Need serious advice from O/O

I think your a little confused here. As an Owner-Operator you are leased to a company, they offer you compensation for hauling their loads with your equipment. If you don't like the rate the offer you, then you just don't lease onto them. You don't make the rates or call on customers giving them bids. Now if your going independent you need your own operating authority, insurance and the whole ball of wax. Where as leasing onto a company they take care of all of it, some charge, some don't.

 

If you are going to be running locally exclusively then your business model will have to adapt to the local situation. In order to have legal permission to haul freight you probably need some sort of operating authority and insurance. If you are staying exclusively within your home state the state laws apply, so you will have to find someone who is doing what you want to do and ask about local regulations.

In order to haul freight from state to state you need interstate operating authority. To obtain this you need proof of insurance and insurance is sometimes one of the harder things for new drivers to aquire. Once you have one year of experience insurance is easier to obtain. When you have your own authority you negotiate with shippers, usually on each load, to see how much you can squeeze out of them. You will then haul the load and bill them, they may pay you eventually.

If you would prefer you can lease your truck and yourself on to a company that has operating authority. They will find loads and handle all the paperwork and billing. Most will even pay you regardless of weather they get paid by the shipper or not.

 

Words of wisdom, I'd wait 2 years, work as a driver and get all the information that you can at THEIR expense. One year is not enough time. Keep to the penny records of EVERY expense like it was your own truck. Some you can't because you won't know but get as much information as possible. Knowledge is POWER!
If you are going to own the truck and trailer and form your own company you will have to find out the rates in the areas that you want to do business in. Don't go knocking on doors without that information. How to get that information, well call them get prices as if you were going to be purchasing products and service from them. Make a detailed list of their responses. Tell them you need a break down on the cost for the product and how much the delivery is. Always remember that the shippers want it hauled for the cheapest rate, dependability is a major issue with them as well You have to present yourself in a way that sets you apart from everyone else!
Get everything from days to pay, detention to who pays for the damage if they put a hole in the trailer. Be SURE to run credit checks on them and check references, basically you are a lender ( providing the service is a loan in my eyes) and need to know these things. Get everything in writing no matter WHO it is or for what. I've written all of our contracts for everything from customer bids to lease contracts. If you don't know how and most people don't, then have a lawyer do it so it's legal and binding for your state and really protects YOU
Figuring cost for fixed expenses is pretty simple. Decide how often the truck and trailer will be serviced, who's going to do the work, if you do it, your labor is NOT tax deductible. Figure the cost of tires, mounting, etc. Most people will wind up replacing the steer tires more often than the drives or trailer tires. Insurance cost, break it down, I went as far as breaking it down to each day, a little extreme but I KNOW what the cost are for each load. Then ad 5% of that cost for break downs etc.
Be sure not to OVER insure your equipment it's not worth anything more than the fair market price, that's all you'll get from the insurance company. DO get accidental disability insurance. Some states and shippers require you to have Work Comp which here in AL runs about 15% of the GROSS payroll. Yes you are an employee even if you own the company, decide how much you are going to get paid, and write yourself a check each week. Look into incorporating, I prefer LLC to to an S corp for a small business.
Keep the business and personal stuff separate. I'd incorporate, and lease the equipment to the company. Pay all the taxes quarterly without fail! That's about 25% of the gross, put it in savings and keep the interest. After a while it'll draw enough interest to almost pay the taxes. Wear and tear, I'd figure how much a payment would be on the equipment per month then break it down to a per mile cost, that's the safest way to figure wear and tear. Keep up with the prices on equipment as it changes. I use Excel and build the formulas, it's a simple way to do it. Don't forget administrative cost! so There's a million other things to consider but I don't have time to write it all. Hope this helps, Good luck.