Do you have a bsns plan you can share w/ me &/or give me advice?

@Mountain Mover --

Yes, tractor prices have moderated of late -- but other operating costs have basically gone ballistic, & shipping rates for the most part are in the toilet -- so...to be fair...used tractor prices don't really matter if you can't truly cover your other operating expenses.

I asked all the above questions because....in truth....if you don't have solid answers to them....you're simply not ready yet to sit down & put together a business plan.

To put it another way: you really can't finish a jigsaw puzzle -- if you somehow don't have all the pieces yet....can you?

-- L

 

I don't think you will find many or any elaborate business plans here. when infirst started 20 years ago I went to the bank with a single sheet of paper. I knew the kind of trucking inwas going into, gravel hauling, I knew approximately the number of loads per day, $$ per day, rough expenses, etc...
figured daily, weekly, monthly expected income and expenses and got a net profit. took 25% off that net for worse case scenario and walked out with a check. that is most truckers business plan

 

OK I heard someone call my name.

Not really. I will explain later. While it is a great idea for those coming from another industry to learn how this business works and how there is a need to focus on specific aspects of their business at times, most of those who work with a business plan have marginal gains over those who do not have one in this industry.

Well, you should know that a business plan is based on the needs of the individual to develop and establish a business in a specific industry or Niche in a market. Sharing one has to also include the background of the author of one and a critique of the execution of their plan plus the contingency of what needs to change given a changing environment.

Boilerplate business plans, like boilerplate marketing plans led to disasters, in which ChatGPT while it derives its results from different online sources, misses the mark and becomes a boiler plate solution.

Experience counts. When describing the background you have, having 6 months is meaningless to someone whois looking to "invest" with a limited risk of failure. Having 5 or 10 years makes it look more like a professional than just a job trying to scale for a wage increase.

I have broken it down into subgroups as a guide and stressed the use of policies in my operation. My marketing plan for example is not for public consumption, only a few in the office have seen parts of it, my two oldest kids on the other hand know what's in it. But I am an established business where I use lenders and other finance vehicles to acquire assets and they do not need to see any plans.

I have seen several, one I have seen was a complete cluster*******. I would use ChatGPT to solidify the plan's basics within certain parameters and then tune it to make sense to others who you want to receive consideration from.

Right here tells me you are missing a lot of on the research end of things.

For example, truck prices are not on a downward trajectory, they are holding steady on the used market but the new trucks are expected to rise some more because of supply chain inflation. The used market has been seeing a dumping of marginal ... well JUNK ... and they are still getting high dollar amounts.

We are going to see more increases as time goes by, one of the reasons is while rates remain low, the entry point of an O/O is very low. There is no means of testing or experience requirements which is why the leading indicator for O/O failure rates is high, over 90%. This means that there are a lot of desperate owners out there just trying to keep their heads above water, which in turn has caused industry capacity not to fall, we are 20 plus percent above where we should be and that is a lot. A lot of general freight is being reduced by inflationary pressures, which means for the operator looking at getting freight off of load boards or through a broker, the rates are in the crapper, with too many trucks chasing too little freight that is priced right. Right now is a great time to buy a distressed fleet or a truck from a distressed owner -->> not to run it, but sit on it.

There are some but few and far between. Success isn't measured by running the truck and making a profit, it is when something happens, the recovery from it is quick and not costly.

Driving a truck, to be very blunt is easy, any moron can do that, the tests (written and road) are a joke and trucks are very long and just large cars. The more we see in new trucks, the lower the standard for a driver, and owners to enter the industry. The entire system is set up for anyone to do the work, from the load boards to sending in the BOL or billing the broker.

And all of this works against everyone in the industry.

Actually experience counts more. Your business plan is a good idea, but 5 years in the seat, being able to answer any question or at least illustrate how this works, showing contingency plans, and having already the means to weather a storm or two all count more.

 

Fantastic post @Ridgeline. I'll add one more thing that Mountain Mover probably doesn't want to think about. Interest rates. It may be a great time to get a deal on a truck but you aren't going to get a deal on the financing.

I had no written business plan, just one in my head. I cashed out savings to get started, only financed 50k on a truck when rates were a helluva lot better than they are now. I'm kind of surprised more people haven't said it but if you don't have a big chunk of liquid benjamins I do not recommend getting in to this game, especially now. Less and less brokers will work with new ventures as well. This can be a real problem when those high interest bills are due. Also, insurance can be staggering for a new venture depending on where you are.

Perhaps I should repeat myself. DO NOT GO FINANCE YOUR NEW BUSINESS IDEA right now!

I wish you luck, seriously, but can't help with a business plan.

 

Yeah, he said it way better than I ever could have. But hey, I'm just a dumb truck driver that doesn't use business plans.

 

In other words, you want us to write your book for you so you can sell it to idiots who think trucking is some kind of magic cash machine. In this market, trucking is the fast track to bankruptcy for a whole lot of people.
When I started my company, I bought my truck with cash so I wouldn't be saddled with payments on the upstart. It's is very expensive to get into trucking and even more expensive to stay in it. Trucks break down, tires get ruined on the road, fuel prices increase, rates fall through the floor boards. If a person has to get financing to start now...they are setting themselves up for failure. Tell that to your readers.

 

Very well written! I would like to add two things, insurance and equipment financing rates.

When financing your first truck, you could pay close to 20% interest rate even if you have a credit score in the 800's, because of the high failure rate. It has been a long time since I bought my first truck, so I don't remember what I wrote for my business plan, but it wasn't lengthy, that I remember.

As for insurance, you could pay well over $20k even $30k depending where you live.