I'm Thinking Of Starting A CDL School

You want to know my school's name, Spirit CDL Training Corporation.

I have been in the training industry since 2006, my husband has been in longer. This is the second CDL training company he has founded, I think I know a little about the industry. I know what makes a good school and I know what makes profit and they are not necessarily the same thing. Yes, I would LOVE to make a profit but I've put my reputation and my students first and that hits the bottom line really hard.

I have seen people go out of business doing this and I have seen people screw students to make money. If you know how to put profit ahead of the students and still put out THE BEST quality student then please share, there are many schools that would love this information.

You've been a trucker for two years; I don't believe you even have enough experience to know what a quality driver looks like. Sit with a recruiter a bit and ask them if their is a difference between the quality of students that come out of a large profitable school or a small mom and pop company. You may be surprised at what you hear.

 

I looked for consistency in training with a program that was documented and with people who are patient.

Can't answer that because I was promised a lot of things but choose not to go to those schools, for that matter, I was taught by the best drivers I even knew and they were not trainers.

However, what many schools lack other than honesty is to get the student by. I was taking a refresher course for Bus and Passenger endorsement a while back and saw that the schools class A training was marginal because they only cared to follow that 140 hour or what ever it is training guidelines which gets people out the door and having one who was to lease one of my trucks, she was defiecent in a lot of things that I would think would be covered like mechanical issues (oil, DEF and so on).

I don't know what could, briefly training people for one job the group I was with tended to buck the companies policy of virtual training and did a lot of scenario work with the students. Keep in mind a good system is one that is flexible for all different types of students. Driving isn't just about the skill of keeping it between the lines but it is about the skill of applying knowledge to fit different situations without thinking much about it. For example, reading one thread on this forum about the guy's first job as a switcher, I was told that is the best job anyone can have starting out because the number one issue for many is backing up with a trailer. I know a couple graduates of CDL schools who can't do that with just the tractor but being a switcher for a year will give you the skills you need to put a trailer where it needs to be without taking out a block of cars or another truck.

One thing that you have to also do is think about a business study to see if this really is a viable business to be in, I mean a lot of states require some things and other things you have to do to keep up with your competition that won't be cost effective.

 

SpiritCDL,

I wont go into detail, but lets just say my experience in trucking goes much farther back than just 2 years.

I checked out your school....you have nice facilities, cant tell from Google how many of the trucks are yours. Obviously there are far to many variables about each individual business to tell from looking at a website as to why you are or are not making money. I dont know what you pay your instructors, how you advertise, the lease or mortgage on your property......etc etc.

I will tell you I know how to run a successful business, the principles of sound business practices apply across the board.

First I would say you charge too little.

I know thats heresy around here. Companies and schools aren't allowed to make a profit...thats evil. Only the truck driver is allowed to make a profit. The owners should sleep in tents and eat out of dumpsters if you listened to most people around here.

So yeah, I would be charging at least $1000 more. Keeping in mind that any training company worth its salt does tuition reimbursement, usually as much as $5500 to $6500....then its really the companies paying for the training, not the student anyways.

I dont know what your instructor to student ratio is...but obviously payroll is going to be your biggest expense. Regulating that is key. Finding the balance between providing quality training and having redundant instructors getting paid to sit on their thumbs is crucial.



Look, dont get me wrong, I think its very admirable that you place such concern in your students training and future....as well you should. But I refuse to believe you cant make a profit at it at the same time. Im not talking Donald Trump money, but I know for a fact you can make a very good living if you do it right.

I became friends with the owner of the school I attended and I know the lifestyle he lives as a result. He has owned three different schools over the past 17 years and his current one is doing very well. He also maintains a 100% job placement ratio...if he cant get a student a job, they arent allowed to attend the school in the first place. He trains over 300 students a year and everyone of them walks out the door with jobs with companies like TMC, Averitt, Colonial, Maverick and the like.


The truth is most schools dont make a profit. For years schools would chase WIA money....now thats gone.

That doesnt mean it cant be done.

 

Ballpark we spend about $15,000 in insurance. Shop around, insurance companies that cover schools is not that easy to find but it is possible.

Maintenance costs depends on your trucks and trailers of course. We don't have brand new equipment so our costs are higher than others. We just put a new drive shaft in one of the trucks and that was around $1,500.

We're leasing, we're in with a trucking company. We have half the building and they have the other half. Our yard is onsite and there is plenty of room to run a yard or two. If you share property make sure to have your yard outlined and respected. At one of the schools we had problems with the drivers coming in and running through our training yard and parking within its bounds and the landlord really wasn't supporting us so it was a daily problem.

Being in a trucking terminal gives you an advantage, especially if the trucking company hires your students. Also, if they have a mechanic on hand that really works out well. Trucks can behave all month and then on the day of testing a bulb will go out or a belt will be lose, mechanics on site can save you.

You should check with your state regarding certification before you look into leasing or buying. Our state had strict restrictions on the room sizes and fire laws. You also want to make sure your yard is visible from a main road, you have to back up all day long might as well get some advertising from it.

 

Yes, I know we charge too little but unfortunately there is a lot of cut-rate competition in my state. There are schools charging $2000, that is basically cost. They use different plans, that I wont go into right now, that make their business more profitable than mine.

The local college was charging more than us, ($3800+ fees) and for various reasons, (many having to do with us), have now lowered their price to about $2,500. Our programs are quite different and we can survive if people compare the programs but if they are just shopping for price, well, we can't compete, we won't compete.

The WIA programs have been 60% to 80% of my business in the past. WIA is both good and bad. Many of the students aren't really truck drivers, whether it's because of their past or because they're just doing this for a job, they aren't the perfect clients. With this school the WIA program is about 10%, (the college is about 90%), the majority of my clients are self pay. I have financing companies and accept credit cards but people still have problems paying. Many call me, knowing my price and having no idea how they will pay.

Tuition reimbursement is great but it takes such a long time for my students to get their money back so it isn't really beneficial to someone trying to get into school, just a nice perk on the back end.

One instructor for four students and our program is very personable. We know each student and we all work as a team.

 

SpiritCDL what's the average class size for your school? Is temporary housing affordable & easy to find in the area for Sun. night through Thurs. night?

 

The average size of my class is about six, very small, personal classes. We usually run two instructors for six students but will accept up to eight with two instructors. Temporary housing is easy to find and the prices vary. Some are pretty expensive, about $250 a week, but others are dirt cheap and they're that cheap for a reason.

Because we are located in northern Illinois we accept students from Wisconsin and Illinois only. Daily I turn students away because I'm not able to accept them. In Illinois we can only enroll students with an Illinois license, (there are exceptions but they are not standard). In Wisconsin, we cross the border and test there. Other schools have ways and can take students from almost anywhere, we haven't found a way to do it legally yet.

 

Sorry about the delay. I would ballpark about $5,000 for a truck/trailer for insurance. It varies of course but this is a good start.

You can also lease trucks which helps with maintenance but of course, you don't own the trucks so you have that cost.

Fuel is about a thousand a week for a truck at today's prices. If you run classes straight through with no overlapping you can do classroom week with no trucks running and it gives you a fuel break and time to make repairs if necessary.

Word of mouth and trailers running around with your name on it are the best advertising but internet, TV, radio and print should be considered. Job fairs are great advertising so you may want to invest in a display for shows, ( about $1000 but re-usable).

Many of the DMV offices still offer CDL Study manuals but they are still hard to find. You may want to run your own printing company and run the manuals. Office supplies can add up quickly with all the printing for enrollment packages, brochures and pre-trips. Spend the extra money and get a good printer or two because I've gone through four of them in almost three years.

Start-up expenses can be huge but monthly expenses can be manageable. The problem is staying ahead and not getting in the hole.

Start-up should include tables, chairs, TVs, computers, telephones, desks for the office, desk chairs, videos, certification fees, trucks, trailers, plates and labeling of trailers and trucks. Depending on your state the truck and trailer plates can be very high. Our plates are about $1,200 annually for each truck.

The only other monthly expenses I can think of this early is DOT physical, drug screens and permit fees. These are usually not too big but add up if you have a lot of students. Also, permit fees vary from state to state, (Illinois $50, Wisconsin $30). DOT and drug are around $100 or so.