How do you run a fleet without driving yourself? Looking for real experiences

You need to get the experience of those you plan to employ. Or they won't respect you. And you won't know what they're up against until you've done the job.

No offense but seems like Dad would've told you this.

 

PERFECT REPLY!.....

 

Dad doesn't have an answer for you?

Really, you'er in college getting a business degree but getting a CDL is a step too far? It is just a couple of tests.

 

Yeh reckon you should be talking more to your old man, maybe even working on a succession plan but good on you for dreaming bigger.

Its kinda if one breaks down one finds a mobile mechanic or learns how to fix it themself. Google can help a lot but can also send you into a can of worms. The newer the truck the slimmer the chance of you fixing it outside a workshop. So good to have a few tow truck operators in the phone, tyre shops, auto electrician, and a few parts suppliers if your manufacturer has not locked up supply of parts for hostage/extorsion pricing. Find and create a relationship with a local workshop (or dealer) preferably who does work into the evenings or Saturdays, it helps with minimalizing down time. I have small enthusiastic guy who charges $70ph less than the dealer, but the dealer is good to use for crap that happens at 5pm and needs fixing that night.

Don't think employing drivers deflects your responsibility in anyway. Your the top of the tree as the business owner so it all stops with you not matter how good or bad your staff, trucks, militance, compliance, investigations and assurances are. More trucks = more staff which usually = more headaches and money heading outbound than coming in. That's not set in stone but is often reality unless you have reliable high paying contracts stretching for years. Staff are staff and even the good ones are staff for a reason. They do their day and go home, they are not paid to burn the midnight oil to make tomorrow happen, and if you expect that from the good ones without fair reward they won't be there long. Its your business not theirs. I pay my driver for everything, but if I don't it cost me more to do it myself as I can't wear 10 hats at once.

You don't have to be a truckie to own a trucking business, but I imagine it helps and awful lot. Don't forget you will be, or should be, the last one to be paid not the first. So if you can think of a yearly income you would like to achieve and pay everyone before you, more power to you.

 

I'm in Aus so its going to be different. But yes to start with I pay him above award (market average) so it stops him from shopping. Then his run is 2.1/4 hrs long but I pay him for 3hr to stop him from speeding, harassing slow cars, horse floats etc. I pay him whether his siting down the tyre shop for 2hrs, getting a wheel alignment, delayed in road works, or delayed for more than 30 minutes unloading. I bought him an EV pickup as a deduction for myself that I pay for everything, but its also a 15k pay rise a year for the next 5 years. Now I do all this as I employed him for almost 20 years now. I don't get much out of him but his reliable and honest. I have always been generous with staff but have to admit there have been 3 out of 30 over the years that have been good. The rest are takers that are too stupid to realise their patch. Employing is hard. Its why I run one truck. He does most the work but I take the cream.

 

One of the things to keep in mind is that as an owner, you can only do one thing at a time. In our operation, I'm the backup for EVERYONE in what we do, not just the driver. If I'm driving, I'm not at the farm taking care of the animals. I'm not in the office doing research on disease or feed, and I'm not working on the books. If I'm driving, I'm not out looking for new customers, I'm not attending trade shows or conferences. Driving takes me away from the essential management functions and that is a huge cost.

The one thing that IS good about being on the road is that you get to meet your customers, and see their operations from the driver's perspective. That's immensely valuable. In almost every case I've done that, I've had to look at the driver and say "yeah, you're right, that schedule is stupid" or something similar. As an owner, I am a hard driven individual, but what i can do short term and enjoy it is not necessarily rational to expect from an employee who also would like to have a wife, kids, and social life. If you choose not to drive, at all, there will be a cost to pay for that lack of skills.

I'm not sure you HAVE to have a CDL to own a trucking company, but not having one will cost you in flexibiity, credibility, and in understanding of the operation. Personally, transportation and logistics are a passion, and not driving would impact me emotionally and business wise. I don't really comprehend how a person would want to own a company when you are not interested in nor are able to perform it's basic operation. That gives vibes of disinterest and lack of appreciation for the work being done to those that work for you, and you WILL have to address that to become successful.

Operationally, someone WILL have to be available to move trucks, recover trucks, etc, but that can be a local, semi retired guy that you slip a few Benjamins to help you out. That function can be staffed with a little diligence.

In short, plusses and minuses. You pick.

 

Good points AT, I'm the back up driver as well. Its surprising how much unseen work is done to keep a business operational. Over the years I have listened to staff and have implemented much of their input, as they are doing X everyday and can see a better way. They have also been generally younger and think completely different to I. Same result just faster or easier usually. I have also found driving the truck you notice things staff don't, little things that can turn into big things pretty quickly.

I have a competitor who owns 2 trucks and 3 staff. He has expanded in a pretty big way and has no CDL so to speak. From my experience his very money focused and I hear he is always whining why this or that didn't happen. I presume so due to him living in a theoretical planned world of should be all directed from his office out the back of his house. When you pull up at the tyre shop to fix a flat and there is something getting 6 new and 2 flats, I can kiss $500 to $1000 for the day gone due to the circumstances. Its also not the end of the world from me as I'm not leveraged up with repayments for shiny equipment.

Perhaps the upside to having a fleet of trucks is if one goes down you have another to fill the gap to keep the work/customer rolling. That is if you have not found work for everyone of them. In my case if it stop today I need it going again that day as 2 out of 5 of my customers rely on me alone, every day. Same for a fleet as any truck off line is costing you, but the pressure can be dispersed though a fleet so to speak. My fix rather than a second truck sitting around, was to develop a relationship with a guy who has a fleet. I let him guggle 8 trucks and staff but call on him for redundancy if I am off line. A good relationship with the customer and a trusting one with the fleet owner makes it all work.

 

In my opinion you need to be able to drive
Generally speaking employees are not reliable…I hope none of mine read this because they’re pretty good dude’s lol….but it’s a fact of life they get sick, have to much weekend, have a wife that has other plans….
Yes I’m not perfect and have my own set of issues but I have more motivation to make it happen and keep things moving…and without a cdl I can’t take the 7pm call from my guy that’s supposed to be at the asphalt plant at 8pm and go oh well I got it covered…I have to scramble around and hope I can get someone to do me a favor. For a small operation having 1 truck not show on a job is significant both for income and customer relations….if you have hundreds of trucks probably not to big of deal….
Oh and don’t forget to keep your small mechanic happy I have worked on some trucks in the rain on the side of the road when it’s 40 degrees out all night to get the customer going down the road…..but you better believe if the guy who wants to ##### about the bill and wait 31 days to pay calls for the same service….yeah I’m busy, sorry bud.