A passing observation on Information.......

I'm not an o/o and never will be. That is my own choice but I'll never tell someone not to do it. It wouldn't surprise me if ur right though.

 

If you get several o/o respond with"you don't know what in the #### your talking about" or "I would never" you can pretty much accept you hit the nail at least with a glancing blow

 

Agreed. You get the most flak when you're over the target.

 

"SYNICAL"???? Yeah.......that's what you are..............LOL

 

o/o can be lucrative, if you play your cards right and are good at managing money and watching expenses. I would bet the reason why so many people say don't do it is because a very high percentage of people fail at it and go back to being a company driver. Either that, or after a few years of their "successful" business venture they realize they are actually taking less money home than when they were a company driver. It isn't for everyone. I would never tell someone NOT to do it because I think they are going to be more competition. There is no difference if they are driving a company truck or their own truck, that particular truck is my competition, who owns the truck is a moot point. However, if a friend of mine who has 3 kids, struggles to pay his rent, is deep in debt and can never get himself out of the hole, yeah, I would tell him NOT to do it as he is almost completely guaranteed to totally lose it all if he has a large unexpected repair.

 

You becoming an O/O is not a threat to any O/O.. The threat to O/Os are the larger fleets and mega carriers...

Just as Walmart is more a threat to a small mom n pop grocer then another mom n pop grocery store..

And, before you become an O/O you need to undertand that... consider just this... fuel... the larger fleets and mega carries get bigger fuel discounts... just as walmart who buys in larger quantity will get bulk discounts.. so buy buying 5000 of product Z while the mom n pop buys 50.. walmart pays much less for product Z and can sell it cheaper then the mom n pop and still make a profit... so, take 3 trucks that all pick up identical loads at ACME warehouse and all deliver 500 miles away at Jerries junk n more...
Truck A is an O/O and gets a .20 cents per gallon fuel discount
Truck B a medium size fleet and gets .75 cents per gallon discount
Truck C a mega carrier and gets $1.40 per gallon discount..

Still think your the threat to an O/O...

O/Os would rather have 1000 more O/Os and less mega carriers...

 

I would never discourage someone from bettering theirself or their situation (income), however I will point out the difficulties to help them better assess the situation. Gokiddogo made an excellent point in saying that it doesn't matter who owns the truck as they are competition either way, but the fact of the matter is the industry doesn't really have enough competition for 1 or 1,000 more O/O to make a difference.

I will say it is not for everybody. It requires a business mindset and an understanding of business management on many levels. I still keep in contact with my mentor who taught me how to drive a truck and he has 19 years of experience, but he has been a company driver his entire career. He recently called me asking about a lease deal through his company to see if I thought it was a good deal and for general advice. He is by no means a dumb individual, but I have a better understanding from the business side and he knows that.

I guess my my point is just because you are a great truck driver, that does not make you a good potential O/O. That being said I will always be willing to encourage a driver to be an O/O if they think they can, I will just make sure they don't jump in misinformed. Aside from all the negative aspects I also include the positive aspects of the venture as well as tools to help drivers make informed decisions. It is a much more profitable venture if you do it right, but the risks are greater and I (along with others) want drivers to be aware of those risks so that I am not filling others with unrealistic expectations and dreams.

 

Miami Trucker..... I hope you do not feel I was being condescending. .. I truly did not mean to come off that way..

I can see why it would appear that other O/Os saying it isnt worh it dont do it would seem like they are keeping the pie to themselves...

I actually work for a mega... I work for Werner... and I like to stop in at the museum at the omaha terminal and looks at the cool old trucks... and how inspiring is the storh... CL buys a truck and becomes a trucker, then a fleet owner and now a multi multi million dollar carrier....

I was in the museum once and got to talk with a guy who has been with werner for years.. and started drivi g for Werner back when CL was still running loads now and again... we had a great talk.. and he shared a lot with me about how much has changed... I asked him if CL was buying his first truck now, in 2014 does he think he cojld be as successful. .. he looked me in the eyes and said... it would be highly doubtful....

And it is not nust because of the mega carrier... federal regulations also play a big part of it... years ago ... driving only 11 hours a day was for slackers... and trucks were not governed...

 

Bren's right. I don't really feel that other O/O's are my competition. It's the huge carriers who use the economics of scale to push us out.