Help needed setting up a Hot Shot business

Non-CDL hotshot is the absolute lowest barrier of entry to be a motor carrier and the rates and your competition reflect that. How does non-CDL hotshot get you money any faster than any other segment of transportation? The only thing you’re avoiding is actually getting a CDL.

 

You're right. There are millions of illegals here that literally walk right into this country every day across our Southern border. They bring nothing but misery to our citizens and completely disrespect our laws by instantly becoming criminals.

Ignore the naysayers. Remember, one can be anything they want while hiding behind a keyboard. Most of these posters aren't what they claim to be. Many fakes here so take what they say with a grain of salt.

The only advice I have for you is to pick something outside of Transportation completely. Unless you have a niche in the industry or contracted customers you will most likely not succeed. Lots of other business opportunities here with higher profit margins if you do your research.

 

OP, enclosed auto transporters [race vehicles, exotic cars, etc.] is a very narrow sector of US transportation that will probably demand much more insurance coverage, etc. and will have even higher barriers to entry as the customer base is already familiar with long term, proven carriers and will be very reluctant to try the unknown. and are completly comfortable with paying the higher costs to the exiting carriers.

Not to add another wet blanket to the pile aready cast on your aspersions BUT 'Do you have any tips on how to make more money in the transportation sector?' is not the answer; nobody will give you their gravy after the effort they put in obtaining lucrative work.

Carriers that are doing work that may pay premium rates are very entrenched with their customers and have the tools needed to protect their position as they have been facing cost challenges from other known carriers for a long time and they will have no problem fending you off.

Carriers compete by selling the best service and have the track record to get the premium rates while fending off numerous other, well established and equally successful carriers atempting to poach their customer.

You are not bringing anything exceptional to the table.

Competition keeps rates from rapidly increasing as the cutthroat competition will take some work at a loss if it may fill a slot of unproductive territory in their network.

There is always an endless number saying 'I'll do it for less!"

 

What is?

The truth?

We have a huge problem within this industry, we have people who start up little companies/carriers and drive the rates into the crapper.

You know it better than I do, I know it is 10 employees and this comes from others who have tried and failed.

Well this isn't a situation where you will have instant cashflow, you will have to have operating capital to sustain you for a few months and capital to maintain and repair the equipment. Then if you have employees, you have ot have capital to pay them while you are waiting to be paid.

I haven't gotten to insurance and your Authority to operate.

There is a lot to it here, and one reason why I said to invest into a franchise is because even if you have a small truck and trailer, your success rate is really really low. The amount of work you will get may not pay the fuel bill, let alone allow you to become profitable. You are entering in the industry at the very bottom, even below cargo van freight level.

It is easy, it is something that we have all the time to deal with. Everything you want to do is being done by bottom feeders who squeeze pennies, they have cheap insurance and maintaince but still many of them fail. I don't see how you could get drivers to work for you when you are not making the revenue to support the bills.

You have to find the work first before you make the plans of even coming here, you should come here and spend a few weeks to a couple months to look at target markets and where you could operate and make a profit.

I recommend that too. I would rather see him successful in some other endevor and then enter into this industry with the right capital and goals that would allow him to flourish than to crash and burn.

 

Take it from a fifth generation German-American whose trucking roots go back to 1938 when my Great Opa started his cattle breeding business in Sikeston Mo. Trucking ain’t easy or fun any longer. That is why I retired and am starting up a vintage German Cuckoo clock repair service. It is a niche market long over due in this country.

 

Original poster I remember when I very first went into trucking and I went to trucking school. I had big dreams of starting my own business in this industry. I was going to get my own truck and all that. Like So many others I thought I could do it right out of the gate. as I looked further into it, I decided to just go work for a company. Having been out here for six years I realized I would’ve absolutely failed, had I tried to go out on my own right in the beggining. Even now with six years experience, given the way the industry is, it would probably still be a failing proposition. My company hauls its own product out in the back loads are atrocious. Sometimes even nonexistent. At a minimum, I would wait for the economy to improve drastically before I even attempted to do what you’re doing doing.

 

You going to work on just genuine black forest clocks or also the US made knock offs of the 20s and 30s?

 

Genuine black forest clocks are the ultimate goal but I figure that won’t really happen until I get $75,000 invested in the best vintage clock smithing tools and at least 10 skilled craftsmen on the payroll. So I will start with the knockoffs first to get the experience.

 

To get into the niche market you have mentioned you will need to develop contacts. You are not going to be able to haul someone's multi million dollar car without some credibility. Unless you have those contacts already then that goal/dream will need a longer range plan.

So what is your primary plan when you hit the ground over here?

You need a new plan that you can slowly build into your dream company.