Advice on Dispatch

I applaud your reasons but its the toughest time to do such a thing as an independant.

Dispatchers arent brokers. You dont have MC authority so you dont have freight to offer anyone. That means youre offering a clerical task of sifting freight on loadboards for others who are too busy. Like a bookkeeper sorts receipts as a task for business guy thats too busy or not good at it.

Well right now there is hardly any freight to sift, what there is that has any profit lasts only minutes. You wont have time to call and say 'do you want it' before its gone. Any freight that isnt instantly gone is at such a low rate that the truck cant even profit, nevermind pay you to sift it. And youll be making payments to load boards to find this freight.

I am a driver and have offered to dispatch a few non tech saavy beginner o/op guys for 5% of ratecon and that includes me finding loads that i know of which arent on boards. No bites. Ive had no luck with considerable advantages over youre situation of being new. Its gonna be a very difficult thing to sell and even harder to collect payment. Since you dont have MC your name wont ever be on the BOLs. Youre connecting a driver with MC to a broker with MC. If they cut you out, not much you can do to force collection.

I hope you make it work but i couldnt. Maybe take a job at a mega carrier for the experience. I am sure those guys are dying for dispatchers who treat them human. Itll give you satisfaction and a paycheck in addition to the experience.

 

This, to be completely frank. This is not a super good time to be starting *anything* from scratch in the industry, be it as an O/O, a dispatcher, or a broker. I'm in the fortunate position that the relationships I built up over the years are able to carry me. Trying to find new business right now has been really rather rough.

I'll second @FoolsErrand on finding someone established and going to work for them. That's, in general, one of the best pieces of advice you can get. I have on a number of occasions advised people who've wanted to get into brokering to learn on someone else's dime. This is probably true for dispatching, as well- especially if you don't have a stable of O/Os and small companies that are loyal to you out the gate. You're selling your services of finding them freight. If you don't have any connections, and you don't have any drivers, you're in for a world of hurt to begin with.

 

Its not a good time, indeed its the worst of times in living memory.

Dispatching consists of several questions constantly asked.

What is?

Why not?

Why the hell NOT?

Whats matta wid you?

When?

How did you... (Wreck truck etc)

Or any combination of what, where, when, why and how. Combined with very little information going out and coming in.

You are given a stack of drivers. A remuda if you please. Some are lazy and not to be counted on. A small number you keep in the fire box with a hammer for existential load emergencies. And most of the rest will quietly go around their loads until they want or need something.

Just need to keep up with them. Like rounding up children in a kindergarden for a chore or rather getting out of the way when they know it's milk and cookies time.