Own authority or...

You should stick to trading, there is a lot less risk.

 

Ridgeline can be rough around the edges, but he’s a straight shooter.

 

Sorry, bad humor.

This business is unforgiving, it is a target of ambulance-chasing POS lawyers. You can get into one accident and lose everything - LLCs do not protect assets if you are an owner/operator.

It is unbelievably dangerous, I 'retired' from driving because of an accident at a customer's, some clown was moving a body side die set and knocking me off the truck. I had a few drivers who were killed, a couple who sustained head injuries, and one is a vegetable. A former driver was hit head-on in the middle of nowhere by some 'person' who decided to kill herself and her kids - the kids survived but it took rescue an hour to get there. So much crap happens on the road.

The competition is just unbelievable, the way the system devolved in getting work is something that the cheapest always wins, the shipper in most cases does not give a crap about who takes their product/load to the delivery, they don't care what the truck is that moves it.

This industry has a >90% failure rate.

I know a couple who were/are day traders, they didn't use proper money management and lost a lot of money so they got their CDL and went to work for someone. One guy worked for me for a year, made the seed money to go back to day trading, and got smart. He does pretty well and bought a Subway Franchise where his wife and kid work. He agrees, less risk, less danger, and more enjoyment out of trading.

EDIT - I am not saying this to scare you away, I would rather have someone like you prepared for the worst so you can enjoy the best this industry has to offer.

 

Nope other than to sell yourself to them, I work with companies that don't really care about the rates - within reason - but want someone who takes their business seriously. One thing I make sure of above all is my drivers and my company is dependable, you as a customer have a problem and you call me, I don't say anything about money (unless they ask) but I ask what they need and get it done for them. Sand or car parts or cooling towers, it doesn't matter, they are my customers.

I don't know, be honest I can't be in your shoes but my advice is this - listen to the worst and the best, take note of the worst to make sure you don't make those mistakes.

 

don’t take long to fall off that mountain either.