Considering o/o

How well do you know the trucking industry? Been around it since birth, dad, uncles, grandpa been in it all their lives , or just getting your feet wet? Which they're not yet... not even damp.

Wait until you understand the business, wait until you know you want to stay with Werner, wait until you know you want to keep driving a truck. Being an O/O isn't just about driving, to be successful and make better money than a company driver you have to understand it is a business and you need to be able to make good business decisions.

 

Wow, apparently I did it all wrong. Back in '96 I had $5000 to my name. put $4500 down on a truck and used the rest for equipment.
Next year will be my 20th year in business.

 

A lot has changed in the intervening 20 years.price of trucks,fuel and maintenance

 

Concept is still the same.

 

Concept yes but just the scale of money. alot harder to be underfunded now,at least then you didn't have to worry about emission equipment on the trucks tearing up constantly and bankrupting you

 

and I still don't. Just need to make the right decisions.

 

Yes, it would seem that you are more than smart enough to easily fit into the 20% club (the 20% that try and succeed), but 20 years later would you say that the first 90 days were easy? Also I assume you had good credit, so how much did you have financed (the truck) and did you factor. What credit card limits were available to you?

I think that today you would struggle with $10,000 down on a $50,000 truck and at least $10,000 available on credit cards. More importantly anyone trying, would need nearly the level of business ability that you and I have considering we are in that 20% minority.

When I first went o/o I did it on a shoe string as well. The fact that it can be done, not not necessarily mean it should be done. I don't want to give anyone false hope telling them I started with $5000 (as I did), because if I started with $50,000 (cash not credit) twenty years ago I would have the option to retire by now, but alas , I don't.

 

I had no other choice. failure was not an option. I worked for a company that was bought up by Office Depot. Before they came in, it was a good company.
I finally got fed up and quit during a managers meeting and walked out.
I used the contacts that I made over the year being on the furniture side of the office supply business and it just took off.
I think I was lucky coming in at the right time, how everything worked out for me.

 

Being management material makes this o/o life a lot easier.

 

Do tell, how does that work?