How to Find Smaller Trucking Companies For Owner Operators?

Thanks Bill.Great stuff in your writing..As it sits now i am running a ''dedicated'' contract run for an agent.I only work 3 days a week and take 4 off..The run is around 1250 on the hub and it pays me take home of 2000-2100 weekly after deductions.I have decided to stay here till this ''contract'' runs out..I am planning for the future because L/S future is geared to the new 1 year exp drivers.And we know why they want the ''new'' ones..

So as it sits i am looking for a van trailer with logistics and making the preperations for my slow depart from L/S...I have touched base with my attorney and my accountant to ask many questions.My Lawyer can do my Inc or LLC for 300.00.My Auth is 300.00 and my wagon will be around 7,000 for a 2001..I have not called OOIDA yet to see if they can help me out with the Ins..I am a lifetime member so i am sure they can help me get started..I also called my credit union and they told me they can give me 15,000 at 2.3% loan for start ups if i DO NOT want to use my own savings...And my truck is paid.

Are these numbers about correct.?

 

Depending on what you want to haul I would look for newer trailer. But because of what happened to our industry in 2008 it can get hard to find one in the right age range that is priced right. But if you decide that you want a little older I have some '01-'03's I can work a good deal on. I am wholesaling them so price is right.

Do some serious checking on if there are any advantages on corporations for you. There will likely be no take advantages being solo and zero protection. If you get sued because of an accident you will be sued as a corporation and as the driver. So you spend money for not protection. Your insurance is your protection. Make sure you have General Liability. My 2 cents.

Not a fan of OOIDA in general (won't get into that here) and make sure you shop insurance before accepting that OOIDA is the best. Do some some searching on here about the structure and rating. For one, LS was still not accepting them and brokers that have contingent insurance are getting squeezed on this. But if you have good credit and clean record you should be able to find better rated carriers with a good rate.

I would get the loan while you can. When you don't need it money is easy. But if something turns and you need it that is not the time to be stressing about getting a line of credit. Plus who knows what may come down the line.

You are in a great position to make this happen. You have time to plan it and the finances to be able to make the right decisions. On a marketing side, I would take a little extra effort to build relationships with the better agents while not telling them you are thinking of leaving. Send them a thank you note, if possible, make a personal visit and take them to lunch or dinner, get to know personal things about them. They will likely be in a position of having to justify using a new carrier to LS here soon and you want to be worth it to them.

 

Thanks Bill.I PM'd you...

Yes.It seems the more research i do,i can get things CHEAPER elsewhere than OOIDA..I am making some calls tomorrow to these two places i now of in NY..It is worth a phone call..

I am pretty sure i am going to take advantage of this loan.I will be calling them tomorrow.

I have a few good Agents that will load me.I need to try harder at having more ''relationships''..My skills are not that good so i need to brush them up a bit...lol,lol

 

Tons of companies everywhere. There is Craigslist in NY NY too, right? Begging for O/O and getting rid of co drivers. And you definitely dont have to borrow money for a 2001 box ,unless you like being in debt that is.
Could be helpful to explain situation with being fired and what not upfront.

 

I am still scratching my head.???...

 

i have 0 CSA points and 0 tickets. Never been pulled in for an inspection.

 

I wish I could say that. They've been wearing me out. I'm gonna be a jobless wino soon. I'll be living off your tax dollars eating good and my kids will be able to go to college for free.

 

There have been a lot of comments on here regarding this situation and I think I might be able to help you out a little as well. I'm an owner of five trucks and trailers and I have drivers. I run my small company with my wife. Before I got my authority and went full on into the "carrier" side my equipment was leased on to a few companies and I would split the money with my drivers. Looking back, I can only tell you how awful of an experience that was for everyone involved. BUT the transition into becoming a carrier with authority was no joke. I'm not saying you would but do not take it lightly. This comment that I quoted you on makes a lot of sense. I think it's a great idea to find one more place you could run with while you are getting your ducks in a row for your authority.

You definitely, absolutely want to incorporate. Your accountant will probably want to file as an S corp...If you file as an LLC, you can request permission from the IRS to file your taxes as an S but they might turn you down.

You will probably want a corporate bank account for direct deposits and your expenses and you will probably want the "corporate veil" in general.

The authority will take 18 days and maybe more depending on holidays and when you file. I used a company to file mine and it was worth every penny.

The time it takes just to get an insurance quote hasn't been discussed. Every May I shutter because I know the phone is gonna start ringing and these insurance guys are gonna want to put together a quote for me and my company. For the first few years I was all about it but the quote never came back better and it is a substantial amount of administrative work to get them the info. they need to process a quote.

Back to your original quote...the reason I suggest one more go round with a company while you are completing all of these tasks is that you can be running and making some money while you get these things handled. Get the corporation going, run a little, file for the authority, run a little, deal with insurance quotes while waiting to get loaded or unloaded. I would not recommend a head first dive. Take a little time and don't exhaust VALUABLE cash while getting set up.

My perspective on the freight question starting out. If you decide to lease onto one more carrier and the relationship goes well (not like the LS one) they will probably be glad to let you haul for them in the future, with your own authority, by working out some sort of a new split deal. This could be very helpful to you in the future while developing relationships with brokers. You will have a decent amount of "misteps" booking your own loads. Through these problem areas, though, you will stumble across some great people. Yes, I said it. There are some great brokers out there that actually care about us and the services we provide for them. They are few and far between but they are out there. Bill was right...take them out to lunch, send them a prepaid visa card at Christmas for a few bucks, try to get to know them a little and share a little about yourself. Better yet, take care of them like they do you. Give them check in calls on both sides and in the middle. Do a great job and have a great attitude with them. You will see that when it's your name on the side of the truck, these things mean so much more. Three or four strong broker relationships can make 1 O/O a lot of money. When you find one, you will know.

During your first year, just finding one load that moves regularly and pays well can make all the difference in your wallet. As time moves on you will find more and then move into servicing your own customers.

Good luck with it all.