that 1 truck, But owning that one truck can teach you a lot, and harden you in this industry. Open doors to other profitable ventures like dispatching other trucks, or leasing other trucks onto your business. Just do your research find your mentors, be organized and do things right.

It is work, you will have your headaches, be ready to commit. Do not, DO NOT invest more than 50K. I did it with around 30K. I own 1 truck but have 2 other trucks leased to my carrier. I do wear like 8 different hats, but to me it beats working for someone else.

More than anything this is a self motivated business, if you do not put your time in and stay on top of your business things will go south fast.

Oh and if you do buy your own truck, definitely do the first 4-5 trips with your brother. It's an eye opener and if you plan it right you'll see some interesting sites.

** Be careful, like another commentator said ***people get screwed** the more hands on you with your business the better.

PM me I'll send you some online resources that might help you out.


"Scared money don't make money" but as they say "don't bet your rent money"