Biggest Setbacks for Failure?

I bought an 8 year old Volvo in really great condition with 600K on it. How much do you think I should put aside for repairs and a new engine when it needs it? $200 a week?

 

alternate plan:
buy a good used truck and trailer, payments 2k per month, pay for your maintenance, put the other two k in the bank and don't think it belongs to you or is profit just because it is left over at the end of the month.

in three - four years own your truck and skip the payments or else trade it in on a new one.


The biggest problem I see with failures is guys thinking that because they are working for themselves instead of a company they are somehow entitled to *MORE*

I own it, I deserve a raise, I deserve some chrome, I deserve the day off...

all you deserve is hard work for the first 5 years... if you can make it that long... you will be a bit more mature and knowledgable and know what you can afford, which is totally different from what you deserve... lol

There are several guys here on this forum that have flopped or are in the process of flopping... some is poor planning, but a lot is a sense of entitlement for a lack of a better word/phrase...

DON"T plan on making more than a company driver... if you are PAYING yourself more... chances are, down the road you are going to wish you had that money in the maintenance fund.

the only real bonus at the start is choosing your view, to a small extent, out the windshield, everything else is the same or worse.

and...

if you do good.... no bad breaks... well then yes, you will be money ahead of the company guy, in equity and real cash... but still... that's five years away.... 3 at the least.

 

I've read this post several times in different threads. While I'm sure that the worst possible scenario can happen to anyone, it is likely not the norm. Of course any truck can have a hidden defect that will cost a small fortune at an inopportune time. Here in sunny FL most guys I know pay about $8000 to $10000 for an in frame every million miles or so if they're running CATS. Guys running Cummins are paying the same every 700000 - 900000 miles, Detroits = 600000 to 800000. If a truck is properly maintained the belts, hoses, accessories, etc are changed as needed as normal maintenance items are do not need to be replaced at overhaul time.

I'm sure you or I could go out today and buy a used truck and you might go a year or three without a major expense while I might go down in the 1st 3 months. I've driven all kinds of trucks as an O/O and a driver - good, bad and ugly, for many miles and I never had a major break down on the road that caused me to fail to get back to home base. I know other guys that can't get across town without tearing up something.

So, don't take the very bad luck of a few people as the normal happenings of buying and operating a used truck. Select carefully by asking for oil samples results, ECM readings, take a mechanic you trust to look em over, ask for service and overhaul history. There are many peace of mind warranty's available for a few hundred dollars that will allow you to get 1 or 2 hundred thousand miles under your belt while you build an overhaul reserve. You've been offered lots of good advice in this thread, and there's a ton of good advice in this forum - follow it and your dreams to your own brand of success, whatever that may be!

 

One of the biggest contributors to failure I have seen repeatedly is around equipment purchases/leases. Remember this is a business, not a hobby. Sure, new large cars with lots of chrome are pretty, but they cost a pretty penny, too. The goal is to earn the most amount of money with the fewest miles and the lowest operating costs. I have seen a great number of folks start out with truck/trailer payments hovering around $3000/month. They justify it with one word....warranty. Remember this: downtime still costs you money and it is more difficult to make a $3K payment on equipment in the shop than it is on equipment costing closer to $2K a month.

We always buy good, low mileage used trucks spec'd for the type of freight we haul (i.e. don't buy a condo for flatbed work) and keep our payments around $1500/month.

Other things to consider:
1. Don't spend money on chrome, lights, and extras; they don't earn you a single dime.
2. Know the lanes you want to travel and what the average rates are for the lanes. You might want to invest in a load board subscription BEFORE you make the leap so you can get a feel of where the best paying lanes are.
3. Know your operating costs! Cannot stress this one enough! Recouping your downpayment and/or trade-in needs to be included in that cost structure.
4. Never accept a load less than 80% of your targeted rate per mile.

We have been at this for over 25 years and even in light of the fuel increases over the last 7 months, we are making more money (profit) than we have ever made. At times I still wish I had more trucks, but that is another story for another day.

 

Don't forget to budget for Uncle Sam either. Make sure you pay your taxes quarterly, or you will be in for a huge surprise at the end of the year. The IRS has publications, forms, and instructions available for free download on their web site. Go through all of that stuff too, either by yourself or with an accountant, to figure out what you will need to be setting aside. As an employee, you only see half of what gets paid to social security and medicare coming out of your check. Self-employed that amount is double, as your employer was paying half of that amount. You will need to do the same with your state if they have an income tax. If you don't like messing with that sort of thing, then definitely find yourself a good accountant, and I don't mean H&R Block or any of those. A good accountant will cost you a bit of money, but can tailor their services to your needs, and will be worth it in the long run. If you add employees, it's an entirely different ball game, and gets even more expensive. I'm not going there!