I want to go O/O with 6 month experience...

This is a joke, isn't it?

Please, say yes.

 

Go ahead. What could possibly go wrong?

 

THAT is pure gospel! I started and ran my successful courier business for 13 years before I decided to be my only employee and go truckin’.
I believed in ‘Flash-is-cash’, so my truck and trailer were very pretty. My wife wanted a new kitchen, she got it. I had every amenity in my truck, etc., etc.,.....
Then it happened...in the second month of my venture:
My wife paid a house account fuel bill, paid the quarterly taxes, and I had two mobile repair incidents.
The fuel bill was $4000, and it wasn’t OUR fuel bill. It was someone else’s. It took 10 mos. for that truck stop to credit my account. I ran my butt off trying to catch up, but with no cushion money left, and normal repairs and overhead, it was a somewhat futile effort. Finally, my engine decided that it wanted a rebuild, and I just couldn’t swing it.
At the time, I had no credit cards because i simply didn’t want one. Had great credit with my bank, but they weren’t interested in throwing money at my problems because they rightfully thought I should have more money than what i had.
I did survive, but not without the grace of God. Things were extremely tight for the next 2 years. Lessons learned

 

I've got over 4 years of experience, would like to go O/O but know I'm not ready yet. There is still a lot of trucking I need to learn as a job before turning it into a business.

 

I read this a few times, What comes to mind is:

If you don't know what is best for you, how do you expect strangers to know what is best?

How could anybody know except you, and if you have to ask a forum, than possibly you aren't ready?

 

If you can save that up it should work. You obviously know how to manage money.

 

Why?

 

I say get your own #s and get truckin. It’s a lot of work but you will learn as you go. I’ve never been a company driver. Applied for my own operating authority December 2017 and was active in January 2018. Started with a 1 ton pickup and a small trailer. Didn’t even have a CDL and only working on getting it now. So far I’ve bought 2 more trailers and recently bought a 2017 dodge on payments. That’s a first for me as I’ve always bought my vehicles for cash. The amount I’ve learned going deep end in first is amazing. I do my own dispatching, I’ve had to file claims against brokers bonds. Passed the new entry audit and haven’t had any issues staying compliant (one oos for false log) my fault. I didn’t have much money saved but started out without going into debt and that’s helped me a bunch. This site has also been extremely useful but a lot of the guys make it seem like it’s hard to start out on your own. I don’t agree with this, a little common sense and dedication goes a long way. I love the freedom of being my own boss. Can’t ever see myself working for someone again.